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Seriously though, it is probably too early to tell. You are still early in the break-in period. Everything in the engine is still tight. That'll loosen up as you get more miles on it. I'd start to worry after 3000 - 5000 miles and getting the same MPG. Some ideas:
1. Check the cold tire pressure and make sure it's in line with the PSI recommendation on the tire, inside the door, in the manual, wherever you can find it. Maybe they did not adjust it properly at the dealership when they were prepping it.
2. Are you filling up at a brand name gas station (Exxon, Chevron, etc..) or using the el-cheapo stuff? Stick with one station for a few tanks, and if there's no improvement, try another station.
3. I see the temps are nice and mild up in Chicago. Just don't drive with the windows down unless at low speeds (< 25 MPH) because the air flowing through the car creates drag, making the engine work harder. At high speeds, you are better off using the A/C if the interior is too warm. Otherwise, you can run just the fan w/o A/C and save even more gas.
2. When you do fill it up, divide your miles driven by the number of gallons YOU PUT IN, not by the fuel capacity.
3. Don't judge your mileage on a gage-indicated half tank!
If your mileage is still poor, check your tire pressures. And otherwise, have patience until you're through the break-in period. You probably won't get close to the EPA numbers until after 1000-2000 miles.
BTW, is it automatic or manual?
...all this on 87
best, ez
87 octane, K&N air filter and changing the oil every 3000 miles.
My around town driving is 70/30 city/hwy.
Around town: 25-26 mpg <--- Bit of a lead foot.
Hwy 75-80 mph: 28-29 mpg
One tank below 25 mpg which was 23.8 mpg.
A recent run down to Miami and back (1600) miles at 80-85 mph the mileage was 29 - 29.5 mph.
On a recent highway trip of about 2,000 miles from Texas to the midwest and back at an average cruising speed of 78 to 80 MPH, the car average 31.2 mpg (a/c and cruise control on 100% of trip). Better than the EPA estimate of 30 mpg.
Mpg average on daily comute to work is 27 to 28 (60% highway at 70 mph, 40% city). The 04 V6 replaced a 98 4-door LX 4-cylinder Honda. The 04 V6 gets within 1 mpg of the 4-cylinder on the city and highway driving.
Finally, I also own a 2000 4-door LX V6 Honda. The 04 V6 car gets about 3 mpg better than the 2000 V6 in city and highway driving.
Needless to say I am impressed with the overall mpg of the 04 V6 considering it has anywhere from 40 to 90 more horsepower than the 2000 and 98 Honda models, respectively.
..looking forward to fuel efficiency improving > 5k.....
...best, ez
27mpg. Very casual driving, windows up
a/c on for highway, mostly city miles
so far, very pleased. This is what I was
hoping for, approx. 10mpg more than my
Pathfinder! We'll see once its broke in,
winter mpg in my suv was about 13-14mpg.
I'm thinkin this Accord was the right move
These are some mileage figures I go on a recent highway trip with AC on.
Pure highway constant 80 mph with cruise-on relatively flat = 29.6
Pure highway constant 65 mph with cruise-on relatvely flat = 32.5
EPA estimates 20/30
6th gear is fairly tall at approximately 30 miles per hour per 1,000 rpm.
YMMV,
MidCow
If you're still running the original sparkplugs, replace 'em with NGK irridiums. You may be getting some misfiring at speed - where it's especially difficult to detect by seat of the pants. Have the secondary cables checked, too.
I had a 5-speeed Maxima before this Accord and that thing got 22 mph in the same city and 28 on the Interstate. It also had 2 more cylinders and 60 more horsepower.
Am I within the reasonable mileage spectrum???
BUT: V-6 Accord Coupe 6MT at 1550 miles.................
....28.39 mpg (miles driven divided by gallons pumped in...............)
..70/30 freeway/city............around the state capital......................
..this car is a keeper.............
best, ez
:P
I have a 2005 LX V-6 with just over 1000 miles on it. To date, my best mpg has been 16mpg in mostly city driving. Is this the norm?? I was hoping for a bit more.
Also, the AT on my car seems awfully busy, always upshifting, downshifting at odd moments. As soon as I lift my foot off the gas, the car slows and depending on the speed, downshifts. Has anybody noticed their car doing the same??
Thanks,
z.
Drivining very easily, which I have been doing since the gas prices went up, I can get around 27.3 mpg commuting 22 miles back and forth to work. 7miles-fast highway HOV ( 75-80), 7 miles highway ( 65) and 8 miles stop-n-go.
You should be getting in the high 20's overall. On the highway you should get 29,30 or better. All in town will be low in any car, but vevn that should be higher than 16. If you did all stop-n-go intown you should still get 20 or better.
Again it sounds like something is amiss with you automatic transmission. You can verify your self before you take it in. Look at the tachometer, at 60 miles per hour it should read around 2,000 RPM ( the dial will show 2) if it is working correctly in the right gear. I would imagine at 60 mph, you tachometer is closer to 3,000 RPM ( revolutions per minute) and show close to 3.
Good Luck !
Cruis'n in 6th with Borla sound :shades: :shades: ,
MidCow
P.S.- WOW! Did anyone see the new 2006 Honda Civic line yet? It is awesome!
I dont think the transmission is stuck in a low gear. Most of the time, the rpm's are between 1500 and 2200, no matter my speed. I have noticed the transmission has a tendency to drop all the way to 1st when turning corners and at low speeds, the shifting is a little on the rough side, both down and up shifting.
