I've been reading up on what people are getting for gas mileage. Well mine's pretty bad. My '79 300D gets about 19-21 mpg. I drive mostly in town and often have the AC on. I live in So Cal. Here's the kicker. The car starts great, puts out very little smoke even when cold, runs smooth, I use the 85+ (helps power/smoothness), fuel filters were replaced within the year, valves adjusted about 6K ago, but it just doesn't get good mileage. The injectors are way overdue for swapping out. I just don't have the dough to do it. However, I was figuring that if she's not smokin, and starts/run well, the injectors would have to be in fairly good shape. Anyway, I'm at a loss as to where to trouble shoot this and replacing things until the problem goes away can be quite pricey as I'm sure you all know. Any ideas?

Frank.

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'82 300SD

Hmmmmm, not many ideas out there. Well, I'm leaving Sunday for Northen California (Arcata)from where I live in north San Diego Co. and will have about 1600 miles to see what effect freeway driving has on my mileage. Maybe I just spend too much time idling in traffic.

Frank.

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'82 300SD

Idling a lot can really kill your mileage. Mine just came out of the shop where they checked it for overheating, leaving it run for 45 minutes. My mileage for this tank was about 16 mpg. Usually I was getting 19-20 in town and 25-26 on the highway. Never got much over 26 mpg, but my tranny is in need of a rebuild, and I do need a new timing chain soon. It was measured at 3 degrees of stretch about a year ago. I guess all this stuff adds up to rob me of fuel economy, but I can get diesel in New Jersey for $1.339 so I have to ask myself whether it's worth big $$ for a few mpg. Hope this helps,

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

Greetings,

This fuel mileage thing has been mentioned this week already on a post, please read our responses and look into you particular situation to see where it fits in. Routine maintenance is the key as well as all the adjustment intervals. This isn't an American car that can just be neglected until it dies. These older Benzes need constant attention to almost everything, so hit your search button after reading this weeks posts on fuel mileage.

Charles