My o2 accord v6 is very sensitive to throttle inputs. Try to drive very smoothly and your mileage may improve. Also, drive as slowly as is safe on the hwy. You will be shocked at the difference a slower cruising speed will make. Hope this helps.
I've always kept the tires correctly inflated. And this car is brand new- only 700 miles.
Today I put 100 miles on. The highway was filled with slow drivers, ie doing 60 MPH in the middle lane on a 65 MPH highway. Some were talking on the phone, others looked like they were asleep. Naturally, I have to pass. I really enjoy hitting the gas, but I'm realizing more how much that affects fuel economy.
Another thing, I often drive with the A/C on. I'll stop that.
My '03 Sonata V6 initially only returned an abysmal 15/24 even though it was EPA rated 19/27. Now at 24K miles, it's consistently 24+/30+ - and that highway mileage is in the low 70s mph with A/C on. In general it takes approximately 20 hp to sustain a ton and a half at 60 mph over level terrain. Punch the accelerator pedal to pass, though, and that "sucking" sound you hear is money draining from your wallet. At 700 miles your car is NOT broken in yet, even though you're at least 100 miles past whatever break-in recommendation Honda advises in your owner's manual. Track your fuel useage for fun, but don't expect the car to hit its stride until you rack up 5,000 accumulated miles on the odometer. Even then, your fuel economy will still continue to slowly improve out to beyond 20,000 miles. Finally, at any speed above 50-55 mph, the drag of the A/C compressor is offset by the drag of air buffeting from an open window. Go for comfort if you're a frequent flier. Disengage the A/C in town unless excessive heat and/or high humidity demand its use.
I'm getting around 16/25 right now on the SE V6... under 1k miles. It will take at least 10k miles to get the engine well broken in, and mileage should improve a bit all the way up to 20k miles.
.....new AV6 6M coupe summer/2005. Great car. Funny clutch. I admit to careful driving (with redline first few gears on-ramp surges now and then/CHP absent)
A few fuel econ notes FWIW:
A. First full tank right out of the box (but corrected for the infamous dealer "full tank of gas" as noted on the window sticker) was 27.5
B. Odometer 25k....a random seven fuel stop sample 11/24/06 to 12/18/06...
1. mean 27.9 2. median 27.3 3. mode 27.4
..usage pattern samo/samo for all: (60/40)(fwy/city)........
.......improvement? Depends on the measure of central tendency selected.............
I bought my SE V6 on November 30, 2006. First tank=20.5mpg. Second tank=21.5 on stock Michelin MXM4s. Fourth tank=22.5. Switched to Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 winters on 1/4/07 and drove from Boston>New York and back with <2K miles on the car and got 28mpg averaging 75-80mph! Pretty happy with that, and the engine isn't even broken in yet.
Looking through all the messages makes me even more worried about my new car - Accord Ex-L 4 Cyl, bought new about 5 months ago. Here's my situation:
I drive local only, 2 miles per day on average -- I live close to where I work, 1 mile away, four traffic lights. Now I have close to 600 miles on the car. Filled up 4 or 5 times now. Each time about 12 gallons, and each time about 100-110 miles, which means I am only getting 9-10 MPG. I am expecting lower MPG for local driving, but never thought it would get this low.
you're not driving your vehicle a sufficient distance to get it to temp and highest efficiency as ezshift indicates.
you need to drive it longer distances for sure, and i presume you *MAY* do damage to it by taking exclusively short trips.
break it in with some long distance stuff.
ezshift5, i'd be worrying about battery life and cat convertor life at the very least.
yeah, at 2 miles, one presumes one could walk, but we don't know the details of course. if possible, walking would be better than driving the car the 2 miles, for the car and the person.
That's the worst kind of driving you can do from a fuel efficiency point of view. Before the car even gets warmed up, you've reached your destination and you're turing it off. Your 4 cylinder engine does not have a chance to show off even its city mpg potential. But only 10 to 11 mpg is lower than I would think.
I do your kind of driving to some extent. I am a train commuter living only 1.25 miles from the train station. Every 2 out of 3 weeks, I use my V6 A/T Accord to drive to and from the station. Every 1 out of 3 weeks my wife uses the Accord to commute to her job which is 32.5 miles from home. We also use the Accord for various errands and kids' activities on evenings and weekends, both city and highway. We're averaging 23.5mpg. Never got worse than 20.5mpg in any tank. But then again, I never had a tank where all I used the car for was short trips to the train station and back.
