Post Your Van Gas Mileage Here

dennisctc

Here's a scary attitude - my 75 year old father, who states "just because the speed limits 55mph, doesn't mean you have to do 55mph, you can do 50mph or 45mph"!!!!! AND HE DOES, in the left lane!!!!! And believe me, you can't tell him differently!!!

averigejoe

Are you trying to say that the EPA rates the Sienna at 18 MPG highway?
Who's trying to kid who?

hansienna

And at refill today, 19 days, mostly city driving was 23.8 MPG for an overall average of 27.3 MPG.
Lowest for a refill was 23.5 MPG and the highest was 36.0 MPG on the 55 MPH round trip test drive...which I will never conduct again. As written earlier, the 36.0 MPG was when driving strictly for a test on the open road, 6 AM saturday morning on a rural interstate, NO air conditioning used. It is impractical to regularly drive under those conditions and the test was done just to determine the MAXIMUM possible fuel economy in a 2006 Sienna.

dudleyr

"If EPA shows 18 MPG HY, It would be impossible to do 36 MPG even at 55MPH drive. If Sienna could do that, it would be a headline. Let's not kid ourselves. Right Fred222? "

Read the EPA web site. They already dumb down the highway number by 22%. To get the number they measured multiply by 1.28. 1.28 times 26 mpg (not 18) is 33.3. 36 is certainly achievable under the right conditions.

BTW my Integra is rated at 28 mpg by the EPA on the highway. I can get as high as 42 if I go about 60 mph with no ac and drive very gently. I do run about 38 psi and use synthetic oil both of which help some. Even driving 80+ mph with the A/C I still get about 32 mpg.

averigejoe

I'd bet you could even do better than 36 if you hold your speed steady just after the torque converter locks up in top gear. For your van, on level road with no wind that is probably around 40 to 45 MPH.
Now there is a risky proposition...Try that on an interstate!
Seriously though, if you have the time and ambition, try it on a secondary highway at that speed and report back to us.
I'll guess 38.72 MPG. Do it on a Sunday.

haseebkhawaja

36 MPG sounds pretty ideal, that means you get over 700 miles in a full tank? I don't think that is possible. Besides you don't determine the average mileage based on one drive. I would be curious to know how many miles are you people getting when you get more than 25 MPG. This does drop down in the snow weather. If you are still getting good mileage, I am sure you visit the gas station less and that feels good for sure, all the best
HK

hansienna

Virtually impossible. I do not have the patience to drive at 55 MPH or less for 700 miles and it would be impossible to find a 700 mile stretch of road that is virtually flat except in west Texas. I am not going to drive through west Texas at 55 MPH with no air conditioning. :shades:
The 36 MPG was computed by dividing miles driven by fuel consumed...and was slightly lower than the mileage computed by the trip computer. I am not going to perform another test since I know the MAXIMUM possible fuel economy. I do not expect to get mileage over mid 20's in normal driving.
On a long 1400 round mile trip at 65 to 70 MPH, I expect to get 28 to 30 MPG if the wind is not blowing since my 2002 T&C LX got slightly over 28 MPG on that trip. The T&C also got as low as 25.0 MPG on the same trip when the wind was blowing.

averigejoe

Why do you think it is the MAXIMUM possible?
You have not really tried it at 50 MPH or 45 MPH, right? Maybe the MAXIMUM would be at a speed different from what you tried.
(also curious, what air PSI were you running in your tires during your "maximum" test?)

hansienna

And it was probably NOT the maximum possible.
You are correct. It should have been written MAXIMUM REASONABLY feasible fuel economy.
The tire pressure was not checked so it was probably the amount Toyota puts into the tires at the factory. The reason I conducted the test was to inform myself what the 2006 Sienna could deliver in an ideal environment with no wind, almost level terrain for the entire round trip, very little traffic on the Interstate, with the airconditioner turned off. :shades:

easym1

Thanks for the correction. I was supposed to write 28MPG as suggested by my buddy who drives the 2006 Sienna which he got late 2005. One thing I can tell you, if you drive for ay least 150 miles, 36 MPG cannot be obtained as average. I did that on my Nissan Murano which was posted around 22MPG HY. The last time I tested it was at 25,000 KM ( on my odometer ) on our HY 407 which is 100 KPH max, I tried to stay at 100 KPH all the way. My initial reading for the first 5 KM was deceivingly 38MPG. My MPG has gradually decreases as I post more distance but at around 150 KM my reading stays around 17.8 MPG mark. ( I would take that as my HY average ).

