agreed; take a pure road trip, save your receipts, and make some calls to Honda USA if you're getting 23 mpg. I dont care how much variation is possible from EPA's 34 mpg highway-- 35% less mileage is significant.
I've never gotten 23 MPG in my life, except in our Odyssey minivan. Out of many Accords, all have averaged mid-upper 20s in our commute (my 2006 around 30 MPG really), and get near 40 MPG on many trips to the gulf! I live in a midsized city, with its share of stop and go, too.
This car has the worst mpg of any car i have had in the past 12 years. I have done the strictly highway thing and got 23 mpg ..I know how to calculate mpg after driving for 45 years so i know what I am seeing is real...called Honda about it and they do nothing..the dealer is useless..after 4 Honda's this will be my last..can't believe how this car could be so different than all the rest..well 2 1/2 more years of lousy mileage..thanks anyway...
my tanks have all been 21.XX - 22.XX, with 1 abnormal high of 25.1. calculating mpg is not difficult at all, so no mistakes on my part. o and this is my 1st honda.- 4cyl automatic. Picked it over the mazda speed3 because i thought it was better mileage- which it is, by 3-4 mpg with a 100 hp difference :sick: not trying to start another toyo vs. Honda debate...but my Toyota(4cyl auto) is getting 33-35 in the city. 38.8 on pure highway.
I'm sure surprised at these low mileage claims. Either something is wrong with the car or folks have bad driving habits (including bad driving conditions). Notice that I'm not accusing anyone... but these are the facts. My mileage is great.... as it is for the majority of Accord owners.
I agree. I do see some good numbers for the most part. Kind of a car dummy here, and a possible stupid question, but do you know if the car is in any way/form/fashion affected by long periods of inactivity? I noticed the dealers were more prone to discounting vehicles that have been sitting there for a couple months, and these cars had less than 20 miles on the odometer. -other than dust of course. :confuse:
Your mileage is beyond weird... on my Accord V6 auto, I'm getting consistently between 24-26 mpg right now with about only 80% highway. This is not like steady state cruising even, traffic speeds up/slows down and goes up to 80 mph. And I suspect the mileage will improve 1-2 mpg yet as the engine gets broken in further.
One simple cause of poor mileage can be a bad thermostat. The engine never really warms up and is running rich all the time. The computer can miss this because it just assumes it is extremely cold outside.
Also vehicles with multipoint fuel injection have an extra fuel injector that is used when the car is cold (25% more fuel). If this is running all the time the car will consume a lot of fuel.
but do you know if the car is in any way/form/fashion affected by long periods of inactivity?
You will get a better deal on any car that is on the lot and especially something that has been sitting there awhile because the dealers are eating the cost of keeping those cars. I wouldn't worry too much about any long-term effects.
"The engine never really warms up and is running rich all the time." --Well, no, the engine DOES warm up, of course, but the Thermostat "doesn't get it" and keeps sending the ECM the wrong message of a cold engine.
How many miles do you have on your Honda? I'm assuming you have a V6. Also i am familiar with the roads on Staten Island, Long Island and that part of NJ. IF your "highway" driving is on those roads, I can understand the low "highway" mileage. The low city miles could be from the cold weather and stop and go driving.
I would continue to monitor it until your next oil change. Maybe begin keeping a log so you have something to show the dealership.
Well, I'm not sure I could get 41 MPG on a trip at 72MPH in a V6 Accord. Or that I'd average close to 30MPG in a mixed commute. I would likely have exponentially worse economy in the V6, because I'd be digging into the loud pedal more in it!
As I previously stated I have a 4 cylinder. It has 2800 miles on it now. The engine,according to my temp gauge, is getting up to temp. I have been this lousy gas mileage in both hot and cold weather...and over the course of the last 8 months. Don't tell me that it will improve as I get more miles on it because it is not going to jump 10 mpg , that's for sure...
That is very low mileage for a 4 cylinder!!! the fact taht you only have 2800 miles in 8 months tells me you are doing mostly city driving and very short trips. You are averaging 350 miles per month. It's as bad as you get for a car. Cold weather and oxygenated fuel aren't helping either.
