I recently bought a 2007 Honda Fit Sport 5AT. It has 96,000 miles. It seems to run fine. I like having paddle shifters and all. Then things started to get interesting:

1. 1st tank returned about 300mi until the gas light came on with 40% Highway 60% city. 2nd tank returned around 200mi, 90% city 10% highway, and filled up 9 gallons.

2. When I turn on the car initially, I hear a weird watery noise coming from the HVAC area. I topped off my coolant already. Could it be the A/C drain plug? It goes Ignition crank up, watery noise.

3. If I'm sitting at a light, I feel a slight jerk. Could it be the spark plugs or a coil pack? After seeing friends ruin their cars changing plugs, I'm a little skiddish doing it myself.

4. One of the 'sidemarker' lights in the headlights is out. Tried changing it out myself, but I couldn't get the light out. Remove the plug, try to twist out the bulb, no go.

5. Maybe mine have been ripped off, but did the car come with rear wheel well covers like the front wheels have?


If any one can help me, it would be awesome. Hello Solbrothers.

 

The rear wheel wells do not come with covers

 

Well I can only respond to your #1 and #4 question. I have a 2007 AT Fit.

1. Mostly Im running 90% city and 10% Highway, and I dont fill up my tank all the way. Most of the time since the Low fuel light come on, I put on $20 on it, (fills up about 29.8 Liters) and it gives me about 180 miles per tank. Now there are some times I fill it all the way (33.5 liters aprox.) and it gives me about 200 - 210 miles per tank.

And in Puerto Rico there are a lot of mountains, at least were I live so I waste a little more.

4. Im thinking the light you are talking about is the one on top. That light bulb you only pull it out. At least it should come out.

 

I think if you do mostly highway driving, you might have a chance of seeing 30+mpg. If you do mostly city driving, the car is just awful. I was averaging about 22mpg when I used it on short drives.

 

Ha! Wow, I have a 5 speed and it's 40 mpg on hwy, and about 32 in the city. it's astonishing how 4 cylinders have such a drastic change depending on location, conditions, and loads. With the manual, I can REALLY tell when I have people and/or cargo riding with me.

 

My MPG was headed south and when I changed the sparkplugs I found the OEM hand tight! If ya got 96K on them this could be one thing to check. I just did this last weekend and I see already an improvment in MPG dept.

 

I had same problems with my car. first: have your valves adjusted for better gas mileage....My number 1 and 4 were tight, yours may also be......second : pull the plugs and check the gap. Fit gap should be .044. I pulled mine and they were gapped at .052 from factory. Way too big a gap for proper firing. These 2 lessons cost me 2 trips to the dealer and a couple hundred dollars and they did not fix it. The two things I'm suggesting I found from guys like you on these forums and I did them myself. It will fix your probs 2.

 

I have a 08 auto Fit with about 45K miles on it.
I drive about 16 miles each way, each day going to work, about 50-50 stop and go/highway.
I normally put in $20 worth at a time, about 5.6 gallons now a days, and get 180 to 190 miles per filling.
So that works out around 32 to 34 mpg.
When I take a trip that is mostly highway, I get 35 to 36 mpg.
Gregg

 

I read another post here earlier this week where somebody was complaining about bad gas mileage and had replaced filters, plugs, etc and was still getting bad gas mileage. He then had the fuel injection flushed and the mileage returned to like new. I'll see if I can dig it up.

brb

here you go...

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gene...ixed-mine.html

 

i also got problem no 2.. it started about a week ago, after i flushed my coolant... but it gradually subsided by itself.... afterwards i noticed that the coolant in the radiator is not full anymore (the reservoir tank is full though), i add coolant again in the radiator up to the top, and i haven't encounter any sloshing noise anymore... the radiator coolant is also still at maximum... if yours is already at maximum on both the reservoir tank and the radiator, then i can't help you...

 

The "rushing water" sound is an air bubble in your coolant system. You need to burp it! Had the same problem last fall. Basically, open the radiator cap, turn on the car, crank the heater and let it run for about 15 minutes. I think you're supposed to wait for the fans to kick in. You need to circulate the coolant fully through the system to get he air out.

Look for a more detailed thread on this. I'm not sure I am remembering it perfectly. I want to say jack up the front end a few inches, but I could be wrong.

I'm having fuel economy issues too. Went from mid-30s to mid/high-20s, comparing summer months to summer months in Gas Cubbby iPhone app. I'm going to have the valves checked ASAP.

 

Gurgling:

Try a few 4000 RPM runs with the heater on FULL HOT. Seriously...

The higher RPMs will purge the air from the heater due to the higher velocity of the coolant.

Be sure to check the plastic reservoir after that. The level may drop if there was air.



Fuel Economy:

Try doing the Idle Learn Procedure. It's here on the Forum somewhere, just do a SEARCH. Takes 15 minutes.

 

what is idle learn p[rocedure, will it help mpg. or it depends on driving style you do.

 

could be the weather... weather does a lot to a car.

 

No one has mentioned the effects of tires on fuel economy.

According to the guys at Tire Rack, drivers could see up to 25% worse fuel mileage when tires are new, as opposed to when the tires are old (hard) and nearly worn out.

+++++++++

I've seen old topics on various forums about how it takes sometimes 25,000 miles for engines to fully "break in" and provide the utmost in fuel economy. I experienced this on my CR-V.

But now I believe the better MPG was because THE TIRES WERE WORN.


When I replaced the tires the first time, my V's MPG dropped 3 MPG (18%). That set of rubber bands is now practically worn out after two years....and I'm getting my best fuel mileage ever on that car. (Bettering the EPA Highway mileage by 5%)

I bet my MPG will nose-dive this winter when I buy new rubber. Still haven't decided whether to try the latest Low Rolling Resistance tire types, yet.

 

check your driving styles...have you ever heard of eco drivin?...

 

It can do far better. I can get 42-44 mpg in my local driving, around 35-38 in a real city, and easy 40+ on the highway.

tire pressure - there's a big difference in mileage if they're low.
oil - this is important, if I run a thicker brand like valvoline 5w20 instead of mobil1 it's a huge drop, like 5-6 mpg easy
valve clearance - 3mpg gain going from tight end of service spec to loose end. I literally do this every spring.
driving habits - your best gains are learning how and when to draw out your coasts, and accelerating in closed loop. Don't give it so much it enriches the fuel mixture.
AC - this MURDERS your gas mileage around town. You know the typical power you're making from the engine taking off from a stoplight? The AC takes about half that amount, more if you're accelerating more slowly. On the freeway in the best case scenario it's a 9-11 mpg drop when the compressor is on, and I've seen as high as a 16 mpg drop if I have a tailwind. You determine how much that is on by your fan speed. Faster fan, burn more gas.

You have near 100k miles, sounds like time for new plugs to me. It's not that hard, just make sure you do it when the engine is stone cold, and put some oil or anti-seize on the threads. If the plug is new, no more than 1/2 turn after the gasket first touches the head. It's when you change plugs in a hot aluminum head and overtorque them that the threads strip.

 

hi what do you mean a thicker oil will help you get better mpg?,
where did you learn that?

 

just curious

 

@ Carbuff

Its true what you said about cars tires being one of the main causes. My front tires are bald and I'm getting better mpg than I used to when they were new. That means!!! EVERYONE GO TREAD LESS TIRES!!!