never breaking 18 mpg in my 08 Fit! - very depressed and at wits end

[bilbofett]

In almost a year I have never, ever, ever broken past 18 mpg or gone over about 200 on a full tank on the odometer!

I'll give you the full story so someone can maybe identify something I haven't thought of yet. Please read and offer any advice/tips/help you can. Thanks!

Bought my 08' Automatic Fit Sport in August of 2008.
It only registered 30 test-driven miles on it, being brand new.
The dealership was a good hour from my house, and they filled up the tank all the way, and I drove it all the way home on the freeway, averaging between 55-70 the whole way.
Even then I wasn't that excited about the gas mileage.
The next day, I was almost broadsided by some jerk who was going about 150 and going into my lane. I had no choice but to slam on the breaks and swerve left and right really fast so I wouldn't hit the car next to me, avoiding him.
That incident balded my tires a bit, and I think my car eventually got out of alignment from that.

I was a little suspicious of the dealership because they were selling another color of the new '08 Fit and it had custom tinting on all the windows... the Fits don't come that way.. so what gives, were they selling a returned one and saying it was new?

Ok... thats the sum total of the negative forces (that I'm aware of) that have impacted my car.
I've only done 1 oil change, and theres less than 6,000 miles on it now, almost a year later. I've only EVER put in Mobil or Chevron, and never used the cheapo gasses. On this recent oil change, I put in a synthetic Mobil1 oil filter. I changed the air filter and cabin filter, even though it was way under the time needed, obviously.

I took it to another dealership and told them my story and had their service department check it over. They (said) they checked it top to bottom; no faults or codes on the computers, the breaks aren't sticking (thereby causing extra friction which I was suspicious of). They offered to have one of their technicians drive it an hour away and back and check the mileage but I told him I've done that over and over and over. They said they didn't know what to tell me. They offered stories of salespeople who own the Honda Pilot and they were very displeased with the mileage until after about 15,000 miles the gas mileage suddenly went up, apparently after the engine was broken in.

Eh.

I don't drag race it, I don't drive it like its a sports car, and even when I've done entire tanks driving like a very cautious old lady, the mileage is pretty much the same. Whether I drive 90% freeway or 90% city, the mileage is the same. Whether I have lots of passengers or just myself, the mileage is the same.

When the dealership says they can't find anything wrong with it.. .what am I supposed to do?

I'm a young single guy and I could've bought a Mustang for this kind of mileage. I tried to be wise and sensible and I wanted to save more money on gas in the longrun than look cool and impress people. I test drove the Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Fit. I had to go with the Fit because of the safety rating, the cheaper auto insurance, and the overall features and kudos/awards from all the car magazines.

I know, this was a very long story and I'm sorry for that but I wanted to give you the full details so y'all wouldn't have to ask for them later.

My parents drive a 6-cylinder GMC Jimmy SUV thats from 2001 and it gets... 18-20 mpg... the same as my damn Fit!!

I saw a guy today driving the 2009 Fit Sport and I asked him what kind of mileage he is getting and he looked on his dash and said it was reading 33, and he said thats about right.

That's when I decided enough is enough.

The fact that it needs an alignment and the tires are slightly balded a little can't possibly kill the mileage by 10 mpg or more??? I've checked and re-checked everything over and over. The air pressure in my tires is correct. Like I said, I've never used cheap gas. Its only had 1 oil change. All the filters are brand new in it since I changed them a few weeks ago. I run the AC alot but so do others who live around here, including that guy who gets 33 mpg average.


I need some advice/help on who to contact.. Honda corporate? I have absolutely no idea who I would call or email there.... maybe contact a consumer advocate to put on the heat? the dealership I bought the car from?? I want to start getting the 27/33 mileage this car is rated for, or I want a different car.

I'm sick of this. I'm tired of throwing my money away. Maybe I should've bought a Prius like I was thinking. I know, I know... you end up paying about 7,000 more in the long run. But I could *REALLY* use that immediate gas savings in my wallet right here and now!

Someone, anyone... please help me figure this out... shed some light on this!

P.S. Thanks for listening

[billmus86]

thats quite the novel youve typed there.

[Contrabida Face]

you might have gotten a lemon.

