Acura TL Real World MPG

delmar1

My personal experience and views is that it could be useful in certain applications...but I just haven't found it yet.

What disappoints me is that when you manually select the gears...the TL transmission is so refined that it just drops into the gear so seamlessly when gearing up in a sprint. Just like it shifts so effortlessly in auto. So you don't get that 'pop' of surge as you do with a pure manual as the TL is just so darn well tuned. Just doesn't get my heart racing with how it drops into gears as it is too silky smooth...however you could get some major pop when gearing down with that huge 270hp engine.

I agree that it would be great if you are climbing up a hill and if the car hunts between gears.

I have a feeling that the sequential shifting feature will be the achilles heels of the upcoming Lexus IS350...which I understand is only offered in automatic with sequential shift. For those that want manual tranny....it will be a huge disappointment how it drops effortlessly into gear.

delmar1

Nick...in your 20 mile commute...with 90% highway...don't you get stacked up driving into the City? Pure highway...you would get 35mpg...

I am with a 8 mile commute. I see the first 3 is where I get lower than 20mpg...then it creeps up so I get my 25mpg. I say the car is tuned to where it is just optimal after warmup.

mjflood

I am no gas expert but I remember seeing something on discovery or tlc about gasoline and that it is all the same except for the additives later. For example there is a pipeline that pumps gasoline from the Houston area to New York. All the gas manufactors in houston pump thier gas in the same line and in New York they extract the gas out of the same line then the big companies add their different additives like techron, etc. So 87 octane gas is the same no matter where you go except for the additives. Oh yea and hopefully the gas station doesn't water down thier stuff either.

frisconick

Actually I leave early enough that I don't run into much traffic. But I just got my first 31 mpg reading. However, when I leave work there are some backups, but nothing serious. There is no such thing as pure city, or pure highway driving. The car is getting better mileage now and I understand it will get better.

bodble2

"There is no such thing as pure city"

Trust me, my commute is pure city!

frisconick

In San Francisco there are main streets with timed lights, so if you drive a constant 35mph you hit all the green lights (e.g., Fell Street) so it is almost like freeway driving. I am sure all cities have streets with timed lights.

bodble2

Yes, you're right. I can hit all the timed lights at a constant speed --- but only if I commute to work at 4 AM, when there is no traffic! :P

frisconick

LOL :P

The timed lights work all day in San Francisco, and most drivers drive the limit.

nightcrawler29

Well I wish my TL had wings!! since school season started, I haven't gone any faster than 50 mph.... there's simply traffic here, traffic there, and traffic everywhere!... morning and afternoon, its just a darn nightmare.... and then you have to deal with those moronic zig zagging bastards.... I can only say I wish I could break the 25 MPG barrier.....so I just don't understand why are people so concerned about the 2006 model having less or more or same 270 hp when traffic conditions are the way they are... and I know its bad in San Diego to! Ok, maybe I understand the concern for having a AWD TL... that way you could at least drive over the sidewalk, or make an improvised exit out of the freeway by running over the plants and dirt on the side of the freeway...I'm just surprised that nobody has sugested to raise the TL like they would do to one of those monster trucks!!

bodble2

I'm sure the lights are timed all day here too. But the traffic congestion makes that a moot point.

bodble2

Wow, school season starts early in your neck of the woods! :surprise:

"...and then you have to deal with those moronic zig zagging bastards....'

My wife says not to call her those nasty names! :P She claims she zig zags to get away from the real morons!

frisconick

Where do you guys live? The San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, has some of the worst traffic in the country. However, I am a native of San Francisco and know how to get around the bad traffic. :P

jbdriver

Sorry to interrupt the chain here with kind of a random question. I got my 05 Tl about a week ago. The MID told me I had about 16 miles left until I was out of gas. Jusding by the average MPG that I was getting in city driving, that means about another gallon in the tank...but when I refilled, the pump kicked off after 13.5 gallons. Acura's info on the car lists the tank size as 17 gallons. Does that mean Acura is using a fudge factor on what the fuel gauge tells people of 2.5 gallons so that people never run out of gas? Has anyone else noticed the same thing? Is the tank capacity really 17 gallons. Just curious.

laurasdada

After 8 months of ownership, I've come to the conclusion that the gas guage is pessimistic (assuming there is a 17 gallon tank). I get the same thing, light comes on, less than 20 miles 'till empty yet at the pump it'll only take 13-14 gallons. So, maybe there's a two gallon-ish safety net. Not a bad thing.

