Hello. I'm trying to get better mileage out of my 2007 Fit sport which is averaging around 19-20 MPG city right now. I'm about to call honda after my 3rd tank of gas at the same station same pump.

I'm guessing they'll tell me something is up and their's nothing they can do thank you for being our customer blah blah blah so I'm gonna have to figure something out. I've got no trouble codes and no pending codes either. I'm thinking of replacing the coil packs. I've found this:


A whole set of coil packs for under 100$! The beck arnley and Denso ones are at 60$ each! So I'm thinking I'd try replacing the coils and plugs (even if I'm at only 50k miles) if I can do it for less than 200$.

These ones are from Rock Auto and seem to have good reviews. Are all coilpacks created equal or should I avoid these ones and spend more money on another brand that might be more reliable?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Just as all cars are not made the same all coil packs aree not the same even if designed, specified, and assembled to meet the ignition nreeds of combustion. In defense of BA and other aftermarket suppliers their parts just might be off the same assembly line as OEM, just labeled differently, but ...
Many of the parts offered inexpensively are from Chinese suppliers and there is doubt of their reliability. Just because a parts works well at installation does not mean it will keep on doing so.
We have had consistently good luck from Honda OEM parts and not so good with some aftermarket manufacturers but not consistently less good. Its a chance you have to take; hopefully we'll get a lot of feedback from owners who have replaced their coilpaks and their experience.
PS your mpg is a function of 90% driving in city traffic like NY and the best you can hope for is a little improvement from 40 psig tire pressures. If you have a luggage rack thats not helping either. If you do lots of short trips - couple miles per - and stop and go operation 22 mpg is great. If its any consolation you could be driving a Dodge minivan.

 

Hey, I resent that. lol

 

50k miles? dont worry about the coilpacks just yet. I would replace the sparkplugs first!

do an upgrade while you are at it. Go buy stock spark plugs for an 01-04ish Honda S2000 (2.0 liter model, not the 2.2)

You will see slightly better gasmileage as the ecu will allow slightly more ignition timing. It may also solve an issue of bad plugs at the same time.

 

I disagree with the quoted post. If you have an problem with your engine first try and get it to stock operating condition... using the recommended NGK plugs, then modify as you wish. In fact, leave your plugs alone unless you've inspected them and they show signs of damage or excessive fouling that can't be cleaned. The stock plugs should easily last 150k miles, though the service life is 100k. Then, personally, I do not believe a different plug will give you better mileage or performance just as I don't believe Slick 50 oil or Prolong oil will give you more horsepower or better mileage (and they, in fact, don't).

Your coil pack(s) might be bad without throwing a code. This has been my experience as well the experience of many others based on the multitude of text on the subject in this forum.

 

The extra gas mileage comes from the S2000 plugs being one heat range colder and allowing the ecu to see less detonation events and allowed slightly more advanced timing.

Its not some magical trick or snake oil.


But there is zero benefit from going to say, two or more heat ranges colder on an otherwise stock setup.

I believe the S2000 plugs are double iridiums or platinums. Still a long life spark plug like factory.

EDIT the part number for the S2000 plugs from Denso is PK22PR11, which are double platinums, according to Denso's website. Advance Auto uses part number 3265 for them

 

Thanks for the responses. So you guys are claiming that 20 MPG is normal? I thought Honda said 33 city. I mean, I know this is under ideal circumstances but I mean, 18-20 is nearly half of that! I need one last tank from that pump I go to before I call Honda Canada.

So I guess the answer is no, don't go for these aftermarket coilpacks? These say they carry a lifetime unlimited mileage warranty! Sounds too good to be true. Then again I'm just searching for answers to my abysmal MPG.

Also, do you mean 40 PSI cold pressure? That seems rather high.

 

I have same question about this, but finally i decide to go with OE coilpack, its HITACHI brand. bought it on Advance auto parts. i know its pricey, but its always better buy OE coilpack. u just spend little more dollar, its like buying a peace of mind. rather than change aftermarket parts,but u have doubt about it. i change 4 HITACHI OE coilpack and 4 denso iridium spark plug, my FIT is running smooth again. u can try buy coilpack @ Autozone the brand is also HITACHI, even they said its "DURALAST", then again it is OE coilpack has lifetime warranty too..