)) "...i presume you *MAY* do damage to it by taking exclusively short trips." ((
There's no "*MAY*" about it. "*ARE* doing" would be the appropriate phraseology. I responded on the other discussion and pointedly suggested leg power, too, as well as public transportaion. fated's poor fuel economy issue is only a symptom of a motor crying for help, not the actual problem, itself. I'm additionally curious, given fated's vehicle operating regimen, what the age and total miles were on his/her previous ride at trade-in time.
At that point you are near walking or at least bicycle distance to work. There has to a point where it doesn't make sense to drive to work. Where do people make the cutoff? 1/4th of a mile?
Last week I took my car on a road trip. I went 444 miles before the fuel light came on and used 13.34 gallons of gas, or 33.28 mpg. Most of the mileage was done on the freeway, and temperates varied from the mid 30s to low 50s. Overall, I really liked the gas mileage on my car, which is even better than my 2004 Accord LX 4.
Averaged 23.29mpg in mixed city/highway driving over past 3 months. My mpg is on the decline by about 1mpg. Probably a winter issue due to leaving the car running to warm up and defrost.
I have a 95 Accord EX, 4 cylinders, and average just over 22mpg since I got it. I went to the website www.fueleconomy.gov to see what the average is from real users and not just the E.P.A. estimates and it should be getting around 26 or 27 mpg.
Does anyone think that this could be due to faulty spark plugs, which I was informed were the wrong ones for the car? Could it be that the plugs are a contributing factor to lower than average fuel economy. I've checked the air filter already and it's clean, I've also been checking tire pressure monthly and attempt to drive sanely without mashing the gas pedal. Also, does anyone know how to access the fuel filter because I'm sure that probably needs to be replaced, I don't know if it's been replaced lately.
Well, I finally had a tank of gas below 30 mpg in my 06 Accord EX-L with manual transmission. Lots of short trips and not many highway miles this time around. That and the cold weather did it. Only 29.5 mpg... my worst ever after over 19,000 miles.
sure your plugs could be fouled. your idle could be too high. you could still have a heavy foot ("attempt to drive sanely"). you could be greatly exceeding the speed limit.
when you do a 300mi cruise at about 60-65 on the highway, what is your MPG?
you might want to throw a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank on your next fillup. maybe a clogged injector?
Made a run in my 2006 Accord EX I-4 Automatic Friday. It was about 40 degrees outside, about 80% interstate (75 MPH), 10% US Hwy 11 (55 MPH), and the rest was a steep climb in third gear at about 40 MPH.
I got 254 miles on 7.5 gallons of gas, or 35 MPG. I was thrilled, especially with the hills, and two other passengers!
Just got a new Accord SE and would like to know what is the best break-in procedure? It has about 100 miles on it. Should I go on a long trip of several hundred miles first before I put city miles on it??
You should vary your speeds, some city, some highway. If you take a long highway trip, try to change speeds rather than driving steadily at the speed limit the whole time.
Last week I drove from Savannah to Atlanta. Decided to top the tank off just before getting on I-16.
At 80mph (minus hitting the break a couple times for slow drivers in the left lane) the speed was consistent. Topped off in Macon with the following results: 157.8 miles using 5.553 gallons = 28.4mpg @ 80mph
Almost home and decided I would set the cruise at 60mph and see how the numbers looked. I topped the tank off as soon as I hit my exit with the following numbers:
Filling up with so little fuel being used makes your margin for error much greater, especially the tank where you used less than 2 gallons. While I have experienced the numbers you have at 60MPH with me going 75MPH (in a 2006 EX I-4), it'd be better to do mileage after more than half a tank has been used if possible, to minimize error.
Remember, when the pump clicks off, sometimes, there can be as much as 1 or more gallons that could still be put into the car. It varies with each pump.
You need to use the same pump and stop at the first click every time. Otherwise, you would need to fill it to the very top with gas coming up all the way to the gas cap opening and that isn't a good idea.
