mileage

[new@zoom]

first tank....22.4mpg
is that about the average??

[WaynesGarage]

I got 22 mpg also. And i am notorious for getting WAY less than EPA figures.

My second tank was only 18, still good i thought based on my driving habits and fresh/tight motor.

[texasguy]

ive been getting 19 fairly consistent. i have 3k miles and i drive in town, fairly aggressive.

[Bdragon007]

How did you guy keep track of your economy? What's best way and is it accurate? Thanks

[WaynesGarage]

1. Fill the tank (let pump click off auto)
2. Reset Tripometer
3. Drive until tank close to empty.
4. Fill Tank (let pump click off auto)
5. Note Mileage on Tripometer
6. Note Gallons it took to fill car
7. Divide Miles by gallons

BTW my latest tank i got 18.9

[Bdragon007]

Thanks! I'll be happy if I get anywhere near 19 mpg. I drive very conservative but more city driving then hightway.

[new@zoom]

tank #2 =18.1
probably got less because my friends get in there & gun it.

[Flying Fossil]

Thanks for the info folks. I am strongly considering the CX-7 but I am hearing a lot of horror stories on the gas mileage.
My driving in about 70% freeway and I usually am on cruize at 70 MPH. I am hoping for something around 24mpg to show up.

PS: I am in So. Calif.

[Bdragon007]

I'm getting alittle worried, it's the second tank @500 miles now and I'm only getting 14mpg. :O(

[Flying Fossil]

Thats what Motor Trend said. Avg. of 14 mpg

Not good :mad:

[Bdragon007]

I hope it will get better as I put more miles on it

[new@zoom]

tank #3
17.9 mpg. no complaints

[cjwcx7]

I'm nearing 3000 miles and the best I've done is 24 mpg, mostly highway. In mostly city I'm around 19..

[new@zoom]

just did road trip to Vegas, made my best time ever.
22.1 mpg over.
23 mpg back

[88gt07cx7]

2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine = very economical

2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine + 15.6 psi of boost + conservative driving habits + lots of highway cruising = fairly economical

2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine + 15.6 psi of boost + aggressive driving + lots of in-town driving = hurt your feelings:(

My wife's CX only has 200 miles on it but with our driving habits and commute I expect around 20mpg once it's broken-in. Just as a reference, I drive a meticulousy maintained 1988 Mustang GT with only 99K original miles and I get 19.5mpg with a lot of stop and go driving and 24-27 on the highway at 65-75mph. My GT has a few minor mods (headers, pulleys, exhaust, CAI, ignition box) that actually helped mileage (as long as I drive nice).

The CX engine is a double edged sword - the tuning that Mazda has done to get that instantaneous low-end boost is the same reason it will be hard for a lot of people to obtain good MPG results. The fact that 5th and 6th gears are both overdriven (.86 and .69 respectively) will help mitigate this for people who do a lot of highway cruising but city-drivers will be stuck out.

--Brian

[WEZOOMN]

Average MPG on our CX-7GTAWD has been 24 after the first 1000 miles (now almost 4K).
I drive one way 37 miles to work mostly @ 50 MPH.
My MZ3HB averaged 28 MPG.
Both Autos.
Occasional PTTM on both!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
My PT Cruiser GT (also a Turbo 4 Auto) got 17MPG .................. AT BEST!!!!
My Beetle was a 5 speed standard (also a Turbo 4) and I got Average of 30 MPG.
And it was driven like it was stolen most of the time.:cool:
-JD

[CXRabbit]

Wezoom,

No offense at all meant, but are you sure you're calculating right? 24 is about the best I've heard from anyone. What kind of mileage were you getting on your first few tanks of gas? AWD is supposedly notorious for getting worse MPG than FWD -- and on my first tank of gas with mostly around-town driving, I estimated between 14-15mpg with a GT FWD (I do expect that to be better as I break the car in).

