Last summer I bought a used 2003 MINI Cooper. It had had only one previous lessee/owner, but I don't know anything about how she treated it. My Dad also has a 2003 MINI Cooper and we took a road trip together, caravan style, to a city about five hours away last August. On that trip we noticed that he was able to go a lot farther on a tank of gas than I was (like 100 miles farther!) Since then I've been keeping track of the MPG every time I fill up, to see what I'm really getting (the car's computer says 22.8 MPG right now, my Dad's car's computer says about 30 MPG), and the average for the last 12 tanks is 23.99 MPG. That includes some freeway driving and a week when we had some pretty deep snow to power through (only 9.42 MPG on that tank). It seems to me that the car should be doing a lot better than that for mostly city driving.

Since I've had the car, I have always put in supreme fuel, as recommended. I don't think I'm a crazy driver with a lead foot or anything like that. I've noticed that sometimes, shortly after starting the car, if I come to a stop, when I try to go again, it's very reluctant to move. Other times this doesn't happen and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the temperature outside.

I took the car into a shop last fall to see if it needed tuning up or something and they said they couldn't find anything wrong (the car's computer wasn't throwing any errors), so they only suggested that I might like to get my fuel injection system cleaned out. I haven't done that yet, since they were so uncertain and what they were proposing was pretty pricey.

I had also called the nearest MINI dealership (it's five hours away) to see if they had any ideas, but they were not able to be of much help over the phone.

Day after tomorrow I'm taking the car to another local shop, that specializes in import cars and has several regular MINI customers, to see if they can figure out what the deal is. They asked me to do what research I could to see if anyone else has experienced the same problem and if a solution was discovered. I'm hoping someone here can make some suggestions on what to look for. Thanks!

 

I have a 03 manual cooper getting about 32 MPG, air on 28....hope this helps Try calculating your own MPG then looking at the gauge.

 

I don't really understand what you're trying to say. I have already calculated my MPG for the last 12 tanks (23.99) and the car's computer is telling me we're getting 22.8 MPG. Neither of those numbers is what I want to see. I want the car to get at least 30 in town and better on the road. I want to find out why it's not.

By the way, it's a five-speed. I forgot to mention that earlier.

One other thing that I might mention is that the fuel gauge seems to move in an exponential way. What I mean is that I can go 100 miles and it will be pointing at 3/4 full. One might then figure that means I should be able to go 100 miles per 1/4 tank. But the remaining 3/4 of a tank will only take me about 200 miles at the very most. I'm not sure what that means. Are they all like that, or is that another symptom of my problem?

 

i go about 110 to the first 1/4 tank then it dives a lil. the shape of the tank can cause it to do that. so the top of the tank can hold more than the bottom. but i get about 28 mpg city driving. check your air filter and spark plugs to make sure everything is still looking good.

 

Yeah, what he said. Check the air filters and spark plugs before you do anything really pricey. Do you have a club in your area? I found lots of gear-heads in the clubs in my area, and they're a great help for this kind of technical stuff, and they do it for free...! Or for the fun of tinkering.

I have an '07 MCS 6 speed now, and I can go almost 150 miles before I get down to 1/4 tank...but after that, it seems to go really quickly. The computer says my MPG is about 33, and I KNOW I speed...

I had an '04 MCS, and the same thing happened. Although with that car my max MPG was 29 MPG, and that speeding in Germany.

Good luck.

 

So this is the base model, right? If so I would think you should get much better than that...

Have you checked air pressure in your tires? How about jacking each wheel off of the ground and making sure a brake is not hanging or that the wheel rotates smoothly when out of gear and no brakes applied?

Can you and your dad switch for a tank of gas to make sure the drivers right foot is not the problem?.?.? Just a thought...

Good luck

 

Air in tires could account for up to 4 mpg possibly but it seems like you are having more like an 8 mpg difference....( you, the average and your Dad's R50)

What about the 02 sensor ? That would account for the poor fuel economy and possibly some perfomance issues as well.

Just a thought. Good luck

 

I've been reading people's mileage claims for some time now, and I'm still confused. Claims have been as high as 425 miles-per-tank, to lows of 275, alledgedly with comparable cars.
I have an '02 MCS with a six-speed, and do not street-race, or drive overly aggressive, nor do I drive like a turtle. I consistently get 300 to 325 miles-per-tank. The car is in excellent tune, by the way.
Perhaps, as the previous poster suggested, you could find a local club, and seek answers there.