 

BUY OEM COIL PACKS! and replace all 4! this is a known issue with shitty coil packs. The new coil packs from honda are an updated part and the rubber parts are a differnt color. also it wouldnt hurt to get a valve adjust done. ive seen many fits from the factory with overly tight or loose valve lash! which can affect fuel mileage...

 

Nobody's recommending a straightforward tuneup? What am I missing here?

@MTLian: Valve adjustment, spark plugs (I like wasting my money and changing out the spark plugs. Sue me.), filters, fluids, wheel alignment (Misaligned wheels aren't going to degrade your mpg by 33%, but they aren't helping either.), wash and wax (Everything's nicer when it's clean. I thought you Canadians knew that.). All the standard stuff. Keep it simple and see what happens.

 

My dyno says the plugs do drop considerably in ignition performance at 50k mies. none last 100k miles. Just because they still screw in doesn't mean they function as well as new. All that bursts of high energy current doesn't pas without some effort.
as for changing plugs sometimes there are alternate plugs that will get more power and mpg. You just need to study the designed and desired heat range and electrodes carefully. An example would be a driver who tinks the red line is the place to run, a higher heat range might be advisable. Sometimes that means another brand with the same reach and type. Even Honda will recommend plugs from Denso and NGK. And not surprisingly, one may work better than the other.

 

As for the valve adjustment, I had a check done at the dealer this summer. It cost 50$ and I'm not sure what they did (or didn't do). They came back to me with % of brake pad and brake shoe life so it seems they did at least inspect the brakes. I asked whether or not to do valve lash or plugs they said no need, everything is copacetic.

I really baby my Fit since I got it. Changed the engine air filter just this week, had my wheels aligned this summer, changed all my fluids this summer and still I'm getting about 16 to 20 mpg city and goes up to about 28 when I do some highway.

What I don't get is if this is normal operation. Some say change the coils, some say short trips, cold engine, stop and go in the city and 20 MPG is about right. I don't wanna spend 250$ on OEM coils if there's no actual problem. Like I said, my car runs perfectly, except it uses so much gas compared to its diminutive size. If I can get high 20s in the city I'll be happy but according to my UltraGauge, I'm getting a solid 17-20 MPG. Did some highway today so I was able to bump my average up to 22, yay!

 

Hard to tell what this means. Probably, they are going by the book, and the book says don't even look at the valves until 100k miles. But the book is wrong.

All I can say is my mpg is 25-35 mpg. So, you're not far off.

 

Thanks for everyone's insight! I'm gonna try and hold out this winter even if I spend more on gas. When the weather gets milder, I'll at least try and take a look at the coil packs and try some connector cleaner and dielectric grease. Next spring I'm gonna muster up the courage to do a proper valve adjustment.

 

The EPA rating is done on a computer controlled dynomometer and represents the mpg gotten on two very specific 'routes' where the load on the engine and accelerations, braking, and idling is controlled by a program each for city and highway. Its for comparision between cars and does NOT represent your driving.
All vehicles subjected to short trips less than 8 miles, accelerate hard repeatedly, brake hard repeatedly, as in traffic, and stop often will get less mpg than the EPA ratings. Do it easier and you can get better, as in nice interstate travel downhill with a tailwind with a light foot and no traffic to deal with.
If you're having that kind of city driving 20 mpg is probably right.
When you did your highway trip was it nice easy run or merely city traffic at hiher speeds?
And yes 40 psig tire pressures are high but do make the engine work less, hence better mpg, because riolling resistance is less. Course if you have lots of potholes and bad roads the higher pressures maynot help as your ride will get more like a farm wagon than a car and tire abuse won't help either. Good luck. You should find that the FIT is better than most in mpg in heavy conditions. If mpg is prime concern next time get a Toyota Prius C. Damn thing gets 45 mpg or better no matter what.