[jtw715]

Tank 1 was about 16.1mpg: BUTmy son reset the trip computer at about 80 miles (I think). I would guess 18 -19 would be more accurate. Understand that for the first few days, I drove the car like I stole it! :) I will post my second tank next week.

[Tequila Cat]

Just finished a round trip to Florida from East Temmessee - mostly I 75. I got 24.8 MPG going down and 24.7 coming back. I have 11,000 miles and used cruise control almost all the way. Around home I get 20 MPG or so. Oh and I try not to drive aggressively.

[WEZOOMN]

Wezoom,

No offense at all meant, but are you sure you're calculating right? 24 is about the best I've heard from anyone. What kind of mileage were you getting on your first few tanks of gas? AWD is supposedly notorious for getting worse MPG than FWD -- and on my first tank of gas with mostly around-town driving, I estimated between 14-15mpg with a GT FWD (I do expect that to be better as I break the car in).

I just happen to have my log in front of me...................so.....................

DATE-----TOTAL----TRIP----GALS----MPG----BRAND
10/13/06 - 524 -- 323.8 - 14.946 - 21.664 - WAWA
10/19/06 - 838 -- 314.7 - 14.887 - 21.139 - WAWA
10/25/06 - 1124 - 286.1 - 13.616 - 21.012 - WAWA
10/31/06 - 1480 - 355.2 - 15.906 - 22.231 - WAWA
11/13/06 - 2360 - 300.8 - 12.623 - 23.829 - BP
11/17/06 - 2681 - 321.2 - 13.837 - 23.213 - BP
12/06/06 - 3973 - 302.6 - 15.024 - 20.141 - WAWA

Note that Name Brand gasoline gives slightly better MPG with cost about the same.

The last WAWA was just to check comparison. I'm not going so far as to check all brands............I AM going to stay with BP!!!!:D

Also, when I wrote my entry above, at the start of this thread, I was thinking about the 23.829 and a couple more times in the high 23s between 2681 miles and 3973 miles on the clock.
Man, that's close enough to be 24MPG!!!
Sorry if I unintensionally missled you.

[CXRabbit]

Nah, you didn't mislead me... I was just curious and thanks for the log. I'm keeping a spread sheet myself, so will report results as I break the car in more. I'll also try comparing gas stations!

[new@zoom]

last tank was 18.1 with normal LA driving.
1300 miles, so i'm still breaking in.

[WEZOOMN]

Still using AMOCO 93 and getting close to 5000 miles on clock.
Filled up today....................330.1 miles/14.184 gallons=23.27MPG!:D

[offset_98]

So far I've been tracking my mileage...Tank 1: 19.1 MPG Tank 2: 19.6 MPG Tank 3: 21.6 MPG and a top off (1/2 tank) today: 23.4 MPG. I'm now at 1,080 miles and I can't say I've had a problem with gas mileage. I was Christmas shopping today running around to a couple different malls...today's highest rating I'd say came under 65% hwy and 35% city with lots of just going 5 MPH waiting for parking spots.

With these numbers...we've NEVER shut the climate control off and did some mountain driving yesterday...drove in the snow too! Thats a story for another thread though.

[Drew]

Eh, I'm not getting close to what I should then... Last tank I.. well tanked 15.8 mpg.. 3300 miles on it. :/

[WEZOOMN]

Eh, I'm not getting close to what I should then... Last tank I.. well tanked 15.8 mpg.. 3300 miles on it. :/
There are two Pedals on the floor.....................
The Horizontal one controls stopping....................
The Vertical one controls Gas Consumption/Fuel Economy.........
The less pressure you use on this one, the better your mileage will be!!:rolleyes:

[jtw715]

Just filled the second tank: 17.9mpg, all stop/go city driving. 550 miles on the ODO, so the engine is not near broken in yet.

