I will trade with you

 

i just bought a used 2010 HHR, with 51,000 with the 2.2 l motor about 2 months ago. I only get about 18-19 mpg driving in town. I just live about 5 mins from work. So not much highway driving. I ran 89 octane in it and it seemed to run better, with some fuel injection cleaner. But I didn't notice a difference in gas millage. Oh and I wanna thank the gentelman who posted on the flood cars. As I have the GM certified bumper to bumper warranty and I pulled out the cabin air filter, and it was black and disgusting. So I told the dealer I wanted it replaced, and they was like its not covered under the bumper to bumper. I told them I have the 176 point inspection that you checked off the cabin air filter. None the less they replaced it for free. My question is does the octane of the gasoline make a difference on the gas millage?? As I traded in a 2003 pontiac sunfire that had 125,000 miles on it and I got the same gas millage.

 

Some of the cabin air filters are impregnated with activated carbon (it is black).
Higher octane gas will give better mileage at a price. You basically pay by the erg and each erg costs more than the last. (that was science talk, not back talk)
I would replace the spark plugs for better MPG, they are due at 100,000 miles, but.... (not covered under 3/36,000). I should add that if you only drive 5 minutes at a time your MPG will be very low, since it is not warmed up and sitting still = 0MPG.
"normal wear parts" are not covered under the warranty. Did you read it?

 

I don't know where up north you are from but here in Ontario we have Ultra94. Only available at Sunoco(only a few still around-most rebranded Petro-Can), Ultramar(not very many around either) and select Petro-Can.

My dad has a G37 and the 94 gives it some added boost. Just finalized the purchase of my SS today. Pick it up from dealer on Sat. Can't wait.

 

2011/2.2/auto/46k update. Really fantastic update! Yesterday morning I disconnected the battery which "reset" the ECM. After two days of mixed driving my mileage has jumped - and I do mean jumped - from @ 26 mpg to 31.5 mpg! It's been holding that average for about 200 miles now. One other thing: Don't know if this also has anything to do with the increase but I gassed up at a different station yesterday. Lets see what the next few days brings.

And I should elaborate. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong but here's how I understand things: For those wondering what resetting the ECM (electronic control module) does, it puts the ECM back to factory defaults. If a previous owner was an aggressive driver, the ECM "learned" that style of driving (Scotty, we need more power! And more gas!). If you, the new owner, is a less spirited driver then you benefit by resetting the ECM because you require less gas. And I've also read that that is total hogwash because the ECM is always learning. I'm going to give it a few more days at least before I'm a believer but, so far, the results look good. Damn good.

 

I just purchased a 2011 hhr,so im not sure how everything works,according to the info mpg im getting 28 to 32 mpg, i have a 2.4 engine with 29000 miles. I need to drive it more to see how everything works. Len

 

Wishful thinking. I'm now at 27-28mpg. But it looks to be holding steady. Still an improvement and close to my original target of 28/29 mpg average.
What I've done to date (since 2/14) when I started with @ 20 mpg.

1. Installed new air filter. That was good for a few mpg right off the bat.
2. cleaned MAF sensor. Didn't really notice anything there.
3. Increased tire pressure. I'm running @ 34 psi cold. That was good for another mile or two.
4. Reset EMC. Mileage is definitely up since the reset. But not nearly what I originally reported.
5. Warmer weather. Can't discount that. Add another mile here.
6. Utilizing hypermiling techniques including coasting to stops and down hills in neutral. You don't have to be a fanatical gas miser to do this. It's now a habit taking almost no thought or effort. And it's good for another mpg.
7. Wash and wax. Add another 0.01 mpg.

Next step is to try out a full tank of brand name, high octane gas. Very curious about that one.

 

I like this

 

My mpg has dropped a bit since I'm running the AC in the Florida heat. I'm getting about 28.5 mpg average still using 87 octane.

 

I would be glad to be getting 28, so far not better than 24..mostly 22