ASOG Forums

Hi, My name is Chris and I'm new to the forum.  I live in Shelby Township, MI and go to school at the University of NW Ohio in Lima.  I'm in their auto/hi-po motorsports program.  I come home on weekends, and it's about a 180 mile drive mostly highway.  Right now I drive a 99 Buick Regal (Love the car) and get about 26-27 MPG @ about 70 MPH.  I think thats pretty decent for a fullsize, but something that gets better mileage would suit me better right now.  I'm not a Mpoar guy (Bowtie), but I like the looks of the older Avenger, and the I4 with a 5 speed seems like it should be able to get better mileage than my Buick and be alot sportier.

I've got a few questions about these cars.  What kind of mileage should I expect to get from a 5 speed I4 Avenger in good running order?  Other than what you'd look for in any used car, what specifically should I keep my eye open for?  What are common issues with these cars?  I'm sure I'll have more questions for you guys but I gotta start somewhere.  Thanks in advance.

The Buick, is it supercharged?

Any Avenger I4 5spd (A578 transmission btw) that is near 145K miles should have or should be very near a clutch replacement.

Mileage...... will probably be about the same
Handling.... MUCH better. Buicks are more luxury and are "floaty". they drive like boats at times. If i'm not mistaken the Avenger/2dr Sebring has Maserati origins on the chassis design.

Taken From AUTOTRADER.COM

Recall Number 1

Manufacturer Recall Information

NHTSA Recall Number:     00V421002

Manufacturer Recall Number:     967

Component Affected:     SUSPENSION:INDEPENDENT FRONT CONTROL ARM:LOWER:BALL JOINT

Number of Vehicles Affected:     393796

Manufactured From:     Jul 01, 1994

Manufactured To:     Feb 28, 2000

Defect:     VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. IF THE RUBBER BOOTS ON THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION WERE DAMAGED DURING ASSEMBLY, DIRT AND WATER CAN INTRUDE. ALSO, MMC HAS ADDED THE POTENTIAL OF LEAKING MOISTURE, WHICH CAN CAUSE THE BALL STUD TO CORRODE.

Consequences:     THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT TO SEPARATE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. THIS CAMPAIGN SUPERCEDES MMC'S PREVIOUS SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN, SEE 99V-066.

Corrective Action:     DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT FOR WEAR. BALL JOINTS THAT EXHIBIT WEAR BEYOND THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEWLY DESIGNED LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS. BALL JOINTS THAT ARE WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED TOLERANCE WILL BE CLEANED AND A SPECIAL SEALANT WILL BE APPLIED TO PREVENT INTRUSION OF MOISTURE.

Recall Number 2

NHTSA Recall Number:      99V066003

Manufacturer Recall Number:     827

Component Affected:     SUSPENSION:INDEPENDENT FRONT CONTROL ARM:LOWER:BALL JOINT

Number of Vehicles Affected:     165857

Manufactured From:     Jun 16, 1994

Manufactured To:     Jun 30, 1996

Defect:     VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. IF THE RUBBER BOOTS ON THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINTS OF THE FRONT SUSPENSION WERE DAMAGED DURING ASSEMBLY, DIRT AND WATER CAN INTRUDE.

Consequences:     THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE THE LOWER LATERAL ARM BALL JOINT TO SEPARATE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

Corrective Action:     DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE RUBBER BOOTS, AND IF THE BOOT IS DAMAGED, THEY WILL REPLACE THE LOWER LATERAL ARM AND BALL JOINT ON THE AFFECTED VEHICLES.

I hope this helps you. Lets put it this way, I owned a 99 Avenger ES V6 (auto [A604] by default). With a cold air intake (CAI) on it, Fully synthetic oil (Mobil 1 5w 30), I was getting 24-27 MPG average. on the interstate (from Calhoun to Savannah- 9 hour drive) i got the 27.
I currently own a 97 Avenger ES I4 5spd and once I get the speed sensor replaced (going on 4 months now lol) I'll be able to measure my MPG.

No, not supercharged  :'(  I don't think going from that to a 4 cylinder anything would be a wise idea.  My Regal is no slouch in the torque department, it'll spin the tires from a dig all day long, but I've ridden in a few modded supercharged 3800 cars and they've got enough torque to turn the world over.  Should 30+ MPG be expected from an I4 5 speed Avenger assuming average speed was about 70-75 MPH?

I dont have one, but unfortunately, that wont happen. my old sebring got me 32-34 mpg after some modification. it was the v6.

I don't know why, but i should be doing about 3k rpms around 80 and i don't think i am (that would put me in the same RPM range as the V6). i think i'm doing like 3700-4000 for 80 (got a ticket for 73mph and i was doing 3500ish rpm). my speed sensor is broke. Now, when I had my 99 (V6) I got the SAME gas mileage at 100 that i got at 60. Everything in between (mph) was less (mpg).

Since Nykon has an Eclipse, the only difference is probably the premium factor (Eclipses are set to run on it).

Hey Nykon, I bet that's why they accelerate better. The premium factor.

yes you can get ~33-34MPG on highway easy, unless u r constantly "brake then floor it"

and also add to those Recalls, they will reporgram the computer and remove a small part from exhaust assembly for emissions and put a cap at the end.  Dealership will do it all for free.