This in no way gives you any amswer to your dilemma

 

That's pretty common and most cars I've owned have been like that. I think the technical term is something like linear distortion or some such thing.

Dean.

 

I'm typically at about 350 miles on a tank and the computer tells me I have a "range" of 50 or so miles. I don't like to risk running out of gas although I have been at 390 before with some range left. I do mostly highway driving with a ~100 mile round tripper M-F.
2005 MCS I shift at 3,000 RPMs unless I'm pushing it a bit. Tires are run flats on the S Lite 17" wheels at 36 PSI.

 

i get about 290-310 mpg. i also experience the dramatic drop in range when my tank reaches 1/2 full. what should the proper tire psi be?

 

Wow! Thats some serious MPG you got there

 

All cars I have ever owned go down faster at the 1/2 tank, that is normal what is not normal is you MPG, something is not right.....

 

i run 520 Miles per tank the last month.

Highway Mileage

-Mini Cooper 2007 (non - S )

 

Very nice, mubex!

 

That is a thought that flitted through my mind briefly, but my Dad is very attached to his MINI and would never be able to switch with me for any time at all, let alone a whole tank.

I know that the gear you drive in, relative to the speed you drive, can affect your MPG. What RPM should I be aiming at? In our town the speed limit is 30 mph in most places. If I drive 30 mph in third gear, my RPMs are about 2000, but I often drive a bit faster than that so they're half-way between 2000 and 3000. Should I be in fourth at that point, or is third still okay? Sometimes it seems, at the speed I drive most of the time, like the car wants a gear between third and fourth. Maybe my problem is just me choosing the wrong gear for the speed I'm traveling? The odd thing is that I've never owned an automatic and I've driven manual transmissions for 15 years. You'd think I'd know how to drive one by now.

 

+1 on the Oxygen Sensor. On my two other cars, although not a Cooper, replacing the 02 sensor improved the consumption by around 3 to 4 mpg.

On both occasions, there were no Check Engine lights, but I noticed increased thirst for fuel.

As for the fuel gauge, all the vehicles in the household seem to do the same where the 2nd half tank of gas seem to disappear faster.

 

Have you replaced the air filter?

 

I notice that, at least going by my instantaneous MPG readout, that my MPG is highest when I'm cruising around ~3k RPM. I would echo the advice to check your air filter and make sure that's not dirty.

 

If most of you driving is in town, stop and go, getting up to around 30 MPH and you are never getting into 4th or 5th - 20 to 22 mpg might be good. You are likely a better driver than you give yourself credit for. The car just is different than what you have driven in the past.
As others have mentioned, insure the car is in good running condition. The tire pressure numbers are on the doorjamb. Fill to 32PSI for light loads (two people) 36PSI for full loads (four people). MINI thinks a average person weighs about 150 lbs I think - I can't document that.
To improve your gas milage, assuming the car is in good running condition.
..Fill the tires to 36 PSI for all loads.
..If you do not have the stock 15" wheels pick up a set.
..Put a full glass of water in the cup holder and practice driving so you do not spill any.
..on level ground shift gears between 1500 and 2000 RPMs (do not slow down to less the 1200 in 2nd - 5th).
..on a longer stretch you should be in 4th and maybe even 5 gear. You will need to learn how to shift from 5th to 3 for hills.
..learn to leave a large (4 second) cushion between you and the car in front of you so you can coast rather than use the brake
People will say that this will take all the fun out of driving a MINI. I disagree. A smooth driver is always faster. One of the best autocross drivers I know drives like little old lady on the road. However, he is always thinking about his driving efficiency. Once you learn to drive by the TAC simply change the shift point when pushing the car. Speaking of shifting, just because you're driving slow there is no need to shift slow. Driving with a full glass of water in the cup holder will teach you to take the best line through a corner. Most importantly, always keep your mind in the drive.
I am on my second 5 speed Cooper. I have managed to get my MPG down to 18 once but that was at a track day. My day to day mileage runs about 28 mpg. If I stick to the rules above I can bump that to 30 to 31 mpg. My daily drive, 13 miles one way. About 4 miles have no stops at a 50 MPH speed limit the rest is stop and go mixed 25 to 45 MPH speed limits.

