21.9 MPG

196.2 mi, 8.965 gal @ $4.699 = 21.9 MPG

163,138 total miles. Mobil on LG Blvd.

Added brake fluid.

163,030 total miles.

Added 12oz Prestone DOT 3 synthetic brake fluid from a fresh bottle. This time I just poured in the whole thing since it's just going to leak out eventually. $5.24 at O'Reilly.

29.3 MPG

244.0 mi, 8.332 gal @ $4.749 = 29.3 MPG

162,941 total miles. Valero on Meridian.

28.8 MPG

258.3 mi, 8.954 gal @ $4.499 = 28.8 MPG

162,697 total miles. Mobil on LG Blvd. 

23.4 MPG

197.0 mi, 8.434 gal @ $4.699 = 23.4 MPG

162,439 total miles. Chevron on Hamilton.

22.5 MPG

267.1 mi, 11.864 gal @ $4.359 = 22.5 MPG

162,242 total miles. Rotten Robbie on Hamilton.

I'm sure something is wrong here. 22.5 MPG is about 20% lower than typical. The mileage checks out, so I'm guessing the pump did not actually provide as much gas as it claims. That was my first time at the Rotten Robbie station, and I really had meant to go to the Chevron across the street.

27.6 MPG

304.9 mi, 11.063 gal @ $4.399 = 27.6 MPG

161,975 total miles. Mobil on Los Gatos Blvd.

30.4 MPG

369.9 mi, 12.166 gal @ $4.459 = 30.4 MPG

161,670 total miles. Chevron on Sievers Road in Dixon.

New Tires.

 161,323 miles.

America's Tire on Hamilton at Bascom.

I previously had the Michelin Latitude Tour tires, which served us very well. They were rated for 65k miles, but I got 75k out of them (installed at 85,822 miles, 8 years ago). I would have gone Michelin again this time, except that I am not driving as much as I did previously and am probably averaging only 5k miles per year, instead of 10k. 

So this time I went with a less expensive tire, the Phantom A/P 235/70 R16 for $108/ea (compared to $183/ea for Michelin). I also got the add-on certificates to cover the tires if anything should go wrong with them. Total out the door was $618.21. America's Tire has always treated us well over the years, and has plugged tires on three of our vehicles for no charge, even when the tires were not purchased from them.

So far the tires look great and have performed as expected. We averaged 30 MPG on the first road trip with the new tires (up to Tahoe and back). I didn't notice any difference in the ride and handling compared to the previous tires. 

28.4 MPG

375.4 mi, 13.221 gal @ $4.299 = 28.4 MPG

161,300 total miles. Mobil on Los Gatos Blvd.

30.7 MPG

324.9 mi, 10.581 gal @ $3.959 = 30.7 MPG

160,924 total miles. Flying J on Frazier Mountain Road.

34.3 MPG

454.6 mi, 13.236 gal @ $4.399 = 34.3 MPG

160,600 total miles. Circle K on Clairemont Mesa Dr.

30.7 MPG

345.1 mi, 11.238 gal @ $4.049 = 30.7 MPG

160,145 total miles. Flying J on Frazier Mountain Road.

27.9 MPG

341.7 mi, 12.252 gal @ $4.199 = 27.9 MPG 

159,800 total miles. Arco/AMPM on Winchester at Campbell.

26.7 MPG

 250.4 mi, 9.362 gal @ $4.099 = 26.7 MPG

159,458 total miles. Ouch, what happened here! Terrible MPG. Not sure the reason. 

27.7 MPG

357.0 mi, 12.892 gal @ $4.259 = 27.7 MPG

159,208 total miles. As expected, this MPG is lower than average, because the previous fill-up was not complete. Chevron on Hamilton at N Central Street. 

32.3 MPG

371.0 mi, 11.480 gal @ $4.159 = 32.3 MPG

158,851 total miles.

My wife did this fill up and I don't think she topped off like I usually do after the pump clicked off. I always try it once more after it clicks off. So this MPG seems high to me and the next one will probably be low. Chevron on Bascom at Hamilton.

Added brake fluid.

158,708 total miles.

Added 11oz Prestone AS400 DOT 3 Synthetic Brake Fluid, $2.70 at Amazon. 

It's been about 9 months since the last low brake fluid alert. I accidentally "over filled" the reserve tank but there is an overflow hose if it causes any issues. Next time I will probably just dump the whole bottle in and not worry about exceeding the MAX level. At this point I believe there is a crack somewhere in the plastic brake fluid reservoir, but replacing that is certainly going to cost more than adding a $3 bottle of fluid once a year.

28.4 MPG

372.3 mi, 13.104 gal @ $3.959 = 28.4 MPG

158,480 total miles. 76 on Leigh at SouthWest Expressway.

Oil change.

158,192 miles. Capitol Expressway Ford in San Jose.

Oddly this was only about 4k miles since the last oil change, around one year ago. Since covid hit we just aren't driving that much.

I still haven't replaced the tires (now eight years and 73k miles on the Michelin Latitude Tour tires P235/70R16, rated for 65k miles!), so I again skipped the tire rotation and just did the oil change. They noted the tires need replacement (1-2/32" of tread) and quoted $1371.16 for replacement.

Total cost for the oil and filter change was $91.44! Yikes! And that was after a coupon for $10 off. Looks like I might start doing my own oil changes. I have been going to Capitol Ford for years because they rotate the tires and change the oil, which I want done together. But I may buy the next set of tires at America's Tire and could easily go to them for rotations.

29.5 MPG

358.9 mi, 12.185 gal @ $3.659 = 29.5 MPG

158,108 total miles. 76 on Leigh at SouthWest Expressway.

30.6 MPG

383.7 mi, 12.543 gal @ $3.299 = 30.6 MPG

157,749 total miles. Mobil on Los Gatos Blvd.