I do something similar, except I add .2 gallons once it has clicked off. I am usually at one of two pumps at my regular Chevron, and get fairly consistent results with both. I'm afraid adding too much more would get things into the chamber that prevents fumes from being properly, well, for lack of a better word, disposed of, near the top of the filler neck.
Good illustration of why we need to reduce the national speed limit to 60 to save oil. If possibe,I stop at the same pump,facing the same direction,with the same load,at the same spot to minimize pumping variances. If it's safe try 50 mph and get more mpg. Only if it's safe!
Actually, I've gotten over 40 MPG (only twice in 17,000 miles) by averaging over 70 MPH in my Accord. The other trips, I have always gotten above 36 MPG, with an average seeming to settle around 38 MPG. The revs were around 2,400RPM, which isn't very high. I can only imagine what doing 60 MPH would do.
Now that I think about it, it might have been worse on that same drive, with the moderate grades to climb. At 72 MPH, the RPMs are high enough that the car has enough torque, and doesn't have to downshift, or unlock the torque converter. At 60 MPH, I can imagine the car having to downshift, raising RPMs higher than they would be at 72 MPH, for those same hills.
I dunno, it's probably a very "had to be there" kind of road (I-65 from Birmingham, AL to Mobile, AL basically).
When I top off my tank, I add fuel until the gas is floating in plain view. I even wait a few seconds to make sure it's not going back down. The topping off sometimes takes several minutes depending on the handle squeeze of the pump, but that is the way I top off.
I only top off when I leave the house to make the 28 mile trip to work.
Do you guys just "enjoy pulling the trigger" or what? The most accurate measurements are obtained by removing the most variables. That's why I fill up at the same exact pump,car facing the same direction as on the previous fill up. I actually park in the exact spot. I lock the pump handle in slowest pumping rate lock. I don't touch the handle until it clicks itself off. I again fill up when the tank is empty using the same procedure. I think this method maximally reduces all variables in the amount of time I want to personally take to fill up. Just my experience.
I did better on this trip but it was mixed driving for the first half of the tank (trip computer had it at 30.0)and 65 - 75 mph over the mountain pass and beyond. I ended up with 33 mpg for the tank. The weather wasn't as cold on this trip.
I just can't approach those mpg# with my 02 v6. I'm usually pulling a small bass boat and the best I have done is 26 towing @ 50 mph. I figure the boat costs me 2-3 mpg so I would be at maybe 29 @ 50mph. It's the 4 speed auto.
Well, the V6 has a different ratio than the I-4 (tuned to run at lower RPMs). My I4 5-speed Auto 2006 model runs at 2,000 RPM, but the V6 is closer to 1,800 RPM.
My grandmother has a 2002 I-4 4-speed Auto Accord LX, and it runs around 2,200 RPM at 60 MPH.
Thanks,Grad. I checked and my car is rated 20-28 the 07 is 20-29. So I'm at about epa #. It occurs to me that I lost about 2 mpg when I put on the Assurance Comfort treads vs. the oem Michelins. It appears that the final drive ratio of our cars is about the same in top gear if both cars are @ 2000 rpms @ 60.
Hello! New Honda Accord 2007, V4, 4th month in use, Total milege is 950ml(not too much)Uses regular gas. As known the tank is 17 gallons. By manual an engine consumes 24/34 city/hw.
The car runs 180-200ml for full tank in a city, So the fuel consumption is very low. Today I visited the Honda servise station, I'v been told, that's OK, and only after 7000mls of run the engine is going to start working in economy regime. Also I'v been told that 10-16mpg is normal for a new car. I can't believe in it! Please, explain Who is right and what to do? Thank you! Joseph.
When you say "city," that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. How long is your typical commute, and how many minutes does that typically take you?
When calculating mileage, you should never go with the 17 gallon figure. Do this:
Miles Driven divided by Gallons pumped to reach full.
Example: 250 miles / 10 gallons pumped = 25 miles per gallon.
If you are doing lots of time idling, stop and go, warming up your car, and taking many short trips, you are never going to hit EPA numbers.
P.S.: The Accord 4-cylinder engine is an "inline-four" not a "vee-four." This is true of basically all 4-cylinder car engines produced today. Just a tip so the service technicians will take you a little more seriously.