I would give it another 2000 miles to improve. And start keeping a log on gas consumed and miles between fill-ups.
Put me in the "Agree" column with you guys. I drive upwards of 1,000 miles a MONTH on two cars (About 25k a year total), and thus get good mileage. Longer trips that include a fair bit of highway (at least 15 miles a day) EVERY day.
My Integra can get 42 mpg on the highway on a temperate day (no a/c, but still warm) if I keep the speed down to about 65 mph.
On the flip side. I live in a small town in SD it is cold and I live less than 1 mile from everything in town. If I do a whole tank all city in the winter I get well under 20 mpg. The car never warms up. On the coldest days (well below 0 F) I can let the car run for 15 minutes to try and defrost a little, then drive the kids to school and drive to work. The car is still pegged on cold when I get to work and I have driven just over 1 mile total. Lots of gas used though.
Not experienced w/ that degree(sorry) of cold but the loss of mpg is the 15 minute idle. Are you using synthetic oil for quicker flow and could you consider an engine block heater? Just my .02.
Yes I use synthetic, and yes I know the idle is a problem. I personally don't care that it uses that much gas under these conditions as it still takes me several weeks to use a tank of gas, since I drive so few miles when I stay in town. I was just illustrating how long it can take a vehicle to warm up in poor conditions - and hence provide poor mileage.
I don't know if my mileage is average or not, but since April of 2006 I have put just under 15k on my car and there is still a month left. I'd say anywhere from 12-17 would probably be reasonable.
This morning the gas warning light was on for the first time on this new Accord SE V6. After I came back from work in the evening I pumped 14.3gal gas and that was for 303 miles I drove. So the MPG is around 21. Everyday I drive 8 miles at 60mph from home to work on freeyway with five or six traffic lights; from work to home, it is another 8 or 9miles at 75mph on highway. I don't abuse the car and never push the gas pedal very hard. The tach is usually around 2k or a little more. Does the 21 mpg sound reasonable for a new car with only 360 miles on it? I guess I need to continue monitoring the MPG. Thanks.
From what I have been reading on this forum I would guess that the engine hasn't been sufficiently broken in yet and is therefore not going to be as efficient yet. I wouldn't worry about the low mpg yet. I've heard that it can take 1000s of miles before it starts being as efficient as it will be in the future.
A brand new car, cold weather (or is it in your area...), five or six traffic lights on one way and 75mph on the way back = not the best gas mileage you'd get....
You need to take a LONG, 3-4 hour drive, on the freeway, with no traffic lights, and no rush hour traffic (Sunday morning?) and keep your speed steady at 55-60!...
And fill it up just before you get on the freeway, and then again just as you exit the freeway, so your miles are pure highway miles. And don't keep adding more gas beyond the pump's first click (which is NEVER a good idea).
Then do your math.
But I would't do it at THIS stage yet. Let your engine break in properly. Driving 3-4 hours at a steady speed is not recommended for breaking in any new engine.
When my car was new, but it inched up about 1 MPG per 5,000 miles for the first 10,000 or so, and after that I've been around 32 MPG solid for my trip mileage, and low 20s in town.
I know how to calculate mpg after driving for 45 years so i know what I am seeing is real...
Driving for 45 years has nothing to do with knowing how to calculate mileage. Please explain your method of calculation.
I have an old truck I drive to work, (less than one mile) and home for lunch, back to work, and back home again every day. I know I'm getting terrible mileage because the engine never gets to operating temperature. Once or twice a week I will ride around town before work, just to warm the engine fully. I don't do this every day because it would hardly burn less gas driving around for nothing. If I drive the truck 10 miles a week it's a lot, so even with terrible mileage, I'm not spending that much on gas. I'm certainly not going to get another job 20 miles away so my fuel mileage will improve. What sense would that make?
....I have an old truck I drive to work, (less than one mile)
..were you walking to work, lunching on an apple or two with all the fuel money you save and walking home - - - in due time you would be in shape to pound sand on all those who dis you on these here forums...........
..a little (very little) west coast humor for you........
Highway driving is good for gas mileage, but highway trips need also to be LONG enough to achieve the best gas mieage...
