For some reason am I the only one getting bag MPG? During the summer I used to get around 38-39 MPG mostly highway (32psi all around), but now in the Michigan winter I get 30-32 MPG on (38psi all around). What's going on?

 

WINTER will give you worse gas mileage. Changing driving habits, shorter drives, longer light wait time as well. Winter is the clue OP

 

You may also be using different gas. 10% ethanol is the norm but they may switch it out in the summer. Ethanol is less energy dense and you get a bit worse mileage.

 

You live in Michigan, that is the problem! Come to AZ. Getting 38-40 in town all year, 44 highway.

 

Also check your tire pressure, remember it's 32 psi cold. Cold in the winter is very different than cold in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised if you were running 25psi right now.

Running the front and rear defrotster will also take a very significant toll on gas milage as the rear defroster demands about 30 amps from the alternator and the front defroster will run your AC condenser to remove moisture from the air if the intake air temp is above freezing.

 

Exactly, it's winter which brings low temps and winter mixture petrol. Not a good combination for high MPG.

 

Here in CO we have crap gas in the winter and I'm getting 33-36 mpg city in wintry conditions. I have a 6MT lx. PS car does pretty good in the snow even with stock firestone fr740s

 

Yeah, I'm averaging about 33mpg since I got my fit last month. This winter has been horrid so far in the North East.

 

I'm even looking forward to temps getting back in the 20's and 30's now, these sub-zero mornings are getting real old.

 

Just curious if I should be concerned with my mileage. I've been assuming it's not great due to the heavy traffic around here and cold temps. But now I'm second guessing myself.

I regularly get around 21 MPG on my commute in to work. I can sit through 2 (sometimes 3) stoplights before I go through a couple of intersections. I don't mean that there are 2 or 3 stoplights on the way to work. I mean sometimes I sit at the same intersection while the light cycles twice. I see the estimated MPG go down as I sit idling. Is that normal? Should it drop so fast while idling?

I get pretty ok on the highway (computer estimate can be around 43+ hwy). I haven't done that much hwy driving. So my average tends to be 26 MPG.

Should I be expecting better from my city numbers? Is there something that might be wrong with the car? Or is traffic just that much of a zap on my MPG?

What do other folks get in bad traffic, at stop lights, etc.?

(I almost want to go to a dealer and test drive another Fit in traffic just to compare.)

Thanks.

 

In normal driving, you're burning gas and the odometer is constantly ticking off miles- and all things being equal, mpg will hold pretty steady. Sitting at a light, you're steadlily burning gas and the odometer is holding still- so the mpg is what's going to move. Down.

Unless I desperately need heat, I just shut the engine off when I'm stopped. In regular heavy traffic I try to have a buffer in front of me to give myself a better chance of avoiding a complete stop. Starting from zero burns more gas than keeping rolling, so keep rolling as long as you can, however slowly.

 

With short trips and cold great lakes winter weather (lots of warm-up time in the driveway) I get around 24mpg.

Best pure hwy driving mileage so far was just over 36mpg but it's cold here and I don't camp in the slow lane.

YMMV, but winter temps and stop-and-go traffic is the worst case, and summer mileage will be noticeably better.

Incidentally, almost every vehicle I've ever owned was significantly more powerful in cold air than in the warm of summertime, it's a density-altitude thing and so I expect higher fuel consumption 'cause the extra power has to come from somewhere.

Exception is my wife's Mazdaspeed, it's turbocharged and doesn't seem to lose much power in hot weather, nor does it have any difficulty pegging the instantaneous fuel consumption meter (only goes to 99.9L/100km, heheh).

 

You wouldn't believe how many people I've run into that confuse power with gas mileage and try to claim vehicles get BETTER gas mileage in the cold. And some of these people should really know better.

 

Firefly, as everyone already mentioned, you will never get good gas mileage with cold temps and stop and go traffic like you're driving in. Headwinds also will negatively affect mpg's. Like FitChartlie, I turn the engine off at long stop lights as idling is just a major gas burning event. I am really looking forward to my first summer to see what the Fit can do with some heat.

 

Also, the shorter the trip the worse the mileage. Some of our local errands yield 23-26 mpg, while I've had as high as 50 on longer drives. Record low: 8 mpg.

 

Thanks for the info, folks! I kind of figured this was the case, but still had that element of doubt.

The MPG in the post above, sounds a lot like the numbers I see on my Fit. My morning commute is fairly short as far as miles, but takes a while due to the traffic and stop lights. I'm pretty sure my current commute would be well-suited to a hybrid. But I don't necessarily expect the commute to be the same forever and I'm not really ready for a hybrid... Plus I love what I can fit in a Fit!

Out of curiousity I looked up a bit of info on what goes into the EPA City test. I think it said it's about 11 miles long and takes about a half hour of drive time. That means it moves at a better clip, probably with fewer stops, than I do on my morning commute.

For turning the car off at stoplights, is there a recommended procedure? Can you still have use of turn signals and break lights?

Looking forward to seeing MPG in warmer weather.

Thanks!

 

Had the same concerns as Kdawgz and Firefly. In summer of 2015, generally got above 30 MPGs, which then plummeted to low 20s in the current winter. Been using the recommended PSIs on the door jamb. I figured it was the terrible NYC traffic and extra heating requirements.

 

Turn the key back to the run position.

 

When you get to a stop light, with your foot on the brake, put it in neutral and press the Start/Stop button. Your engine will shut off. You will still be able to access all accessories. Just before the light turns green, with your foot still on the brake, press the button again to start the engine, put it in Drive and off you go. Incidentally, your brake lights will work whether your engine is running or not, even if you don't have the keys.

 

I'll try that!