Honda Civic Real World MPG

dudleyr

I can't help but chime in.

Say two cars both get 25 mpg.

If one has a small tank he may laugh at the guy with a large tank who has to put in 30 gallons.

The flip side is that the guy with the big tank will laugh at the guy with the small tank because he has to put in 10 gallons 3 times as often.

Tank size has nothing to do with efficiency of operation. If anything the larger tank is more efficient because it requires fewer trips to get gas, and those trips themselves consume fuel.

BTW my brother used to have a Rabbit diesel with a second tank. It held close to 20 gallons and could easily go 1,000 miles on a tank. Now that is cruising range.

pat

That's the referee whistling this play dead!

It's time for all involved to agree to disagree and move on.

eldaino

ok ok! lol! :P

jefferyg

Currently no manufacturer offers a 1/2 ton truck with a diesel in the states. Quite a few are sold in other countries.

thegraduate

I never knew how to spell a "whistle" before now.

kathyc1

I don't see why everyone is so worried about the EPA estimates. If you want good mileage you drive so you get it, to heck with what EPA says. I just figured my first mileage for my '07 Civic EX auto coupe. Half and Half I got 31.3. I hope it gets better, but I wasn't turning my AC off for anything even going up a steep grade. I like my comfort and it's pushing 100 degrees here.

drmbb

I've never found A/C on or off makes much difference anyhow. And according to MythBusters (the TV show) at highway speeds, open windows do create enough drag to reduce mileage measureably.

I hate hot weather, so if it's over 70, I've got the A/C cranked up!

My experience is that rate of acceleration away from full stops (in city traffic) makes a much bigger difference then the A/C. As does highway cruising over 70-75mph. In my limited time with my 2007 Civic EX/AT, it seems that 65-70 is my sweet spot for Interstate cruise control.

pat

Nor did I. But that came out pretty good, eh? :P

thegraduate

Quite well!
LOL

eldaino

Tank size has nothing to do with efficiency of operation. If anything the larger tank is more efficient because it requires fewer trips to get gas, and those trips themselves consume fuel.

unless you life 20 miles away from the nearest gas station, i doubt how often one has to fill up makes that much of a difference. the smaller car still costs less to fill up.

No matter, because this is assuming you do get bas gas mileage with the civic; something i never did.

tslbmw

Ok, I've had the car for a week and have performed two fill ups (all of these miles are with the A/C on):

95% City driving on the first tank. 10.2 gallons and 245.4 miles = 24.06 MPG

90% HWY miles on a trip I took yesterday 6.02 gallons & 191.2 miles = 31.76 MPG

I'm VERY happy to get those figures considering the car doesn't have 500 miles on it yet. I'll report more in the coming months.

jefferyg

The salesman I bought my EX from told me that most people who've bought the Si have gotten at least as good as the EPA figures or better. I would have gladly paid the extra for an Si and ate the cost of the extra fuel if only my wife were willing to drive a stick. :mad:

will26

Bought my car on 5/18 and so far had two fill-ups. First one was 36.9 and the second was 36 mpg. I would say my driving is roughly 80 hwy/20 city. One question though... I filled up yesterday with 3 bars left and only had to put in 9.5 gallons. HOw far can one go when the gas light turns one? Has anyone done that?

ruking1

Since you did the three bar metric and that yield a use of 9.5 gal, with the tank @ 13.2 gals that means > 3.7 gals?!

eldaino

you can go pretty far, i used to do it all the time. not great for the car though.

harvey44

Got a chance to check mileage on my wife's 06 EX MT. Drove it last weekend and this weekend and filled it both times. (SHE NEVER records the data!)

City and surburban driving, AC on all week - 33 mpg. Highway we do about 42 - I do the highway driving - between 68-72 mph.