[dteufel]

Hi, Im from Mexico, i just got the cx-7 last week, I have just driven it in the city, and i got only 160 Km for half tank!! that is something like 100 miles for 8 galons!! was the same for you the first miles??? :eek:

[offset_98]

Meh...I just gassed an all time low...16.6 MPG :(

[CXRabbit]

My mileage has been getting steadily better as I break her in. Up at 1,300 miles on the odometer now, I just got 18.18 mpg.

[jtw715]

Just put in the third tank: 19.3 mpg, all city driving - stop/go.

[zoominDad]

Trying to decide between CX-7 and new CX-9. Mileage comments and premium fuel recommendation are scaring me away from the CX-7. If you are getting less than EPA City mileage, what are your tire pressures and how much idling do you do? AWD or FWD?

[offset_98]

Back up to 21.4MPG.

[jtw715]

Just did the fourth tank @ 1,250 miles: 19.9 MPG, all city driving. Keeps going up w/each tank.

[OldSpice]

950 miles on the car, varied gas mileage... First tank we got 16.3, second 9.7 (?!), and now we are getting about 18 on the third tank. We don't drive the car hard at all which is what worries me about the mileage we've been getting. Gas mileage aside, we LOVE the car, so much more comfortable than our old Buick Rainer.

[Igodeep]

It takes awhile for the MZR engine to "break in". From what I gather, the mileage should be getting better with every tank. The actual break in period for the DISI engine it between 8,000 and 12,000 miles. At that point, your MPG should be as stated (18-24) or higher. I have 3303 miles on mine and I average about 19 mpg. Trust me, it gets better ;)

[offset_98]

I'm at a consistant 20.4-21.6 every fill up now in rush hour traffic. I bet it'd be better on an open highway. I'm very happy w/ my mileage...you just have to keep your foot out of the turbo for most of the time! I'm at 2500 +/- miles.

[JohnnyUtah]

keeping your foot out of the turbo is quite a challenge, esp if you want to accelerate at anything more than snail's pace. I have just over 1800 miles on mine (galaxy gray, sport, awd) and I'm consistenly averaging 18 mpg. I'm quite disappointed with the fuel consumpation, which by all means isn'thorrible, but My 2002 v8 stang was better on avg. I'm guessing the curb weight of the vehicle is just to much for a 2.3 4 cyclinder to avg anything special on mpg. New Jersey driving also probably doesnt help.

Off topic, Anyone else in Jersey having problems with 'cold weather check engine' light?

[CXRabbit]

Johnny,

I hear ya... though I'd be happy if I was consistently getting 18 mpg. 18.18 mpg is the highest I've gotten... my average is 15.45 mpg. I've got a bit over 1,800 miles on the car and I do MOSTLY around-town/city driving, very little highway.

As for cold weather... really, my first test will be this upcoming week... it just hasn't been cold enough (I'm on Long Island). Looks like the next few days are going to be the real test though as we're expected to get down into the single digits and teens.

[jcreekcx7]

I have 8K+ on my CX-7 GT. I'm in the Atlanta area and the vehicle sees commute and highway speed traffic.

My worst MPG was 16.9. The last four tanks, I have averaged 19.8. Last road trip taken I got 26MPG. I've got another one coming up soon so I'll report back that mileage.

All in all, I've been very pleased with the fuel consumption of the CX-7.

[Copper Red CX]

16.5 on the first tank. I have a hunch the tank wasn't filled all the way up by the dealer. We also got a CEL already becasue the dealer did not replace the gas cap and reflash the computer for the evap system issue prior to delivery. I am hoping the next tanks get better or this baby is going to be EXPENSIVE to feed!

[Dillon]

A little off topic, but what exactly does it mean, somewhat technically, to "break in" the engine? Technically, why does this improve gas mileage? Why does the manual recommend not driving at one speed for an extended period during the break in- what it defines as the first 1,000 miles? Can I ask any more questions?

