automatic or manual transmission?

 

[QUOTE=solbrothers;946308]automatic or manual transmission?[/QUO

I have an automatic in the new car, But the Fit was manual. Because of the gearing speeds over 70 the mpg really dropped. I love the SG but wished it did more more fuel trim/ air fuel

 

my average mpg is 24.... i was stuck in traffic for 30 mins, and it dropped to 17.4....
could it possibley be the gas brand?

 

I think you might have set a new record low mileage figure.... People seem to get poor mileage figures in certain parts of California due to the heavy traffic and stop and go driving.... I'm guessing that your car has an automatic transmission.... If so shifting into neutral when stopped for any length of time might help a little... A great deal of fuel is consumed while your car is idling and having it in gear when doing so is putting extra load on the engine while sitting still... If your car is new it should loosen up some as it accumulates more mileage... All new engines take quite a bit of mileage to break in.

 

OH!. And the day after that, I wood be at a RED LIGHT and I watched as my mpg lowered 17.7, 17.6, 17.5. ......
It has gone back up to around 24. But I was scared... living in LA has its negatives...

 

Southern California drivers have it rough trying to conserve gas... Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio can be real bad at certain times of the day also... Little engines work pretty hard turning the torque converter and air conditioner at idle so they burn a lot more proportionately than larger engines that have more torque at slow engine speeds.....In the 80s I had a diesel powered VW that would get over 50 MPG on the highway but as low as 34MPG in city driving with the A/C turned on and those little things had a huge amount of torque for their size.... It's better to get where you need to go before the time that traffic peaks than use up the fuel and stress both your car and self..

 

Unfortunately, there is a large misconception that Economical Cars are just that in every situation. Certain Vehicles excel in stop/go traffic like the prius, Camry(H), Altima(H), anything that runs off of battery. The FIT is not one of them. it is better than a V8 but if put in the same stop/go conditions, probably not by much. I work for a campus Security and we have had V6, V8, & Hybrids (all 4WD/AWD). The V6 vehicles average around 12mpg, the V8's around 11mpg, & the Hybrids get around 18-20mpg. The Cruisers only get above 30mph while on their way to the dealer for major services and the rest of the time are stopping for students at every crosswalk. A fit in the City is probably not the right choice for economy. That's where a Prius (or even better, a LEAF) will be the most economical. but the fit is more fun

The FIT loves 50mph country road driving. I'm averaging 38mpg in those exact conditions after 1 1/4 years of ownership.

~SB

 

Though I don't think I've ever driven a full tank of gas solely in LA "city" driving, my gauge hovers around 29-30 mpg when doing so, which makes sense since I get over 40 mpg on the hwy and 34-35 mpg in mixed LA driving. So I think the Fit does quite well in urban fuel economy.

 

Cars started using more fuel idling when the catalytic converters came to be.... They require heat to function and engines don't make as much heat at idle without burning more fuel... Yes we are using more fuel with catalytic converters than we would without them but the fat cats that control the platinum market and the oil companies love it... less emissions are coming out of our exhaust pipes but how about the emissions that are produced transporting the crude oil to refineries, the refining process, and transportation from the refinery too market.

 

My 2011 AT now has a total of 575 miles on it. Approaching the magic 600 miles. I had just used about 9.9 gallons to get 305 miles on my last tank. This averages out to be close to 31 mpg. Engine is not broken in yet. Do you experts think my mpg will improve? I am doing about 80%/25% highway/city. Thanks.

 

Depends on where you're at in Cali...if the temps have drastically dropped there recently, your 31 MPG would not surprise me. If you are in an area with constant, warm temps then your 31 MPG would lead me to ask: are you driving in the city like a madman? What is the PSI on your tires? Does your highway driving consist of hilly areas?

I live in central Iowa, and during the warm months there's no reason I can't get 40 MPG combined (in my 2009 AT Sport)

 

jcschlic, thanks for the reply. I have no idea what my psi is as I have not checked it since the car rolled out the dealership 2 weeks ago. I am in the San Francisco bay area, and the temperature ranges between mid 40s (coldest) in the winter and high 80s (average) in summer, pretty mild compared to other parts of the country. My highway ride is pretty flat, nothing hilly here. Hope I get as good mpg as your car soon. Right now, I am also contacting various Honda autoshops to see if they can do something about rewiring my headlamps to turn off when I remove my ignition key. I already forgot to turn off the headlights twice in my rush. Any good suggestions? Thanks again.

 

In the warm months I run all four tire PSI at 40 FYI. Shortly after getting my Fit I installed the K&N drop-in air filter which I started thread on quite a while back...it won't help much but I think that it's a good investment and will help a little bit.

I've been to San Francisco a few times and I was surprised at how cold it can get. That would explain your 31 MPG at the moment in my opinion. Wait until spring/summer/early fall to see what your car is really capable of.

 

Seems normal for that kind of driving. Lots of stop and go where I am as well as steep hills. Local around here gets me about 21 mpg

 

around here I feel like I'd have to make an effort to get the MPGs much below the high 20s. I don't think it's ever been less than 30 and I don't really drive easy when I'm driving the fit (after it warms up of course). I think as others said that 15 min warmup is going to kill your mpgs. just start driving right away and take it easy until the car warms up.

 

All very true.

I recall one tank a while back where it was constant aggressiveness both in city driving and on the highway. This was late August I think. That tank ended up being a combined 31 MPG.

The worst I have ever gotten during the winter (constant frigid temps of below 20F) was right around 31 MPG as well.

I'm amazed when I read posts from people when they say they get anything below 25 combined...makes me think something might be wrong with the car.

 

I just found out today from our forum friends (another thread) that I had been getting lousy mileage because I unknowingly switched on the A/C each time when I turn on the blower even if I did not manually press on the A/C switch. If I kept my dial on Windshield defogger, the A/C will be on without me knowing it even if I switch on the fan.

Hopefully, I will get better mileage after knowing my mistake

 

Yes that does take away form mpg epically at idle and in stop and go. I was getting 28-30 when the cold temps hit and every thing I did the mpg would not go up. I have a Scan gauge and would look at the mpg and try to drive to get the best mpg. I change driving shoes and believe me it makes a difference. I am now getting 33 mpg using the same gasoline and the temps are cold. I notice that I can drive 65 and get 30 mpg on the SG and if I let up a little on the throttle, I could still hold 65 and the mpg goes up the 45 mpg. I drive with the lights on both ways in my commute and thats about another 7 percent lower mpg.

 

why is the AC turning on if the AC button isn't pressed in??? and this is only when the defogger is turned on?

 

If its in the Defroster position the AC cycles to clean the windows. Its not that you use it or the AC, it just you forget about it an always leave it on. After the windows are cleared just turn it to heat and open the window a little and the windows wont fog up again.