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Acura RL Real World Fuel Economy
I just test drove an RL, about a half hour, on a highway and on local roads. The computer showed 12.5 mpg, but it didnt seem to update too well.
What are real-world fuel economy numbers?
What are real-world fuel economy numbers?
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My non-highway driving gets us about 19 mpg. As an experiment, I filled the tank 1 block before getting on the highway for a long trip. I drove a little slower, about 72-75 mph, I did get 27 mpg that trip.
My RL consistently averages 23-24 mpg avg / tank and over 440 miles in range / tank. My city averages 18mpg and my highway mileage is 28mpg. It is very consistent after my 1st 1000 miles and break in. However, if you are heavy on the throtle, the RL is a heavy sedan and will lower your milage around town.
Overall, it is only 1 mpg avg less than the 2005 TL I traded for the 2006 RL.
On the highway at 75 mph I get 27-28. I was on some flat backroads with no stops, stayed at 55 mph and got 32 mpg.
Len
This year, Acura came out with a Technical Bulletin on the Acura RL. They changed the fuel pressure regulator. Now I get 12.5-13 mpg in the city and I'm lucky if I get 18 on the road with cruise control! :lemon:
My dealer is USELESS. NO HELP AT ALL. They just put the car on the computer & then they say...."everything checks out OK". One more technical Bulletin and my mileage might be down at 10mph!....& they will still say everything is OK!
Acura customer service won't even address the issue now. Sorry I ever dared to buy from this car company. My first & last Acura in 35 years of buying new cars. I simply can't believe the federal government would allow a car company to put an "average MPG sticker" of 16mpg on a car that actually gets 14.5 MPG and with a Technical Bulletin change, 12.5-13 in the city now!
If this was back in the carburetor days, I'd say the choke was on 100% of the time! If anyone out there has had the same misfortune of having a LEMON Acura RL, I'd like to know about it. And if anyone else has had this kind of a fuel problem but it's been fixed, let be know by answering this story. Please, this car gets worse mileage than a Lincoln Navigator fully loaded with the family!
I do plan to register a complaint with the Dept of Transportation because I can't believe that a car company can cause their already lousy mileage to "drop like a tank" to 12.5 MPG without violating the CAFE mileage standards and without paying a huge $$$$ fine for having gas guzzlers in the fleet!
Beware if you even think bad thoughts.....like buying one of these.
We have an 08 rl, with nav.and we get on our trips i.e. freeway stuff about what you posted. Cruise on, at 75-78 mpg, about 28 mph. City about 21/21 mpg.
I am sorry to hear badguy about your problems with the 06. I understand that was the first year of the current series of rls.
And yes, I too have been frustrated with the service with the radio issues, however, i kept going back and complaining and finally a service rep got me a new radio. No more lost pre-selects being gone.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
My 06 RL has been very consistent with mileage. I average 21-22mpg per tankful in nearly 60/40 city / hwy driving. In city driving, 19 is common, and highway 28+. On one highway cruise of 347 miles @ 75mph with cruise control, my MID pegged 32mpg. That is quite a range, but very impressive for a heavy AWD sedan with beefy tires and only a 5 speed tranny. Those same attributes will bring heavy penalty for city driving with less than finessed throttling.
For 2009 the engine was bumped from the 3.5 to 3.7 with modest gains in power and torque AND modest loss in MPG rating.
And a few points to previous posts....the current generation RL was the 2005 model year, not 2006.
Concerning the TSB for the fuel pressure regulator...badguy would you care to enlighten us as to the TSB #? I have scanned through all the TSBs issued for the current generation RL and have failed to located it. You say it came out this year...meaning 2009? I do not believe they have been released for January 09 and I cannot locate such TSB in the 2008 releases.
If in fact, your RL has such issues, it seems to be somewhat unique as the majority of RL owners I read posts from seem to be with rated MPG range. That would indeed make your RL unique and likely a Lemon. However, as unfortunate as your situation may be, that does now condemn all RL owners or potential owners to experience the same.
Machines made by production methodology will likley produce occaisional flaws. And if you condemn and entire automobile model when a lemon surfaces, you will condemn every vehicle model that ever has been produced.
My city driving is a different story, however. I quite often get in the 14-16 mpg range. I attribute part of that to relatively short trips - 2-4 miles is standard for me.
I'm not condemning all RL owners or future owners. I'm condemning a car company....American Honda Motor Company....which doesn't give a dxxm to do anything about this. They put it on the computer and say it's OK rather than deal with the real world. In fact, they did not even have the courtesy to reply to any letters on various problems.
For a car to have such erratic behavior in MPG, there has to be something wrong. And for the Long Trip mileage to tumble after the TSB fix, there certainly is a problem.
In decades of buying new cars including products from: Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, GM , and Ford, I've never had this deafening silence. "It's truly luxury living with ghetto management".
There should never be an exception for horrible customer service...especially if you're attempting to produce a "luxury car line".
I certainly hope this will improve.
It has been closer to 20mpg lately now that it's finally cold out, but I have been doing far more trips around town as well.
Where I live, I got significantly lower mileage because of all the hills.