Honda Accord Real World MPG

packer3

Practice alot in a mall parking lot, also try starting the car off in second instead of first (in a mall lot of course) just to give you a better sense of feeling of the clutch, it wont pop as hard when to begin to take off and you only need to drive it a few feet to get the rhythm.
Also keep in mind if you get a stick and you do alot of heavy city driving your left leg isn't going to be to thrilled, or if you were to hurt your left leg your stuck.

tallman1

Did you see a difference in gas mileage from when you first bought the car to today

Actually, no. I got good mileage right from the start. My first 4 tanks were all above 33 mpg. I didn't have a tank below 32 until my 10th tank. My first sub-30 mpg tank was when my car had a little over 19k miles.

I know that many people have posted here that their mileage improved as they broke in their engine. I have no doubt that that is the case, it just wasn't my experience.

tallman1

Now I just need to be able to drive a manual enough to get comfortable in everyday situations.

I applaud your effort to practice. FWIW, I had only driven a stick a couple of times before I bought one... a brand new 1980 Datsun 200SX. I was so nervous I had the salesperson drive it so that I could head right out of the dealership driveway.

Yes, I stalled it a few times but you learn your car pretty quickly. The improved mileage is a great benefit along with fun, cheaper cost, more responsive, etc, etc. :shades:

packer3

Tall,

I kinda new what your answer would be because over the years I've always heard the same thing that how the gas mileage would get better over time. I have been leasing at least two cars every three years since the 1980's and just like you said I never saw the gas mileage improve never, what ever I got from the first day is what I got on the last day.
I now truly believe that this is not true anymore with todays cars as it must of been 20/30 years ago.

Pak

tankbeans

Luckily I do about 50/50. Even my "city" driving is suburban. It's pretty easy to figure out when you need to slow down. Maybe I'll see if my dad will take me out in his car.

It's a poEscort by now, but it'll do the job. Keep in mind I have nothing against Escorts, but his isn't worth near what he thinks.

All of my "city" driving is off-peak.

...your left leg isn't going to be thrilled...

That was another thing I've had to get used to. I drove my brother's 94 Corolla and I had to really lean into the clutch to keep it down. I'm sort of short about 5'8" and he likes his seat all the way back. I have to find a good spot to sit. My friends Mustang is perfect.

Rambling. Sorry.

dudleyr

My mileage is real easy to keep track of as I use excel. I even put in my average speed for each tank from the scangage so I can get a bunch more info with a few clicks. Gallons per hour etc, total hours driven, basically anything with time.

Time rally shows how city mpg brings down the average. If you drive 65 miles highway and 15 miles in the city, then you might think you do much more hwy than city (4x more), when really you spent an hour doing each so your true ratio is 50/50.

packer3

Those Dodge Escorts run pretty good at least it's a car to practace on, at your height it should not be a problem no matter where you sit in tose cars.

thegraduate

2 Passengers, 1 Week of Luggage (Est. 475 lbs). 100% indicated Oil Life. 37f/35r PSI. Texaco 87 Octane.

Prattville, AL to Gulf Shores, AL (402.4 miles round-trip). 10.86 gallons. = 37.05 MPG.

I averaged 73mph on the interstate (I-65). Ran in mixed city driving for 95 miles of the tank, with a total of 6m 05s of total stopped time (per my Garmin GPS).

Have a great week everyone!

TheGraduate

mazda6dude

Just a little over 9,300 miles. Last tank drove 484 miles on 16 gallons. Avg. 30.25. 80% Hwy 20% City. Overall avg. still 30mpg or better. For a large car, very impressive.

hackattack5

Thanks for the info. I just wanted to make sure it was shifting into 5th.

caaz

Hmmm if i recall, the second i'm done filling up, I turn my key on, leave the gas station, and while driving home i'm sure gas is being consumed, therefore when i arrive home, there is plenty of space for expansion. Do you push your car home from the gas station ?. If you drive it home, there's plenty of room.

when i top it off i hold the nozzle about an inch away from the entrance of filling neck, sorry, no chance of that gas jumping back into the nozzle.

