Hi all
I bought a new 2013 Fit Sport w/automatic transmission last year. And I've noticed two things about it that are problematic and I wanted to run it by people here.

Quick background: I'm in Canada in a city with humid summers and brutally cold winters. I've got 12,000 km (~7500 miles) on the car over the course of this year. I use it mostly for city driving but with my route to work I never hit traffic so it's rarely ever idling.

Now for the problems:

1) In the year I've owned it, I've had to change the oil TWICE because the oil life was so low and am currently at 40% oil life, getting ready for a third oil change (just went in late February). I know it's good to change your oil ideally twice a year but I also only have 7,500miles on the car.

2) The fuel efficiency SUCKS. In winter I get under 300km (186 miles) from full to warning light (35L/9.2gallons), in summer I'm lucky if I manage to hit past 245 miles from full to warning light. The most I ever got on a full tank was during a long roadtrip, entirely highway driving, 326 miles.

I'm not an aggressive driver, and I actually get teased by friends for properly driving speed limits. I've spent a little time checking out other people's mileage and mine just seems ridiculous. One of the reasons I bought this car was FOR the fuel economy. Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I love the car but I just can't afford a vehicle that consumes almost as much fuel as a Jeep

 

1. it is not necessary to change the oil twice in a year. the recommendation actually is to change it when the Maintenance Minder says 15% or one year whichever one comes first. My first oil change was not until around 7000 miles or so and has been ranging from 5k-8k miles per oil change.

2. winter regardless mpg sucks overall. my average tank during winter is around 29-32 mpg. now its rising with 40-41 mpg with a road trip to Niagara Falls a couple of weeks ago.

Great gas mileage is not a "giveaway" for the FIT unfortunately. You have to change your driving behavior. I know you said you follow the speed limit, but that is only part of the equation. Learn to coast to stop, neutral to stop, coasting/neutral on exit ramps. minimize using your gas pedal and your brakes. it's all driving style.

i'd recommend picking up an Ultragauge or Scangauge. Its MPG meter is much better than the OEM and you will learn how to drive more efficiently.

 

Seems odd about the gas mileage.. I'm stuck in daily toronto traffic idling a lot.. And get 480km or more before the light comes on.. 50/50 city/hwy..

When I drove to sandbanks provincial park I was getting 5.7l/100 Kms with three of us in the car.. All hwy/country roads with no traffic

One thing compared to my integra which got good mileage no matter how I drove, was you really do need to coast a lot more to get the mileage.. Like this week I've been averaging 7.8 to 8 l/100km but driving more aggressive.. No coasting.. Keeping up with traffic

How much are the scangauge ryu?

 

The cold will sap your mileage and short trips like you do, in that cold weather, will send your oil life spiraling. Then there's the automatic transmission...

15 mpg is scary, but unless it's running badly otherwise I'd have to look at conditions and usage.

 

Cold weather plus lower quality winter gas and short trips kill fuel economy. When I was commuting 25 miles each way to work with only a few small 25mph towns (and maybe 1 stoplight), I was getting about 39mpg. Now that my commute to work is about 4 miles, I've dropped to about 33mpg and that again, is with no stops. When I get out on a trip for work, I'm back up into the mid-high 30's but you have to be light on the throttle. I do not recommend coasting in neutral as you don't have full control over the car plus on steeper hills, leaving it in gear actually nets you better economy as the injectors are completely shut down. (in neutral, they have to be spraying to keep the car idling.)

Out of curiosity, are you going by the meter on the car or are you calculating your economy? Always calculate (get an app for your phone if you have an Android or iPhone) Maybe toss a tank of premium in. Check your air filter to make sure you don't have any rodents setting up shop. Like others have said, this car is VERY subjective to driving style. Little things in other cars that would only impact 1-2mpg (like the Air Conditioner being on, or driving above 65mph) have a much greater impact on the FIT.

As for the oil changes, like was said before, go by the car's maintenance minder which is 15% or 1 year. (I'm now doing it on the 1 year cycle as I'm usually around 20% at the 1 year mark). Two things I noticed in your post are that you are getting low fuel economy and the FIT is telling you to change your oil more often than is the norm on these forums. Those two things go together and most often for city drivers who get on the gas a bit harder when a light turns. It doesn't have to be speed that causes these issues but quicker acceleration followed by regular braking (or those that drive two footed - left foot on brake, right foot on gas) will leave you spending more at the pump.

Where do you have the oil service performed? If it is at a Jiffy lube or other place like that, be wary of the weight of oil being put in. Make sure 0w20 is being used. maybe try a round of Mobil1 Synthetic. Here in the state's it's about $7-10 more per oil change but it's added protection.

Lastly, check your driving style. If you can drive with a very light foot (mild accelerations and give yourself a little distance/planning ahead for stoplights where you can just lift off the gas to slow yourself down), you might see some decent gains.

It could be an issue with the car, or it could be a driving style thing. Good luck and let us know what happens.

~SB

 

Wow thanks for the great replies everyone. I'm going to reply in order.

@ryu Yup winter sucks and I've been told by friends to expect at least a 100km difference between winter and summer driving.
I actually coast a great deal; a lot of my commute involves a steep hill which means I often get at least 500m where I'm not hitting the gas pedal. However it means an 100m climb on the return trip as well, and my Fit resents any kind of incline.

@pteg I think the difference is that you have 50% highway driving. My route to work is mostly suburban, I'd say on a tank of gas I do 80-85% city. But that roadtrip I took that was entirely highway driving mystifies me. It was flat driving the entire way.

@FitCharlie The car was brand new when I bought it. I use it mostly for commuting to work (I have two jobs) and running errands, and the occasional roadtrip with friends. Typically though I am the only thing in the car. Does that help?

@specboy Thanks for all the great info! I don't give much credence to the meter or the averaging but I do keep a record of the odometer every time I fill up and every time it drops to warning light. I also save the gas receipts so I know exactly how much I've filled up. From there I do the math and it isn't great. I know that the 7.1l/100km average they promised are likely the best average test drivers ever got in perfect conditions but I feel like getting 9l/100km is pushing it.

Air filter is a great idea; I haven't changed it yet and I'm sure I'm due for a switch.

Maintenance minder usually hits 25% 6 months in. I do go to a fast lube place so that I can have a record that they've done the work but you're right, I should be making sure they're putting in the right kind of oil. I do always get synthetic but I've never asked them about the viscosity.

I drive with a light foot and after paying attention to my style over the last couple days I do actually coast quite a bit even on flat stretches. But I live in a very aggressive-driver city and I do try to get to speed quickly after a red light and on the onramp. Which I know is a big undertaking for the tiny engine.

One thing I did want to ask, why does my meter ramp up to 20L/100km (max) when I release the brake, and before I've hit the gas? I've been trying to figure that out and all I can figure is the gas required to engage the brakes is as much required to disengage? But that doesn't make sense.

Thanks!!

 

Yeah I've noticed that too... the 20l/100km Canadian spot on the meter would be the 30+ mpg spot on American fits..

It's like when idling the meter on Canadian fits is at 0l/100km.. But no way idling is wasting no gas hahah but it makes sense on American fits it would be saying 0mpg at idle.. Because if you let your car idle forever you would run out of gas and actually get 0mpg..

9l/100km seems off.. Even driving In a rush in the morning where I leave the fit in d3 for on ramps Revving at 4-5k and drive aggressive worst I've seen is 8.2... Then again Ottawa when I used to go up there is always way to cold in winter haha

 

Also a BIG thing to add is bring tires to 35-36psi. The difference in mpg is amazing. My mpg went from 29-30mpg all hwy to 34-35psi all hwy.