Mark

eldaino

a to the wesome.

targettuning

Those of you who have seen me/my posts around know that our 2006 Civic EX automatic sedan is mainly driven in a suburban environment where 23-24-25 mpg is the norm (depending on the season etc). Our other car is waiting repair so I have been using it (the Civic) for some 225+ mile highway trips. So, on two consecutive week-ends we have traveled the Pa Turnpike west then onto US Rt 30 Up..up..up the mountains toward Somerset. Anyhow I can now report fuel economy under those circumstances. Driving @ 70-72 mph on the turnpike and factoring in the mountain driving....trip #1: 39.588 mpg. trip #2: 40.05 mpg. So with that I can say in this day of $3.00 gas I am pleased (as anyone would be I think).

kipk

Good Post!

ruking1

Barring anything wrong with the car, we knew you could do it! I think the contrast with what you had been getting in the environment you had been getting it; is/ was a combination of the environment and how you drive in THAT environment.

barrnone

After 10+ months of ownership of my 2006 EX Sedan, I finally had a tank where the MPG hit the 30 mark! It was mostly my normal driving, which consists mostly of suburban roads mixed with 5 miles highway runs. I also stop to drop kids off twice each weekday morning. There was one somewhat longer drive on this tank, a 75 mile round tripper almost all highway. I got 30.7, and have averaged around 28 since the weather here in the Philly area warmed up. Definitely better than the 22-24 I was getting most of the winter.

One of these days I'll have to take a long trip and see if I push 40 like some others here. But since I rarely have need to do so, who knows when that will happen.

hase

Had my 07 Civic sedan for about 7 months now. Geez, you guys get pretty good mileage - I'm jealous! (I get about 29 with 50/50 city/hwy useage and a 24 mile commute. Will see if that improves any now that I'm running synthetic motor oil.)

I think when the low fuel light goes on I have about 2.7 gallons left in the tank right at that point. I would suggest *not* running the tank really low however. If the 07's are anything like the '86 Accord I put 220k on, they design the fuel pump to use the gasoline as a "coolant" for the pump. (wow, use an explosive liquid as a coolant - what a concept, but i guess it works I used to run the Accord til it was waaay low. Fuel pump died on me at 70k miles. Stopped running it low (and I like to take turns fast, which sloshes the gas around in the tank when its low, so pump runs "dry" a lot that way.) I tried not to let the tank run really low, and the replacement fuel pump was still working after running 150k miles. Don't know if this differs as that was one the last of the carbuerated engines. Fuel pump was INSIDE the gas tank, and it cost a LOT to replace. Also, I think there are water condensation (and then rust) issues in certain climates when you regularly let the tank run below half from what I've read. I think you can do a net search on that.

btw, fuel gauges are typically notoriously "non linear". I think because fuel tanks are generally so irregularly shaped, and mfgrs don't try and calibrate them to the dash gauge, and then they all seem to get worse over time due to the basic design of the electrical sending unit inside the tank. So if the gauge says a quarter of a tank, its often not a quarter of the tank capacity left.

hase

I started at about 28mpg new, and after some months I'm at about 29 average. Just wanted to mention that it's amazing what backing off the gas pedal a tiny bit can do for the gas mileage. Got a "Scan Gauge II" recently (it plugs into the on board diagnostic port under the dash and reads engine error codes, but it also gives current mpg and other engine specs). That's where I found out the Civic mpg could go from like 14.7 mpg to 40+ by just easing of the gas a tiny tiny bit without even slowing down. I think its that point where you are no longer accelerating (on a level surface) that causes a big jump in mpg. Now if I wasn't always hitting traffic...

blufz1

Thanks for the info.

drmbb

Most modern cars, with electric fuel pumps, have them installed inside the fuel tank. It's really pretty much the norm these days - and yup, they rely on the fuel they are immersed in to help cool them, so it's generally not advised to repeatedly run your car right down to empty.

harvey44

Every car sold in the US should have an instantaneous fuel gage by law. We'd save a ton of imported oil and CO2. Our driving effiency would improve AND while you were test driving that Jeep Commander, you couldn't be in denial. You'd see that you were getting 11 mpg highway at 65 mph.

BTW Check out the Jeep Commander Real MPG thread - it's a hoot.

M

rwh

37 mpg on the first road trip in the 07 EX with AT. AC was on the entire time. Average driving speed about 70 on the interstate and 60 on the 2-lane roads. About 2/3 of the miles were on the 2-lane roads. Rolling terrain, no mountains. 10% Ethanol fuel.

kathyc1

37 is what I got with my 2002. Sounds like exactly my driving situation except an horrendous grade on I-17 uses most of the gas. Hopefully this EX coupe will do as well.

tfm1973

Just bought the car a few days ago and filled the tank for the first time. I had 3 little dots left on the gas gauge and my trip meter showed me at 285 miles on this first tank of gas.