If you dont fill up completely like this each time, you will NOT have accurate numbers. I learned to fill up this way from my father, so i dont have an anxiety attack if it takes me another 5 mins to completely fill it up, I do however enjoy knowing its accurate each time.

p.s. My old astro van held an additional 5.2 gallons after it clicked off, my current camry holds 2.2 gas. my Elantra holds about 2.3 gas, after clicking off.

So i'm assuming those of you who dont fill it completely up each time, have absolutely no clue what kind of gas mileage you are getting.

One last question?. what about the pump that is alot faster than other pumps, it will surely click off even faster, leaving even a greater lack of gas that wasnt filled up. Yielding an even greater error in your MPG.

Happy motoring
Later, Caaz

iu_gary

Anybody getting better than 25 MPG? I talked with the dealer and they said I'm exceeding what they are hearing. They say most people are getting 22 MPG's? I've got 10K on the car now. I thought it might improve as I broke it in?

I drive about 84 miles each day. 54 is pure highway with some hills and the other 30 is a mix of city/rural. I set the cruise on 79 on the highway but I consistently get about 24.5 to 25.5 MPG. I have tracked every tank since I bought the car and it has been in this range each time. I'm really disappointed in the MPG's. I like the car but probably would not have bought the car had I known what I'm getting.

Thanks,

Gary
Acworth, GA

dpmeersman

Have you done a pure hwy trip? You should be able to get at least 30 mpg's on the hwy. I've had a couple of 29's & a 32 mpg with my 08 V6, but pure hwy and not exceeding 75 mph. I've seen some in this group that report better then 30 mpg with their 4cyl 08's. When doing anything but hwy driving, these cars are relatively heavy and when asked to go from a dead stop or climb an incline, especially from a dead stop your fuel economy will be compromised a great deal. I think my sticker had for expected fuel economy with an 80% hwy 20% city mix of 22 mpg. Your mix is 65% hwy 35% city so 25 mpg's sounds about right to me.

cgyfireman

You're right,we call them opticoms in Calgary,only the fire trucks have them(not ambulances and police for some reson).
We have to turn them on manually when we respond to a call,they work great.
Have never heard of anyone flashing their lights to make them work.

imscf

After 4,000 miles, I have been averaging about 20 mpg on the EX-4 AT on combined NY City/Highway. Once, I drove 300 miles highway only, and averaged 29, but otherwise, I've been disappointed w. the mileage.

tankbeans

...on combined NY City/Highway...

There's your big problem. Not trying to sound evil. I'm going to guess that you are stuck in stop and go pretty much all day. Meaning that there isn't a whole lot of time of limited stop driving in the city. I know there are the semiphores which must be obeyed, but between the lights must be terrible.

Just for curiosity's sake, what sort of mileage were you getting in your old car, and what was your old car.

ljgbjg

You guys have the only real means of comparing the effectiveness of VCM - mitigated by the final drive ratio of the 6 speed vs. the AT. But can some '08 V6 coupe owners chime in with their city and pure highway mileage? Would be interesting to us sedan owners and the whole discussion on the effectiveness of VCM. Thanks!

mevander1

It is interesting to see the people that drive sticks for even Honda dealers will tell you,, you will take it in the shorts upon trade in.

thegraduate

It is a major personal preference. For those who would never drive an automatic, they might pay a premium to find a rare manual transmission Accord.

I'd suggest if you buy a stick shift, sell it yourself when the time comes.

imscf

My previous car was a 2000 Accord 4 LX AT, and I was averaging 24 mpg combined City Highway traffic. I rarely get stuck in stop-and-go traffic, as you suggest, as I live outside of Manhattan and do not drive there. About half of my driving is highway, so the present 20 mpg (at most, sometimes less) combined City/highway on the 2008 Accord 4 EX AT is disappointing.

tankbeans

My mistake. Whenever I hear or read New York I think honk, honk, bartalk bartalk and slamming on brakes. I guess I forget that New York is greater than just New York City.

