Gaslog data for Gustave

Compare what I'm getting to what you get, I log the MPG gauge with every tank.

 

well, since so many of us have the same problems, I can't believe Honda does not know about it. I am surprised that Honda, always protective of its reputation, has not corrected it. Anyway, it keeps drivers amused, so think of it as a free video game.

 

My last word on this. I understand the the moving bar indicated "instant" mpg sorta like a vacuum guage used to. The digital readout, however, is not inaccurate in other makes. If it is there, it should work. Period. I remember whan an
AM radio on an old Dodge I had stopped. The dealer said I bought the cheap radio, and could not expect it to work. What? If I paid for it, it should work! This is Honda, not Dodge!

 

I was thinking about that last night. There are several very important functions tied into that same display. The odometer. The trip odometer. I expect those to be absolutely accurate, and they are required by LAW to be accurate.

I wouldn't let it slide if my 2 mile trip showed on the odometer as being 3 miles...because that would end my warranty a lot sooner.

Is there anything we, as a group, can do, to encourage Honda to fix it? Write letters? Make phone calls? Visit the dealership after every fill up to say our digital read-out is still inaccurate? What can we do to get it fixed?

 

OK, the car is in the shop, pointed out the glove box rattle and the mpg indicator being off. The service guy and I took a drive, and he got to hear the rattle for himself.

Having the door ding guard put on too. I've been lucky so far, but won't be lucky forever.

 

Does ANYONE have an ACCURATE mpg indicator? Anyone at all?

 

If I subtract 10% every time, it's accurate.

 

taffeta...yes...My Pontiac has one that is almost absolutely accurate. To less than 1 mpg. But my dealer says that Honda is no Pontiac. Unbelieveable for a dealer to say that. My old Intrepid had one that was very accurate also.

 

Did they hook up the computer to your car to see if there were any problems?

This seems like one of those "follow the steps/if-then" kind of things. First we follow the step of going into the dealer, saying it's inaccurate, they test, and either do or do not find something wrong.

If they find something wrong, they can fix it.

If they dont' find anything wrong, then there is something wrong with their equipment, because we are not getting the correct mpg readouts.

this isn't going to be fixed by one or two people going into the service department, if it's a problem with their computer thing.

I don't know ANYTHING about how those readouts are set...but if it's some kind of computer-related thing, Honda may be able to update THEIR service computers to correctly identify the problem, so it can then be fixed for us.

And that would end up being a recall. We'd all have to go in and have our cars zapped. Or tweaked. Or screwed and poked and prodded. But then it would be fixed for everyone. And that's what we want. Right?

I think the step after this step is via the Bureau of Automotive Repair. That's for me in California (and anyone else in California):
Consumer's Guide To Automotive Repair In California

Because something is NOT working right and it's NOT being fixed. And through the BAR, it will follow the chain of command. It's not going to get my local dealership in trouble, because they are using the equipment Honda provides, the specs or programming or whatever it is that diagnoses that specific part of the car.

And the BAR likes to know about other experiences. Is it one person's problem or a vast problem?

There are probably state-run departments of consumer repairs in other states too. Find out who handles YOUR state, and post a link here to the website.

Everyone who has gone in for the diagnosis, they can call their service manager then, and maybe go in for another diagnosis.

Those who haven't gone in yet, need to. Then we can all begin contacting who we need to contact, following the steps, and get our car fixed so our mpg is more accurate.

Edit add on: The next step is actually to go back to Honda telling them the car is OK by service, but not OK by calculations of MPG

 

Its ABSURD that Honda can't get an accurate MPG calculator... let's see: The car can already calculate the miles driven. Presumably, all it needs then is to be able to determine the amount of gas flowing through the engine, right? Obviously if the odometer is correct, then the gas flow rate calculator is wrong.

Or, perhaps it is the ODOMETER than is giving ~10% false reading? No one has mentioned that possibility!

 

I hear a rattle from glove compartment at 'certain' rpms... its more like a buzzzzzz sound actually... same thing?

 

I did mention that the odometer is required to be accurate, and that Honda has had odometer problems before. Also that I would be very worried about an odometer that showed I had driven 3 miles when I really had only driven 2.

That's why it's really important for everyone to follow the steps to have this looked at by Honda, first at our dealerships. And then on to whomever we need to go to next. First step IS the dealership.