05tl6spd

Wow-Then I've got a problem...My 05 6spd @11k miles is only averaging 18-19 miles in city driving (A/C on), moderate speed.

Paranoid about my gas mileage, I've noticed a high pitched whine from the transmission. Had it checked out at the dealer but was told "that noise is normal from a 6 speed."

Anybody else notice the high pitched whine from your manual transmission?

frisconick

16=8-19 mpg in city driving is very good!

bodble2

"16=8-19"

What kind of math is that? 8-19 should equal -11. Nick, have you been drinking again? :P

frisconick

I meant 18-19 mpg, LOL, and yes I have been drinken ! :P

brewtoo

"Some purer than others. For instance...he was recommending Chevron, Texaco, Shell, 76...because they are more 'refined'."

All the gasoline arrives in your area via the same pipeline. Every "brand" loads up with gasoline from this pipeline. Some put in their own additives but some add nothing at all. They then deliver the gasoline to the stations. None are more 'refined' than the other.

I personally do prefer Chevron for the Techron additive.

frisconick

I mean I meant 16-18 mpg, doh!!! :P

delmar1

Nick...I seen the timed lights in San Francisco... Geez...you must have the magical pedal to hit the lights. Only way to hit the lights I thought was to get one of those strobes on top of the emergency vehicles.

delmar1

'jbdriver'...probably another reason is that not all the gas in the tank is accessible for consumption. Also...to consider tilt factor...as the car leans on various grades and turns.

I figure leaving 2 gals is good enough...why not.

delmar1

Yes...the quote regarding gas I mentioned came from another.

I have also heard that all the gasoline arrives in an area via the same pipeline...and that is what confuses me. What I don't understand is that there are various branded refineries. For instance...when I drive near L.A. I see the ARCO refinery...seen Chevron...etc. So if the various brands have their own refinery...how does it get segregated?

Also...what I really don't get is how my MPG varies amongst the brands. Why when I use Costco brand does my MPG suffer by 3 mpg. Why Chevron gives me 1mpg more than Shell. Is it the additives? Don't know.

Does anyone here have a primer for me to understand how the whole gasoline transport process work and how does mpg vary amongst brands?

tawneycat

Dude,
You mean you have not reset your trip computer for 8k miles. I can hardly go a tank before resetting. Excellent information.

Do you get better on straight highway?

I consistently get 31-32 at 70 mph over several hunderd miles and even better on my commute (all expressway 60 mph). 5 speed auto.

I have thought I should have waited for the almost rare if not non existent 6 speed manuals but with the price the same--I imagine most 6 speed owners will get less money for their cars.

tawneycat

I did another little test this am. I filled up last night with 91 which is now the highest Octane in my region. 93 gone. Anyhow, 25 mile trip to work after 1 mile out of neighborhood, I cheated and reset trip computer, drove 61 mph, steady and flat as usual and got 41 mpg (which is usual). Home will be with AC on and with start up losses I will again pull into the driveway tonight with 34 mpg average.

Keep in mind I do not touch the brake for 24 miles and road is fairly flat and speed steady.

On times I do not reset, I consistantly average 30 or above as verified by fill ups.
I am very pleased with this. But as yesterday it was nice to hit 80 mph in nothing flat to pass the garbage truck on the hill. The TL has some guts, you should have seen the mpg go down on just that move.

Anyway, overall pleased with mpg and I suspect the TL is a highway cruiser and pure city or mostly city is in the teens.

Anyone else able to make these kind of fuel economy runs. And my TL has the Michelin Tires which I had traded off a NAVI. I think the BS tires are less efficient, noisy and hydroplane. I have about 34 psi in them.

delmar1

This is my experience as I 'fiddle' with the mpg computer...

Basically the car gets its worst mileage in the first 3 miles...when it is warming up. But that is to be expected from all cars. That phase...basically below 20mpg on the streets and low 20's if on the freeway.

Once it is past 10 miles...the freeway mpg gets 35mpg on the freeway w/o air and 32mpg w/ air.