[Copper Red CX]

When the engine breaks in it runs looser than it does when it is right out of the box. Same would go for the tranny and all of the other drive train components. The manual suggests a 600 mile break in period, but generally you can presume you would be fully broken in after the first oil change at 3k. In terms of not beating on the car during break in or driving at a constant speed for an extended period of time, I can't give a technical explanation for that. It has been explained to me but I don't want to try to articulate it and give bad info. The interesting thing is that with my speed 6, the mileage did not improve much at all after the first 3k miles. However, right around that time, being in New England, they switch us over to winter gas which contains more ethanol and saps your gas mileage around 10%.

[dmarsh]

Have GT All Wheel Drive, 4k miles, wide range on the mileage. Any where from 14 to 19.5. Trying to keep driving habits the same, but mileage will vary. Also recording which fuel stop gives me the best.

[CXRabbit]

Also recording which fuel stop gives me the best.

Me too. I'm keeping track of where each tank of gas comes from. So far, I'm not seeing any pattern as to good mileage from one particular place.

[kailua]

The first 400-1000 miles your vehicle is trying to determine your driving style, etc and mileage will be quite poor. I have purchased one new vehicle every 6-8 months for the past 2 years and each vehicle had poor gas mileage during the first 500 miles. Usually it gets better with mileage and by the first and 2nd oil change interval your mileage is pretty much set.

When I bought my 06 STI I ended up breaking in the engine by doing a road trip from L.A. to S.F. (not planned, just the timing ended up that way. . .was on my way to a Garbage concert in SF)

On the way up to SF, I started out with 40 miles on the odometer and on a full tank of gas only got 170 miles out of it. By the time I was on my way back a couple days later with 800 miles on the odometer, I was getting 360 miles per tank.

Afterwards, I was averaging about 20-21 mpg and it rarely fluctuated. The only time it was affected was when I mistakenly put 87 regular and not premium in the tank.

Alot of folks think they are saving money by putting regular in their CX-7 but in reality you get worse gas mileage because the 2.3 is designed to run on premium.

[Copper Red CX]

Alot of folks think they are saving money by putting regular in their CX-7 but in reality you get worse gas mileage because the 2.3 is designed to run on premium.

I didn't think of that, that is an excellent point...... we feed both of our DISI MZR engines in our stable only the finest pure bread 93 octane fuel......:D

From my own expereince with my Mazdaspeed 6, the highway mileage with this engine is excellent if you are driving a constant speed. However, if you goose it with this engine it drinks gas like it is going out of style. With my speed 6, which I have had for 4 months I average on a cumulative basis 21.6 MPG with a best of almost 26 for an all highway trip and a worst of right at 19 which was a lot of city and, er, a tank where I might have spent some time with the pedal a little too close to the floor too often. I am hoping if my wife's CX settles in in the 19-20 mpg range we will be happy.

[dmarsh]

We have to remember that all vehicle gas mileage ratings are tested at 55 miles per hour in perfect conditions. Who drives 55, Not Me!

[cdude]

Hey... none of you guys mention what the readout says your mileage is - I mean... you all are computing it by hand after a fill-up right? Is that to mean that the mileage (either average or current) as reported by the Info button on the dash readout is not accurate?? I'm confused now.. Mine also gives me an estimated miles (km actually) remaining to empty.

:confused:

[Copper Red CX]

Hey... none of you guys mention what the readout says your mileage is - I mean... you all are computing it by hand after a fill-up right? Is that to mean that the mileage (either average or current) as reported by the Info button on the dash readout is not accurate?? I'm confused now.. Mine also gives me an estimated miles (km actually) remaining to empty.