 

Thanks for these tips. Most of my driving is in town and my drive to and from work is only 5-10 minutes, depending on traffic (about three miles, I think). In the morning I go down a rather steep hill and in the afternoon I go back up that same hill. How does this affect my MPG? Also, if I'm coasting down the hill, am I conserving even if the engine compression is making the RPMs go up? Should I shift up when coasting down the hill?

 

DaCrema has some great suggestions. Try to keep the RPMs below 2k, but keep in mind the minimum RPM to give the car the power it needs for things like hills. As far as coasting down hills in concerned, just put it into neutral.

Regarding your road trip with your dad, were you behind him trying to keep up? If you were, just the act of constantly changing your speed to stay right behind him can use up a considerable amount of gas.

 

Because of the on board computer (OBC) MINIs are a bit different than older cars - even cars from the late 1990's. The OBC turns off the gas when slowing down or engine breaking (somewhere above 800 rpm ... ever feel a bump or a sudden little push when pulling into a parking place?). If you have the car in nutral or clutch in and are coasting at idle you are not saving gas because the car must feed gas to the engine to keep it from stalling. It took me a while to understand the difference in those two items.

That is different than some older cars that did not have the computing power to meter each gas pulse. (If you think that is wild, the Gen 2 MINI does the same but more so. Look up DFI.) Back to the subject yes you get a bennie from going down hill but that is not enough to make up for the up hill. The owners manuel mentions engine braking as a no-no (Droping from 5th to 2 nd for example like the truckers do). It is just very small engine for a lot of weight.
Also driving 5-10 minutes you car is running cold. Everything is just warming up as you pull into the parking spot (you lucky devil). By the way, warming up the car before driving to work will not help. Still try to get into the highest gear you can as soon as you can (think shifting 1500 RPM). If you happen to be at a stop sign facing down hill start in second IF:
...it doesn't lug the engine
...you do not have to slip the clutch and
...there is not someone in a hurry behind you.

Going home uphill you'll have to keep the engine above 2ooo (or maybe even more) or every time you shift up the engine will lug. Do you and your dad have the same commute? I suspect his is much different. Given your commute, a 20 MPG average is not all that bad. Given the hill, keep using the good gas. If you lived in the flat lands and were just looking very easy driving some would suggest going with mid grade. You will need the extra bang for the hill.
John

 

+1 for the above

My first thought is on the short city drive. The motor is just reaching normal operating temps by the time you get the where you are going. A cold motor is always less efficient than one that is warmed up. The hill is also a point of "concern" for your question. It takes more energy to go up hill then is does to go down hill. This will decease the MPG a little or a lot depending many things.

In my 04 Cooper, over the last 4 years I have averaged a just about 33mpg combined cycle. Not great but not too bad either, albeit, less than expected.

With the stop and go traffic, “jack rabbit” starts will decrease fuel economy a great deal, as your right foot is deep into the peddle and you really aren’t going anywhere fast. This is the main reason that hybrids use the electric motors to get the cars moving and why they show better fuel economy for city driving than hiway.

My last thought is if your gas is mandated to have ethanol, you will see a decrease in economy as well. This has accounted, at least for the last 4 tanks for my car, about a 10% drop in MPG, oddly, there is 10% (or is it 15%) ethanol in all fuel here in Portland, OR. The pumps will state the % of ethanol in the gas if it is a mix.

 

Hi Jennifer,

100 miles difference is indeed a large difference given the highway miles. I'm not clear how similar your two cars are though:

Same year (or close)?
Same tranny (5sp)?
Same tires/wheels?
Similar options (hardtop/sunroof/etc)?

If so, definitely look into possibles like the O2 sensor, tuning, etc. It may also be possible your car can benefit from an ECU tune or a firmware update. I don't know if any of those addressed fuel economy specifically, but it can't hurt to bring your computer up to date, and it's not that expensive (one hour of labor usually max).

I have actually experienced the hesitation you mentioned on occasion, it's actually worse when the a/c is on. There are no trouble codes with my car either, so no idea why they happen (very rare, and completely random).