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Acura TL Real World MPG

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Comments

  • jkgreer2jkgreer2 Member Posts: 42
    In 15 months of driving, mostly without use of air conditioning and after the first 2 months of break-in driving, I have consistently obtained about 24 to 27 mpg in-town, and 29 to 31 mpg on long trips. My 2004 TL is a 6 speed manual with high performance all-season tires, which were swapped with hp 'summer' tires at initial purchase to improve wet weather traction.
  • ed31cincyed31cincy Member Posts: 56
    '04 TL, auto, non-navi, Bridgestone EL42 inflated to 32-35 psi. City: 21-23 mpg, Highway: 29-33 mpg. If you put your right foot into it, you are going to see 16-18 mpg city, and you'll wear out the brakes and tires pretty quickly, too.
  • bhelsdonbhelsdon Member Posts: 134
    04, Auto, Navi, with 32k. I do 98% highway driving with a 92 Mile commute each way on 65mph highways( which actually means 80mph+ during rush hour). My A/C is always on and I always put 93 octane in, and I average 27-29mpg.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    You guys driving TL Hybrids? :P

    For me, pure highway driving would be about 31 - 32 mpg.
    Semi city - about 21 - 23 mpg
    Pure urban driving - 16.5 - 19.5 mpg.

    But here's the kicker. Those numbers are based on imperial gallons, which is 20% larger than US gallons. :cry:
  • danny1878danny1878 Member Posts: 339
    TL'04 auto
    24/25 mpg with speed avg 31mph for the last 6k miles. (70 miles daily)
    City driving about 50% @25-40mph speed limit
    Highway 55-65 mph speed limit.
    Mostly using 93 octane gas but lately I use 50% regular and 50% premium. It turns out the mpg gets better (dont whether it may works on other car) by 1 mpg from 24 to 25.

    It got worse to 21 mpg once before the 2nd service @13k miles but it went up again after I used a $7 fuel system cleaner and had the car serviced the next day as required by the computer.
  • bruizerbruizer Member Posts: 6
    18.5 mpg so far with two tankfuls of gas and one month of ownership. Almost all city/suburban roads with some hard accelerations. :shades:
  • tawneycattawneycat Member Posts: 114
    I get 30 mpg in commute (25 mi one way commute 65 max flat and steady)
    I get 32 on highway light load little AC
    I get low 20S around town.
    this is consistent with my 04 TL.
    Aggressive driving lowers all this greatly. I imagine few people drive the way I do.

    It shows this wide tired hvy car is quite efficient overall. Motorweek and other testers have been very impressed with long term mileage. Most report mid 25-26 overall during 20 k miles--not bad at all.
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,674
    In mixed local/highway commute, 40 miles/day. Average speed around 30mph.

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • drcohendrcohen Member Posts: 20
    Just a little over 575 miles. My last two tank fills have yielded about 17.6 to 18.1 MPG in 90% urban driving and trying like h^%^ to keep my nervous foot of it.
    I can hardly wait to take this baby up the coast...I anticipate great MPG's.

    My last car, Infiniti i30T had actually better MPG around town, 18.5 to 20.5 consistantly.

    Interesting because I almost went for a G35 which EPA's at 18 town vs. 20 for the TL. I would hope that with time the TL will yield better town MPG.