Let us know more about your driving habits please, so we can advise! I have an I-4 Accord also, and have never had a tank below 26 MPG, but my driving conditions are likely different from yours. On the highway, these cars are capable of 40 MPG.
Thank you thegraduate for response. "City" means Brooklyn NY You are right I don't drive to much, and my trips are usually short.I don't spend much time to worm engine up. Certaenly, it's lot of stops like trafic lights, stacks, and because of that I anderstand, that such driving can't hit EPA. BUT at the same time it can't be like I calculate: FULL TANK = 17g USING AN ODOMETER FROM 00.00(WHEN THE TANK IS FILLED UP) TO EMPTY TANK, ODOMETER SHOWS LIKE 180ML OF RUN, HERE OBVIOUSE 180 / 17 = 10.5mpg, or 220 / 17 = 13 mpg, same like you explained, right? When it's cold, like 12-22F, the engine starts preaty hard, with a little kick...? Thahk you and would be glad to hear from you again!
Go fill up this weekend. Set the handle lock in the lowest position and remove your hand. Let the pump turn itself off. Go for a 50 mi drive w/ minimal stop and go. Drive 55-70 whatever is safe to flow w/ the traffic. Go back to the same pump,facing the same direction,in the same approximate spot and again fill the tank. Set the handle lock in the lowest position and let the pump turn itself off. Don't add any more! This will not be perfectly accurate because of the small sample but you should get over 20mpg. If you do then your car is probably ok and the low mileage is just a result of your city driving. Hope this helps.
You aren't running your engine to full-blown empty, that's why I'm trying to get you to understand. Basically, you aren't using an entire 17 gallons unless your engine is running out of gas at each fill-up.
So, the difference in how you are currently calculating (and I honestly think it is wrong, no offense) is that you SHOULD be calculating the amount of gas you pump into the tank AFTER driving on the now-empty tank.
Here's my example.
I currently have a full tank of fuel. I drive 400 miles, and stop to fill up. The car ISN'T empty, and takes 14 gallons of fuel, which means I have used 14 gallons over that 400 miles, not all 17 that the tank can hold.
Therefore, the equation should be 400 miles / 14 gallons = 28.57 MPG.
The way you are doing it is throwing your numbers WAY off. Make sure you divide the miles driven (180 or so) by the amount of gas you PHYSICALLY PUMPED INTO THE TANK, NOT THE TANK'S CAPACITY.
Calculated correctly, your numbers would be more like: 220 miles/ 14 gallons (assuming you let the low-fuel indicator come on before refueling) which would equal out to closer to 16 MPG, which considering where you live and how you are forced to idle so much, is pretty understandable.
P.S. The low-fuel warning light comes on with more than 3 gallons left in the tank. The tank will read on the red "E" line with about 2 gallons left.
Once more, for good measure, divide the miles driven by the gallons you pump after you drive them, NOT the 17 gallon capacity. You understand what I'm trying to say? Measure by GALLONS PUMPED after you drive the miles, not tank capacity.
Also, driving in NYC, you will do great to hit 18-20 MPG I'd guess.
Thank you thegraduate! I undrstand your point and next week I'm gonna make a test. I'll try using all the sugestions I got on forum. But never the less some things I can't accept.It's a subject of discussion how to calculate MPG. Your calculation method looks more accurate. OK Let's see. After a wile I'll anounce the test result. Thank you again!
I'm a bit disappointed so far. I filled up in the middle of a 350-mile drive, so I started the clock there. I drove about 150 miles (car was already warm), then was at my destination for a weekend, where I made 2 short trips (i.e. cold-ish engine, ). Then I drove home on Sunday and went about 150 miles before filling up again.
All told, 324.9 miles on 11.97 gall--> 325/12 = 27.1 mpg
My car is newish (clock on this trip started at 1,600 on the odo). 90% of the driving was on the freeway at 68-75 mph (tach between 2100 and 2500 rpm). I was hoping for about 32 mpg, since I know I don't drive 60 mph @ 2000 rpm. Thoughts?
PS - my first fillups were like 22, 24, 25 mpg. I've been paying close attention to my break-in period and have been babying the car as much as i could. i've varied up and down up to 4,000 rpm but haven't gone higher than like 4,200 rpm. Soon I'll redline it once to fully seal it.