[solbrothers]

its an auto

[Texas Coyote]

Take it out and drive the hell out of it. If you have 5W20 mobile 1 and have driven like you say you have, it probably isn't broken in and you need to put some miles on it at higher revs than you have been. Honda has always been better suited to being driven at higher revs than what you are probably used to seeing in what ever you have driven in the past and the automatic transmission equipped Fits seem to be geared much to high. Try driving in a lower gear and put some miles on the engine..... Put some injector cleaner in it and do what he old time mechanics would tell you to do.... Get out on the highway and blow it out.

[09 Fit]

Take off the emergency brake!

I get about 32 MPG on my meter but it is well documented that the meter is about 4MPG high making it a real 28MPG.

I have 6,000 miles on my automatic 09 and the oil meeter is at 50%.
You may have changed the oil a little early but that should not make any difference.

An alignment (unless sever) might account for 2-3 MPG (as will low tire pressure).

How is your transmission performing? Do you have much rolling resistance (neutral rolling downhill)? How is your acceleration?

You may have gotten some dirty gas that plugged or gummed up your fuel injectors. I add Red Line Fuel System Cleaner to my fuel tank every oil change and it really works! It is hard to find but some Pep Boys carry it.

Aside from that you may have gotten a lemon. Check out your states lemon laws and start issuing complaints with your dealer. You will probably have to be aggressive with them (bring a BIG friend) because they will blow you off if they can.

Best of luck!

[FLFIT239]

all i got to say for you is FYL

[Snoodmaster]

Maybe you need to do the idle learn procedure, Here is a link to a thread that talks about it for the 2007 Fit
http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-y...procedure.html
Good luck!

[polaski]

If your tires are starting to bald out at 6000 miles then yes it's likely far enough out of alignment to cause that big a change in mileage. Years ago on my civic I hit a HUGE pothole in a corner and really bent up the front end. That car's mileage dropped from 38 mpg on the long trip I was making to about 26-28 until I had it fixed. Gosh that sucked, it pulled itself all over the road.

Emergency avoidance doesn't make a car lose its alignment. It takes impact.

[mahout]

Originally Posted by bilbofett

In almost a year I have never, ever, ever broken past 18 mpg or gone over about 200 on a full tank on the odometer!

I'll give you the full story so someone can maybe identify something I haven't thought of yet. Please read and offer any advice/tips/help you can. Thanks!

Bought my 08' Automatic Fit Sport in August of 2008.
It only registered 30 test-driven miles on it, being brand new.
The dealership was a good hour from my house, and they filled up the tank all the way, and I drove it all the way home on the freeway, averaging between 55-70 the whole way.
Even then I wasn't that excited about the gas mileage.
The next day, I was almost broadsided by some jerk who was going about 150 and going into my lane. I had no choice but to slam on the breaks and swerve left and right really fast so I wouldn't hit the car next to me, avoiding him.
That incident balded my tires a bit, and I think my car eventually got out of alignment from that.

I was a little suspicious of the dealership because they were selling another color of the new '08 Fit and it had custom tinting on all the windows... the Fits don't come that way.. so what gives, were they selling a returned one and saying it was new?

Ok... thats the sum total of the negative forces (that I'm aware of) that have impacted my car.
I've only done 1 oil change, and theres less than 6,000 miles on it now, almost a year later. I've only EVER put in Mobil or Chevron, and never used the cheapo gasses. On this recent oil change, I put in a synthetic Mobil1 oil filter. I changed the air filter and cabin filter, even though it was way under the time needed, obviously.

I took it to another dealership and told them my story and had their service department check it over. They (said) they checked it top to bottom; no faults or codes on the computers, the breaks aren't sticking (thereby causing extra friction which I was suspicious of). They offered to have one of their technicians drive it an hour away and back and check the mileage but I told him I've done that over and over and over. They said they didn't know what to tell me. They offered stories of salespeople who own the Honda Pilot and they were very displeased with the mileage until after about 15,000 miles the gas mileage suddenly went up, apparently after the engine was broken in.

Eh.

I don't drag race it, I don't drive it like its a sports car, and even when I've done entire tanks driving like a very cautious old lady, the mileage is pretty much the same. Whether I drive 90% freeway or 90% city, the mileage is the same. Whether I have lots of passengers or just myself, the mileage is the same.

