Hey guys, in November I bought a 2007 Honda Fit off of a friend of mine with 137,000km (or ~85000 miles) on it. So far I love the vehicle, but am wondering if there is an issue with the gas mileage. I live close to Toronto, so the weather is currently cold and in the negative degrees in Celsius, which is below 32 Fahrenheit. I drive ~360km (223 miles) on the highway per week, and I have adjusted my driving to suit the car so that I am going an average speed of 110km/h (68mph) on the highway, and keeping my rpm's at 2500 whenever possible. In the city, I don't step on the gas quickly to accelerate, and try to keep rpm's as low as possible too. Despite driving in a way that I was hoping would improve gas mileage, I still only get a maximum of 400km (250 miles) to a tank. Is this normal for the current winter temperatures? Thanks in advance!

 

Cold air is denser so more aerodynamic drag. On top of that, running the fan/heater more, increased warmup time for engine & fluids, oxygen sensor requests more fuel than warmer temps, etc., etc. It's normal.

Now if warmer weather arrives and you still haven't gotten decent mpg, a couple of ideas. We think Fits need a valve lash adjustment every 60K miles, or ~100K km, and in that respect, you're overdue. Typically valve adjust will bring more power and sometimes a little better mpg. Prices to have it done are all over the place. You can do it yourself (DIY videos here) but it's not a quick job, expect anywhere from 4 to 8 hr. your first time.

Also, plugs need replacing at 100K mi., don't cheap out and get non-iridiums, get the Denso or NGK OEM iridiums. Should start thinking about coilpack replacement too, though you've got a little while before they typically start to go. Get the OEM Hitachis, part number ends 0053, aftermarkets don't last anywhere near the 100K mi. the OEM's do. Although you can skip the coilpack replacement for now, when they do start to go, they often don't throw codes, and die in quick succession, leaving you without a running engine, so best to replace before they go rather then after.

 

How many gallons are you putting in when filling?

250/8 = 31mpg. Not stellar, but as bargain pointed out above, winter weather does take the mileage down some.

 

Ok, thanks a lot for the help guys! bargainguy, I will definitely be looking into those things, thanks a lot for the tips! GAFIT, I just put in 33L (8.7 gallons) which was on a 380km trip (230 miles), so this actually ends up being 27.2 mpg.

 

Soon as the weather gets warm, adjust the valve clearances.

If you are experiencing even a HINT of misfiring, replace the coils & plugs, also. (Weakly firing plugs can cut gas mileage but not produce any misfire codes)



You will be amazed at the difference! Be sure to post back after you do the work.



PS: Honda engines like to occasionally be 'exercised': Rev a warm engine up near redline a couple times a month. That serves to keep the injectors working well and removes carbon...

 

I live in Toronto, 2007 5AT Fit and ~400K miles on board.

Please read my last comment on this very thread:


https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...tf-change.html

Get a GPS with a fuel mileage consumption feature and start measuring-up your car's own fuel consumption, city streets, hwy drive or both.

I'm using a Garmin 1450LMT and when I decide to use it, at the end of the trip before it turns off itself it tells me fuel consumption per that particular trip also average fuel consumption per total trips when I have used it while driving.


Best of luck.

 

I try to note that, too. On the Garmins of that vintage, if you use the TOOLS>ECOROUTE>AT THE PUMP tracking of fuel & mileage, the unit will correct MPG accuracy based on observed history.

I miss the old EcoRouteHD accessory they had (that plugged into the OBDII port). That thing taught me how to modify my driving habits to increase my MPG by ~8%... Mine broke and you can't get them at a decent price anymore.

 

For city driving (Toronto), when I go to work in the morning (terrible rush hours), fuel consumption up to 12 liters per 100 km, million of red lights, bumper-to-bumper traffic, horrible traffic conditions, coming back home around midnight (same 15-mile route I use in the morning), fuel consumption lowers to 8.5 liters per 100 km (you figure it out in mpg), why? empty roads and pretty much all traffic lights are on green (for major boulevards) plus max 45 mph for city driving.
Here you go, that's the "magic formula/secret" on getting a pretty low fuel consumption for city streets.


I drive a 5AT Sports model that, at least in theory, burns more gas than an MT.


Safe driving!


PS Why do you call this particular Garmin model as vintage???
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/87481#gallery-dialog

 

i drive like stole it lol but still get really good MPG because i use non ethanol 89 octane.

 

Says right at the top of the page you linked: 'DISCONTINUED'.

IIRC they were sold ~2008 - 2010... If you find them for sale, they are probably refurbished.

 

Discontinued Garmin GPS does not mean a vintage device.


Vintage is something you can "admire" only in some sort of museums, for instance when I was young (that's Vietnam War era) we used to listen to single or LP music records then it came along portable Walkman devices with 120-min tapes, also camcorders running on tapes as well, vintage cars from 40-50+ years ago, etc., that's vintage, Garmin discontinues its GPS devices every two years, that does not mean the design, features and technology are now obsolete.


Dec 2011 when I bought my Garmin 1450LMT brand new and still runs beautifully.


Why change it if ain't broken!

 

What Florida gas stations carry non-ethanol regular gas?

 

i follow this page https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=FL

but pretty much any WAWA has them now. next to my house there are like 5 of them so im very lucky lol

 

I would also suggest that you need to know how much gasoline you are adding at fill up. Start keeping track of miles between fill ups divided by the exact amount of gasoline you are adding.
Then once you know what you are actually averaging, you can better determine whether you actually have an "abnormal" problem or not.

Edit: Sorry just read post #4.
And I agree with below,- 27 mpg, in winter, not so bad. I would expect the mileage to improve with warmer weather and away from winter blend fuels.

You could look at the usual common culprits, make sure your tires are properly inflated.-Easiest.

 

27 MPG on a 2008 with an automatic in the middle of winter? That's pretty good to be honest.

 

Hey everyone, thanks a lot for the input! I actually got 7.8L/100km on average in my last fuel-up since it has been a bit warmer this week, so that is an improvement. Thanks again guys will definitely take your recommendations into consideration