PPS - I have an 07 Auto 4-cyl. Driving in cold weather
"Soon I'll redline it once to fully seal it." ---- EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE, BUT WHAT IS THAT? Why would you redline the engine? Is there a specific advantage to the engine to redline it? I've never heard of this, but I'm not a mechanic nor partcularly an expert in the field.
Hah yeah sounds stupid-- it may be. I'm referring to a post SIMILAR to this one where they mention going up and down from 30-50 mph a numebr of times (which i've done).... and he mentions, sometime around 2,000, you can/should redline it once. the guy seemed to know what he was talking about :P but i cant find the post now. it was made like a month or so ago
Dude I feel your pain. I got rid of a nice Altima v6 and bought this Accord 4 cylinder for better gas mileage. The Accord is getting between 12-16 mpg in the City(I live in Staten Is,NY) and never got better than 23 on the highway, in 7 months of driving.. I do not drive the car hard and after 45 years of driving know how to compute my mpg. I am very very disappointed. The dealer is of no use. I thought I was going nuts until I see you are experiencing the same nonsense..don't know where to turn..
23 on the highway is just not right, certainly not for a 4 cyl Accord.
I would suggest you take a weekend day (maybe Sunday morning when there is less traffic?), drive 3 hours on the Interstate at a STEADY speed of 55-60 (even if it's a PAIN), fill it up right before you enter the Interstate, and again just when you exit it... In other words, do a PURE highway test...
Only then you can REALLY judge your gas mileage objectively. if you still get such poor gas mileage -- there is a problem somewhere in your car's system, which should be addressed.
Comments
I've always kept the tires correctly inflated. And this car is brand new- only 700 miles.
Today I put 100 miles on. The highway was filled with slow drivers, ie doing 60 MPH in the middle lane on a 65 MPH highway. Some were talking on the phone, others looked like they were asleep. Naturally, I have to pass. I really enjoy hitting the gas, but I'm realizing more how much that affects fuel economy.
Another thing, I often drive with the A/C on. I'll stop that.
A few fuel econ notes FWIW:
A. First full tank right out of the box (but corrected for the infamous dealer "full tank of gas" as noted on the window sticker) was 27.5
B. Odometer 25k....a random seven fuel stop sample 11/24/06 to 12/18/06...
1. mean 27.9
2. median 27.3
3. mode 27.4
..usage pattern samo/samo for all: (60/40)(fwy/city)........
.......improvement? Depends on the measure of central tendency selected.............
YMMV (as MidCow has indicated)
..ez..
Most trips at around 75mph: about 32mpg.
I drive local only, 2 miles per day on average -- I live close to where I work, 1 mile away, four traffic lights. Now I have close to 600 miles on the car. Filled up 4 or 5 times now. Each time about 12 gallons, and each time about 100-110 miles, which means I am only getting 9-10 MPG. I am expecting lower MPG for local driving, but never thought it would get this low.
Do you guys think there might be a problem?
Many thanks in advance!
1. Your Honda was a good choice....IMHO.
2. Your drive precludes adequate engine warmup/efficiency.
3. 9 or 10 mpg would seem low at any rate.
Expanding #1 above, when you've time, take a trip (on the freeway, top gear, warmed up).....your Honda should easily log 32+.......
Have you considered the health/monetary benefits of walking to work (about 20 minutes on average)..........
best, ez...
you're not driving your vehicle a sufficient distance to get it to temp and highest efficiency as ezshift indicates.
you need to drive it longer distances for sure, and i presume you *MAY* do damage to it by taking exclusively short trips.
break it in with some long distance stuff.
ezshift5, i'd be worrying about battery life and cat convertor life at the very least.
yeah, at 2 miles, one presumes one could walk, but we don't know the details of course. if possible, walking would be better than driving the car the 2 miles, for the car and the person.
I do your kind of driving to some extent. I am a train commuter living only 1.25 miles from the train station. Every 2 out of 3 weeks, I use my V6 A/T Accord to drive to and from the station. Every 1 out of 3 weeks my wife uses the Accord to commute to her job which is 32.5 miles from home. We also use the Accord for various errands and kids' activities on evenings and weekends, both city and highway. We're averaging 23.5mpg. Never got worse than 20.5mpg in any tank. But then again, I never had a tank where all I used the car for was short trips to the train station and back.