I can also say that my Murano can do 38 MPG. But I'll be fooling myself.

I went to this site because I'm in the process of replacing our Minivan. I'd like to find out if Sienna can really deliver a good MPG and if owners expirience any problem.

I don't want to experience the same when I bought my Murano. People were posting MPG way higher than the EPA although many others were posting around the 16-17 MPG ( at that time, I though that they were just bad drivers ).But once I got my Murano, I found out the truth. I can't even get above 18.5 MPG despite changing my oil and air filter to K&N and using Mobil-1 oil. I drive my car well because I want it to last.

By the way, the last time I asked my buddy if he can average 36 MPG on his Sienna...he replied, 'are you crazy?'
I told him about this forum and I hope he will join us.

I'm about 80% Sienna and 20% Odyssey at this point. Odyssey owners are also posting mixed MPG.

hansienna

I, too can NOT drive for a long distance again at 55 MPH. I do not have the patience to conduct another test drive to check my Sienna at 55 MPH but will report the round trip mileage on the 1400 mile trip (700 miles each direction) at speeds 65 to 70 MPH next month. The speed will be higher than 70 MPH in the Los Angeles area since it is unsafe to drive less than 75-80 on those freeways. :shades:

easym1

Many of our friends here will be happy to hear from your real world results.

haseebkhawaja

I live at least 55-60 miles from an interstate, highest speed limit is 55 MPH. So I have developed the patience to drive at 55-60 MPH for hours. Sometimes slower (also so that the kids sleep longer!). Of course roads go up and down, one comes across stop signs, small towns make you slow down. You get to the bigger highways and speed jumps upto 65-75 MPH. You get to a bigger city, you stop at almost every traffic light. I keep up with the 3000 mile or 3 month oil change, I am shy at the 15k miles service since I did 38k miles in less than 2 years and it felt expensive to do two services in less than a year (I am going for a detailed service soon) on top of changing the run flats (all four of them, I didn't buy run flats again). My MPG tests were done in all weather, including thunder storms and snow storms and white outs.

Putting all this together, with most of the miles on small or big highways, I get upto 420-450 miles out of a 20 gallon Sienna tank. Average 22.5 max. My average mileage window used to show 24-25 initially, it went down to 18MPG when I had to leave the car running for 15-30 minutes before every use last winter (temperatures going to below -20F, now I use the blcok engine heater to save that gas). Now I am upto 19.4 MPG and while driving, the instantaneouos MPG window shows anywhere from below 10 MPG (when you hit the paddle) to 25-30 MPG (when you are on a flat road with little wind and snow), this jumps upto 30-40 MPG when I am going downhill. So lower the RPM, higher the instantaneouos MPG and higher the miles in that tank. Also Shell V Power 93 makes a huge difference, even better than V Power 91 and 92 from other gas stations. Shell in my experience was the best of all (I tried tens of other gas stations and the same parameters).

For close to optimum mileage values, I have driven to a point where the low fuel light was lit for almost 10 miles, didn't try it for more than that. Ironically, even at that point, the tank takes only about 18 gallons before the fuel dispenser clicks, at that time, sometimes I keep pushing to get upto 2-2.5 gallons extra in the tank.

This is 05 AWD Sienna, I don't think Odessey would give you a big difference on MPG, its just that a 100 miles may give an average of more than 25 MPG but if you put everything together, you can not get 500 or more miles out of a 20 gallon tank, you tabulate the average, you will not exceed the average that the company declared when you bought the car, you may be lower most of the times.