Ummm also when you look around cars, if it has close OR over 100k miles, find out if water pump and timing belt were replaced.  Its is HIGHLY recommended to replace both of them around 100k... or they can just fail on you at some point (happened to me).

And a leaking head gasket will be the most common problem with our engines.  Its not a huge problem, but it will leave some stains where you daily park and you will have to add some fresh oil from time to time.

That is the main thing i would look at on the I4 models, mine went at about 100k. But seeing that you are an auto student you should have no problem replacing that if need be. Also like what was mentioned is the ball joint recall, that will be replaced for free from the dealership if it has not been done yet. As for anything else to look for nothining really comes to mind its a pretty solid plateform maybe the dreaded paint cancer(bad clear coat causeing paint to fade)


good luck on whatever you go with

Thanks for all the info guys.  I'm still not quite sre what I'm going to do, but I definetly have something to think about.

o btw, that was going 65 mph. my current avenger is terrible on mileage...so far i've been getting 25 on the highway...NOT COOL MAN! ill have to bring it to the dealership so they can do all the work that needs done..since its under warranty..that's gonna be good.

The first day I got my avenger I drove straight through from Kansas City to  home.Completly stock,I-4 5-speed driving 80-85 and averaged 32mpg.I've made the trip since with larger tires,CAI,header,bosal catback and lowered 3inches.My average dropped to 29mpg.I did stop twice on they way down and back on the second trip.

hmmm think high exhaust flow cut down those 3mpg?  cause my venger (CAI and 17" 215s so far ) gets about 32mpg too

well, you have to remember how the clutch and accelerator are adjusted. the closer to the floor = the faster you go.  ;D

i wish i got 32 mpg.  :'(

I'm guessing it's the two stops I made on the second trip.Could have had something to do with the temps outside also.I think It was cooler temps on the first trip,oh I forgot I did have two passengers on the second trip.That's an extra 300#'s.

thats true, well when i went to Florida from Virginia with my brother, we did few stops for food/piss/drinks/gas

and i remember we made about 460miles on tank (14gal).... going between 70 to 90mph

that's pretty damn good...so far...i cringe after 330 miles on a 15.9 gallon tank. im working on that tho.

on your avenger? that sounds like it's too big.

yeah factory spec. says 16gal but i never got past 14gal

and when i did get to 14gal i was like freaking out cause i knew i had like no gas and barelly made it to a gas station hahaha


...and JBI... 330miles on "16gal" tank thats HORRIBLE~!@!@$#$!~~

in city on my 14gal i get like 380miles... but again i baby my car, never go past 3000rpm unless i need to and even then, dont go past 4000rpm  :-[

5000 is my friend on the highway at times.  ;D

o trust me it does hold 15.9(says so in the manual). i've milked it before, so i know. n yeah, 23 miles per gallon...HIGHWAY...somethings really wrong..but i can live with it for now. i figure since its a cali car..it has those issues with the effing cats. and whatever else cali spec cars have...so yeah....it seems like its helping to the cali govt. but it really isnt. if i could go more miles on less gas...of course thats less emissions..but then again..extra cats reduce this...i just think they even each other out.

430 is the best mileage I've gotten on a tank and that wasn't too long ago.  It was all in one day, I filled up and when I got back I put in just over 15 gallons.  I was pushing it, but I wanted to see how much mileage I could get on one tank without stalling!

thats so odd... i never got past 14.2 gallons (the gas gauge needle dropped beyond the E mark) and damn light was on for ever on of my beach trips... when i finally got a gas station i topped it off on about 14.3 or 14.2 something like that. 

wtf lol i am missing more than 1 gallon of space!!

got a fuel tank kit?? :D

haha yes, it consist of 7,  of those red 2gallon gas tanks for garage purposes
takes out my whole trunk...


jk  :P

lol, gotcha ;)

25MPG in a 4 cylinder Avenger?? What are you doing to that thing?? I get 32MPG driving 80-90 on the highway. The best I have gotten so far is 36.6 on a trip down US81/US77 going from West Virginia to North Carolina. I have pushed my Venge to 480 miles on one tank before. I wanted to see if I could make 500 but I was pushing it with the low fuel light on for the last 30 miles.

Even around town I get 28MPG.  One trip from just south of Virginia Beach to just north of the Tampa area we made it in 10 hours averaging 74MPH [with 3 stops] hitting speeds just over 100 a few times. I still got 31MPG.

I'm not sure but i think i there my be something wrong with my MTX. i'm trying to figure out if there were two versions of the A578 that will bolt up with only a gear ratio being the difference. if that is so, then it would explain why it feels like i'm doing 75 around 4000 rpms.

PM Nykon on that.

BTW, that was the question. given Alains [true, no lie] EXTENSIVE experience with the past 20 years of DSM, i may go knocking on his mailbox.

Alain, if you read this before i send it, i hope you will know the answer. lol.

i only get about 25 mpg on the highway i have a i4 5 speed with exhaust and intake i don't baby it though thats why i figured it wasn't the greatest

I used to get about 22 mpg city and 29 highway in my V6 Sebring. You just have "lead foot" syndrome  ;D.

EDIT: I guess you did say that you don't baby the car...I should read more carefully before posting.