Brand new 08 sport A/T, really low MPG

[gyzer]

Alright I'm a noob here, and I'm definatly not a car person so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I just bout a 08 sport A/T and I'm on my second fillup and I'm getting really bad mpg. My first tank was about 20mpg, and my second was 22.7mpg.

I drive a bit over 12 miles a day, surface streets with light to moderate traffic, but it is fairly hilly where I drive.

The 22.7mpg was from me doing a 60+ mile trip on the freeway.

Do I need to wait till the engine breaks in more to start seeing a minimum of 24mpg with city driving?

I don't drive more then 5mph over the speed limit, I don't do jack-rabbit starts at stop lights and stop signs, I coast on hills and also coast to stop signs and stop lights. I have been using the air conditioning, so I'm wondering if thats a huge factor in this or if its just a minor one.

So do I need to wait a few thousand more miles till I start to see the really good mph, or is there something possibly wrong with my car?

Thanks

[RobertJ]

My wife got over 35 MPG on her first tank and has gotten better than 32 MPG on every tank thereafter, and her driving is mainly city. I will say one thing, I believe that AT to be a factor as the 5 speed gets superior fuel economy regardless of what the EPA says on the sticker. I would expect you to get at least 30 MPG on the highway though. You might want to have the dealer check it out.

[solbrothers]

its an AT. /thread

[GAFIT]

Your mileage will improve as the car breaks in, but the auto just doesn't get good city mileage. If you do enough highway driving, it should average in the 30mpg range. Do some searches around here though and you'll find that auto owners that drive pure city complain about poor mileage. There was recently a post from an Atlanta owner who was getting mid 20's because of the pure city commute.

Lowest I've ever had in my manual Fit was 32. That was pure Orlando traffic with 4 people and A/C.

[gyzer]

Ok I guess I'll see how it goes for a few thousand more miles. I'm only at like 450 miles right now.

I've got a stupid question though, when should I take the car in for my first checkup? Is it the usual 3,000 miles or 3 months deal?

Is there anything that I can do, after the car gets more broken in, to increase the mpg?

Thanks for the replies!

[RichXKU]

Originally Posted by gyzer

I've got a stupid question though, when should I take the car in for my first checkup? Is it the usual 3,000 miles or 3 months deal?

When the oil life meter reaches 15% get your oil changed, and tires rotated. For me that occurred around 7500 miles.

[pb and h]

First off, I can't stress this enough: TECHNIQUE! TECHNIQUE! TECHNIQUE!

I can get 30-36mpg in my wife's AUTO 2008 CRV.

Drive slow(I mean the speed limit or below) - yes you can do it
Shift before 2500rpms
Look ahead and slow down in advance - like having no brakes
Do not accelerate quick - it is a FIT NOT a RACE CAR


As far as service, the car will tell you. First thing you should do is read your owners manual front to back. The oil life indicator will flash when it is time to change.

If you want more info, ask, search and use cleanmpg.com

[gyzer]

Shift before 2500rpms

I drive an automatic. Do you mean shift down to "S" before 2500rpms?

Yeah I will admit I haven't read the manual, I really need to when I get some time.

Thanks

[henryd1981]

I just recently started getting better mileage sometime after 6000 miles. ATs can get good mileage; just gotta let the engine break in.

[TOOL]

Engine break in has alot to do with it.
Also, its all in the way you drive, i either get 27, or i can get 35 all depending on my right foot.

Tyler

[n6nev]

It is important not to do the first oil service untill 15% shows in the oil service gauge. after that 6mo or 6000 and use syn oil . My mileage is also low at 23 with AT sport, but its all in town stop and go, some a/c useage and less than 1 k miles

[buddyw]

A lot of it is how you drive. Top gear has a video where they put a Prius on a track with a BMW. The Prius went as fast as it could around the track and the BMW just had to keep up.

The BMW actually got better gas mileage. I think it was like 17 & 18 mpg respectively. This is an extreme example, but it illustrates that how you drive is very important.

Try not to accelerate too much and try to coast to stops. Use the brake as little as possible. (this is much easier with a Manual but the basics are the same.)

Between that and engine break in you should see major improvement.

[gyzer]

I am curious about the shifting comment made by pb and h.

Can someone explain that please?

Thanks

[Mixedwun]

wow, thats weird. My worst was 27 mpg on avg and that was the dealer supposedly filled tank. that needle went from full to half so quick, so i know it wasn't filled. I average anywhere from 32- 40 now depending on what the mix of city/highway driving is.

Hopefully once you break it in it will do better.

[Rod2Rice]

My guess is he is commenting to not let the engine wind out. Easy on the gas and it will shift low in the rpm range to keep the mpg up. AC I have found makes a noticeable drop in mpg, at least it does for me. Keep the gear selector out of S unless you plan to use the paddle shifter. driving habit will be the biggest factor, then the kind of traffic you are in. My last tank I only got a hair over 21mpg, most of that is in stop and go traffic and with the AC on. so dont feel so bad! BTW I am at 3k miles as well.

[gyzer]

So are you saying to shift into s below 2500rpm, or to shift into s above 2500rpm?

Ok, sadly I haven't read the manual yet, so putting the shifter into s allows you to shift with the paddle shifters? Otherwise you cannot shift with the paddle shifters?

[mahout]

Originally Posted by gyzer

Alright I'm a noob here, and I'm definatly not a car person so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I just bout a 08 sport A/T and I'm on my second fillup and I'm getting really bad mpg. My first tank was about 20mpg, and my second was 22.7mpg.

I drive a bit over 12 miles a day, surface streets with light to moderate traffic, but it is fairly hilly where I drive.

The 22.7mpg was from me doing a 60+ mile trip on the freeway.

Do I need to wait till the engine breaks in more to start seeing a minimum of 24mpg with city driving?

I don't drive more then 5mph over the speed limit, I don't do jack-rabbit starts at stop lights and stop signs, I coast on hills and also coast to stop signs and stop lights. I have been using the air conditioning, so I'm wondering if thats a huge factor in this or if its just a minor one.

So do I need to wait a few thousand more miles till I start to see the really good mph, or is there something possibly wrong with my car?

Thanks

Hills and a/c make a difference but your mpg does seem low. Short trips make a diiference; one 20 mile + 3 - 3 mile cuts mpg like a knife.
You did mention 'quite hilly' but just how hot is it? Temperatures over 90 and especially over 95 put heavy load on the engine as its not unusual for a/c to draw 3 hp by itself. Remember that while the Fit has an advertised 109 hp only about 10 hp is needed to chug along on level ground at 60 mph.
In any case the mpg should get better after a few thousand miles.
Don't forget to be easy on the gas and not make lots of quick speed changes. Last, I also find that shifting myself in Sport gets better mpg because that cuts down on gear changes which use more gas. Keep your rpm above 1500 at all times and no higher than you have to to maintain traffic. Make sure your tire pressures are like 35 front and 32 rear on stock tires. And make sure you're not buying low grade fuel.
good luck.

[gyzer]

I live in northern San Diego County, the temperature rarely goes over 85.

I need to read the manual to learn more about sport mode to see how that works.

What fuel grade is the sugested for the sport?

Thanks

[RichXKU]

87 octane is all the Fit needs.

[pb and h]

What they said. Now we expect to see 30-35mpg on the next tank!

Really, it takes some practice to unlearn the bad habits most Americans have as far as driving is concerned. Once you do, you will find yourself less stressed out and more relaxed.