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Honda Odyssey Real World MPG

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Comments

  • hes3hes3 Member Posts: 1
    Hi, it seems that I'm not the only one reporting poor fuel economy with the Honda Odyssey’s, I purchased this car in November 2010 and I been getting the normal dealer replied, is to new, is winter and so on, this was one of the major factor of purchasing this car, my old Nissan Quest gxe 1998 used to consume an average of 14 to 15 mpg combine and my previous 2006 Sienna le an average of 16 to 17 mpg combine and now my 2011 Odyssey ex with 2700 miles has average of 11 to 12 mpg combine.

    I recently drove for over 2 hours in the highway with cruise control on at an average of 70 to 75 mph and got around of 22+ not bad but I was expecting better.
  • nobonobo Member Posts: 305
    You are not alone in getting poor MPG results. We have had our 2010 Odyssey EX-L now for 12 months and ~8500 miles. Mileage sucks compared to our expectations and the MSRP window sticker. We also kept our 2002 Odyssey, and it gets better MPG than the new one.

    I think Honda stretched the truth when they published their MPG results.
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    Sorry to hear that. I could never achieve anywhere close to what was posted on the window sticker with either of my 2 Odysseys. At first I figured it was just the way my wife was driving but when we took it on a family trip and only got ~20 mpg (19.9 to be exact) averaging 70-75 mph, it proved to me that its window sticker ratings are only achieved under the most ideal conditions. Not that I'm trying to steer people to the Sienna, but just for comparison, our 07 Sienna XLE Ltd. averages about 18 mpg in town (used to be better before the nationally mandated ethanol requirement!) and about 26-30 on the highway at those same speeds, depending on terrain. The Sienna is not rated that high, but that is what ours achieves consistently. I've heard some people complain that their Sienna's don't achieve claimed MPG as well, so I think a lot of it has to do with terrain and driving habits...however, I have not moved since owning the first Odyssey and therefore can compare both vehicles objectively. To be totally honest, I like the Odyssey better now that I've owned the Sienna for a few years, on account of it's less nerdy styling and better driving dynamics. However, the Sienna has proven much easier to live with (yawn) and less expensive to drive. If it came with the Sienna's drivetrain I'd overlook the fact that my last Ody's paint started peeling off for no reason and switch back to the Ody next time around. But for that kind of MPG's I may as well go with an SUV.
  • nedlyjnedlyj Member Posts: 89
    edited April 2011
    My wife recently *retired* (i.e. totaled) my 1999 Ody EX and I started driving her 2010 Ody EX. My general mixed mileage in the 99 was always between 17-19. Unfortunately, I'm seeing 14-15 now in the 2010, same driving conditions. And that's 30% highway (at 65mph) and 50% at 35-35mph with no traffic lights or stops - and with no passengers, no load, and no AC (FYI, van has about 16,000 miles on it). Wow, that's amazingly lousy. :(
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    Sorry to hear that. I don't get why there are so many Odyssey's out there that return SUV like MPG's but I have come to accept there is a "sweet spot" and if you drive in that range, your MPG's will be good. If you don't, they will suck. Like I said in a previous post, I wish I could option an Odyssey with the engine from the Sienna (...and the Sienna's paint). The Sienna can keep its goofy interior. There's not a perfect family car out there but I've definitely found our (07) Sienna to be the easier car to live with and noticeably less expensive at the pump, without adjusting our driving conditions or driving style vs when we had our Odyssey's. Our Sienna's worst MPG average to date is still over 18 mpg with 100% city driving with lots of stop lights and waiting for kids with engine running. Maybe the new 6AT will help the Ody's mileage to stay honest.
  • nobonobo Member Posts: 305
    Having similiar MPGs (poor) with wife's 2010 Honda EX-L. Our 2002 Odyssey gets better than the 2010. I think Honda has found a way to fudge the MPG for the window sticker.

    the 6AT is only available on the Odyssey Touring in 2011. Got to have deep pockets to afford the Touring, the rest of the Odyssey crowd gets the 5AT. Thank you Honda :mad:
  • bradkansasbradkansas Member Posts: 14
    edited April 2011
    I've always understood the MPG on the window sticker was based upon perfect driving conditions on a closed oval and the perfect RPM, or as "gotoyota" puts it, the "sweet spot". Which for my Odyseeys ('95, '04, '09) all purchased new, has been aroung 1800 rpm or about 68 mph. Each of mine has been signifiantly heavier than the previous models. Thus, lower mileage.