HK

leefarm

the trip computer is not very accurate if you are in stop and go conditions or hilly areas like we are . it is much better to calculate how many gallons you fil it up and how many miles you go. because when you go up a hill the computer drops down to 14 or less mpg but whenyou go down it'llgo from 30 - 99.9 mpg..lol but on flat level ground i found the computer to be accurate. and yes it does start out high then drops. our sedona starts around 36 mpg and drops to around 25.7 mpg on flat land . but say bye bye to that once you hit hills.

haseebkhawaja

very true, that is why I look at how many miles out of how many gallons. Then you average it out over a couples of tanks. But boy it feels good when you go downhill or let the pedal go for a few miles and the trip meter says 99 MPG for some distance!

hansienna

Two friends have Astros. The AWD gets about 16 MPG on long round trips while the RWD gets 23 to 24 MPG on the same round trip. The Sienna AWD probably gets closer to the FWD Sienna than does the Astro AWD compared to Astro RWD.

dsrtrat2

I have the VCM engine on the Ody and hardly ever get over 26 MPG on long trips. I drive with traffic and try to maximize mileage when possible. I usually get 22-24 around here in suburban/freeway driving. This is my 4th Ody and I don't think the VCM does a thing for MPG with my style of driving.

My son has his second Sienna XLE-limited and is VERY disappointed in his MPG which is almost never above 20MPG and is thinking of trading it off. They drive it the same as their older one which got much better MPG.

BTW I almost always use brand name gas, mostly Chevron.

nicsun

Hello. Just bought an older Quest (1999 GLE). Wondering if anyone who has one, or had one could remember the gas mileage they were getting (or distance per tank)? We had a 1995 Villager and the Quest seems to use more fuel, and I was wondering if what I am getting is normal or if there is a problem. I average around 290 miles on a tank of gas with 90% in town driving (or around 14.5 mpg). Thanks

hansienna

What year was your son's first Sienna XLE?
Remember that the 2004 and later Sienna is a MUCH bigger, heavier vehicle than the first Siennas.
My 2006 Sienna LE has an overall average of 27.4 MPG for the first 2600 miles...with as low as 24.0 MPG with one tank and as high as 36.0 MPG during a test drive to determine the potential mileage under ideal conditions. (All mileage data is using miles driven divided by fuel needed to refill. The trip computer calculates a slightly higher number than manual calculation).
What years were your previous Odysseys? How did the average mileage compare with the different years of your Odysseys?
There is NO reliable means to compare mileage of any vehicles driven by consumers.
My 2002 T&C LX got between 25.0 and 28.2 MPG average on each of 10 different 1400 mile round trips while my son got between 20 and 24 MPG on long trips with his 2001 Ody EX. The driving patterns vary too much between individuals. I am reasonably confident my son's Odyssey would get much better gas mileage if I drove it than the mileage my son has reported. :shades: One person may commute 40 miles on open freeways while another may commute 10 miles with stop and go driving the entired distance. The time of day also has a great effect on mileage.

stickguy

I used to have a '99 SE. We got about 15ish around town (real short hop driving, very hard on mileage), and 22-24 on trips, depending on how much was highway vs. local roads.

thegraduate

THANKS for your confirmation that a 2006 Sienna WILL GET 36 MPG at 55 MPH.

I dont doubt ya for a minute, hansienna. I did a similar controlled test with my father's 2005 Accord (rated at 34MPG HWY). I achieved 39.96 MPG at 75 MPH with no A/C or any drag from windows/open sunroof. Traffic was light and we didn't stop for the entire 243 miles of interstate we drove. I've never been able to repeat those numbers (b/c I need A/C on now and traffic's never been so good) but still average in the 35-36 MPG range, so 36 MPG is definitely in the realm of possibility for you (Shoot; even some V-6 Accord 6-speed owners are getting upper 30s when "hypermiled" as you did. It's not that difficult if you stay regimented.

hansienna

Your Accord could probably get 45-50 MPG if driven at 55 MPH instead of your test at 75 MPH.
However, the fuel savings is NOT worth the waste of time nor the anger caused in other drivers. :shades:
Speeds of 75-80 MPH drastically reduce fuel economy.

thegraduate

Correct you are, on all accounts. You are right also, because driving at 55 would take me an extra hour to get to the beach, something I'll pay a little extra cash (less mileage) for.

famof3kids

I think I posted back last summer, but, will again...
July 4th 2005, trip from Virginia to Orlando, Florida, we averaged, the entire trip, 29.8 MPG. That's mostly 70MPH interstate with 6 passengers, luggage, both AC's, DVD.

