start filling your car up with gasoline and not air :lol:

I almost missed this part. Ecotec's don't have a MAF sensor or an EGR valve. Very strange. Just an FYI.

okay then what is that temp sensor called that goes on the intake tubing from the airbox to the engine?

IAT sensor...Intake Air Temperature sensor

ahhh interesting.

so then anyway to tell if may this sensor would be bad at all? I assume if i messure the resistance of the accuall sensor inside the intake tubing what kinda resistance should it read? any ideas?

Well just for kicks, I take mine out and clean it with a q-tip everytime I check my air filter. I have never really seen any improvements from doing this, but it does get dirty. And dirt would cause it not to read correctly. From I understand, they are pretty cheap. GM P/N # 12160244 So I don't think it would hurt to pick up a new one.

Has anyone with the ecotec noticed a big decrease in MPG when the car is due (or overdue) for an oil change? I have found that when my car is fresh off of an oil change, the highway mileage is up around 35-40, while when the car is about 3,000-3,500 miles into a batch of oil, the efficiency drops down to 30 in the same driving conditions. Just seems strange to me.

so i take it my 01 3400 has a 12 gallon tank? sounds about right, i can always fit around 10-11 gallons in there

tank is 14.1 Gallons, but it is hard to ever get it completely empty.
In litres (our measurement) it works out to 53 Litres. Most I ever put in it is 46L...and I thought for sure I was not going to make it to the gas station.

Up here in the "mile high city" Denver,CO, USA my 2003 Ecotec averages 30 MPG at about 90% highway-I drive 25 miles to work and 25 back home every week day. I've had it alittle over a year and has seen from 28 to 34 MPG. When its cold out it naturally looses almost 2 MPG. This is due to the "oxygenated fuel" and longer warm-up times.

I haven't seen anywhere close to 30 MPG yet, city OR hwy :( I'd think a 2.2-4 would get better mileage..the cars don't weigh that much. For those who are getting high 30's-40 MPG...whats the secret? are you using 87, 89 gas? mods? how many miles on the car? Help a brotha out! :cry:

How many miles do you have? I have heard that some Ecotec's can have bad O2 senors around the 50k mark. That would cause a big drop in MPG's.

I just had my O2 sensor fail on my car, caused the engine light to come on (who knows for how long it was bad :( ). My mileage has greatly improved since. I don't have the Ecotec tho, mine's just the 2.4L 5 speed.

Alright, thanks, that helps! I'l check the o2 sensor. The car has around 44,300 miles. Where can i can a new o2? Dealer? Universal one? How much?

The dealership put mine in, the part was about $200 CAD, labor was almost the same :(

GAH :eek:

I'll be staying away from that one for a while... :hide:

im getting bad milage, i used to get 250miles on a tank then i went down to about 170miles. I used some fuel injector cleaner and fuel system cleaner and now im at 170miles and still have 1/4 left. should be the best milage this year. mind you i do all city stop and go. My best highway was 300miles. doing 55mph i found was best, keeping the rpm's below 2k.

I'm not paying anyone $400 (200 prts/ 200 labor) to put in a sensor. Can't I get a universal sensor or find an factory one for cheap? I'll put in in myself.

Crolero: I'm trying some fuel system cleaner too. If that helps, maybe you/we should get the injectors cleaned. Have you changed your plugs? 170 miles to a tank is crazy! :wacko: ...you might as well be driving a Viper :grin:

i just realized that i wrote this in the 2.2l thread, ive got the 3400. :lol: im such a noob.

Well I do only have like 21,000 km's on my alero so I don't think I will have any O2 sensor problems.

as for how i get this kind of mileage, All I have is a drop in K&N and I took of that snorkle thinger.

And as for the question earlier if getting close to an oil change drops my mileage. For me it definately does, and I notice a bit of a loss in power. Rite now I'm almost due for an oil change and my mileage is getting kinda poopy.