I'd say your mileage is mostly being robbed by virtue of the fact your new model is significantly heavier than the previous and has a very wide brick-wallish, if you'll pardon the bad analogy, front end. It seems like a very bulky hunk of car.

I know that when I'm in the market for a new car the gen IX will be out and they may look better, to me at least, and may have better aerodynamics. It's all a case of two steps forward one step back when it come to auto redesign.

dudleyr

It is a comman misconception that sticks do not hold their value well. The truth is that yes you don't get as much for a stick when you trade it in, but the car cost $1,000 less to begin with, so you usually get the same (or more) percentage back of your purchase price.

If you try to sell an automatic you are just another car. When you sell a stick people come from miles around to see your rare vehicle and often pay top dollar. Yes dealers will say they won't pay for a stick if you trade one in, but that is just one of many excuses they have for not giving you any money.

Also the stick saves money on gasoline, so that is a factor.

ezshift5

......well said amigo.......

(and should a visit to our state capital occur, my offer of a drink is now on the record)

all the best, ez....

tallman1

you will take it in the shorts upon trade in.

I've never had any trouble selling any of my manual trans cars for top dollar. They sold rather quickly too.

Besides, why on earth would I buy something that is more expensive, isn't as quick, gets worse gas mileage, and isn't nearly as fun (to me)? It seems odd to buy something I don't want in order to sell it to someone later. :confuse:

If someone told you that a manual had better resale value, would you buy one for just that reason??

tankbeans

Hey all. I'm just here to post my two most recent tanks. Number one was about 26 mpg and the most recent was just over 25. Major factors fast starts and speeding. By speeding I mean 85 mph reaching to 90. :shades: I was late for work and needed to get there 5 minutes ago. I'm not disappointed because I was a moron. Just thought I'd share.

monkeygwd

My previous car was a 2003 Accord LX I4 5AT Sedan, and I was averaging 24 MPG with my mostly in town driving. On long highway trips with almost all highway miles, I would get 34 MPG. My 2008 Accord EXL I4 5AT Sedan gets 20 MPG in the city, and at most 28 MPG highway. With a 4 MPG difference in the city, and 6 MPG highway, I am VERY disappointed. I love Honda's, and this is my third, but I just might think twice next time I am in the market for a new car. Apparently this is Honda's mistake designing a much thirstier new generation Accord, and it's a big mistake at that, especially considering fuel prices as of late. Looks like the V6 gets pretty much the same mileage!

viet1

You are right. My '08 V6 EX-L get about same MPG like your I4 with 78 HP difference. Please do not buy other make, trade it for an Accord V6 or have a Honda dealer check out your LX I4. In fact, My V6 EX-L get about 26 MPG mixed with about 40% city driving. 25 - 30 MPG for a loaded 268 HP Accord V6 EX-L is acceptable.

tlworkroom

Because, after decades of driving manual transmissions (2-wheeled or 4), you just get tired of having to keep that right arm always moving, pushing and pulling, and the left foot shoving and releasing. Eventually, you might just want to be able to get in a car and drive, to enjoy the machine rather than getting a workout while driving.

But, of course, if I had a BMW Z4 or the new Camaro coming out next year, then for sure I'd go manual!!

tallman1

Eventually, you might just want to be able to get in a car and drive, to enjoy the machine rather than getting a workout while driving.

I was talking about me, not anyone else. I'm well aware that I'm in the minority. The OP was suggesting that we should all buy automatics because of the alleged better resale.

Besides, I'm only 53 so I'm not even close to needing to relax my right arm... or my left leg. For me, "enjoying the machine" means using a third pedal. :shades:

ezshift5

........you make a strong point for the manual shift transmission. It doesn't hurt that Honda (and BMW) is/are among those few who actually manufacture a manual unit that shifts easily with precision.

