I recently got a 2001 Saab 9-5 and the Saab information display says I'm getting 18-19 Miles per gallon, how can I fix this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Start with the basics - air filter, tire pressure, spark plugs, etc. Don't expect it to drastically go up, the older a car get the more it's mpg's go down. For instance the catalytic converter becomes clogged over time and that affects fuel efficiency quite a bit. Check you alignment since that has a huge effect on efficiency. If this is city driving don't expect a huge jump though.

 

I just got a new air filter and I am going to put it on later tonight, brand new spark plugs, tire pressure is solid. I am not sure about Catalytic converter or alignment, can I easily check both of these someway? I read another forum and a guy said that he was getting 25-35 MPG on his Saab 2001 9-5.

 

To check the catalytic converter you can rent a backpressure gauge from genuinesaab.com . The alignment needs to be checked with a place like Firestone or NTB. You need to find out which place in your area does good alignments since a lot depends on the operator of the machine. Other things that can adversely affect fuel mileage is bad compression (loan a compression tester from Autozone or Advance Auto Parts) and wheel bearings. You would hear humming noise from the wheels if the bearings were bad though. Also make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks. Actually while you're at it just change all the vacuum hoses. It's a 15 minute job.

 

I will get the alignment and catalytic checked out. I googled how to change the vacuum hoses and I didn't find anything, would it be in the manual, or do I just change all the hoses that look like this http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/PartDetail.aspx?id=VCH ?
also I am going to change the front passenger side wheel Axel, just so you know.
Thank you so much for all your help, I suck with cars, but I am really learning alot about my Saab