"Well, when you're posting stuff like "1st trip to the Idiot Dealership", what kind of response are you expecting"

Not what you are throwing out here, thats for sure. Hey no biggie, I can choose to pass over the smart assed remarks and everyone is entitled to their opinions. Ok, for the record and because I can;

The car DOES reach operating temp soon after leaving the house.
The car DOES NOT experience more idling than waiting for the normal stop light to turn green.
Having a reflash ELIMINATES that aspect as to what might be wrong.
My take and THOUSANDS of others do not think K&N filters are crap.
I have other friends with 2.4 autos that live in the same town that drive the hell out of theirs and get 23 around town, that is why all this started.

Thanks to all that have offered to give some constructive comments.

 

Hey Don,

Let me throw my 2 cents althoug hit may cost more than that - What if you were to talk a dealer into doing an emissions check with a tail pipe sniffer? This would give an idea if the car is really running rich (high HC levels)

Sorry, I can only imagine the level of frustration you must be feeling right now.

Regards, I'm off to bed , got a road trip tomorrow morning.

 

Hey D, thats not a bad idea man. Im in the process of calling around to the local dealers to get someone to play ball and really look into this. Thanks and have a good time bro.

 

Any update to the black pipe/mileage issues?

 

FWIW, you could pull the spark plugs and see if they are carboned up.

BTW, I live 5 miles from work, most of my trips are under 10 miles, and I get 22-23mpg with a 2.2

 

Black pipe is more than likely caused by the Lucas fuel treatment ive been using. Ive since stopped and will clean the pipe really good to see if it's still doing it.

Our cars torque convertor locks up just after 40 MPH and thats where the killer mileage come in as the rpm's drop way down. My daily driving gets me rarely above 35mph. When I go on the freeway, Ive reset the DIC and I get 29mpg so I know it's not broke. I wish there was a way to get the convertor locked up quicker. Ive been getting 17-18 around town lately.

Thanks for asking

Another thought is my car was built in Sept. That's when mexico parties. There are a few little things that arent right, I suspect thats the cause.

 

With HP Tuners, the T42 TCM can be fined tuned regarding part throttle shift points and TCC lockup. I've done a few with great results.

Unfortunately GM went to the E37 ECM on the LE5 2.4 for '08 and that's not supported at this time. Should be soon, though.

 

I don't use Lucas or any other fuel treatment and my tailpipe is also black an sooty...but I am getting 33 mpg.......

What did you use to clean the black soot from the tail pipe?


Goose