Acura TSX Real World MPG Numbers

delmar1

How is premium fuel cleaner burning within the engine and out the tailpipe?

jg88

Have not experienced differences with using premium gas in a car rated for 87 octane. My expereince is that for engines requiring 87, use 87. 89-93 octane never appeared to me to improve performance, mileage or make the engine run any smoother or better.

However, for engines requiring premium, I have experienced differences in performance, mileage and engine smoothness when running 87 octane, none for the better either. My experience has been consistant in running the engine with the octane that the manufacturer recommends. If Acura lists premium, then I would suggest that the buyer uses it.

The anti-knock capability that manufacturers have included with their engines is just for that -- to reduce or eliminate pinging and knocking with sub-standard octane. It is not to mitigate performance reduction. (Wasn't the SAAB Lambda system the 1st car to have the capability to run regular instead of premium without knocking?) My take is that Acura is basically telling their customers that if you want to run lower octane, go ahead. It will not hurt the engine and it shouldn't make unnatural sounds in the engine compartment. However, for maximum performance and mileage, use the minimum recommended octane that they have designed their cars to run with. As manufacturers globalize their car platforms and engines, they need to be able to run the engines in locales that may have varying levels of gas based on the limitations of the local refineries. In Europe, it appeared to me in June, that most "petrol" stations had mostly premium and diesel. The car I rented required premium according to the sticker on the gas cap door.

lainey

Here is an interesting article on Regular vs. Premium gasoline.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8844563/

jrynn

Lainey -- Your link wasn't working when I tried it, but here's another from the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080501595.html?sub=A- R

Here are a few very brief excerpts:

*****

Automotive experts say using regular gas in most vehicles does no damage and makes no discernible difference in performance. Cars made in the past 15 years have such highly refined computer controls that the engine will adjust to the grade of octane in the gasoline, even in cars sold as requiring premium gasoline. Some drivers -- in some cars under some driving conditions -- may notice a drop in horsepower, but for most people behind the wheel, it wouldn't be enough to notice, the experts say.

"It's not going to hurt anything," said Peter Gregori, service manager for EuroMotorcars, a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Bethesda. In fact, Gregori has been using regular gas in one of his own Mercedes cars for two years, and "it's perfect," he said -- even though Mercedes-Benz says owners should use only premium.

"I get better mileage with the regular than I do with the high-test, in this particular model that I have," Gregori said. Among cars that come in for service, Gregori said, he can't tell which have been sipping premium.

lainey

Thanks jrynn. I should have realized they would have archived the story. Actually, the story on MSNBC was from the Washington Post. Same story.

frisconick

I get slightly better mileage with high-test than regular, but I drive a TL not a TSX, but I can't imagine they are that different. I tried this last week, so there was about 1/4 of a tank of high-test, so it was a mix.

delmar1

Nick...you tested out regular? What was the resulting mpg compared to premium grade? Also...are you going to test out mid-grade?

I tested out regular in my wife's tsx. The car ran like a sick dog. This week...filled it back up with premium in hopes of exercising out those demon dogs. Next experiment....mid-grade.

frisconick

Yeah, I wimped out, really didn't notice much of a difference, but I swear it took more RPMs when I gunned it for the 270 horses to kick in. :P

stillooking

I have noticed no difference in either performance or fuel economy. I get about 29+ mpg in my daily commute ( 40 mi, 80% state hwy). Tried regular once and noticed some slight hesitation when accelerating from stop.

frisconick

I wonder if the 06 TSX will get more hp, say 240 like the Accord Coupe, and I wonder what the mileage would be?

29+ mpg is good, does your commute involve any city driving?

nyer

I just returned from a 400 mile round trip to upstate New York. I had the cruise set between 70 and 75 miles/hr for most of the trip. On the way up I got 31.5 miles/gallon and on the return trip I averaged 34 miles/gallon. I was very impressed and satisfied with these results. Also, I used premium unleaded both times I filled the tank. In addition, the car showed great resilience when needing power to pass, etc. It went from 70 to 100 miles/hr without any problem what so ever. Could have gone a lot more if needed.

johnny420

The car is to get a 10 HP bump in power, along with some amenities like memory seats and re-worked body parts, new wheels. It's posted all over the web as of now. There's pics available, too.