There's no "*MAY*" about it. "*ARE* doing" would be the appropriate phraseology. I responded on the other discussion and pointedly suggested leg power, too, as well as public transportaion. fated's poor fuel economy issue is only a symptom of a motor crying for help, not the actual problem, itself. I'm additionally curious, given fated's vehicle operating regimen, what the age and total miles were on his/her previous ride at trade-in time.
There has to a point where it doesn't make sense to drive to work.
Where do people make the cutoff? 1/4th of a mile?
Does anyone think that this could be due to faulty spark plugs, which I was informed were the wrong ones for the car? Could it be that the plugs are a contributing factor to lower than average fuel economy. I've checked the air filter already and it's clean, I've also been checking tire pressure monthly and attempt to drive sanely without mashing the gas pedal. Also, does anyone know how to access the fuel filter because I'm sure that probably needs to be replaced, I don't know if it's been replaced lately.
Thank you for your comments and advice.
sure your plugs could be fouled. your idle could be too high. you could still have a heavy foot ("attempt to drive sanely"). you could be greatly exceeding the speed limit.
when you do a 300mi cruise at about 60-65 on the highway, what is your MPG?
you might want to throw a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank on your next fillup. maybe a clogged injector?
I got 254 miles on 7.5 gallons of gas, or 35 MPG. I was thrilled, especially with the hills, and two other passengers!
..both were at 2200 RPM (6M high gear) circa 66 MPH......
..fuel numbers for both: just under 36 miles per gallon.
..takes some discipline/concentration to hold the V-6 in check, but the fuel economy sure do respond......
best, ez..
Enjoy your new car.
At 80mph (minus hitting the break a couple times for slow drivers in the left lane) the speed was consistent. Topped off in Macon with the following results:
157.8 miles using 5.553 gallons = 28.4mpg @ 80mph
Almost home and decided I would set the cruise at 60mph and see how the numbers looked. I topped the tank off as soon as I hit my exit with the following numbers:
53.5 miles using 1.416 gallons = 37.78mpg @ 60mph
Filling up with so little fuel being used makes your margin for error much greater, especially the tank where you used less than 2 gallons. While I have experienced the numbers you have at 60MPH with me going 75MPH (in a 2006 EX I-4), it'd be better to do mileage after more than half a tank has been used if possible, to minimize error.
Remember, when the pump clicks off, sometimes, there can be as much as 1 or more gallons that could still be put into the car. It varies with each pump.
What kind of car do you have?
Now that I think about it, it might have been worse on that same drive, with the moderate grades to climb. At 72 MPH, the RPMs are high enough that the car has enough torque, and doesn't have to downshift, or unlock the torque converter. At 60 MPH, I can imagine the car having to downshift, raising RPMs higher than they would be at 72 MPH, for those same hills.
I dunno, it's probably a very "had to be there" kind of road (I-65 from Birmingham, AL to Mobile, AL basically).
I only top off when I leave the house to make the 28 mile trip to work.
26 MPG pulling a boat isn't bad, I must say, especially with the 6-cylinder.
My grandmother has a 2002 I-4 4-speed Auto Accord LX, and it runs around 2,200 RPM at 60 MPH.
New Honda Accord 2007, V4, 4th month in use, Total milege is 950ml(not too much)Uses regular gas. As known the tank is 17 gallons.
By manual an engine consumes 24/34 city/hw.
The car runs 180-200ml for full tank in a city, So the fuel consumption is very low. Today I visited the Honda servise station, I'v been told, that's OK, and only after 7000mls of run the engine is going to start working in economy regime. Also I'v been told that 10-16mpg is normal for a new car. I can't believe in it!
Please, explain Who is right and what to do?
Thank you!
Joseph.
When you say "city," that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. How long is your typical commute, and how many minutes does that typically take you?
When calculating mileage, you should never go with the 17 gallon figure. Do this:
Miles Driven divided by Gallons pumped to reach full.
Example: 250 miles / 10 gallons pumped = 25 miles per gallon.
If you are doing lots of time idling, stop and go, warming up your car, and taking many short trips, you are never going to hit EPA numbers.