 

Here's the last page of the Glove Box rattle thread:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-rattle-5.html

Also noted in the Edmunds blog:
2009 Honda Fit Sport: I Want To Shoot This Car | Long-Term Road Tests Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

 

As of 1997, Federal standards in the USA allowed a maximum 5% error on speedometer readings (per "Auto Tutor", American Automobile Association of California magazine, Oct. 17, 1997. However, I believe this is only +5%, and that zero% error is permitted on the low side. That is, it's OK for a speedometer to read 63 although the vehicle is only going 60, but not 60 when it's actually going 63 mph.

That said, I don't think you have a snowball's chance in Georgia of getting a resolution on this because there are no regulations regarding the accuracy of a mileage gauge. Reprogramming the ECM could probably do it, but I see no incentive for Honda to do so. And, in my cynical view of the average driver, it's good advertising, because most people are too lazy to bother calculating their actual gas mileage, and will be quite satisfied with the inflated readout of the gauge.

 

Word is back, says they didn't find anything wrong with the mpg gauge. As we expected. So I'll give a heads up to the Service Manager and then pass it on to BAR.

I just kind of assume that if it's in the car, it should work. Accurately.

If I put a car in drive, it shouldn't be in reverse.

If I step on the brakes, it shouldn't accelerate or just keep going.

If I go to open the door, it should open all the way, not most of the way.

So what is this "EMC"?

I haven't gone back into the manual, but does it say it's supposed to work and be accurate? LOL!

I already had a car that might or might not work!

Edit add-on:

Page 70, Owners Manual:

Average Fuel Mileage
This shows your vehicle's average fuel economy in mpg (U.S.) or l/100 km (Canada) since you have last reset the trip meter.

When you reset a trip meter, the average fuel milieage for that trip meter also resets.
------

Compare and contrast with the Fuel Gauge description in the manual, LOL:

This shows how much fuel you have. It might show slightly more or less than the actual amount. The needle returns to the bottom after you turn off the engine.
------

So, what do you think? Is the mpg supposed to be accurate or not?

 

After 41 fillup's the difference in between the display mpg and actual mpg is 10.9%.

 

EMC is a brain fart. I meant to type ECM:

It's fairly common for people to reprogram the ECM for more power, and since it's all software, it should be possible, if one had sufficient technical expertise, to reprogram either the ECM or a secondary computer module to return a more accurate MPG number.

 

Unless you're Einstein...


Well, I'm assuming that Honda corp has someone around who can do that.

It should either be fixed or uh...people notified that it's not accurate.

Hopefully someone else besides me will be participating in the attempts to get this fixed at the corporate level. It's not just for me. It's for everyone.

 

I'm guessing that Fit owners are not overly important to Honda. Our cars don't cost that much, and they don't really sell that many in relation to the rest of the line. Get them to fix it? Not likely. They just don't care, once we paid for the cars. Sort of like GM, except they know how to make a meter that works.

 

Next plan is to contact Honda corp again. To start a claim on the problem.

I chatted with the folks in service. I am the FIRST PERSON at that dealership to mention the problem. I had also been calling around to another dealer on parts prices, and talked to a manager who also said I was the FIRST PERSON to mention it.

Step One: Take your car to the dealer. Tell them you have calculated your mpg (if you have, that is, LOL) and that the mpg showing in the car is not correct. They have to have that one record FIRST.

Step Two: Call Honda corp to start in on the process of having them discover what the problem is.

I will keep everyone filled in on exactly what I do and where to call and what happens.

I'm totally fine with them experimenting on my car for several reasons...

I'm close to them (about 3-4 miles).

I'm disabled and home all the time, so I don't have the need to use the car all the time. It would be a MAJOR inconvenience for many people to have to continually give up their car for examination.

So I can get started on this, but it would TOTALLY help if there were many people also taking in the car, having it diagnosed as "ok", and then making the call also to Honda.

How fast do you think they will work if only ONE person calls them? Maybe a little slower than they would if they had 50 people? Or 100? Or 1,000?

Honda will call the dealership back, to confirm any info, and then there will be suggestions going back and forth between my dealer and Honda corp, from what I understand from the service department.

If nothing else, get the info recorded...and MY dealer gave me a free car wash AND they vacuumed. It's the first time my car has vacuumed since I bought it last year. I'm good 'till 2010!