I don't know if I would over-inflate the tires...as you would chew up your tires sooner and negate any mpg savings.

bodble2

I guess that's why I get such crappy mpg. My commute is only about 5 miles, and it's all city driving. Maybe I'd be better off with an Echo, or Prius, or Smart Car.

inkyofok

If I had short trips I think 20 would be normal. The TL is a better highway cruiser than city driver. Still 35 on any highway much less with a powerful heavy car like this is impressive. This car is a winner. Really on the highway how much better could a civic really be?

frisconick

LOL, you are correct delmar, most streets in San Francisco do not have timed lights, but the ones that do are excellent. That may be 10 streets in San Fran with timed lights, and if you are a tourist, you will never find them. :P

delmar1

Geez....I have lowered my highway speeds from 70+ to 65 and I am somewhat surprised to see my mpg to rise by 3mpg. I knew that it would be more efficient...but to get 3mpg improvement is pretty impressive. Thought I would only get maybe 1mpg improvement. Hmmm...guess I might have to try this out for awhile.

laurasdada

Took a drive today, 170 miles round trip. 75% highway, 25% local roads, beautiful day. Overall, per the computer, averaged 56mph and 30mpg. On the highway portion on the way down, before hittting the local roads, averaged 68mph and 32+ mpg. Not too shabby...

The car treated me better than the destination.

frisconick

That's very good mileage laurasdada for a 270 hp car! I just noticed I am filling up less now that I have more than 5000 miles on the TL. I was filling up once a week, now it's about every 9 days.

delmar1

Nick...wow...you must be getting 35mpg now

[ (9 days / 7 days) x 27mpg in the past ]

bodble2

Last month I got 76mpg on my TL, based on the fact that I only filled up once, compared to the normal once a week. Oops, I forgot, I took time off, and made use of public transit due to nice weather and all, and my TL sat in the garage for days at a stretch! :P :P

frisconick

LOL, not quite 35mph, but I am leaving for work about 30 minutes ealier with less traffic, but I believe that the car is getting better mileage as it's breaking in.

fudgypup

So I have about 2600 miles on the '05 TL now and my city mpg is still weak (anywhere from 15-17 mpg, 91 octane gas too). I took it on a roadtrip to Scottsdale (about 400 miles away) and got the promised 29mpg. I think the biggest factor in my city driving is that I work just 5 miles from home and those first 5 you're going to get the worst mileage. I still don't understand how I got 18 mpg in my Volvo V70t5 driving it the same way and that thing was rated at 18 city mpg. Oh well. Lead foot I guess.

Off topic, what's up with the change holder? It loses the change down into the lower compartment every time. You'd think they'd have fixed that by now. No other complaints.

delmar1

Yes....the first 5 miles have the worst mpg. Probably because the car is optimized for a little longer driving distances....like when you got 29mpg to Scottsdale.

sibbald

Hi all, I found this site very interesting as I am presently considering either a TL or TSX as my next purchase. I just took it for granted that a 2.4 litre engine would deliver better mileage than a 3.5. Not so according to Consumer Reports who are also outraged at the inaccurate EPA mileage estimates for new vehicles. As a result, their mileage report if free to non-subscribing members but only until the end of September. Here is the URL, I printed the article, it is only about 10 pages and the TL really did quite well compared to a lot of other vehicles. Enjoy......Tom http://tinyurl.com/7o7bl

bodble2

Actually I don't think the change holder is as badly designed as the sunglasses holder!

khastak

I have a 2005 TL (for about 6 monhs now), so far i have been using only premium fuel (as recommended). However i wanted to know if i can use regular or 89 octane.

Secondly will use of regular or 89 octane badly affect the car in terms of life, performance and MPG. Can i switch between fuel grades? I would really appreciate some feedback on this.

thanks..

delmar1

Most cars designated for premium fuel 'can' run on 89...but you will not get optimal performance. Performance in that you will lose horsepower....and your MPG may be less than if you used premium. So you might pay a little less (say $0.12)..but you will consume more gas and lose the savings you were attempting to obtain while getting less horsepower. In addition....premium fuel typically have more detergents.

As for switching between fuel grades. I am not a chemical engineer...but I don't think that if you mix equally 91 and 89 octane you would obtain an average of 90 octane. Does anyone know regarding that?

sychterz

The compression ratio determines the octane required by your engine. Lower octane will combust with less pressure than higher octane gas. So if you have an engine with a high compression ratio (ie pistons that produce higher pressure), then you should use higher octane fuel.

If the fuel has a low octane, and the engine has a high compression ratio, then the fuel will combust BEFORE the cylinder reaches its highest point (ie BEFORE the spark plug ignites), due to the pressue in the cylinder at that position, thus causing less fuel efficiency, and eventual long term damge due to the exhaust in that cylinder being forced out of valves that are not yet opened.

