Comrades,

Thank you for welcoming me into this forum. This is my FIRST CAR, a crystal black 2011 fit sport with 66xxx miles. I've been pushing a bicycle around western Massachusetts since 2018 and I figured I've earned my stripes as a cyclist and I'm ready to get out of the elements. Even though these are not known to be fast cars, I am filled with wonder and gratitude every time I give the accelerator a light touch and I'm up to 30 mph in no time. It is a miracle, and I think God must be a really cool guy if he's willing to just let that happen. To be able to cross town without putting in effort or negotiating with snow and wind is a luxury.

As someone who has done all of their own bike maintenance, I'm looking forward to learning car maintenance! I would appreciate any pointers you have for a first-time car owner who is reasonably handy.

I've had this guy for just over a week. Look closely and you'll see my mossy oak realtree camo seat covers. So worth it. I just bought a progress tech rear sway bar and an aftermarket armrest which I'll install it soon. At some point in the future, I'll get a hitch-mounted bike rack, LED interior lights, and maybe a DIY camper setup.

Can anyone help me with a fuel economy question before I start a separate thread? I couldn't find answers via search on this forum or anywhere else.
I'm getting 24 mpg, which is not cool! The dealer from whom I got this car gave me some advice that isn't supported by anything I've found on the internet: he said I should use premium fuel for my next fill up because it burns hotter and will clear the whatever-it-is out of the engine. He said he'll check it out if that doesn't work, and I have a warranty so I'm entitled to some free wrenching in that case. However, my internet reading suggests that premium fuel wouldn't do anything special in an engine like this one. Should I insist that the dealer check on the sparkplugs, which sometimes come loose in these guys? Should I try some techron fuel system cleaner? At only 66xxx miles, I don't think the valves should be due for an adjustment. I'm not sure what else it could be.
I have a very fuel-efficient driving style and I always get better than average fuel economy. It's worth adding that it's currently pretty cold out here in western Mass, and I have been driving exclusively around town and not on the highway. However, 24 mpg seems way below what I should be expecting regardless of conditions.


my 2011 fit sport

 

Is the car automatic? How long are your trips and what is the driving like?

Bikes > cars forever 💪

 

Welcome to the club. I would recommend reading as much as you can from the 2nd gen. forum, especially the loose plug sticky.

I replaced my sparkplugs at 65k miles and two were loose. Much better mpg after plugs and valves.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-generation-ge-08-13/

 

The winter fuel mix + cold + stop-and-go driving + hills (depending on where you are) + short trips (if you're making short trips) will reduce fuel efficiency a lot. Low tire pressure which is quite common (especially in winter) based on the cars I see on the road also reduces fuel efficiency. All the other maintenance items (engine air filter, properly functioning brakes, oil and transmission service, spark plugs and coils, valve adjustment) can also effect fuel efficiency.

As a first test you should go for a long highway drive and see what you get. Don't rely on the little gauge on the dash and instead calculate at the pump. If you're not in the mid-30s after a highway trip investigate further.

 

My car is automatic. Trips thus far have been around 20 minutes on average in a semi-rural, semi-urban, and somewhat hilly area. My driving is in town and between towns and it's not super congested around here. Although I have yet to do any highway driving, I have been able to get the speed up to 50 or 60 for short stretches. I'm braking as little as possible, preserving momentum, accelerating gently, not hauling anything significant, and only turning on the heat when the windshield is foggy or frozen. The dealer did a complete servicing including oil, air filter, alignment, etc and they guarauntee that everything is in good shape, although the valves and plugs were not explicitly mentioned in the pre-sale service. Once again, I feel like I can expect better than 24 mpg even if it's winter. Maybe I'm just a newbie car owner and I don't know what to expect.

@GrE8_Fit Thanks for the highly relevant info. When you checked on the plugs at 65xxx miles, was it because of a check engine light or your mechanical intuition? I'm asking because my dealer think it's likely not a spark plug issue if there's no check engine light. If that wasn't the case for your fit, I may be able to ask them to check on it just in case.

I think I'll go for a long highway drive like Drew21 suggested. I may add redline fuel system cleaner, but then I'd have to do an oil change just a few weeks after the last one. Although I'd like the dealer to do this work for me, I also want to install denso IK22 plugs so I may just do it myself. I don't think I'll fill up on super premium fuel even though the dealer asked me to do that before they check the spark plugs. I still don't understand that recommendation and I hope someone will educate me if I'm being silly.

 

I had been reading about the common problems to expect while researching, before I bought the car. I didn't have a CEL, and I was getting about 38mpg when I did the work. I think that by the time you see a CEL a lot of damage could already be done.

Honestly, just knowing that I heard the torque wrench click at 20ft/lbs, and not assuming the dealer did it gives me a lot more confidence.

 

I might be misunderstanding what you're saying here, but fuel treatment won't affect your oil or require an oil change.

Many Fit drivers swear by premium fuel for more power and better fuel efficiency. It certainly won't hurt anything (except the price you pay at the pump) and might help. In the big picture, it would be relatively inexpensive to run a few tanks of premium to see if you notice any difference. I have never tried it and doubt it would pay off in terms of efficiency for me.

The driver plays a big role in fuel efficiency. As a comparison for you, I have a 2010 Fit Sport A/T. My brother and his wife bought the car in 2012 and drove it for 8 years and 85K miles in Arkansas and then Nebraska. Most of their driving was on the highway, including several years where my sister-in-law was doing long interstate commutes. Their lifetime average was 34.3 mpg.

I have had the car for just over 4 years and around 22K miles in central MA. Almost all of my driving of the Fit involves long highway drives. While my fuel efficiency is lower in the winter for the reasons I outlined in my previous response, my lifetime average is 38.5 mpg. On non-winter highway trips I average 40-44 mpg.

So, same car (but getting older and with more miles) but overall I average 4+ mpg more than my brother and sister-in-law did, even though a good bit of their use of the car was in flatter terrain in eastern Nebraska. I'll also note that if my wife does a lot of driving on a tank of fuel I can see that (negatively) reflected in the efficiency as well. Like I said above, the driver plays a major role in fuel efficiency.

I have never seen a 24 mpg tank and that would signal to me that something was wrong with my car, but I can't really speculate what it means for your car without more data (e.g., non-winter driving, long highway trip efficiency, etc).

 

My guess is a combination of short trips and spark plugs/coil packs. But broadly, you should be getting at least 30 or so.

might sound obvious, but your tires are aired up, right?

 

Many thanks to all of you guys.
@Drew21 I'm out in western MA so you probably know the terrain I'm driving over. I got this car in late december and it hasn't been out on the highway yet. Tires were aired up two weeks ago. I'm obsessive about driving efficiently. Although the poor fuel economy is the only symptom I've noticed, it does sound like 24-25 mpg is a clear enough sign of something wrong. I haven't found any fit drivers swearing by premium fuel, but I'll take your word for it and try it out. Just like fuel system cleaner, I'm sure there are as many people saying it's bogus as there are people swearing by it. Can't hurt to try it before putting in a few hours to change the plugs.