When the dealership says they can't find anything wrong with it.. .what am I supposed to do?

I'm a young single guy and I could've bought a Mustang for this kind of mileage. I tried to be wise and sensible and I wanted to save more money on gas in the longrun than look cool and impress people. I test drove the Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Fit. I had to go with the Fit because of the safety rating, the cheaper auto insurance, and the overall features and kudos/awards from all the car magazines.

I know, this was a very long story and I'm sorry for that but I wanted to give you the full details so y'all wouldn't have to ask for them later.

My parents drive a 6-cylinder GMC Jimmy SUV thats from 2001 and it gets... 18-20 mpg... the same as my damn Fit!!

I saw a guy today driving the 2009 Fit Sport and I asked him what kind of mileage he is getting and he looked on his dash and said it was reading 33, and he said thats about right.

That's when I decided enough is enough.

The fact that it needs an alignment and the tires are slightly balded a little can't possibly kill the mileage by 10 mpg or more??? I've checked and re-checked everything over and over. The air pressure in my tires is correct. Like I said, I've never used cheap gas. Its only had 1 oil change. All the filters are brand new in it since I changed them a few weeks ago. I run the AC alot but so do others who live around here, including that guy who gets 33 mpg average.


I need some advice/help on who to contact.. Honda corporate? I have absolutely no idea who I would call or email there.... maybe contact a consumer advocate to put on the heat? the dealership I bought the car from?? I want to start getting the 27/33 mileage this car is rated for, or I want a different car.

I'm sick of this. I'm tired of throwing my money away. Maybe I should've bought a Prius like I was thinking. I know, I know... you end up paying about 7,000 more in the long run. But I could *REALLY* use that immediate gas savings in my wallet right here and now!

Someone, anyone... please help me figure this out... shed some light on this!

P.S. Thanks for listening

Have you checked the oil level. We found about 3mpg gain from only having 3.5 qt instead of 3,7. If you have a full 4 quarts that may easily cost you 10 mpg or worse. And are you using 20W oil?. Is it tune properly and wheels aligned.
Check with stretched string around all four wheels. The fron wheels should just touch the string at both the forward and rearward sidewalls on each front tire. Do you make lots of short trips, like 1 mile each? Do you see black smoke out the tailpipe? Sure sign of misfiring or injector problem.
Good luck !

[kylerwho]

i would fill it up and lead foot it for that tank and then see what your mileage is after that.

[handymus]

Dude....that was a novel.

Good luck...not sure what to say.

[handymus]

After reading more carefully...

Your tires should not be balding at all. Could it be that your brakes are on? Maybe a warped brake rotor? Something doesn't sound right....

handymus

[fit2bking]

keep a log of your mpg, and take it to the dealer, they will do a fuel consumption test. For me, my mpg didn't improve until 14k miles!
So don't worry, I have 30k miles, and I went from 25 on the hwy to 35mpg. and my city went from 18 to 25! And I am modified with i/h/e etc...

[Fitguy07]

How long is your commute to work?

If you try all the suggestions presented and still can't get you mileage above 30, I would get rid of it.

[grtpumpkin]

Go to Enterprise and rent a Civic. Drive it the same way you drive your Fit for one week. Compare your actual fuel economy to the EPA rating on the Civic. If it is waaaayyy under as it is with the Fit, then the problem is you, not the car. If the FE is exactly what it should be, then follow all above suggestions for getting the dealer to take a closer look at your Fit. Good luck!

[mahout]

Originally Posted by bilbofett

In almost a year I have never, ever, ever broken past 18 mpg or gone over about 200 on a full tank on the odometer!

I'll give you the full story so someone can maybe identify something I haven't thought of yet. Please read and offer any advice/tips/help you can. Thanks!

Bought my 08' Automatic Fit Sport in August of 2008.
It only registered 30 test-driven miles on it, being brand new.
The dealership was a good hour from my house, and they filled up the tank all the way, and I drove it all the way home on the freeway, averaging between 55-70 the whole way.
Even then I wasn't that excited about the gas mileage.
The next day, I was almost broadsided by some jerk who was going about 150 and going into my lane. I had no choice but to slam on the breaks and swerve left and right really fast so I wouldn't hit the car next to me, avoiding him.
That incident balded my tires a bit, and I think my car eventually got out of alignment from that.