I live very close to the Interstate, and my office is also right next to the exit ramp... And so my commute to work consists of less than 1 mile street driving, then 5 miles highway and then 1/2 mile street driving to my office.... I can see how, while driving on the highway, the first 2-3 miles my tachometer shows HIGHER RPM for the same speed (even though the temp. gauge is already at it's normal), compared to the last 2 miles -- which means my car's engine is running at its highest efficiency ONLY in the last 2 miles of highway driving.... And so, even though I can claim that my daily commute is 85% highway -- my average gas mileage sucks, and for a very good reason...
...Highway driving is good for gas mileage, but highway trips need also to be LONG enough to achieve the best gas mieage...
....Certainly agree that Honda's AV6 (6M in my case) is a long range highway star
...small 80's diesel pickup used for safety inspection work, keeping Honda for pure pleasure (no brainer).
The few unavoidable times my clutch equipped engineering marvel has been hobbled, throttled and bled white by the great Los Angeles freeway clog.........20.5 seems the norm.
I live near the state capitol (yeah, the dome); LA seems like another planet to this old sailor............
If my indicator is at 1/2 how much fuel should I add? I have an 07 SE I-4. I just put in my first 1/2 tank and I added 8.56 gals. which put the gauge at past full. What problems are occurring when it is filled above full?? My first tank went for about 410miles. I had been riding on empty for the last 25miles or so. Dealers do not FILL up the tank they only fill to the first click which will leave room for about 3 more gallons of gas. I know because I had to return to the dealer for my etching of the glass and the salesperson signed me up for a free tank of gas. So when the guy took my car for its fill-up I watched him and he stopped after the first click and I said,"it's not full, let me fill it" and he did, so I put in almost 3 more gallons. I don't see any vent opening for the recirculation of vapors in the filler neck, is there one inside the neck further down where we can't see it? And at what gallon fill would the vapor recovery come into play??? :confuse: :confuse:
NO, it is not suggested to go any further, you risk harming your emissions/vapor catching system (there are proper terms for it, but someone else will have to chime in with the details - I cant remember them at the moment). Always fill to the first click unless you suspect it cut off much too early. Doing more so is unneccessary and can harm your car. PLEASE don't do this, wise1, I'd hate for you to throw a Check Engine Light so early in your car's life.
Thanks for the clarification, grad. I don't see why it's such a big deal... I fill up at about a quarter tank, end up putting in 11 gal or so. I just wish my new 4cyl would get better mileage! This current go isn't doing very well at ALL....
Uh oh. I've never had a tank below 26 MPG (my first tank ever). After that, I've been consistently between 27.5-31 MPG in mixed driving, with two trips that yielded me 40 MPG (unloaded, just me in the car, no A/C use), at 72 MPH. I'm very careful when I'm trying to get a great-mileage tank. With passengers and A/C, I usually manage 37-38 MPG at 75 MPH. If I don't pay too much attention, and pass some (sometimes downshifting, changing speeds), I'm easily back at 34-35 MPG.
I never do any "strictly" city driving, as my commute daily includes 7 miles of 65-80 MPH interstate along with the stop and go.
wtf... do you have one with a mileage display? idk if the higher Accords have it? I just try to calc based on mileage between full fillups (1st click). This time i was a little heavier on my foot and i was doing some morning idling to let it warm up before i go to work, and it looks like i'll get low 20s mpg which blows. i'll let u know when i fill up in a couple days? i was at a half tank after about 170 miles. double u tee eff.
No, I have a regular odomoeter with trip meters, and oil life indicator. I check mileage by dividing the mileage driven (usually around 400 miles lately) by gallons pumped (which tends to be between 13 and 14 gallons lately, as well).
You're ahead of me. My half tank only gets about 150. Typically I'm adding around 12.5 gallons. I have gotten 21-22 mpg each time. One tank, with nearly 50% highway, achieved a whopping 25 :sick: My city driving isn't horribly stop and go and stop, either. O it's the SE I4 auto.