I am always sort of amazed - after all the years - that so many mfgrs can't seem to get it right.

I will close by recalling what someone on these boards offered several moons back: driving an automatic was analogous to kissing one's sister.....................

all the best,ez....

elena250

Is this really the highway mileage on the 08 accord lx? I'm considering one instead of the civic since it might cost about the same - but at that kind of mileage I wonder whether it's really worth it.

imscf

CR, in its Feb. '08 issue, gave high marks to the Accord, but noted that "gas mileage is not as good as that of the previous model." It tested both the V6 EX-L and the 2.4 liter Four LX-P. For (overall/City/highway) mpg, it got 21/15/30 and 23/15/34 respectively.
I've been getting about 20 mpg overall for the EX-4 AT

mazda6dude

2008 Honda Accord LX AT 2.4L
Drove 497 miles on 15.17 gallons
Avg. MPG: 32.76

thegraduate

What kind of driving is this? Could you tell us some about the road, the load, and how fast you drove?

dpmeersman

"Could you tell us some about the road, the load, and how fast you drove?"

Ah, a poet in the group.

thegraduate

Too many Dr. Seuss books for me I guess...

I didn't even realize I'd done it.

guitar4him

Today, I finally got to do the fillup that allows me to calibrate my Scangauge. Here's the info:

2008 Accord LX Sedan I4 (177hp), AT with just over 3,000 total miles.

I filled up at the same pump as before and filled until I couldn't put any more gas in without spilling over. There were 463 miles on this tank when I pulled into the station, and the SG read 31.7 mpg on this tank. I put 15.8 gallons in which yields 29.3 mpg by the calculator. When I did the fillup screen on the SG, it believed that the fuel used was 14.7 gallons. I tweaked the fuel used figure up to 15.8 and this indicated a 7.4% correction factor. If you apply the 7.4% correction factor to the indicated 31.7 mpg on this tank, it corrects to 29.35 mpg....wow....that's within 0.05 mpg. I believe I've got it dialed in.

BTW....this tank was about 80/20 Hwy/City and I paid $3.51 per gallon for the gas. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the gas mileage so far. It's going to be interesting to see how it does when it has 10K miles on it.

Ken

thegraduate

Please don't top off your tank to the tip top (as you say you did). I wouldn't want you to damage your new car!

From the EPA:

You need extra room in your gas tank to allow the gasoline to expand. If you top off your tank, the extra gas may evaporate into your vehicle’s vapor collection system. That system may become fouled and will not work properly causing your vehicle to run poorly and have high gas emissions. Also, Topping off the gas tank can result in your paying for gasoline that is fed back into the station's tanks because your gas tank is full. The gas nozzle automatically clicks off when your gas tank is full. In areas of ozone nonattainment, gas station pumps are equipped with vapor recovery systems that feed back gas vapors into their tanks to prevent vapors from escaping into the air and contributing to air pollution. Any additional gas you try to pump into your tank may be drawn into the vapor line and fed back into the station’s storage tanks.

ljgbjg

good post graduate -

"Any additional gas you try to pump into your tank may be drawn into the vapor line and fed back into the station’s storage tanks".

Remember the guy topping off his tank and saying his Honda's tank was 21 gallons and not 18.5? He probably just paid for about 5 gallons of gas to go back into the station storage tanks! :P

guitar4him

I've heard this many times before and I appreciate your advice. However, I've been filling all my cars and trucks up this way for many years with no problems. I don't do this if I'm going to park the vehicle immediately after filling it. As soon as I left the station, I drove enough to drop the tank level at least 1/2 gallon. Being an engineer, I'm aware of the potential problems....and how to avoid them.

BTW....where I live, we don't have vapor recovery systems on the pumps.

Ken

tankbeans

The stations the only one to come out ahead. They get to sell the same gas twice.