    David.....
  • bruizerbruizer Member Posts: 6
    On a recent 700 mile trip with probably 3% city driving. The car is very smooth on the highway - I was averaging about 75 mph, but got it up to 120 once on some back roads. :shades:
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Hey, slow down!!! :shades: It is very easy to go way over the speed limit in the TL without realizing you are going 90. :P
  • tawneycattawneycat Member Posts: 114
    I must be a mpg freak. I honestly get 30 mpg plus on my commute. Last fill up yesterday was way full 8 gallons and 245 miles. Last fillup was 7 gallons on 220 miles. I have an odd commute. Leave suburbia going downhill to the expressway about one mile and drive 24 miles at 62 mpg average and steady early morning.
    At times I have gotten 36 mpg on this commute but with slow downs, warm ups and parking lot time back into the 30-31 range. I have never been pure city but at those times I do the MPG plummets.
    The engine is very efficient at 60-70 mph, cd of .29 I recall and super tall gearing all make for a nice highway experience. I alway got simliar MPG in my 02 TL.
    I mix 87 and 93 50/50 each tank.
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    So your commute is downhill both coming and going? :surprise: :surprise:
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    In a TL, it always seems you are going down hill :P
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    MPG freak....have you tried to not mix the gas octane and have you noticed any differences in MPG? For instance...going with straight 87 versus straight 93?
  • tawneycattawneycat Member Posts: 114
    Funny. You must be a surveyor as the difference best be zero. Point being during that warmup car is coasting mostly and avg to work is 35-36. return usually with ac on is high 20S. hence the low 30's average.
    ;)
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Hmm....could that be the reason my wife says I've been going downhill for years?! :blush: :confuse: :cry:
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Me too! :blush: :confuse: :sick:
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    LOL!
  • drcohendrcohen Member Posts: 20
    Well my third tank (303 miles) with mostly urban driving with roughly 60 miles of it steady @60-70 mph yielded a better 22.12 MPG. Not too bad........time will tell.

    I'm not happy, because it only means I need to be "light footed" around town.
    Hell why have all this HP teasing me and reminding me that my drivers license is important.

    I should have purchased an economy sub-compact with no radio, 13" wheels, 98 HP, lumpy seats, no luxo stuff and just be happy to be bored with more money in the bank.
    .
    .
    .
    NNNNNNAAAAAHHHH.....

    David
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    LOL David :P

    You could have bought a Ford Breakdown, I mean Mustang. :P
  • tawneycattawneycat Member Posts: 114
    MPG is falling fast with near 100% AC usage and some city driving.
    Down from 31 mpg to 27 mpg over 300 miles. Starting to want the new 06 Civic which looks pretty cool. Well, the TL is not bad either.
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Interesting comparison, 06 Civic and TL :P
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,674
    I continue to avg. 23mpg in weekly commutes. Last week I threw in ~120 miles of highway (averaging ~75mph, w/ a/c) cruising mixed in to a total of 330 mile for the tank. According to the computer, 25mpg.

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    You must have had some major headwinds. I get 35mpg with the a/c on traveling 90miles on the flats.

    However...general mixed average is 24mpg.

    The computer seems to be rather accurate.
  • nightcrawler29nightcrawler29 Member Posts: 146
    and you even save more in gas if you dont step on the gas while going downhill..... now if you are as frugal as I am, you can turn off the car while going downhill for maximum gas saving!!! ;)
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,674
    I didn't measure the "highway only" mileage MPG. The overall tank which was approx 60% local/40% highway returned 25mpg per computer. One of these days I'll have to remember to reset the mpg for the highway miles.

    I'm satisfied. Although I wish I could safely use regular unleaded!

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    LOL, I'm not that frugal :shades:
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Mixed highway 60% and city driving 40%, about 25mpg, pretty good for a 270 hp car. :P
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    25mpg in mixed driving is GREAT compared to the Infiniti G35. In my neighborhood...there is a flood of G35 coupes. By consensus....I am hearing average tank mileage of 14mpg... and the best at 25mpg on the highway...best.

    The general day to day cost of that G35 will kill. Not only in fuel...but the coupe has different size tires in the front verus rear...where you cannot rotate the tires. Tires would be eaten prior to 20k.
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    laurasdada.... I would think you could 'safely' use regular unleaded. The car computer would adjust according to avoid any damage. From what I am gathering...there might be a loss of performance (lower the hp by 10% perhaps)...but geez...how many continue to scream the car at 270hp constantly?

    What are the experiences of others here who have used 'regular' instead of 'premium'??? Performance wise....MPG wise....any other comments...
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    I have only used premium because I have heard you could mess up the computer having to adjust all the time when using regular. :cry:
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,674
    I'm not sure you could use regular "safely." I'll have to read the Owner's Manual again but I'm fairly certain it's adamant about using 91+, at least most of the time (even sternly warns you on the gas filler door!). Believe me, I'm not happy about it. But an extra 20 cents/gallon will probably come out to only about an extra $150/year. As I'm getting about 10% higher mpg than I did in my 300M running 87 octane, it's not a big deal. Sure, I'd rather have the buck and a half. That's 15 hands of blackjack!