:confused:
I am doing it by hand on an excel spreadsheet. The wife netted a whopping 14.6mpg on the last tank. A lot of her driving is starting the car, driving a few miles and shutting it down, so that is probably why it is so bad. Also, I found that the tires were 5-6 lbs under inflated. Last, I drove with her this weekend and lets just say she isn't beating the car, but isn't exactly babying it either! If you keep your shifts in the lower RPM range before the boost really comes on, this engine does just fine for mileage. That is how I have been driving my Mazdaspeed 6 (same basic engine) and have been getting in the 22's the last few tanks. Hopefully my wife will cool down on the driving a bit once she gets used to this thing. You HAVE to enjoy it and open it up at times, becasue that is why we all bought it, but not ALL of the time....

[JohnnyUtah]

my wife yelled at me the other day for putting 93 in...so I decided to switch (forever) to 87... haven't yet finished the tank, but will advise when finding gas mileage difference, cause i'm sure there will be one. Good or bad, I've yet to see...

93 was netting me a whopping 16.9 mpg (with a best of 18.1 on one tank) and that is not hard driving at all... I barely get into the turbo for fear that mpg will plummet to 13 or so
*Should be noted that I used to drive my 2002 v8 stang alot harder and consistently got 18-20 mpg

I'm still shocked that this thing (sport, gly gray, awd) is getting such bad gas mileage.
I have 2k on it, and it has shown no improvement over first tank.
Btw, still waiting for it to snow to test out the awd, so far winter in NJ sux.

[CXRabbit]

Johnny,

Winter in the Northeast has totally sucked (I'm in NY).

Your wife should not be yelling at you. This is a turbo charged engine and REQUIRES 91 or better octane. You are risking damaging your car by putting lower in... and you'll also get worst gas mileage (but that isn't the ONLY concern). I'd even go as far to say that if Mazda finds out you put low grade gas in it when you take it for servicing, you'll void your warranty.

Trust me, I know it feels painful to put 93 in... but it's ONLY a 20-30 cent difference. Even if you have to fill your tank up completely with 18 gallons of gas, that's less than $5.00 more. You can make the money up somewhere else your budget easily. Drink less soda, smoke less, skip one night of fast food, etc. ;)

Mileage on mine hasn't been great. Highest I got was 18.18 MPG with mixed driving. Lowest was my latest tank (I've got just over 2,000 miles on the car) at 13.12 MPG... but that was with ALL short-trip around-town driving and warming it up longer (because it's finally been colder). I was definitely hoping for better numbers than 13/14 MPG around town.

In our area we get "winter gas" which doesn't help the situation... the blend is slightly different and we can lose 1-2 MPG because of it... so here's hoping to better mileage in warmer weather (though I do wish it would SNOW!)

[jcreekcx7]

Took the CX from Atlanta to Asheville, NC this past weekend. All interstate driving (I-85 - I-26) at average 70mph on cruise. For the most part level driving until you hit parts of I-26 where you encounter 6-8% grades. Car downshifted once to 5 from 6 going up one of the longer, steeper grades. Car performed well but mileage ended up being so-so. For the trip, average mpg was a shade under 22. I think this may have been related to the terrain.

[Leeep]

My last tank netted us 15.8 mpg.
I complained about it to the dealer since we were in for our second check engine light and a 5000 mile oil change (does it seem strange to anyone else that you're supposed to rotate your tires everytime you do an oil change?).
They flashed the PCM with updated software.
I'll let everyone know if that effects our mileage. Here's hoping, 15MPG is pretty unacceptable unless you're driving a Ferrari.

[Dillon]

I've been getting 14-16 city. I've only made one significant highway trip- about 250 miles. I got something like 18. This is the first car I have ever had from which I could not coax the EPA estimates. I enjoyed the turbo for a little while when I first got it but I have significantly backed off to the point that I've got everyone backed up behind me well after the light turns green!

For those of you that are getting 18+ are you manually shifting or letting the auto do the work? Just curious...

Took it in today for its first oil change, about 3,100 miles. I am not holding out a lot of hope for improvement.