I have been getting 23 mpg or thereabouts on a 1995 EX-I4 since last April. This is still good for me. I think part of the problem for me is that I have a little bit of a heavy foot sometimes and I live less than a mile from work, but since I work 10pm to 6:30am walking is kind of out of the question. That would make me get even less sleep than I already do. I'm hoping that once we move in October and I drive a little further it will improve. I've done what I can to increase it, proper tire pressure, new plugs, the only thing I haven't done is replace the air filter. I would guess that since that filter came with the car and I've put 16000 miles on the car that probably needs to be replaced, but overall I'm not too upset with my mileage.
It's absolutely better than my van, which got 10 on a good tank.
harryliuusa, you're mixing up things. Comparing a '95 4-banger with a new V6? As you (better) know, a V6 is expected to get you LESS miles per gallon than an I-4.
But, to the point, posting a number (20 in your case) really has no meaning, if you don't add more info as to what kind of driving your average gas mileage refers to. For exanple, daily commute of 8 city miles, and then 4 highway miles, I'd say one should be happy with 20mpg on his V6...
But, again, the ONLY way to really test your car's gas mileage is to conduct a TRUE, AND PURE HIGHWAY DRIVING TEST. Driving 3-4 hours, on a dry day, at a steady speed of 55-60. Not very convenient, but if you're REALLY concerned about your gas mileage -- there is no other way to do the test.
I was freaking out about the gase mileage on my new Accord. I'm glad I found this forum hopefully for some answers.
I just got a 2007 Honda Accord SE, 4 Cylinder. It is rated 24 MPG for the City, and 34 MPG for Highway use.
I ran my first tank of gas down towards empty until the orange light came on by the gas indicator. I had put on 370 miles at that point I believe. That said, when I went to fill up the tank, I was only able to put in right at 13 gallons of gas.
If one were to use the 17 gallon gas tank as the measuring stick, I got less than 22 MPG. If I use the 13 gallons however, I get around 28 MPG, much closer to the EPA estimates on this car.
My big question is this: Am I measuring MPG correctly if I simply take the miles recorded on a tank of gas divided by the number of gallons of gas that I am able to put back into the car?
I ask this because I don't want to drive around until I literally run out of gas, and I don't want to top off the gas by 2-3 gallons either. I figure if I simply divide the miles driven by the gallons of gas the car takes, that should be accurate enough. Is that right, or am I completely off???
stop at a gas station. reset the tripmeter and fill up. this starts the clock. drive whatever, 300 miles or so and fill up. Divide the miles on your tripmeter by the amount of fuel you put in.
NOTE that if you fill to the first click the first time (and you should always stop there), always fill to the first click.
Mileage should increase steadily. The first one may be off (high) b/c the dealer may have filled up it up past 1st click. Personally I went from 20 to 22 to like 25 then 27 for a roadtrip.... hoping that it'll continue to go up (im at 2500 mi)
Thanks a lot for the information. That is exactly what I am going to do. My bet would be that I am getting around 25-27 MPG, which is pretty accurate I would think given my driving habits split between highway and city.
My big question is this: Am I measuring MPG correctly if I simply take the miles recorded on a tank of gas divided by the number of gallons of gas that I am able to put back into the car?
Of course. If all that was needed to fill the tank is 13 gallons, that is all you burned between fill-ups. You can't count the 4 gallons of gas left in the tank, because they were not used. You would have to run out of gas, to figure mileage for the whole tank (17 gal). I think many people who think they are getting terrible mileage, just aren't doing it right.
Comments
my tanks have all been 21.XX - 22.XX, with 1 abnormal high of 25.1. calculating mpg is not difficult at all, so no mistakes on my part. o and this is my 1st honda.- 4cyl automatic. Picked it over the mazda speed3 because i thought it was better mileage- which it is, by 3-4 mpg with a 100 hp difference :sick:
not trying to start another toyo vs. Honda debate...but my Toyota(4cyl auto) is getting 33-35 in the city. 38.8 on pure highway.
Kind of a car dummy here, and a possible stupid question, but do you know if the car is in any way/form/fashion affected by long periods of inactivity?
I noticed the dealers were more prone to discounting vehicles that have been sitting there for a couple months, and these cars had less than 20 miles on the odometer. -other than dust of course. :confuse:
Also vehicles with multipoint fuel injection have an extra fuel injector that is used when the car is cold (25% more fuel). If this is running all the time the car will consume a lot of fuel.