    Here's some things you can do to improve your mileage.

    Increase the tire psi 5 pounds.
    Turn off the ac going up hills and when accelerating from a stop.
    Maintain steady speeds.
    Don't wait 'till the last second to apply the breaks coming to a stop to name a few things which will help.
  • eastcostereastcoster Member Posts: 3
    For what it is worth I just completed a 2100-mile trip from Florida to the east coast of Canada with my 2010 Ody EX-L and I averaged just over 28 MPG (Imperial Gallon)
    Most of my trip was highway speed 70-75.

    However I did try something that I hadn’t tried before I put TC-W3 2 stroke motor oil in my gas (1oz per 5 gal of gas) I hadn’t tried this before as I only had 12,000 miles on my Ody.
    However after reading about this on the Ody club website with a link to another forum.
    (http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91206 )
    I thought I would give it a try and it does seem to do what others have claimed.
  • bradkansasbradkansas Member Posts: 14
    Interesting! Is there any concern about the oil fouling the injectors?
    And, what was your highway mileage under the same conditions using the oil?
    Brad
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    Wow, that sounds like a crazy idea - no offense intended :shades: but I'll have to check it out if it improves MPG's. I would be very interested in the effect it has on injectors and plugs :confuse: Still, if you compare your 28 imperial MPG's to US MPG's, it looks like you were getting about 22.4ish MPG's, since imperial gallons are 20% larger by volume. Correct?
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    You are correct, bad move IMO, but I think after the transmission woes of the previous generation and the fact that this is their first 6AT they probably wanted to limit their exposure...in case things go wrong again. I think that 5AT transmission has cost them a lot of $$$!
  • eastcostereastcoster Member Posts: 3
    As for fouling the injectors plugs etc etc . According to what others have reported on the other forum the big improvement that the TC-W3 oil does is cleans the top end . I haven't tried it long enough to report on this, however what I have noticed is quicker starts and better performance.
  • eastcostereastcoster Member Posts: 3
    edited April 2011
    You are correct on the 22.4 MP- US Gal.
    the 28 + MPG was total average on the 2100 miles.
    My best mileage was on the one tank full that I drove 90% of it at 60-65 MPH
    on secondary roads from Panama City Florida to Jesup, GA

    The link is very interesting with a lot of feed back well worth checking out.
    It seems that the only negative feed back is from the ones that didn't stick to the instructions of 1oz to 5 gal ratio.
  • desertkevdesertkev Member Posts: 76
    We have an '02 LX that still gets about 23 mpg (But thank you Honda for the failed transmission). I have an '08 that gets 24mpg (both numbers are for highway. City about 18 on both. The '02 has a K&N air filter and I just bought the K&N for the '08. I am a true believer in synthetic oil and K&N air filters to give you slightly better performance all around. Wife is looking at an '11, but afraid of the 6AT b/c as someone else mentioned previously, maybe the trans will be faulty. Who knows.
  • ted99ted99 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2009 Odyssey and the sticker for EPA mileage was 17/25. I was expecting it to be nearer the high end as much of my driving is highway miles. Yet I consistnetly get in the 18-20 mpg range; no better than my 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette.
    I had the dealer put in their recommended fuel additive, but it didn't help.
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    Seriously, you had a Silouhette??? :lemon: just kidding...I had the Pontiac Montana version and had to replace the engine at 80k (the cars fault, not mine) and pretty much anything else that could have gone wrong with it, did.

    No really though, sorry about your mileage in the Odyssey. Maybe Honda was referring to the Imperial MPG rating and hoped no one would question it. They really need to fix that one issue, though, cuz it doesn't seem like many people are getting the published MPG in the real world.
  • 01intrigue01intrigue Member Posts: 92
    IIRC, our 2006 Ody with VCM had higher numbers on the sticker, but I think they assume you are going 55 mph on the highway with a horse jockey at the wheel and nothing else in or on the van, and only one gallon in the gas tank (full tank weighs almost 200 lbs). Once you go over 65 or 70, it is tough to get the VCM to shut down cylinders.
  • 01intrigue01intrigue Member Posts: 92
    Ted99,

    We replaced our 2000 Silo with a 2006 Ody. Random electrical issues on the accessories forced us to get rid of the Silo after 110 K miles. Our 2006 Ody now has over 103K with only battery replacements as the maintenace issues.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    IIRC, our 2006 Ody with VCM had higher numbers on the sticker, but I think they assume you are going 55 mph on the highway with a horse jockey at the wheel and nothing else in or on the van, and only one gallon in the gas tank (full tank weighs almost 200 lbs). Once you go over 65 or 70, it is tough to get the VCM to shut down cylinders.