Normally we get an average, around town, 19.9 MPG.

strawboss1

Just bought this vehicle. Trip from Chicago to Orlando, Fl. Started out with 100 miles on odometer. 4 plump adults, a/c running front and back, full of luggage, averaged 25 mpg going 70-75 mph with computer and our independent calculations. Are we happy!!! Car was great, had plenty of pep, rode like a dream.

duper

343 miles, 17.78 gallons. Came out to 19.29 m/g at about 80% freeway. I hope it gets better as it breaks in.

dudleyr

What kind of vehicle is it?

hansienna

That is very good mileage. City driving KILLS gas mileage. To get a REAL idea of the gas mileage your Odyssey can deliver, fill it just before you go on a round trip and then fill it immediately upon returning.
If you keep the speed near 65 MPH, your Odyssey will deliver EPA Highway rating or better if there are no winds, rain, or other mileage decreasing items.

duper

It's '06 EX-L

That's how I calculate mileage too. Fill up, reset odo to 0, drive until light comes on, refill. Take the total miles divide by gallons put in. I did this religiously on my Pathfinder in the first several years or so. I think I'm going to do this on the Odyssey too.

dc_driver

I also just bought an 06 EX-L a week and a half ago but am still on my first tank of gas. Best guess (about 80% city 20% highway) is about 19mpg so far. Per Honda's DVD and owners manual, we are taking it easy on the van for the first 600 miles or so and I have noticed the "ECO" light on quite a bit.

I would love to get about 24-25mpg mixed...

fx35awd

dc_driver,

Can you keep us posted on your mileage as you go through your break in period and also after if you can get up to the 24-25 mpg of mix use driving (city and highway). I am thinking about taking a huge loss on my '04 Infiniti FX35 AWD by trading in for '06 Honda Odyssey, EX-L Navi and DVD. Thank you.

dc_driver

No problem.

It's official. First fill up is: 18.575 MPG in mixed driving (approximately 80% city, 20% highway). Not too bad for the first tank considering we live in an area with a lot of stop and go traffic and have been running the air conditioning quite a bit, but I definitely expect it to go up over time. I know my SUV really improved around 3K miles..

We are taking a road trip during memorial day weekend, so I will definitely get a better idea on highway mileage (if I am not stuck in stop and go traffic the whole way

By comparison, I averaged 19.2 MPG in mixed driving in my 02 Altima SE. The best I EVER got was 22.3 MPG once on a road trip.

duper

We are taking a road trip during memorial day weekend, so I will definitely get a better idea on highway mileage

Same here, I'm planning a trip on the same weekend either to Las Vegas or Disneyland (from from San Jose Bay Area). The van has about 430 miles on it now and by that time it'll be over the 600 miles break in

The wife's been driving it to work though.

nova123

I have 950 miles on my ody..mostly city driving and I have averaged 18 MPG so far.

fx35awd

You should be able to get it up in the 20's, if not in the mid, I would expect low 20's. I get around 16mpg during my break in period and now I am stuck at 18.5-19. I want a vehicle for my family that gets a least in the low 20's. I will periodically check back to this forum because I really like the Honda Odyssey. I have gotten a quote as low as 30,800 for the 2006 Odyssey EX-L (leather) with navigation and dvd here in Southern California. Please let me know if someone gotten a much lower quote or have bought a lower price in this region. Thank you.

fx35awd

Oops, I forgot to state my current car is '04 Infiniti FX35 AWD and hoping to trade it in some time in the near future. That is the one w/ the 18.5-19 mpg average (mix use).

fred222

Just took a trip from Spokane WA to Grand Coulee Dam and back in my 2006 Odyssey EX-L. 233 miles and 8.47 gallons for 27.5 mpg.
Speed limit for most of the drive is 60 mph and I was going 61-62 mph. AC on for half of the drive. Five passengers with a total weight about 600 lbs. Many stops. A couple of very steep hills.
The van has almost 3500 miles on it. That is pretty close to 28 mpg.

fx35awd

Wow, that is pretty good Fred222. Thank you for you input.

dc_driver

FX,

Not sure if this helps you or not, but I am a member at another Odyssey message board, and most Odyssey owners (with VCM) seem to get very close to the highway EPA numbers (28mpg) even with three or more people and the A/C on (most people report between 25-29mpg). It also seems that owners that have between 3-5K on their vans noticed a bump in MPG (makes sense since this is when most engines and transmissions are "broken-in").