    Hey, I've always been a fool for a pretty face and that the TL is. Therefore, whatever Lola wants, Lola gets...

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Why risk messing up an awesome car by getting cheap gas. :surprise:
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    ok..ok...let me be honest....I only use premium in my car. Just throwing out the possibility.

    However...have you noticed that different brands delivery different mpg? I used Costco brand in one of my previous cars. It may cost $0.10 less...but I also received 2mpg less. Go figure. I use either the Shell or Chevron premium...seem to work out best for my cars so far.

    Your experiences???
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    I agree, Shell or Chevron get me the best mileage, just a little better than most.
  • avikbavikb Member Posts: 1
    Greetings all... long time reader first time poster...etc.. etc...

    Before buying my '05 Acura TL, I asked the service manager if I could use regular gas without any long term effect, he said as long as you didn't use cheap gas, it would be ok (something about fuel additives or lack there of in cheap gas).

    Looking at a USA Today site dated a few months ago.. the service managers advice seems to come from Honda, Toyota, Porsche, etc. engineers as well.....

    link title (search for the word "regular" to jump to the relevant part)

    To quote:

    "Engineers from Honda, Toyota, all major brands -- even Porsche -- have assured me that good-quality regular will not harm their engines. Period."
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    I have heard both sides of this issue. I have heard from scientists and engineers that regular and primuim are so similar it does not make a differnece. However, if the owners manual tell me to use higher octane, I will use it. I am not going to spend 30k plus for a car and then go cheap with the gas. :P
  • bodble2bodble2 Member Posts: 4,514
    Yep, that's how I feel too. Also, in my case, I really don't put on that much mileage, so the extra cost for premium is negligible.
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    Agreed, over the life of the car, the cost is really negligible. Americans truely go nuts when gas prices go up a bit, we really pay peanuts for gas compared to the rest of the world.
  • nightcrawler29nightcrawler29 Member Posts: 146
    Well, you probably would go cheaper if you were in southern CA!!... :cry:
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    I believe frisconick is in the bay area...so he is also paying some stiff prices like us.

    What kills me most is the spread (price difference) between regular and premium varies. I see it as low at $0.20...and high as $0.40...and now commonly seeing a $0.25 spread. That is not right to have such a wide spread...and I boycott and move on to another station.
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    True delmar, we in the Bay Area pay the highest in the country, and it does tick me off. The oil companies say the reason is, we can afford it. :mad: You are making a smart move to check out other stations. :)
  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    Premium was selling for $2.99 a gallon this weekend down in San Diego. Ouch.

    MPG update. Getting 26mpg (actual calc from mileage divided by fillup...not computer...which also stated the same) in mixed traffic usage. Not bad at all. Improving with mileage. Wasn't expecting above 25mpg...bet I will cap out at 26mpg.
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    I am getting a little over 25 mpg in mixed driving, not bad for a 270 hp car. And I tell my wife to gun it all the time, and she really does. :P
  • nightcrawler29nightcrawler29 Member Posts: 146
    I was surprised at the MPG rate of this car on my first week of using it.... 25 MPG on mixed driving.
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    It is my understanding, that after the car is broken in a little, it will get even better mileage. Is this true?
  • laurasdadalaurasdada Member Posts: 4,674
    Yes, I believe that is correct. Assuming your driving habits don't change and the car is maintained.

    My last tank I averaged 28 mph and 24 mpg. After a littl more than 6000 miles, I do think the mpg is improving slightly.

    '21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)

  • delmar1delmar1 Member Posts: 744
    MPG does improve with miles. I have about 2000 miles and it is getting improved mileage.

    Last tank...I went ahead and stuck in half tank regular (on top of my half tank of premium). What I don't understand is how I picked up 2mpg to 27mpg on similar mixed driving and same driving conditions. Any ideas?
  • frisconickfrisconick Member Posts: 1,275
    That's amazing, a 270 hp car getting the same mpg as my old 190 hp Camry. :shades:
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