Also, Acura has catagorically stated that V6's, such as the Honda J30, WILL NOT fit into the engine bay of the TSX. So put thoughts of a V6 in the TSX out of your head. Besides, the added weight would spoil the wonderful balance of the car.

Now, a turbo on the other hand...

Johnny

bob78

Has anyone tried to get better gas mileage by up-shifting to a higher gear early using the sport shift on the TSX's automatic transmission? It seems like the car wants to shift at about 2500+ rpm's in full auto mode, but you can get it to shift at just over 2000 rpms in sport shift mode.

delmar1

Probably a better way is to accelerate less and the shift pattern would upshift at a lower rpm. It is probably attempting to shift at 2500+ rpm based upon your driving pattern (how hard you are pressing the accelerator).

lutwak

I've had my '05 TSX for almost two months now and it has not yet done better than 20 MPG. I'm on my 6th tank. Mileage on the first five tanks was: 16, 17, 19, 16, 18.

I've only used premium gas. I'm not a hard driver.

Most of my driving is city commuting, but my previous car, a '96 Volvo 850, usually got 19-21 on this same commute. I expected the 4-cylinder TSX to do better (part of why I bought it). The one tank that gave me 19 mpg was about 50% highway.

I also think that the car is a little hard to start for a new car. My old Volvo always started right up when I turned the key. This one has to crank for a few seconds. Is this related to the poor fuel efficiency?

delmar1

...I see why you are getting 19mpg. Most of your driving is city commuting....and probably short distances.

And yes...your 96 volvo got 19-21....but the tsx is probably a funner car to drive.

The car excels in mpg when you get some highway....trust me.

ronabi

See my response to another person in message #1939 in the Acura TSX Buying Experience forum. I have had only one tank under 24 in over 10,000 miles of driving (and that was in town errand running) and as high as 28 on the highway. This is with an 05 w auto. My mileage has improved over time and is 2-3 mpg higher now than when the car was new.

fred25

Over time the milage gets slightly better. I get about 20 in the city and 28 on the highway. Remember the TSX does require reving to get it moving esp from light to light. I am generally in the 2,500 to 3,500 rpm range. However on the highway it revs at a super low 2,000 rpm at 60mph. Once your crusin on the open highway, you will appreciate it more...

drewba

I now have almost 3,000 miles on my 2005 automatic TSX that I bought back in June. 90% of my driving is city, but it is pretty open city for the most part with several places on my 16 mile commute where I might go 1-2 miles without stopping at a light. I drive quite conservatively, so the transmission usually shifts between 2500 and 2800 RPM. Of course, I take it up to 5000 RPM occasionally just to keep carbon from building up.

Anyway, the mileage on the first 3 tanks was the worst, with the best being 24.14 MPG. Since then (6 tanks), I have averaged 26.53 MPG with a best of 27.86 and a worst of 25.65 MPG. These are calculated values, I don't have NAV.

ronabi

Message #68 above should have read in part: "I have had only one tank under 24 in over 10,000 miles of driving (and that was in town errand running) and as high as 38 [not 28] on the highway. This is with an 05 w auto. My mileage has improved over time and is 2-3 mpg higher now than when the car was new." Highway mileage is typically 34 or so.

vitocorleone

My mileage isn't very good personally, but the best mpg I've read about is just under 43 MPG (with great effort put into it): http://tsx.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23721.

The I4 can really suck down gas if you don't drive easy, esp. given the weight of the vehicle.

stillageek

I got my best mileage to date, 35.6 MPG. This was on a trip from Dallas to Houston, 278 miles from stop to start. I drove like my wife would (she has a 04 Prius). I never sped and used cruise control most of the time. I always use 93 Octane from either Texaco (which now uses Chevron's Techron) or Exxon.

tommyijr

Getting close to 33k on my TSX, I have had it for 26 months and am now getting my best MPG, close to 33 MPG. Currently I am driving about 80% highway / 20% rural roads.

dledet

I created a little chart of my Avg mpg so far. I estimate that I do about 65 percent city and 35 percent highway on average. TSX Avg MPG

sac14689

I have a 2006 TSX AT w/o navigation. I am only averaging 16mpg using Chevron Supreme. My car only has 300 miles on it. Should I wait until the breakin period of 600 to see if I get better gas mileage or should I bring it to the dealer. Most of my driving is local.

biker4

Wait for at least 5 tankfuls before you worry about milage.

tawneycat

2004 6MT. I broke the 20k barrier last week from Tulsa to Fort Hood (Hoooah!) Anyway, I used 5w30 castrol syn with KN drop in filter and 35 psi. 70 mph average. Guess what? Trip down 37 mpg, one stop, great traffic flow on a Sunday slight tail wind, 60-70 degrees no AC. I filled and drove home a week later and posted 36 mpg with ever so slight HEADwind and same speed.