Putting high octane fuel into a low compression engine that has low mileage has little to no effect.

But engines these days have detonation sensors, oxygen sensors, throttle sensors and more. All of these sensors relay information to the computer, and the computer adjusts the air/fuel mixture and the timing to keep the engines from detonating. The short term effect of this is that the engine will just have worse perfomance. However, when one sensor goes bad, we are back to an engine with too much squeeze for the quality of the fuel that's available.

In a well used car, tired cooling systems, old sensors, and engine deposits will cause the low octane fuel to combust sooner than it should, thus causing the valves to "ping". Ping is caused by the explosion happening before the valves are open, and you hear the explosion hitting the valve. Simply using higher octane fuel will reduce the pinging. This works for my 1990 Accord which has 270,000 miles on it. Honda's seem to have a greater tendancy to ping as they age, and often people think something is wrong with engine, when in fact this is a common occurance.

tawneycat

I have yet to experiment with full regular in my TL. I will soon to test MPG affect and "feel" on power loss if any. 5k on car now and mpg will rise a little more.

I got blasted on HAH forum yesterday for posting my feathered driving MPG results. When I go for mpg I drive like granny galore but the results are amazing.
First I got rid of BS Turanza EL 42s and switched with Michelin Pilots which are standard on the NAVI (charge was $80 when new). Next I changed oil at 3k with Castrol 5w20 syntec which is a slippery fuel efficient oil.

My results are fairly consistent. I have a 25 mile communte (expressway no lights and no brakes till I turn into work in tulsa. I drive on flat following the Arkasas River.

55 mph cruise 41-42 mpg over 20 miles after warmup. I did this to vindicate myself this morning.
65 mph cruise yields 38 mpg over same 20 miles

76 mph on the turnpike over 100 miles yields 32-34 depending on AC usage, wind etc

Trip to MD in my 04 TL< now a 05 (a whole other story)
2000 miles and got 33 mpg with those nasty BS Turanaza tires which lost me 1 mpg at least. They hydroplane easily.

City driving is not the TL's best showing. My wife can drop a 32 mpg average to 22 mpg with one or two of her trips. I have quit trying to change her driving habits

Bottom line, if you own a TL it has tremendous potential for mpg. Even at 80 mph on turnpike when I just want to get home 30-31 is easily done. Maybe the TL is a hybrid.

If a city driver none of this will make sense to you as that mileage sucks.

delmar1

Great info....

Yes....I find it amazing a 270 hp car can get well over 30mph on the highway and still get low 20s city. I average out about 27mpg mixed.

As a comparison...What turned me off from the G35 which will get less than 15mpg mixed and the owners I have talked to are thrilled when they get 20mpg on the highway.

The lowest mpg I get is during the 3 mile warm-up...so that is where the tl owners should attempt to consolidate trips.

upstatedoc

I have 05 tl w/navi, 11000 miles, trip computer says I'm averaging 22 mpg mixed. Is this typical? In the face of high gas prices I have purchased a "Tornado". Put one on my mdx two years ago and the trip computer went up 1 mpg mixed. Does anyone have any experience with this device in a tl?

delmar1

The trip computer is pretty accurate.... As for 22mpg mixed...not really that bad compared to others in the TL class. The G35...expect 15mpg mixed.... Remember....the TL is a 270hp machine...not a 70hp Insight.

brewtoo

"If the fuel has a low octane, and the engine has a high compression ratio, then the fuel will combust BEFORE the cylinder reaches its highest point (ie BEFORE the spark plug ignites), due to the pressue in the cylinder at that position, thus causing less fuel efficiency, and eventual long term damge due to the exhaust in that cylinder being forced out of valves that are not yet opened."

What you are describing here is PRE-IGNITION, not detonation. The problem with low-octane fuel is that it burns FASTER than high-octane fuel. It's ignited by the spark plug but burns so fast it causes the familiar rattle or pinging. It's more like a sudden explosion than a smooth burn. And the exhaust is not forced out of the closed valves unless they already leak.

The proof is in the fact that the computer controls you described retard the ignition...they don't reduce the compression ratio. If the problem were caused by the fuel igniting before the plug fires, retarding the timing would have no effect.

tenuki

I just bought mine. I'm getting 20 mpg with an average speed of 32 mph (city-ish)

It will take getting used to coming from a car that got 29 city.

aaargh

Your mileage will improve after the break-in period.

Firebird_EOU

What kind of mpg improvement would this oil do to the car? Castrol 5w20 syntec