You will get a better deal on any car that is on the lot and especially something that has been sitting there awhile because the dealers are eating the cost of keeping those cars. I wouldn't worry too much about any long-term effects.
--Well, no, the engine DOES warm up, of course, but the Thermostat "doesn't get it" and keeps sending the ECM the wrong message of a cold engine.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0702/gallery.consumer_reports_top_pick- s/3.html
1 mpg spread each between V6/I4/hybrid. For 2 less mpg than the hybrid, 1 mpg less than the I4, one can go with the V6! :P
I don't know how good those numbers are but as a V6 owner, I'm certainly tickled by them.
I would continue to monitor it until your next oil change. Maybe begin keeping a log so you have something to show the dealership.
I would give it another 2000 miles to improve. And start keeping a log on gas consumed and miles between fill-ups.
On the flip side. I live in a small town in SD it is cold and I live less than 1 mile from everything in town. If I do a whole tank all city in the winter I get well under 20 mpg. The car never warms up. On the coldest days (well below 0 F) I can let the car run for 15 minutes to try and defrost a little, then drive the kids to school and drive to work. The car is still pegged on cold when I get to work and I have driven just over 1 mile total. Lots of gas used though.
time on this new Accord SE V6. After I came back from work in the evening I pumped 14.3gal gas and that was for 303 miles I drove. So the MPG is around 21. Everyday I drive 8 miles at 60mph from home to work on freeyway with five or six traffic lights; from work to home, it is another 8 or 9miles at 75mph on highway. I don't abuse the car and never push the gas pedal very hard. The tach is usually around 2k or a little more. Does the 21 mpg sound reasonable for a new car with only 360 miles on it? I guess I need to continue monitoring the MPG. Thanks.
Best of luck to you.
You need to take a LONG, 3-4 hour drive, on the freeway, with no traffic lights, and no rush hour traffic (Sunday morning?) and keep your speed steady at 55-60!...
And fill it up just before you get on the freeway, and then again just as you exit the freeway, so your miles are pure highway miles. And don't keep adding more gas beyond the pump's first click (which is NEVER a good idea).
Then do your math.
But I would't do it at THIS stage yet. Let your engine break in properly. Driving 3-4 hours at a steady speed is not recommended for breaking in any new engine.
Averaged 22.84mpg over last 4 months in mixed driving.
Driving for 45 years has nothing to do with knowing how to calculate mileage. Please explain your method of calculation.
I have an old truck I drive to work, (less than one mile) and home for lunch, back to work, and back home again every day. I know I'm getting terrible mileage because the engine never gets to operating temperature. Once or twice a week I will ride around town before work, just to warm the engine fully. I don't do this every day because it would hardly burn less gas driving around for nothing. If I drive the truck 10 miles a week it's a lot, so even with terrible mileage, I'm not spending that much on gas. I'm certainly not going to get another job 20 miles away so my fuel mileage will improve. What sense would that make?
....I have an old truck I drive to work, (less than one mile)
..were you walking to work, lunching on an apple or two with all the fuel money you save and walking home - - - in due time you would be in shape to pound sand on all those who dis you on these here forums...........
..a little (very little) west coast humor for you........
And stay at work for lunch? Are you nuts?
I live very close to the Interstate, and my office is also right next to the exit ramp... And so my commute to work consists of less than 1 mile street driving, then 5 miles highway and then 1/2 mile street driving to my office.... I can see how, while driving on the highway, the first 2-3 miles my tachometer shows HIGHER RPM for the same speed (even though the temp. gauge is already at it's normal), compared to the last 2 miles -- which means my car's engine is running at its highest efficiency ONLY in the last 2 miles of highway driving.... And so, even though I can claim that my daily commute is 85% highway -- my average gas mileage sucks, and for a very good reason...
....Certainly agree that Honda's AV6 (6M in my case) is a long range highway star
...small 80's diesel pickup used for safety inspection work, keeping Honda for pure pleasure (no brainer).