How large is the gas tank? I'd like to estimate how much MPG I'm getting.

tslbmw

just divide 285 by the number of gallons it took to fill the tank and you'll have your MPG. Gas tank is 13.9, I believe.

sandman46

The Sandman

ruking1

The commute is getting worse! Since the commute is already considered the worst in the nation, we are trying to nail down the number one spot. The normal 25 mile one way commute has been going from 40 mins to 60 min to at times 90 mins!

As a result, we have pulled the last couple of tank fill ups for 43 mpg!!!

rwh

We just returned from a 2000 mile trip from Iowa to upper Ontario and back through Niagra Falls. The mileage on each fill was: 33, 40, 40, 38, 40. It didn't seem to make much difference whether or not we ran the AC. The 33 mpg fill was the only time we drove 75 mph. The rest of the time it was 60-70. We calculated using about 40 less gallons of gas compared to our 2000 Mazda MPV. That added up to about $120 in fuel savings.

This is on a 2007 EX with AT.

ruking1

So the average for the 2,000 mile trip was 38.2 mpg? You took app 52.36 gals/5 fillings= avg 10.47 gal per fill?

rwh

As memory serves me after each fill:

200 miles, 33 mpg (all highway)
350 miles, 40.5 mpg (all highway)
350 miles, 40.5 mpg (all highway)
415 miles, 38 mpg (included some city driving)
330 miles, 40.5 mpg (all highway)

We drove another 375 miles after the last fill but have not put any more gas in as there is still about 1/3 tank left.

I don't remember the exact number of gallons, but I do remember the mpg calculations for each fill. In addition I should note the car had 4 people and a full trunk.

jcory

By my guess, knowing where you live, the first tank took you to Chicago... I NEVER get good gas mileage driving around Chi-town... don't know why.

rwh

The 200 miles was from Iowa City to Aurora, on the western fringe of Chicago land. I remember there was a head wind that evening, and I remember driving around 75 mph because we didn't want to arrive too late.

It's possible I may not have filled the tank as completely before that leg of the trip as I did the later times. But my observation after 3000 miles is the civic will do great at 65-70 mph but the mileage will drop off quickly if we consistently drive much faster than that. And all city driving will not yield 30 mpg, more likely low to mid 20s, still way better than our Mazda MPV.

bwilliam13

I just bought my 2007 Si Sedan less than a week ago. About 30/70 city/hwy driving (and a bit of idiot driving - taking it up to 7500 rpms a few times).

I filled the tank at what appeared to be 1/3 full, and 7.6 gallons went in with 240 miles on the trip computer. That comes out to be 31.5 mpg. Wasn't bad.

I'm on the same tank now, and am going to fill up tomorrow morning before I get on the freeway...which will be all city driving. We'll see what the mileage is then.

But yeah, looks like the stickers for estimated EPA are pretty accurate. I would expect it to start getting better mileage as it gets broken in. Right now, there's 557 miles on the car.

shipo

Ummm, sorry, I've got to say this... Dude! What the hell were you doing winding your engine out to 7,500 RPMS with so few miles on the clock? Me thinks it's time you read the section on "Vehicle Break-In" in the Owner's Manual.

Best Regards,
Shipo

themistocles

i didnt run my Si up to 7500 rpm till after 500 miles. Although i was reading about this guy who did this research on breaking in engines, and he showed pictures and dynos of all the cars he tested. He said to get the best valve seal and to maintain the best horsepower, you should do some high rpm runs in the very first 15-20 miles the car has. I cant remember his explanation. But all his dynos and pictures of the valves showed proof. All this being said.. I didnt do it myself though. lol

anyway, 500 miles good enough you think before gettin up to 7500 rpm? i still broke her in easy till like 1000-2500, just the occational flooring it to hear that sexy vtec. Sadly though, i believe i burnt a little clutch on a one run. Either that or it was just the new engine burning off something. I was curious though, if your burning the clutch, the only damage done is to the clutch and flywheel though? ive been in my friends Sti, and hes burnt the clutch a shitload cause hes such a sloppy shifter.

harvey44

That sounds insane to me. I know what the manual says. With each of our hondas - Civic and CRV, I didn't push it until after the first change.