I did have the CEL come on at 1500 miles and then it went out around 2000 miles (figured it was the gas cap issue so I didn't take it in immediately). The dealer told me today "that the computers were contradicting each other" and that they did a flash upgrade which should solve the problem. They said the gas cap was fine. Huh.

[CXRabbit]

About 2,250 on the odometer and at my latest fill-up I calculated 15.8 mpg -- that's with about 60/40 city/highway driving. I'm definitely doing worse on gas mileage since the "hesitation update".

[drivenhard]

Getting 17-18 mpg. New engine, it's very cold, and I can't stop passing everything in front of me!

[kailua]

I've been averaging 18.6 mpg. I have 1000 miles on the odometer and driving is a 50/50 mix of highway and city driving. I might actually go down to 5w20 synthetic motor oil instead of the recommended 5w30 at my first oil change to see if it makes a difference. A lot of manufacturer's recommend 5w20 for their engines for better fuel economy.

[new@zoom]

got my second CEL this week
dealer told me about a recall depending on your VIN#.
still getting 18-22 with 4000k.

[CXRabbit]

got my second CEL this week
dealer told me about a recall depending on your VIN#.
still getting 18-22 with 4000k.

I got my first CEL last night. Going to the dealer friday.

Service manager asked me if I had the new gas cap and I told him yes. He said "well there's another issue we've been seeing-" and I cut him off and said "yup, IMRC valve or something like that right?" and he said "you're up to speed... that's right. We'll check it all out for you when you come in."

Will have more info, hopefully, Friday evening.

[MITZA]

Read the small print on your window sticker those are estimates not concrete quotes driving conditions and habits prevale. Turbo cars are not Fuel Misers they love to breath and drink fuel. Its the nature of the beast

[Leeep]

Read the small print on your window sticker those are estimates not concrete quotes driving conditions and habits prevale. Turbo cars are not Fuel Misers they love to breath and drink fuel. Its the nature of the beast
We can complain about getting 15MPG in our cars. If you don't want to read it, stay out of the thread named "mileage".

[kailua]

I've been getting 14-16 city. I've only made one significant highway trip- about 250 miles. I got something like 18. This is the first car I have ever had from which I could not coax the EPA estimates. I enjoyed the turbo for a little while when I first got it but I have significantly backed off to the point that I've got everyone backed up behind me well after the light turns green!

For those of you that are getting 18+ are you manually shifting or letting the auto do the work? Just curious...

Took it in today for its first oil change, about 3,100 miles. I am not holding out a lot of hope for improvement.

I did have the CEL come on at 1500 miles and then it went out around 2000 miles (figured it was the gas cap issue so I didn't take it in immediately). The dealer told me today "that the computers were contradicting each other" and that they did a flash upgrade which should solve the problem. They said the gas cap was fine. Huh.

I usually leave it in D and let the foot do the shifting by flooring it. I have noticed that if you do manual shifting, you can stay in a taller gear longer.

[MITZA]

We can complain about getting 15MPG in our cars. If you don't want to read it, stay out of the thread named "mileage".
Chill out man guess you don't want to read the EPA estimates ( the small print not the large) on the window sticker or your having buyers remorse. You stay out Bud, It like a ***** fest on here trade in your car or try lemon lawing it or be proactive and call Mazda instead of posting stuff *****ing with no real solutions. You will never get the results you want EVER !!!! Thats why these boards are better to read than reply someone always has a smart ass response. You wonder why theres a post asking where everyone is. Also your two threads are complaint threads nothing positive just negative, go figure. Have a Nice Day !