Isn't that against the laws of physics or something. :P

thegraduate

Ok... just understand that the only possible consequences of filling to the brim are bad ones (you lose money, you expel gasoline vapors into the environment, you cause a problem with your evap system, etc...).

Call me crazy, I just don't see the point in poking that extra bit of gas in there at risk for a problem; new cars are more complicated than cars in years past. Even on trips, I fill up when I get to around a quarter of a tank of fuel anyway; I'm never stuck in a jam worried about how much fuel I have. Plus, the 5-15 miles I might would get out of topping off just aren't worth it to me.

I just pump to the click. My results for MPG are consistent within 1 MPG for my regular commute (I use the same gas pump near my home).

All that being said, its your car and your money. Congrats on the good mileage

ljgbjg

It is against some law! Law of nature? :P Man, gas costs enough without paying for it to go back into the tanks at the station!! They probably laugh their butts off when they see people doing that, knowing what is happening. Here in NJ you cannot pump your own gas - it is all full service - yet $3.58 a gallon last weekend for regular, GULF. They set the pump, it stops, they round to the nearest $.05 and you pay. That is it - - and if my tank were any more full the gauge would break - I mean it is WAY left of the F mark when they do that. Any more and it would be pointing directly left (My gauge shows full at 12:00 position).

tankbeans

For a second there I was confused when you said left of full. For me full is at 3 and empty is at 9, clock positions. So my guess is that if my car were to be filled that far it would read at 6. :surprise:

ljgbjg

My gauge goes from 12 -6 , full to empty, clockwise.

I have had others that went from 2-10 counterclockwise

In fact, my present car is an '08 Accord. My '04 S 2000 went from left to right, 3-9, with leds. No consistency even within an manufacturer!

tankbeans

I guess it's there way to avoid having a standard dashboard. Personally I wish that the cluster from the current generation Civic were in the previous generation Accord.

On a side note my dashboard is completely different from the dashboard in the 06, I think it was a picture grad posted where I learned this.

I know with many manufacturers they have pretty much the same dashboard across the board. I know the gauge cluster in my mom's 05 Sunfire is virtually identical to the cluster in my brothers 95 Grand Am which is almost the same as the cluster from an 89 Grand Prix that my other brother had.

I know what does this have to do with fuel mileage.

I recently got 27 and I was doing a fair bit of speeding. I haven't really been trying to get the best mileage because sometimes it is just too much of a hassle.

dpmeersman

I know what you mean about driving in a manner that will return the best possible fuel economy being a hassle. This weeks fill-up cost me 5 dollars less than last weeks what with the declining gas costs and I've celebrated a bit by visiting areas of my tach that have been left out of the picture lately. I've been driving around with the audible signal on my Davis Carchip on which protests with a noticeable squeal when braking or accelerating to aggressively. Prices go down much further and I'll continue to monitor the info it gathers on my computer but I think I'll shut the audible signals off. I was getting a little carried away, even had a few blue haired old ladies riding my rear.

ljgbjg

"even had a few blue haired old ladies riding my rear" :sick: That had to hurt! :P

Seriously, I had a similar device in our 1993 Dodge Intrepid and sometimes when coasting showed over 100 MPG. I hated to watch that darn thing when accelerating! I can understand your wathcing your MPG - but blue haired old ladies on your rear?! I have to give you credit - you have b's to admit that!

Have a good one...

tankbeans

They could be the blue haired ladies from an internet joke I saw a while back. Long story short they are pulled over on something like highway 22 or something like that, probably not real, and the officer walks up to the car. The lady asks what she'd done wrong and the officer said they were going too slow, 22 mph. Then the lady looks and says that she was doing exactly the speed limit. Then the officer notices her passengers shaking in the back and asks what the problem was and the blue hair says they just got off highway 125. :surprise:

You can sort of figure it out from there. This is a very cruddy retelling of the joke. I probably screwed it up.

ljgbjg

No - you did well! Funny! :P