Daily, my commute is 24 mile one way, one stop out of my neighborhood then 65 mph, into office, park.
That always yields 30-31.

No disappointments but little or no city driving. My week at fort hood was 50 miles of terrible city driving, short trips, the worst. 2.8 gallons to fill up before heading home. Like 18 mpg. Yikes.

lutwak

I've had my '05 TSX (manual, no nav) for 6 months and 3000 miles now. Still averaging 16-17 mpg on my daily 10 mile commute. I've only once had the chance to run a whole tank on the highway, which averaged 28 mpg.

tawneycat

This must be really slow go bumper to bumper?
How fast did you go to get 28 mpg?

redbugeye

My 3 month-old TSX (auto, 2005) has a little over 2100 miles. It takes 25 minutes for my 13 miles-commute (90 % city, but not "bumper to bumper" in most). It gets cold here (20-30 F) so I need to warm up the car about 5 minutes before I start driving during winter. So far, I am getting only 21 MPG (average, but this is pretty consistent). I believe that my driving is conservative, the auto shifts at 2500 - 3000 rpm normally. I hope that this improves with time and in spring when I do not need to warm up the car so often (and long). Does anyone have a record of MPG in different seasons with TSX?

crissman

My understanding is that modern cars do not need such a warm up period at those temps. While it's certainly more comfortable for the driver, your car might see 1 or 2 mpg more if you just got in and drove away.

stillageek

I posted a while back, but my 7.5 miles city commute (several stoplights with a 1 mile "non-stop" section yields a consistent 26.7 MPG. On the handful of highway trips (meaning long distance....Dallas to Houston...230 miles)I get over 35 MPG by using cruise control and staying between 65-72 MPH. I live in the Dallas area....it gets cold to us (30-70's this winter...depending on the hour ). I am more than happy with the TSX mileage, it beats my last car, a 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS 6 speed. That car got 28 MPG no matter city or highway.

drewba

I've been getting 1-2MPG lower (22-23MPG compared to 24-25MPG) this winter compared to last summer, but the winter gas formulation may play into this.

This is in a car that is used 90% of the time for a 15 mile, 35-40 minute commute.

pocono35

Awesome chart. As someone who loves data, cars, etc., I am impressed.

lmacmil

My son consistently gets 32-33 mpg on his 03 XRS at 75 mph. Not sure what his around town mileage is. I think 35 for your TSX is great.

u24ever

Now I have almost 5,000 miles on my 2005 automatic TSX purchased in last July. Last Monday I drove back to LA from San Francisco, which was about 384 miles, more than 95% highway, 70~80 mph, and I got 28.85 MPG. I filled it up with Chevron Supreme before taking off.

earbuckle

I make the run between NY and Philly every week in my 2006 TSX with the 5-speed automatic. I've just turned 6,500 miles and changed oil at 5,000 miles to Mobil-1 5w-30 and a Hamp JDM oil filter. This past week, I filled up in Cherry Hill NJ with Citgo premium and hit the NJ Turnpike. I put the cruise control on at 65 mph (right lane speed for the turnpike!) and at exit 16W, when I got off after about 75 miles, the trip computer was showing 40.1 MPG! My previous best was 36.4 MPG. More typically, I average 30 MPG in mixed driving and 34 MPG at highway speeds of 70-75 mph. BTW, this was with A/C off and windows closed. Outside air temp was around 65 degrees F.

carebear2

karens, what ever happened with this problem. i also am averaging 12-15 mpg on my tsx 05 automatic, was told by the dealer it would take 10,000 miles to break in. i currently have 5000 miles on the car. i do 90 percent city driving and i only use premium gas.

lmacmil

I think you're dealer is giving you a line to make you go away. I've never had a car's mileage change significantly after the break-in. Certainly 5000 miles is more than enough.