P.S.: The Accord 4-cylinder engine is an "inline-four" not a "vee-four." This is true of basically all 4-cylinder car engines produced today. Just a tip so the service technicians will take you a little more seriously.
Let us know more about your driving habits please, so we can advise! I have an I-4 Accord also, and have never had a tank below 26 MPG, but my driving conditions are likely different from yours. On the highway, these cars are capable of 40 MPG.
"City" means Brooklyn NY
You are right I don't drive to much, and my trips are usually short.I don't spend much time to worm engine up.
Certaenly, it's lot of stops like trafic lights, stacks, and because of that I anderstand, that such driving can't hit EPA. BUT at the same time it can't be like I calculate:
FULL TANK = 17g USING AN ODOMETER FROM 00.00(WHEN THE TANK IS FILLED UP) TO EMPTY TANK, ODOMETER SHOWS LIKE 180ML OF RUN, HERE OBVIOUSE 180 / 17 = 10.5mpg,
or 220 / 17 = 13 mpg, same like you explained, right?
When it's cold, like 12-22F, the engine starts preaty hard, with a little kick...?
Thahk you and would be glad to hear from you again!
So, the difference in how you are currently calculating (and I honestly think it is wrong, no offense) is that you SHOULD be calculating the amount of gas you pump into the tank AFTER driving on the now-empty tank.
Here's my example.
I currently have a full tank of fuel. I drive 400 miles, and stop to fill up. The car ISN'T empty, and takes 14 gallons of fuel, which means I have used 14 gallons over that 400 miles, not all 17 that the tank can hold.
Therefore, the equation should be 400 miles / 14 gallons = 28.57 MPG.
The way you are doing it is throwing your numbers WAY off. Make sure you divide the miles driven (180 or so) by the amount of gas you PHYSICALLY PUMPED INTO THE TANK, NOT THE TANK'S CAPACITY.
Calculated correctly, your numbers would be more like: 220 miles/ 14 gallons (assuming you let the low-fuel indicator come on before refueling) which would equal out to closer to 16 MPG, which considering where you live and how you are forced to idle so much, is pretty understandable.
P.S. The low-fuel warning light comes on with more than 3 gallons left in the tank. The tank will read on the red "E" line with about 2 gallons left.
Once more, for good measure, divide the miles driven by the gallons you pump after you drive them, NOT the 17 gallon capacity. You understand what I'm trying to say? Measure by GALLONS PUMPED after you drive the miles, not tank capacity.
Also, driving in NYC, you will do great to hit 18-20 MPG I'd guess.
All the things, you just explained are obviouse, but anyway I'll try.
I undrstand your point and next week I'm gonna make a test. I'll try using all the sugestions I got on forum.
But never the less some things I can't accept.It's a subject of discussion how to calculate MPG. Your calculation method looks more accurate. OK Let's see. After a wile I'll anounce the test result.
Thank you again!
All told, 324.9 miles on 11.97 gall--> 325/12 = 27.1 mpg
My car is newish (clock on this trip started at 1,600 on the odo). 90% of the driving was on the freeway at 68-75 mph (tach between 2100 and 2500 rpm). I was hoping for about 32 mpg, since I know I don't drive 60 mph @ 2000 rpm. Thoughts?
PS - my first fillups were like 22, 24, 25 mpg. I've been paying close attention to my break-in period and have been babying the car as much as i could. i've varied up and down up to 4,000 rpm but haven't gone higher than like 4,200 rpm. Soon I'll redline it once to fully seal it.
PPS - I have an 07 Auto 4-cyl. Driving in cold weather
this one where they mention going up and down from 30-50 mph a numebr of times (which i've done).... and he mentions, sometime around 2,000, you can/should redline it once. the guy seemed to know what he was talking about :P but i cant find the post now. it was made like a month or so ago
I would suggest you take a weekend day (maybe Sunday morning when there is less traffic?), drive 3 hours on the Interstate at a STEADY speed of 55-60 (even if it's a PAIN), fill it up right before you enter the Interstate, and again just when you exit it... In other words, do a PURE highway test...
Only then you can REALLY judge your gas mileage objectively. if you still get such poor gas mileage -- there is a problem somewhere in your car's system, which should be addressed.