Sorry to say it, but im glad that im not the only one. I don't understand how people are getting 40+mpg in this car. I make trips to dallas and driving consistent 70mph and the best was 36mpg in cooler weather. Is this because I am calculating when I am filling up and others are using the scantool to base their MPG on that split second that they are getting excellent MPGs?

 

Have you had a mechanic or the dealership "if you still have a warrenty" check it out? One of my fleet vehicles was only getting 180 miles a tank and it was due to O2 sensors being bad.

 

I drive in florida which is almost as hot as texas. I have not driven on the highway yet with out AC and the best that I have gotten is 36mpg and that is driving over 70.

Car technology is not to the point that makes a car that gets 40 mpg over 70.

If you lowered your speed to 55-60 we would easily go over 40 mpg even with AC.

in the late 80s early 90s I had a Civic DX and I would get 40 driving the speed limit which back then was 55- 60 mph going over 70 I would drop down to 34-35.

The fit going 55 mpg will easily go over 40 mpg which is better than my civic.

Now that said if we had diesel which is way more efficient we would be 50+ miles an hour driving 55-60 and 40 mpg going 70.

We need turbo diesels !

 

the point i wanted to make was not about getting 40MPG..but the fact that my old civic could maintain a minimum of 27mpg with the same driving i have now with this climate. the fit can barely do 25mpg. and with last fill up with 23mpg...it doesn't look good. the car is still under warranty but have not had the dealer look at it. need to make sure this is considered "normal" or not before i ask them to look at it.

 

If you do decide to visit the dealer, just keep in mind that they're not going to do squat for you if the ecu isn't throwing a code. Period.

 

i realize that.. which is why i need to see if my mpg is low enough to give me some type of pull before bring it to them. if it is not at least hitting 27 with no a/c and slow acceleration.. than it calls for the dealer to take a look at. most probably it won't come to that.

 

Matrix I understand now what you were asking. Have you checked; tire pressure, spark plugs gaped correctly, depending on how many miles on your car air filter replacement and what grade of gas are you using 87,89,93? I did notice my mpg went down when not using 87.

I have noticed that since our cars have the gas tank under the front seats it is a little harder to consistently fill up the tank to the same point to caculate mpg there is room for error. I started filling the gas all the way to the top where I can see it so I put almost 2 more gallons in it so I can better see when to stop then I calculate the mileage. And I hate filling the tank all the way to the top it takes forever.

 

I haven't checked it in a while..but last time i aired it to 45psi. Spark plugs are still the same factory, but i haven't checked the gap. I did change out the air filter for one fill up interval but it did not change MPG, so i put the old one back on til maintenance minder comes on. I always fill with 87. Right now i am driving without ac and i do see a difference in mpg based on the gauge...but we'll see the numbers when i fill up. needless to say i am soaked in sweat when i come to my destination.

 

You shouldnt have to work that hard to get good gas mileage. That sucks that you are not using AC. I dont know if this would work I am just trying to help but I wonder if you reset your car ECU? I have done that in the past with my other cars and Acura. I just take the negative cable of the battery and leave it off for a .5 hours the reconnect it. I am all out of ideas to help. Wish we had a honda mechanic on here.


Joe

 

I'm pretty sure there are a few on here

 

I talked to the dealer for you and described your Bad MPG's. He did ask if you are using 5w-20 if your not that will effect mpg. and asked if you are using a semi blend or full synthetic. I guess they do not recommend regular oil. He also said that if the honda is not throwing a code that it should be running within spec and that it might be the way you drive. Sorry I couldnt be more help.


Joe

 

im using 5w-20 pennzoil full synthetic since its first oil change. since summer started, it has been getting low mpg. i don't understand the fact that my 02 civic could maintain a 27mpg with same driving conditions. in fact gas millage didn't change that much between seasons with that car. not enough to notice. ill try out resetting ecu. does anyone know of a good odb scanner..just something basic and cheap and it could check stats. i seen some that connect to your laptop for 90.00.

 

You should be getting better than 23 mpg that stumps me. its like you are dragging an anchor behind you. Do you have 20 inch rims on it? : )

 

No, you will not get 30 mpg unless you are driving more on the freeway than the city streets. I have never gotten over 30 mpg unless my highway/city ratio is about 70/30. In fact, I just got my first tank over 300 miles...I drove up to College Station and back with my son. I work it out to 33.2 mpg, and some of that was at 70 mph. I think this car likes higher speeds.

City driving in Houston is harsh, and I don't think anyone from Houston is getting those really high miles. Good luck driving w/o AC in nearly 100 degree heat.

 

right now im studying for grad school entrance exam so whole week..im leaving home early in the morning and leaving the library late at night around 9pm. im not driving in the sun at all so it is bearable. but this is just to see my theoretical mpg in ideal conditions. car is doing over 90% highway during this test. but in retrospect..people are getting an average of 31-32mpg in mixed conditions with this car. either majority are hypermilling or there is some truth to this. im not really asking to be above average or even average due to our climate. but when mpg starts to shoot down to 23mpg it just doesn't sound justifable. i know someone with an 01 civic that commutes to medical center without taking highway and is getting high 20s mpg.

 

everything is stock

 

I understand, but I don't think everyone on this forum even has ethanol in their gas...nor do they have the extreme conditions we have. At 90% highway, getting up to 65 mph, no traffic jams, I agree, your mileage should go up. Let us know if it does. I was pleased to see that at least my car really can get great mileage, but I have to spend more of those miles actually on the highway and not the kind of short-trip, stop-and-go driving I do around the city.

 

Remember that the gasoline formulations change in summer. I'm thinking that is your main problem, because my mileage also went down at the same time. Every time the government screws with our gasoline additives, our mileage goes down.

I had a Honda Civic WAY back in the late 70's and it got close to 40 mpg.

 

I went to the Honda dealer where I bought my car and said if the spark plugs or O2 sensor were out of wack , the fit would through out a code ...

But they also said they would test drive my car for 2 hours and I would pay for fuel and it would only cost me $126 !!!

I asked the guy at the counter if he was nuts !!

They said that bad mileage is not a warranty problem , so I pay !!

 

I went to my dealership where they offered to drive my car to test mpg after I voiced concerns regarding my long time bad fuel economy with the car.

2 hours later they called me back in - said they found no problems. I went to my car to find there had been no adjustments to mirror, seats, etc - not to mention that, oh, the odometer was still at the same mileage when I brought the car in. Basically they told me there were no codes (therefore unable to help), and that they're lazy assholes that pretend to help regarding an actual problem.