The few unavoidable times my clutch equipped engineering marvel has been hobbled, throttled and bled white by the great Los Angeles freeway clog.........20.5 seems the norm.
I live near the state capitol (yeah, the dome); LA seems like another planet to this old sailor............
great car (PU's not bad - viva la difference!)
best, ez..
I never do any "strictly" city driving, as my commute daily includes 7 miles of 65-80 MPH interstate along with the stop and go.
You're ahead of me. My half tank only gets about 150. Typically I'm adding around 12.5 gallons. I have gotten 21-22 mpg each time. One tank, with nearly 50% highway, achieved a whopping 25 :sick:
My city driving isn't horribly stop and go and stop, either.
O it's the SE I4 auto.
I have been getting 23 mpg or thereabouts on a 1995 EX-I4 since last April. This is still good for me. I think part of the problem for me is that I have a little bit of a heavy foot sometimes and I live less than a mile from work, but since I work 10pm to 6:30am walking is kind of out of the question. That would make me get even less sleep than I already do. I'm hoping that once we move in October and I drive a little further it will improve. I've done what I can to increase it, proper tire pressure, new plugs, the only thing I haven't done is replace the air filter. I would guess that since that filter came with the car and I've put 16000 miles on the car that probably needs to be replaced, but overall I'm not too upset with my mileage.
It's absolutely better than my van, which got 10 on a good tank.
My 05 and 06 Accord V6 never exceed 20 since they were new.
But, to the point, posting a number (20 in your case) really has no meaning, if you don't add more info as to what kind of driving your average gas mileage refers to. For exanple, daily commute of 8 city miles, and then 4 highway miles, I'd say one should be happy with 20mpg on his V6...
But, again, the ONLY way to really test your car's gas mileage is to conduct a TRUE, AND PURE HIGHWAY DRIVING TEST. Driving 3-4 hours, on a dry day, at a steady speed of 55-60. Not very convenient, but if you're REALLY concerned about your gas mileage -- there is no other way to do the test.
Miles - 4958
Total Gallons - 204.55
Total Gas Cost - $436.09
Average MPG (~70%+ highway) - 24.24 mpg
Best MPG (~80% highway) - 26.39 mpg
Worse MPG (pure city only, 1st tank) - 16.20 mpg
No attempts at saving anything really, just driving.
I just got a 2007 Honda Accord SE, 4 Cylinder. It is rated 24 MPG for the City, and 34 MPG for Highway use.
I ran my first tank of gas down towards empty until the orange light came on by the gas indicator. I had put on 370 miles at that point I believe. That said, when I went to fill up the tank, I was only able to put in right at 13 gallons of gas.
If one were to use the 17 gallon gas tank as the measuring stick, I got less than 22 MPG. If I use the 13 gallons however, I get around 28 MPG, much closer to the EPA estimates on this car.
My big question is this: Am I measuring MPG correctly if I simply take the miles recorded on a tank of gas divided by the number of gallons of gas that I am able to put back into the car?
I ask this because I don't want to drive around until I literally run out of gas, and I don't want to top off the gas by 2-3 gallons either. I figure if I simply divide the miles driven by the gallons of gas the car takes, that should be accurate enough. Is that right, or am I completely off???
stop at a gas station. reset the tripmeter and fill up. this starts the clock. drive whatever, 300 miles or so and fill up. Divide the miles on your tripmeter by the amount of fuel you put in.
NOTE that if you fill to the first click the first time (and you should always stop there), always fill to the first click.
Mileage should increase steadily. The first one may be off (high) b/c the dealer may have filled up it up past 1st click. Personally I went from 20 to 22 to like 25 then 27 for a roadtrip.... hoping that it'll continue to go up (im at 2500 mi)
Thanks a lot for the information. That is exactly what I am going to do. My bet would be that I am getting around 25-27 MPG, which is pretty accurate I would think given my driving habits split between highway and city.
Of course. If all that was needed to fill the tank is 13 gallons, that is all you burned between fill-ups. You can't count the 4 gallons of gas left in the tank, because they were not used. You would have to run out of gas, to figure mileage for the whole tank (17 gal). I think many people who think they are getting terrible mileage, just aren't doing it right.