Why am I not getting anywhere close to 33-34mpg in this car which is what should be reasonably expected from Honda's mpg postings when almost all my driving is highway? And why does it feel the need to shift so constantly that I cannot drive normally in traffic due to it not being able to figure out which gear it should be in? If the guy in front of me accelerates a bit from a stop, and I accelerate behind him, it upshifts so fast that I lose speed behind the guy, have to depress the gas pedal again to maintain the speed everyone else is accelerating at, thereby making it downshift again, at the same time everyone else is approaching cruising speed and letting off the gas, so that once again I have to immediately let off the gas to keep from hitting someone. That is EXACTLY what this car does, and saying well you have to work the pedal a different way will never change that. It's not an option. Just like telling me that going 55mph is how I am going to get 35 mpg in a world where doing that will get you killed.
What I am saying is offer some productive insight or info into this issue, and if it just keeps continuing after that, admit that my car is a bad car, and in doing so that there are other Fits out there that likely suffer the same problems (it can't be just mine,) and by extension that Honda has at least somewhat had a QC slippage lately. But you never will because that would go against your love for Honda and it's easier to keep saying it's somehow the driver's fault instead of actually having some reasonable thought about it.

 

Why are bugging a bunch of people on the Internet about fixing your car rather than someone with access to the car and tools to adjust it? Do you also blame the pidgons in the park for lots of cooing and strutting without fixing your car?

 

This is a Fit forum isn't it?

 

Get up to speed at a moderate pace ( don't speed), look at the instant mpg meter every once in a while (keep it close to 40 by maintaining throttle position), and refrain from braking as much as possible ( coast up to stop light instead of driving up to them and stopping)...Im getting 33mpg city just doing these three things.

 

I tried really keeping a close eye on the mpg meter this morning on the way in to work. What I discovered is that the meter tends to go up around 70 or 80 when I actually accelerate! The other interesting thing is when I am heading downhill, it drops significantly, I assume either because of the braking or because it is holding gear. Either way, it's interesting to me to see that I get better gas mileage while depressing the pedal than I do while coasting. ANd I am not sure how I can work the pedal in any practical way to stay at 40-- I would have to press the pedal down while going downhill. I will keep monitoring it, but again it seems like a lot of work to have to put in on a car that is supposed to be known for its fuel mileage while I had to do none of this on my 01 Accord that was not really specifically promoted for its gas mileage. Of course it was a MT, so maybe it's just a Honda AT thing, but then why do the numbers show to be in the AT's favor?
Anyway, I digress... on another note, you mean you put it in neutral every time you come up to a stop? Maybe it would help but seems a bit excessive IMO, but I guess I'll try that as well.

 

What world is that? How fast exactly do you go? With the Fit's tall profile anything over 65 and the MPG quickly starts dropping off.

65 on flat highway for me my instant meter reads around 50, never drops below 40 if there is incline. But at 75, it reads a little more than 20. Since none of the roads I regularly drive on have a speed limit of more than 50 I can't really do 75 though.

 

May or may not be the issue, but a bad A/C compressor can really suck mileage, and it's normally turned off when you accelerate. The A/C compressor itself shouldn't use a whole lot of HP, but if bearings are bad or tight it will use a lot more. The fact that your mileage shows better when you step on the gas makes me wonder if you don't have a compressor issue.

I don't know off the top of my head, does anyone know if the Fit have a separate belt for the A/C compressor? If so you can just remove that belt and see if that gives you an increase in mileage.

 

This sounds all sorts of wrong. If this is true, there is definitly something wrong with the ECU.

Are you calculating MPG manually or with the meter?

 

It all runs off the accessory belt. Driving a bit with the ac switched off would emulate the same thing though.

 

Also, no. There is a non-A/C belt available but that's more trouble than it's worth IMO as far as troubleshooting goes since you'd have to buy it.

 

The instant MPG should obviously go down when you are deeper in the throttle, however there is a slight delay, which is to increase accuracy and also so as to avoid huge changes that confuse the consumer. If you go quickly on/off/on/off the throttle you could see behavior where you are getting higher readings as you accelerate, but only because you were decellerating a second prior to that.

But that said the delay is only about 2 seconds or so, so if you are accelerating for say, 5 seconds, then the reading should be much lower than if you are coasting for 5 second.

Regarding downshifts, the Fit is a small car and underpowered. It is very likely you will have frequent downshifts with the AT, it's something I miss about a manual. But the ease of use benefits were necessary to us and required the AT.

 

Hey maybe this was discussed long ago and I forgot, but, presumably if you felt you were having fuel economy problems and the car had something wrong with it you brought it to a dealer, possibly more than one. What did the dealer think the problem was? Did you take it to any independent repair shops for advice?

 

I said the epa was 31. In fourteen pages of ' its not fair' and 'your all liars&idiots' you keep listing your mileage at 30-31 mpg.
If you were getting random tanks at 34+ mpg would you post it on here?
I still haven't read the part where you mention taking it in and seeing if anything is mechanically wrong.
I do wish I could help

 

What if I told you that at 55mph, set to cruise, without my touching the pedal at all, my mpg meter reads 40 or slightly better on flats or uphill (never 50), but downhill it always drops below 40?

 

I calculate manually. I reset the trip odometer every time I fill up, then next time I fill up (and I always fill up to maintain some sort of accuracy) I record the gallons, and divide the mileage readout by the gallons.
A couple of times I have looked to see what the car's computer says as well, and it has always said around 32-33, I think once it said 34.something. But there is no way.

 

I'll watch the mpg meter again on the way home but I am pretty sure, at least at highway speed, as long as I continue to accelerate the mpg meter continues to climb. In other words, I could be going 65mph, and the mpg readout reads say right at 40. If I accelerate up to 75mph, the meter climbs to 70-80 and stays there until I let off the throttle, then drops significantly (below 40 since I am now doing 75mph.) At least that's what I seem to recall it doing from this morning.
I don't remember it ever going above 40 while cruising, but that's around 65mph on the interstate.

 

OK fair enough- I think in the time this thread started, I have had four mpg calculations-- 29, then 30.5, then 31.4, then 28.4. That averages out to 29.825.
I know I have hit on this before, but it really seems too coincidental for the mpg and the shifting patterns of this car to not be related somehow.

 

I would tell you this does not sound like it is normal Fit behavior.

 

Sounds like something is keeping the injectors going, and there is some sort of drag in the system somewhere. Put the car in neutral going downhill a few times and see what it does, it should shoot up to 80+ The engine should also be idle speed and not revving.

I'd take the car in and insist to take a mechanic for a ride along. The mileage shouldn't drop going downhill, something is fishy there. Unless you're hitting the gas pedal and don't realize it. That could be a cause too!

These drive by wire systems are a lot more sensitive than mechanical linkages, but this is the 4th car I've owned with a drive by wire throttle. Make a conscious effort when you drive home to make sure going downhill you pick your foot up and remove it from the pedal. If your gas mileage doesn't drop as it normally does, then the culprit is probably your foot.

I don't know if the other Honda you mention had drive by wire or not, I'm thinking it didn't. First one I drove I thought it was wonky, took me a few months to adjust to it. Now when I drive a car with mechanical linkages it drives me nuts!

 

I will say this is the first time in the thread I've heard something that actually sounds aberrant. Going down hill the AT should shut off the injectors, though with the AC on I've found that it won't always do that. But yeah, the car should vary from 25ish mpg going uphill @ 65-70 to 35-40ish on flat ground to 60+ going down hill.