As for city, the numbers seem to vary. I would say most folks report anywhere from 16mpg-21mpg and average about 18mpg. Mixed driving seems to yield between 22-24MPG.

I think a lot of this depends on your driving. A lot of people (okay, I am one of them) tend to accelerate quickly and are not exactly driving in the most economic manner (it is a pretty fun van to drive and hard not to want to "go fast").

The FX (I love your SUV btw), requires premium fuel as well, correct? The Odyssey will also help there (my last car took premium) since it takes regular.

Will keep you posted as I break in the van and take it on a highway trip..

rdharams

Guys, we picked our EX-L last week and I have mileage numbers to share with you folks. We got 19.6 MPG for the first tank of gas that came with the van. I would say 50/50 city and Hwy driving. Not bad compared to the 15-16 MPG we would get with our Nissan 96 Quest. I am hoping that after the breakin period this goes upwards of 20 MPG.

fx35awd

dc_driver,

I appreciate your response. I have not use premium gasoline after the first or second month of ownership. I don't know any infiniti owners that I have come across have been consistently using premium fuel either. Two my friends use regular 87 octane for their Acura and BMW and the cars seem to be fine. I heard you lose some horse power. However, with the regular fuel I get better gas mileage the the high octane stuff on my FX35.

marine2

http://digg.com/technology/Water_Fuel_-_HHO_Gas

When at site, Click on words, Water Fuel - HHO Gas
__________________

leon111

FYI - I just got my Odyssey EX - L on the 15 of May. I did a short shake down cruise and got 23.5 MPG on 87 octane fuel on a 100 mile run. About 80 miles were on Interstate 95 at 65 - 75 MPH in 90+ degree heat. The rest was "mixed" driving. I have a total of about 200 miles on the car now. I used the cruise control when I could. I am satisfied with the 23.5 considering the speed and fresh engine. I hope to get a test run of about 300 + miles soon at a controlled speed of 50 - 65 MPH if I can get the right stretch of highway at the right speed.

dc_driver

I noticed when I was filling up the other day that the station that I usually buy my gas from has "10% Ethanol" stickers on every gas pump. I also recently read that engines that run on ethanol get significantly less gas mileage. So my thought is this:
- If the gas stations start adding 10% ethanol to their gas, should we not expect to all see a drop in MPG across the board (probably a noticeable drop at that)?
- Based on the article I read it should be somewhere close to a 4-5% drop overall MPG.
- I would expect someone that normally gets 24mpg to get 1-2MPG less...

Has anyone noticed a recent drop? Thoughts?

dsrtrat2

When we go back to Iowa and use ethanol fuels we get less mileage. Ethanol is good to use in the winter back there as it helps keep the moisture out of the gas tank.

Kirstie_H

A national newspaper is looking to interview consumers who are changing their holiday plans because of the high prices in gas (ex. driving closer to home or driving, versus flying). Please send an e-mail to ctalati@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, May 25, 2006 by 5:00 PM PST/8:00 PM EST containing your daytime contact information and a brief sentence or two on how you’ve changed your plans.

marine2

Cars run on water: Miracle or scam?
Businessman claims hybrid technology more efficient with less emissions

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: May 20, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Ron Strom
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Though the developer of a technology that uses water to produce a flammable gas says it provides a solution to high gas prices plaguing the nation, detractors claim the businessman's idea is a scam.

Denny Klein is president of Hydrogen Technologies Applications in Clearwater, Fla. His patented machine uses an electrical charge to separate the atoms of H2O into HHO, a gas he calls "Aquygen."

"You get a huge energy response," Klein told the Tampa Tribune. "But this gas is very, very safe."

He first used the fuel to power a welding tool, but soon tried it out in a hybrid automobile.

The flame, though on its own registers just 259 degrees Fahrenheit, heats up to the melting point of whatever substance it touches, explained Steve Lusko, project manager for Hydrogen Technologies Applications.

"For example, when you ignite our flame and touch it to steel, it will cut right through it at 1,400 degrees," Lusko told WND.

