2004 AWD gas crisis - what's wrong?

[jaydog17]

My Aerio has 62,000kms on it and its getting about 13mpg. It seems to be a bit noisy, but then again its AWD and its a suzuki, which from what I hear are kind of noisy.

I took it to the dealer and they "think" they found a problem with the alternator and the power steering pump. That doesn't make sense to me, how those two items could cause such poor mileage.

The car was driven in to a puddle and stalled - they may have caused it - but as far as fixing goes, I'm lost.

Could such poor mileage be caused by alternators and power steering pumps? Feels to me like something more in the drivetrain - I think there is some drag, but it could be my imagination as I am utterly dissatisfied. Could it be the AWD? Any ideas? Help!

Thanks