Would like to hear Blueeyed's take on this.

jefferyg

You've got to know that almost every Si has been dogged a little before it was ever titled by some salesman or potential buyer who just had to "see what it will do" on a test drive. Sure it may have only been for a short spin around the block, but it's still had the tach wound tight a time or two before you got in it.

The only way to avoid such is to be there when they unload it off the truck. I've had that good fortune a couple of times.

harvey44

Honda's get 4.0 miles on them at the factory. I told the dealer for our last 3 vehicles (2 CRVs and one Civic) that I wouldn't take delivery of the car if it had more on it than that. I was there when the Civic came off the truck.

NOW, they could have beat the pi$$ out of it at the factory.

I don't buy cars that have been test driven. Except by me. It's a double standard on my part I admit, because I drive cars hard in the initial test drive. I won't redline, but I take it up and test the brakes hard.

bwilliam13

During the first 600 miles:

--Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration

--Do not change the oil until the scheduled maintenance time

--Avoid hard braking for the first 200 miles

--Do not tow a trailer

I'm not sure what "rapid acceleration" is with regards to the Civic Si. I said I took it up to 7500 rpms a couple time. That's it.

You might give these other URLs a read if you're curious about engine brake-in. What it gets down to is that babying the engine for the first 1000 miles or so is about the worst thing you can do. You need to give the engine a variety of conditions to *burn-in* the engine.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/toyota-faq/RAV4/section-27.html

http://mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

On small, high performance engines, keeping the RPMs consistently below a certain amount for the first X miles is the worst thing you can do. It's backed up by people who actually work on those engines.

harvey44

I could be wrong. I know in some cars you're not supposed to use the cruise control, because you want to use a variety of rpm ranges.

One thing is for sure - on most new japanese cars - its not the engine that causes you to sell the car after X years. They last pretty good.

What is the redline on that engine?

Edit: I read your links. They contradict each other and some of what you said. The toyota link said not to wind it out until you hit 3500 miles. The other link said hit it hard int he first 20 miles or you missed your opportunity.

M

kipk

I'm gonna go with the manufacturers suggestion rather than some hot rod shop that has nothing to loose if my engine breaks a ring or scores a bearing while it is still new and tight.

Breaking it in fast doesn't make it a bit faster than breaking it in so that all parts have a chance to match and polish one another. Break a ring and gouge a cylinder wall and you won't likely know it except that it just doesn't run quite as well as others and the gas mileage may be bad.

Better to break one in on back roads, so as to vary the RPM and keep from wearing a cylinder out of round.

Do that and the car will last it's longest and runs it's best.

Kip

kipk

"You might give these other URLs a read if you're curious about engine brake-in. What it gets down to is that babying the engine for the first 1000 miles or so is about the worst thing you can do. You need to give the engine a variety of conditions to *burn-in* the engine."

Light to medium throttle and vary the RPM constantly.
Never red line a new engine!

"On small, high performance engines, keeping the RPMs consistently below a certain amount for the first X miles is the worst thing you can do. It's backed up by people who actually work on those engines."

Take this as a clue. It's backed up by people who actually work on those engines.

If it is broken-in properly and according to mfg suggestions those "PEOPLE" won't need to work on them! They work on the ones that are broken!

Manufacturers want the engines to run a long time.

Kip

ruking1

I think also a lot depends on the mileage and time horizons. If one is going to keep the car till the lease is up; (typically 3-6 years, with 12,000 miles per year or 36,000 to 72,000 miles) at the very worse, it will most likely be someone else's problem.

Having said that, my mileage and time horizons are 420,000 miles and whatever happens to be the age when that gets done. I have already "set" the longer term life; by breaking it in with up and down revs during break in: to app 75% of redline revs, and doing the recommended 10,000 miles OCI on factory fill conventional oil. I am running 20,000 miles OCI's with synthetic 0w20/5w20 Mobil One and 20k oil filter changes. It looks like 100,000 miles is an absolute no brainer and at app 48,000 miles it gets 36-43 mpg in a daily commute. It will need 3/4 timing belt and water pump changes.

kipk

ruking,

What is/are OCI's ?

Break-in procedure you used should assure long life, good mileage, and best performance.

Can't help but believe that at least some of the poor mileages reported are due to poor break-in procedures.

Thanks,
Kip

shipo

OCI=Oil Change Interval