I was a little suspicious of the dealership because they were selling another color of the new '08 Fit and it had custom tinting on all the windows... the Fits don't come that way.. so what gives, were they selling a returned one and saying it was new?

Ok... thats the sum total of the negative forces (that I'm aware of) that have impacted my car.
I've only done 1 oil change, and theres less than 6,000 miles on it now, almost a year later. I've only EVER put in Mobil or Chevron, and never used the cheapo gasses. On this recent oil change, I put in a synthetic Mobil1 oil filter. I changed the air filter and cabin filter, even though it was way under the time needed, obviously.

I took it to another dealership and told them my story and had their service department check it over. They (said) they checked it top to bottom; no faults or codes on the computers, the breaks aren't sticking (thereby causing extra friction which I was suspicious of). They offered to have one of their technicians drive it an hour away and back and check the mileage but I told him I've done that over and over and over. They said they didn't know what to tell me. They offered stories of salespeople who own the Honda Pilot and they were very displeased with the mileage until after about 15,000 miles the gas mileage suddenly went up, apparently after the engine was broken in.

Eh.

I don't drag race it, I don't drive it like its a sports car, and even when I've done entire tanks driving like a very cautious old lady, the mileage is pretty much the same. Whether I drive 90% freeway or 90% city, the mileage is the same. Whether I have lots of passengers or just myself, the mileage is the same.

When the dealership says they can't find anything wrong with it.. .what am I supposed to do?

I'm a young single guy and I could've bought a Mustang for this kind of mileage. I tried to be wise and sensible and I wanted to save more money on gas in the longrun than look cool and impress people. I test drove the Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Fit. I had to go with the Fit because of the safety rating, the cheaper auto insurance, and the overall features and kudos/awards from all the car magazines.

I know, this was a very long story and I'm sorry for that but I wanted to give you the full details so y'all wouldn't have to ask for them later.

My parents drive a 6-cylinder GMC Jimmy SUV thats from 2001 and it gets... 18-20 mpg... the same as my damn Fit!!

I saw a guy today driving the 2009 Fit Sport and I asked him what kind of mileage he is getting and he looked on his dash and said it was reading 33, and he said thats about right.

That's when I decided enough is enough.

The fact that it needs an alignment and the tires are slightly balded a little can't possibly kill the mileage by 10 mpg or more??? I've checked and re-checked everything over and over. The air pressure in my tires is correct. Like I said, I've never used cheap gas. Its only had 1 oil change. All the filters are brand new in it since I changed them a few weeks ago. I run the AC alot but so do others who live around here, including that guy who gets 33 mpg average.


I need some advice/help on who to contact.. Honda corporate? I have absolutely no idea who I would call or email there.... maybe contact a consumer advocate to put on the heat? the dealership I bought the car from?? I want to start getting the 27/33 mileage this car is rated for, or I want a different car.

I'm sick of this. I'm tired of throwing my money away. Maybe I should've bought a Prius like I was thinking. I know, I know... you end up paying about 7,000 more in the long run. But I could *REALLY* use that immediate gas savings in my wallet right here and now!

Someone, anyone... please help me figure this out... shed some light on this!

P.S. Thanks for listening

First, whats the average of your 'trips' in your Fit?5 or 6 miles? or less?
If thats not the case - and for lots of short trips 18 mpg is about what to expect -I suspect a leak so you may have to thoroughly inspect all lines and tank. The reason is the computer really doesn't get out of cold start mode even if youre in CA.
Next the injectors - even one - may be oversize. Check your spark plugs for black deposits, indicating running rich, possibly from bad injectors.
And have dealer check the injector part numbers/size.
And replace the air filter just in case to insure good air supply.
And the dealer should have checked the input air volume signal with the injector supply signal to insure there isn't overfeed there. They might have to do an injector flow test to see for sure.
Perhaps a scangage to monitor the mpg compared to what youre getting may provide a direction to look for a bad part.
Drive the route in A and in D amnd see if your mpg differs. Maybe youre using the wrong gear.
Last but not least verify your odometer reading is accurate. By GPS or marked highway mileage check your odometer reads the same.
As for who to contact check your owners mnanual for the direct Honda address.
Good luck.