    The numbers on the sticker are based on an EPA test - unfortunately, the EPA test does not replicate real world driving.

    See http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml
  • gotoyotagotoyota Member Posts: 280
    Well if that's the case then it would certainly explain why neither of ours ever saw MPG's north of 20. On our trips we were not only driving closer to 70-75 mph (sorry, I just can't drive 55 mph) plus being fully laden with luggage and kids (4 at the time, now have 5). Honda's 3.5 V6 is a sweet engine, maybe they just just need to tune it more for low end torque and less for the VTEC howl that kicks in above 4300 rpm (fun, but doesn't seem to be compatible with the heft of the Odyssey).

    We made the same trip 2x last year in our Sienna, with just as much luggage, not to mention that my kids are getting bigger and heavier, and averaged 26 overall. This is traveling through a mix of level freeways and mountains and was achieved while spending a fair amount of time with the dial registering north of 80 mph. That was before the mandatory change to 10% Ethanol blend so we'll see how it does this time. We are taking the same trip in about 4 weeks.
  • ezydriverezydriver Member Posts: 15
    Well I must be a "horse jockey," the VCM light indicating the shutting down of the 3 aft cylinders is almost always on. I drive in the rolling hills of CT, I-95,I-395, I-84 and all the two lane roads in between, and can't remember getting less than 27 MPG per tank. We simply cruise at around the speed limits. (10% city driving.) The light goes off when accelerating and going up hill. (My wife averages 24 MPG) We have 100,000 miles + on our 2007 and the biggest maintenance item has been changing the ATF, with Honda brand, at 50k and 100k miles, and as soon as the weather is nice I'll change the Spark Plugs. (Changing the ATF fluid does involve three drains and fills per flush at about $100 for the fluid.)

    We just can't justify going 5 MPH over the limit because it just doesn't save us enough time, most of the time we drive 60 miles per trip and have always driven our cars to very high miles. 84 Malibu Wagon, V8, 256,000 miles - gave it to a friend for a $1, 00 Subaru 280,000 miles still being driven (28MPG), 01 Tundra (18 -22MPG) 180,000 miles our tow vehicle etc.
  • kevman3kevman3 Member Posts: 30
    I drive my '09 Ody 100 miles per day from NJ into NYC and back. 90% hwy, averaging about 70mph, getting 25 mpg consistantly. Would do better if I went slower, but just not possible, most cars going much faster. 24k on van now, mileage getting better as it breaks in. Was low 20s for awhile...
  • ezydriverezydriver Member Posts: 15
    I understand the speed dilemma on the NJ TP, I drive the round trip 10+ times a year from CT to Exit 4 in NJ. I'm the guy who, in the car only lanes, is always in the right hand lane and only passes one or two cars on the NJ TP per trip. I try to study the traffic and don't think I'm "holding up traffic." I am going faster than if I really was a horse jockey!

    25 MPG sound about right for 70+ MPH, nothing wrong with your car or driving habits for 70MPH. Wind resistance and friction are proportional to speed squared.
    So if it was 25 years ago and the limit was 55MPH you'd be getting almost 35 MPG! Not bad for a van.
  • desertkevdesertkev Member Posts: 76
    Are people who are getting poor mileage actually taking the amount of miles driven and dividing by the gallons of gas to fill up the tank? Don't trust the computers - Has anyone gotten GOOD mileage on an '11? Thanks.
  • nightranger1nightranger1 Member Posts: 1
    My 2006 Odyssey averaged around 22 mpg from Chicago to northern Arkansas doing 80 or so. 4 passengers, luggage and two large dogs on board. The van ran better when I put Sinclair gas in it in Arkansas, but I did not track the mileage on the way back. Chicago uses that crappy additive laden ethanol gas, Sinclair in Arkansas does not. I did encounter some traffic and wind going to Ar which may have affected mileage, but the van ran fine. The ECO light was not on consistently due to speeds and wind. I took it to Wisconsin one time and she got 26 mpg for that trip only doing 65 to 70 mph.
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