"It will melt a hole right through a brick at 4,500 degrees. … It reacts to whatever it touches."

So, Lusko says, the gas has the ability to bond to whatever fuel it is mixed with, like gasoline in a hybrid car.

"Upon combustion, you get a dramatic increase in energy BTUs," he said, "and you get an equally dramatic decrease in emission pollution, because the burn is so highly efficient, what would have come out of the tailpipe as an emission ends up getting burned up and used."

An "electrolyzer" in Klein's 1994 Ford Escort uses electricity from the alternator to initiate the electrolysis process to make the HHO gas out of water, explained Lusko. That gas is then pumped to the manifold and into the gas tank.

"The gas then bonds with the gasoline in the gas tank," Lusko said, "and then upon combustion, that's when you get the reaction, giving you higher gas mileage and cleaner emissions."

Why not run a car with exclusively HHO gas?

"We have combustion engines here that have run completely on our Aquygen," Lusko said, "but it would be a matter of engineering."

Lusko says in tests the mileage of the hybrid vehicle has improved anywhere from 25 to 53 percent.

Hydrogen Technologies Applications has a patent on its generator and has one pending on Aquygen.

Lusko says the company has already talked to some auto companies about using the technology in new vehicles.

Not everyone in the tech world is cheering for Klein and his process.

Writing on peswiki.com, Ken Rasmussen stated: "[Klein] may have an efficient way to break down water for pure hydrogen and oxygen to run an engine. Several of us are on the verge of perfecting the process, but none of us want to make fools of ourselves with TV claims until ALL the bugs are exterminated."

Rasmussen was referring to a TV news story that ran about Klein on Fox affiliate KRIV-TV in Houston, Texas.

"Gases are dangerous and hard to store and hard to compress – they do not do an efficient job of temporarily storing energy," wrote Eric Kreig on the same site. "The gas produced by separating water is dangerous and has been called many things. … It has been available for years from many sources. These machines are heavy and suck in a lot more power than you ever get out of them by burning the gas back into water."

Wrote a message board participant at peakoil.com: "Overall, [the technology is] rather pointless, as it wastes lots of energy. Just a simple charge-and-go electric car sounds like a much better idea."

Yet another opined: "Some scamsters have claimed that their miracle electrolyzer produces a magical mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, that is somehow different from other mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen in that it is not explosive and contains three to 10 times as much energy as hydrogen. Historically, scammers have given their magical mixtures all sorts of names. HHO or Klein gas appears to be nothing more than the latest name given to this nonsense."

Lusko was adamant the technology is real and the company has nothing to hide.

"We are what we are," he said. "The technology is what it appears to be. Do you think we would expose ourselves on Fox News if it were a scam?"

Added Lusko: "The only fools that would [call the technology a scam] are people who haven't seen it. It's not possible to make that statement if they have any idea what they're talking about. … I witness the technology every single day of my life."

Lusko says he became an investor in the company a year and a half ago and told Klein at that time he "must be a part of this." That's when Lusko began working for the firm.

"This technology is going to end up being in the mainstream eventually," he predicted, "and then the critics are going to look absolutely foolish."

Klein says he plans to take Hydrogen Technology, which now has private investors, public this year.

hansienna

Does COLD FUSION ring a bell? :sick:
Anything too good to be true, is probably NOT true. :shades:

rorr

SCAM!!!!!

Good lord man, he even SAYS IT right up front:

"His patented machine uses an electrical charge to separate the atoms of H2O into HHO"

Otherwise knows as "electrolysis". Whereby one uses an electrical current to divorce water molecules (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen. His device then captures the H2 and burns it. All he did is come up with a golly gee whiz name for his 'gas' (aquygen?).

Wow. Wooodedooo. What he conveniently forgets to tell the intrepid reporter is that the amount of electrical energy consumed is GREATER THAN the amount of chemical energy released.

It is a net consumer (waster) of energy.

marine2

Wow. Wooodedooo. What he conveniently forgets to tell the intrepid reporter is that the amount of electrical energy consumed is GREATER THAN the amount of chemical energy released.

It is a net consumer (waster) of energy.

A lot of people are saying that, but if they are testing it in a auto, where is all this energy coming from to power it? I think only time will tell.