I just bought a brand-new (supposedly) 2013 Fit. Been driving it for just about a week now, all city miles.

I'm concerned because almost everyone on this forum seems to be getting at least 30+ MPG (and that's with the smaller US gallon, I'm assuming) while I'm getting less than 24 MPG (and that's with the bigger imperial gallon).

That equates to roughly 11.4 L/100 km

The window sticker says 7.1 L/100 km (40 mpg)

I think this might indicate I've been handed a lemon.

Anyone have any thoughts, advice for me?

 

you said city miles. you do realize you never see 40mpg in city right?

I average about 24ish also when mostly city

 

24 does seem low but what kind of city driving? You spend a lot of times at red lights? Heavy foot? Car doesn't even sound broken in yet. I got about 27ish city but I'm able to do a lot of coasting with some of the straighter clear roads around here.

 

Really thanks for the replies! This is an exceptional community.

7-mile commute to work and 7 back; lots of red lights, stop-and-go traffic. No hills; flat prairie town.

A/T with about 100 miles on clock.

Started out 11.8L/100 km and has gradually reduced to 11.3/100 km. Still seems excessively high compared with what I've been reading here.

I'm trying to keep it under 3500 rpm max when I accelerate to keep up with traffic during this break-in period and usually mostly much lower than all other times, so not really driving hard.

Should I be taking it back to the dealer?

 

Try bapping the paddles to upshift as soon as it can. 7 miles is a very short commute. Wont give the engine much time to warm up. Cold engine is less mpg.

 

I got 20 mpg on my manual trans on my first fuel up with Fuelly then got it up to 28 with a highway trip. I also have a very short commute. I'm trying different strategies (I have a 2007 Fit).

Since your fit is new it probably doesn't have bad coil packs or spark plugs. Some suggested doing the idle learn procedure. Check my Fuelly thread in the GD forum for more info

 

Check the posted estimates for the Fit. Here they list 27mpg city which is 8.7L/100KM. 11.3/100km is 20.8mp(us)g. Poor but not unheard of. You have a lot of factors working against you.

If you're letting it warm up before driving that's a lot of wasted gas.

I hope you reset the avg L/100KM gauge and are not going on what it had stored: moving it around the boat and the dealer lot will get abysmal fuel efficiency.

 

All the cogent replies are really appreciated.

xxryu193x: don't have the Sport, so no paddles. But I hear you on the warm-up.

MTLian: I will definitely try the idle learn procedure after my first fill-up; thank you for the heads-up.

Since I had to wait to get the accessories/seat covers installed when I went to pick up the car (even though the dealer had had a week to get it done previously!), plus judging by the amount of dust on the dashboard, they may have rushed the PDI and NOT done the idle learn they were supposed to?

Steve244: I don't really let it warm up any longer than about 30 seconds or so; as long as it takes to reposition mirrors (my wife drives it and she's smaller than me!) and put on seat belt. I tend to try and keep the rpm down until the cold engine light goes off. Block heater is usually plugged in up here too.

Thanks for the tip about resetting the gauge; we'll see how that works out!

Cheers everybody!

 

The commute that you have, you probably won't see much gains in MPG ever. However, it is a new car and as you put more miles on the car it will increase in MPG over time.

My Fit is driven 90 miles a day 95% highway and 5% city. It averages 41-42 MPG.

 

total of 145%?

 

Dang! you caught me! I didn't edit it fast enough.

 

First the engine will break in. My 07 took 5-600 miles before I saw normal mileage. Also if it is colder up there that will cost you a couple of MPG. I drop 2-3 mpg he oin Colorado in the winter. The big thing is don't drive 100 miles, go fill up your tank and then say the mileage isn't good. Drive it for a few tanks and check it. 7 mile round trip all stop and go I don't see you getting above 28 mpg, that is tough for any car.

 

Figure out the path of least resistance e.g. less traffic, red lights, hills. Coast more and grandma style driving in non highway situations.

 

Don't worry it's about right for your condition and short commute.I average close to that with a 9 mile drive one way.

I saw 25.5 with fuelly but usually it's around 24-28 mpg depending on how hard I drive.I do not baby my Fit and I did a hard breakin.

I have 33K with no issues to speak of and run Mobil 1 synthetic changed every 6K

 

This car loves steady movement with little throttle response for the maximum MPG's. If your commute is too Stop & Go you will not be getting anywhere near the estimated MPG's

I would suggest just trying to really be aware of your acceleration and try to change your daily route to something that would be more efficient (even if means driving a few miles out of the way) all in the hopes of keeping a steady pace and going easy on the throttle

When I first got the car 6 months ago I too complained about the MPG's but now I make an effort to watch my acceleration and let it coast into red lights. Now I am getting much better MPG's but it was really more about changing my driving habits rather than anything else

 

First thing, it's a new car and the engine is still breaking in Be patient,

Secondly, your commute is working against you getting good mileage. That's very short and the constant stopping and go will mean you'll be lucky to see the 27 city average. Take it in a 30-50 mile highway run and watch how much better your mileage gets and you'll see what I mean.

 

After reading the OPs other posts, I seriously doubt anything is wrong with that car. Car companies and people brag about getting the best mpg because its the new thing, but realisic results will be much lower then you think. If you're getting 24 mpg in that traffic, the soccer mom in the chevy tahoe in front of you is probably getting 11 mpg. My avatar is my personal freeway best from a 150 mile trip with good conditions going 55 mph with the cc behind a truck.

 

Hands down, the best thing that helped my gas mileage was AVOIDING early upshifts. You lug the motor.


Have it shift at a minimum of 3000 rpm




Parts wise, the best things for my car was the stock sparkplugs out of a S2000, AP1 (01-05 I think year range) and running 93 octane gas


The advanced ignition timing that comes as a result of the ecu adjusting makes for 1-3mpg increase around town and roughly 3mpg on the highway DEPENDING ON DRIVING STYLE

The advanced timing comes into palce since the ecu is seeing less detonation from running the colder temp range spark plugs and the detonation-resistant 93 octane



If you want to see for yourself without touching the car, run 91 and after one entire tankful, you should start to see results. Honda is VERY reliability oriented, so it will NOT advance the timing right away. it advances it slightly, sees its okay, then another babystep. On cars like the Civic SI, it doesnt give a shit, if it thinks its running higher octane, it just plows forward with more timing and only backs off if detonation happens often

 

It's an econobox designed to run on 87. You will not see a 10% increase in mpg changing out the plugs and using higher octane. You will see a 10% increase in your fuel bill though.

If you thrash it you might see a noticeable improvement in power (might and noticeable being key words) with cooler plugs and a higher octane rated fuel. But this isn't the driving style you would be using if mpg/economy were priorities.

 

Hi OP, what did you drive before the FIT and what kind of gas mileage did you get from that car? That would be a more valid comparison to what people posted on the internet. For "city" driving, there are so many different variables that any gas mileage estimates are just that - an estimate. You would see a really bad mileage if you move 1 inch at a time and stop for 5 minutes each time over the 7 miles. And there are other factors with the colder weather, different mixture of the gas in winter time, the snow covered surface, how you drive, etc, etc.
And also don't forget the fine print, the window sticker says 7.1 L/100 km (40 mpg), but did you also see "†Based on 2013 EnerGuide Fuel Consumption Guide ratings published by Natural Resources Canada. Transport Canada approved test methods used. Your actual fuel consumption will vary based on driving habits and other factors – use for comparison only." I suspect if you take your car back to the dealer, they are going to look like deer in the headlight.