[Copper Red CX]

Chill out man guess you don't want to read the EPA estimates ( the small print not the large) on the window sticker or your having buyers remorse. You stay out Bud, It like a ***** fest on here trade in your car or try lemon lawing it or be proactive and call Mazda instead of posting stuff *****ing with no real solutions. You will never get the results you want EVER !!!! Thats why these boards are better to read than reply someone always has a smart ass response. You wonder why theres a post asking where everyone is. Also your two threads are complaint threads nothing positive just negative, go figure. Have a Nice Day !
Hey, if you are getting good mileage on here, than good for you? Personally I think the consensus seems to be that the EPA numbers are a complete fabrication for this car. People can read the sticker till they are blue in the face but the fact is even reading the sticker people are having a hard time hitting the lower ends of the range given? And no, I am not talking about the 24/18 numbers listed on the sticker, the range given in the small print for highway and for city driving that the 24/18 numbers were derived from, because those are supposably averages that the EPA got. I know it is tough to hear people say bad things about your beloved car that you shelled out your hard earned money on, but that is the nature of message boards my friend. Maybe you are a litte new to these boards, but they give people a place to discuss problems, issues, concerns, and questions, not blow smoke up everyone's ass and say what a lovely perfect car this is.....la,la,la.........

That being said, we own a CX-7 and a Mazdaspeed 6. For folks that don't know, the engines are basically the same, the Speed does have a 6 speed manual however is more agressively tuned to produce more power than the set up in the CX. My Mazdaspeed 6 is rated by the EPA at 25/19. So far 8k+ into ownership the Speed 6 is settling in nicely at 22MPG overall with 50% highway/50% city driving and a driver that isn't afraid to goose it from time to time.....ok, maybe more than time to time, but... My wife's CX hasn't hit 1k yet, but so far in 3 fill ups the mileage has been getting progrssively worse. Overall she is averaging around 14.5MPG commuting mostly short distance city driving but with very little stop and go on her way. I would expect that her CX woud get lower mileage than my Speed 6, no doubt. However, there is over a 7MPG delta. Does that seem reasonable? I think not. I am hopeful that if the engine light can stay off (she has had one during every tank except the first one) and the car can spend some time learning her driving habits without having to go in for service and have a code cleared it will get better. We shall see...... Trying to be patient.

T

[CXRabbit]

I think most of us here are knowledgeable enough to realize that we're not going to get what the EPA sticker says.

But I've been seeing my mileage GET WORSE and I don't drive like I'm hotdogging. To be getting 13 MPG around town is pretty far off the EPA estimates.

If that's what the consumption is, I'll live with it, BUT my concern is more that there may be a problem... especially with all the CELs people are getting, and the fact I just popped a CEL two days ago (and I have the new gas cap already).

Service manager at my dealership confirmed a "common" IMRC Valve issue with the CX-7, which also causes the CEL. I recently read on another site (not specific to Mazda) that the IMRC Valve could have something to do with fuel efficiency. Can anyone more knowledgeable on it confirm (quote below)?

"The IMRC is a device on the intake manifold that increases the velocity of the air going into the cylinder at low speeds. Increasing air velocity helps in the proper air-fuel ratios.

"'The issue is that the system also creates a lot of pumping losses, which reduce fuel mileage. By opening up the IMRC a lot earlier to reduce pumping losses, fuel mileage was increased.'"

[Copper Red CX]

I can't confrim this becasue I don't know completely how the engine works, but it kind of makes sense. The IMRC valve has seemed to be less of an issue on the Speed 6 than on the CX, and mine has been fine so far. So if mine is functioning as it should and my wife's CX, has not for the bulk of the time we had it, since we got 2 CELs from it, maybe better days are ahead....

[CXRabbit]

I seem to remember reading somewhere last night that it's kind of a mystery why the IMRC Valve has been a problem on both the Mazda 3 Speed and the CX-7, but not the 6.

I'll keep you posted and let you know what I find out from the dealer... Car goes in for all-day tomorrow.

[Marcori]

First post delivery fill-up today ... 265 miles, 17.10 MPG, roughly 60/40 city/highway. Here in Cleveland it's been very cold (single digits during the day) and we've had a fair amount of snow last week, so even a good amount of the highway miles were slow speed stop and go.

[CXRabbit]

I think most of us here are knowledgeable enough to realize that we're not going to get what the EPA sticker says.