[AnlDyxp_GD3]

I have a 08 MT and I've always averaged 29-32mpg. I used to drive 100% local, with my commute to work being a 6-7mile round trip. Since I've moved its about a 20mile round trip to work, with 1-2 trips to Glendale a week being 65mile round trips. My mpg still has not changed. I still average 275-295miles to the tank(I fill up 9 gallons each time). Even when i used crappy arco gas, there was no noticeable mpg difference. This is odd.

[Selden]

One remote possibility is that the car has been driven so gently that the rings haven't seated (although that would also lead to high oil consumption).

Assuming none of the above suggestions work, you need to (if you haven't already) start logging your mileage and gas receipts. If you can present a chain of evidence -- while the car is still under warranty -- you may have a chance of a complaint being listened to by Honda -- or a shot at a lemon law claim.

From your lengthy description, something, somewhere, has to be wrong with the car. I got 30 mpg exactly (calculated, not the gauge) on the very first tank, and that was mostly stop and go driving with 2 passengers and the AC running full blast, deliberately keeping the AT in sport mode with lots of accel/decel to seat the rings. If driving like a granny isn't returning good gas mileage for you, perhaps you should try being a little more aggressive -- it's hard to see how mileage could get any worse.

[mahout]

Originally Posted by bilbofett

In almost a year I have never, ever, ever broken past 18 mpg or gone over about 200 on a full tank on the odometer!

I'll give you the full story so someone can maybe identify something I haven't thought of yet. Please read and offer any advice/tips/help you can. Thanks!

Bought my 08' Automatic Fit Sport in August of 2008.
It only registered 30 test-driven miles on it, being brand new.
The dealership was a good hour from my house, and they filled up the tank all the way, and I drove it all the way home on the freeway, averaging between 55-70 the whole way.
Even then I wasn't that excited about the gas mileage.
The next day, I was almost broadsided by some jerk who was going about 150 and going into my lane. I had no choice but to slam on the breaks and swerve left and right really fast so I wouldn't hit the car next to me, avoiding him.
That incident balded my tires a bit, and I think my car eventually got out of alignment from that.

I was a little suspicious of the dealership because they were selling another color of the new '08 Fit and it had custom tinting on all the windows... the Fits don't come that way.. so what gives, were they selling a returned one and saying it was new?

Ok... thats the sum total of the negative forces (that I'm aware of) that have impacted my car.
I've only done 1 oil change, and theres less than 6,000 miles on it now, almost a year later. I've only EVER put in Mobil or Chevron, and never used the cheapo gasses. On this recent oil change, I put in a synthetic Mobil1 oil filter. I changed the air filter and cabin filter, even though it was way under the time needed, obviously.

I took it to another dealership and told them my story and had their service department check it over. They (said) they checked it top to bottom; no faults or codes on the computers, the breaks aren't sticking (thereby causing extra friction which I was suspicious of). They offered to have one of their technicians drive it an hour away and back and check the mileage but I told him I've done that over and over and over. They said they didn't know what to tell me. They offered stories of salespeople who own the Honda Pilot and they were very displeased with the mileage until after about 15,000 miles the gas mileage suddenly went up, apparently after the engine was broken in.

Eh.

I don't drag race it, I don't drive it like its a sports car, and even when I've done entire tanks driving like a very cautious old lady, the mileage is pretty much the same. Whether I drive 90% freeway or 90% city, the mileage is the same. Whether I have lots of passengers or just myself, the mileage is the same.

When the dealership says they can't find anything wrong with it.. .what am I supposed to do?

I'm a young single guy and I could've bought a Mustang for this kind of mileage. I tried to be wise and sensible and I wanted to save more money on gas in the longrun than look cool and impress people. I test drove the Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Fit. I had to go with the Fit because of the safety rating, the cheaper auto insurance, and the overall features and kudos/awards from all the car magazines.



P.S. Thanks for listening

Did a little experiment today. Drove to town over my usual route, 0 stop lights, 2 stop signs and back by a very congested one: 6 stoplights, 4 stop signs.
According to my mpg gage (which apparently is much more accurate than Hondas) I got my usual 27-28 mpg going and 17-18 coming back.
Its not hard to get poor mpg if your driving is the reason.