Is your highway mileage close to the rating? City mileage is generally lower relative to the EPA rating than the highway mileage. A lot more variables in city driving.

carebear2

Highway mpg is getting 25-28. as I said I do 90% city driving. Most trips are 10 miles or less, but 12mpg for a 4. I purchased this car after previously owning 2 accords. I thought I was making a step up, guess I figured wrong. contacted the company at 2000 miles, was told to take to the dealer only to be told they couldn't find any problems and the car needed to be broken in. problem is i'm at 5000 miles now and had the car for 11 months and mileage hasn't gotten any better.

johnny420

Are you calculating the mileage manually or relying on the computer to do it for you?

12mpg is hard to believe.

carebear2

okay now you are sounding like the dealership. but here it goes anyway. i never let my gas tank go pass the halfway marking, I average anywhere from 100-120 miles, then I fill up my tank, it takes 10-11 gallons to fill up. Thereby I come up with my numbers. it really comes to 10-13 mpg. And yes I probably do have some of the original gas in the tank.

johnny420

okay now you are sounding like the dealership. but here it goes anyway. i never let my gas tank go pass the halfway marking, I average anywhere from 100-120 miles, then I fill up my tank, it takes 10-11 gallons to fill up. Thereby I come up with my numbers. it really comes to 10-13 mpg. And yes I probably do have some of the original gas in the tank.

Uh, no, I'm asking you a direct question. I couldn't care less about dealerships. You must realize that 12-13 mpg out of a four cylinder engine like the TSX's borders on the ridiculous. That's why I'm asking. You might be surprised how many people have trouble calculating something as simple as fuel mileage.

I hope you get your situation resolved. I can't imagine what would cause such a thing, except for maybe insane driving habits. Good luck with it.

apraskov

I know it may be somewhat irrelevant, but when I got my Integra GS-R back in 2001, I was averaging 21MPG (I used the accelerator like an ON-OFF switch). There was that one time I somehow managed to get 19MPG out from a 1.8L engine with a manual trans. Now, 5 years and 75,000 miles later I still push the car (not a hard as before) and for the last 1-1 1/2 years my MPG has been a steady 30MPG for mixed driving.
Just my 0.02.

biker4

Something as simple as some temp sensor or other simple thing could be doing this. Going on a long highway (a tankful) trip may give you more info. During the warm up cycle the engine does use much more fuel than once its warmed up. If you are always driving in this cycle (first 3-5 min after a cold start) and in the city it may be possible to get such bad milage.

tcwat

I got low mileage with my 2005 automatic TSX in city driving. Started at less than 14, worked up to just under 20 by 8000 miles. I then took a 1200 mile road trip, mainly interstate miles. Gas mileage jumped to over 30. Now back in city driving at 9800 I just filled up and averaged about 24. So there my be truth in the 10000 mile break in.

huskerdoo

Hello,
I have been monitoring this forum for some time and have finally purchased my 06 TSX last weekend. I am still on my first tank of gas 240 miles so far and it says 222 left until empty. I averaged 37 mpg going home from the dealership 140 miles @65 mpg with air on. I have averaged 30 around town so far. I look forward to some solid numbers here. I will switch to synthetic at the oil change though.

carebear2

Thanks for the input. It still hasn't gotten any better, and the bad part about it I really love the car. I'm getting ready to take it across three states maybe that will help. At least I know I am not the only one who has gotten such bad mileage. Now onto my next question, what about oil change? I'm at 5055miles owned the car for 1year and needless to say I don't drive under severe driving conditions. Whats your take on having the oil changed or should I wait until I actually hit my 1 year anniversary. If I wait until the 10000mile as per book, I won't be due for another year. I really don't want to give the dealer any extra money,especially since it appears I'll be feeding this hungry tank. thanks

johnny420

I would definitely get it changed now.

alabama2

most gas stations in this area have 87, 89 and 93 octane. does anyone mix 89 and 93 with good results, i.e. alternating fill-ups with 89 and then 93?
My '06 has 7000 miles and gets anywhere from 23 to 30 mpg depending on the type driving.