But I've been seeing my mileage GET WORSE and I don't drive like I'm hotdogging. To be getting 13 MPG around town is pretty far off the EPA estimates.

If that's what the consumption is, I'll live with it, BUT my concern is more that there may be a problem... especially with all the CELs people are getting, and the fact I just popped a CEL two days ago (and I have the new gas cap already).

Service manager at my dealership confirmed a "common" IMRC Valve issue with the CX-7, which also causes the CEL. I recently read on another site (not specific to Mazda) that the IMRC Valve could have something to do with fuel efficiency. Can anyone more knowledgeable on it confirm (quote below)?

"The IMRC is a device on the intake manifold that increases the velocity of the air going into the cylinder at low speeds. Increasing air velocity helps in the proper air-fuel ratios.

"'The issue is that the system also creates a lot of pumping losses, which reduce fuel mileage. By opening up the IMRC a lot earlier to reduce pumping losses, fuel mileage was increased.'"

Dropped off my car at the dealer tonight and spoke to the service manager (I was actually going to do a "night-drop" and was surprised he was still there). He's a great guy. We talked a bit about fuel efficiency and the IMRC Valve and it's very possible, especially around-town, that the two are related.

Car will be there all day tomorrow for CEL / suspected IMRC Valve issue - I'll keep everyone posted.

[Leeep]

My last tank netted us 15.8 mpg.
I complained about it to the dealer since we were in for our second check engine light and a 5000 mile oil change (does it seem strange to anyone else that you're supposed to rotate your tires everytime you do an oil change?).
They flashed the PCM with updated software.
I'll let everyone know if that effects our mileage. Here's hoping, 15MPG is pretty unacceptable unless you're driving a Ferrari.
The new flash didn't seem to do much. Got 15.6 MPG on the first full tank after having it flashed and it still does the weird hesitation thing on slight uphills.
We just took a long road trip in it, maybe I'll see better numbers on this tank.
Love love love the car otherwise.

[CXRabbit]

Update on my Recent CEL

I dropped off my CX-7 at the dealer Thursday night for CEL (and other unrelated issues).

The code they pulled was P2006, meaning a malfunctioning IMRC (Intake Manifold Runner Control) Valve. There are two ways to go... they can fix it or replace it, but apparently Mazda can't produce them fast enough (I've heard this elsewhere too)... SO, the Service Manager told me that he HAS to do the fix first... Mazda is telling them they cannot replace it unless the fix fails.

Service Manager and I had talked when I dropped the car off and he agreed that the IMRC problem could be related to poorer gas mileage, especially around town. I don't know enough about it, but it seems to have something to do with how often or not that valve opens and closes.

They did the fix and gave me a new PCM update... no details on the update though. I think it may be related specifically to the IMRC fix.

Car's been running great since I picked it up Friday night. I filled the tank up Saturday so I'll let ya know how I fair after my next fill-up.

[Copper Red CX]

We got a best 16.7 MPG last tank. This came after changing the IRMC. We shall see how we do as time goes on....

[CXRabbit]

Copper Red... I'm working on my first full tank since having the IMRC Valve fixed too, and so far it seems I'm doing better on mileage. I should know on my next fill up (expected to be over the weekend).

[kailua]

Now averaging about 19.5 mpg. Not bad considering my previous vehicle was a Tacoma which got 17 mpg, but not a good as my 06 Mzda3 Hatch which averaged 28 mpg, but then again its 2.3 engine was not turbo'd.:D

What is sad however is that my 06 STI with 300hp and 300 ft/lb of torque got, 21-22 mpg. Damn and this is with turbo and awd! Mazda, time for a diesel or hybrid.

[Phychotic]

Yeah, I thought it was me, I've been getting 15-16 combined mileage. I have over 6000 miles on it so I would imagine it is "broke in".
Let me know how the fixes work.