Thanks,
z.
Just try'n to hep. I still think something is wrong; I would take it in.
Good Luck,
MidCow
Yes, the engine will break in an get somewhat better mileage, but 16 mpg to start with is way too low. He should see something like 26-30 to start with and is will gradually climb up 2-4 miles per gallon.
16 mpg even during break-in means something is wrong IMHO, which most of the time is more out-spoken than humble.
Interesting information on Honda's AT, thanks.
Crus'n in 6th :shades: ,
MidCow
I have a 2005 Accord Coupe EX w/NAV 6-speed with just over 10,000 miles. It started out about 27 mpg in 70/30 highway/city easy break-in driving and has gotten maybe 1-1.5 miles per gallon better. I can get 32.5 cruising at a steady 65 mph flat with AC and about 29.6 cruising a steady 80 mph on flat with AC.
Lately because of the gas prices , I have been driving easy, instead of somewhat sporty and get 27.3 on my daily commute back and forth to work. Before I got 23.5 drving sporty.
MY engine and car are very simliar to ZEB1's. I did put a Borla cat-back exhuast on and a K&N air filter. I guess he could have got one made with tigher tolerances or a Monday, yellow lemon car. But I think Zeb1 should be experiencing much higher mileage to start with. I will concede his engine could be tight like yours. If so, he should be seeing some improvement with each tankful and he hasn't indicated that.
Thanks for you comments and input.
MidCow
P.S.- Today I road a mountain bike to the store with a backpack and got great mileage
Thanks for your comments. MidCow is right about the gas mileage improving. I waited until I had over 1000 miles on the car before getting worried. i thought the mileage would improve during that period but it hasn't. I just filled up yesterday and I'm still at 16mpg. This is including a few miles on the highway at 60-65mph. I'm taking the car to the dealer tomorrow to be checked but i'm not too hopeful.
The service rep told me i need to wait until least 10000-12000 miles before the mileage improves. If i was getting 18-20 mpg, i would think that was reasonable but not 16mpg.
Anyway, thanks for all the info, esp. about honda's transmissions and shifting. i will let you know if the dealer finds any problems.
z.
I'm in the market for an 06 accord ex coupe and Istill can't quite decide if I should get the 4 or 6 cilinder. I've been driving a blazer for 10 years now, So i'm pretty much use to filling up the tank once a week. I was leaning towards the V6 at first since that's what i've been driving. However I would like to know if any of you were planning to buy a car today which one you would get any why. Thanks for your help.
*Knock sensors are literally small transducers - piezo microphones screwed into the engine block. V-6s usually have two - one along each cylinder bank, and I-4s usually have one. They're sensitive enough to detect pinging below the threshold of human hearing, so they and the engine management computer deal with the issue before you're even aware anything is going on. Mechanics used to have to adjust the timing at tune-up time by physically rotating the ignition distributor and locking it in place with a set screw. While there were vacuum advance mechanisms that would alter timing according to engine speed and intake manifold vacuum, the system was a compromise at best. With computer control of ignition timing, moderated by knock sensors, adjustment is done on-the-fly and to nearly perfect effect according to real-time operating conditions. Or, to put it another way, your engine is literally tuning itself constantly while you're driving, to the best setting under any given condition.
**Uncontrolled pinging will seriously damage pistons. Detonation results when the incoming fuel-air mixture explodes prematurely and sends a full shock wave from the rapidly expanding gasses rushing at the approaching piston. Pinging, when audible, sounds somewhat like the subdued sound of small pebbles rattling inside a can when it's shaken.
18.5 MPG is not making me too happy. My wife is the one driving the car mostly, and mostly "suburb driving".... Yes, the AC is mostly on (this year is weird... September around Chicago seems more like July)... And she is a bit of a "sporty" driver...
We use only Shell gas.
And according to the RPM gauge the car must be shifting fine (around 2K when cruising at 65-70 MPH).
So? What's the story here?
Good Luck.
For the first 12 months. 19, 904 miles 717.513 gals 27.74 mpg
For the 2nd 12 months. 20,531 miles 719.266 gals 28.54 mpg
Overall since May 2003. 46, 240 miles 1635.385 gals 28.27 mpg
using 87 octane from Costco.
The seasonal variation (Seattle, Wa) is about 3 mpg, lowest in winter, so the first 10,000 mileage, 28.45 from May to Nov 2003 can not reveal 'break in' change. But, I think break in accounts for about 1 mpg or about 4%. Even that may be partially due to the driver adjusting to the vehicle, not just engine changes.
....'05 EX V-6 Coupe 6M here (yet to break the 30 MPG barrier................)
..best, ez............
z.
...Arizona/rtn to northern CA........(10/7 to 10/17/05)............
1. 1808 miles on 57 gallons.......
2. Highest MPG: 38.82 (Gila Bend - Yuma: big time desert flat: 2100 RPM; c/c; fuel stops immediately adjacent to I-8)
3. Worst MPG: 23.84(Santa Ana -local LA - Castaic)
Engineering comments: (1) that is SOME tall 6th gear, (2) forget statements like 'performance and economy are mutually exclusive' (3) Honda: ya done good!
best, ez
This past Sunday I took the car for a 300-mile drive, with 5 passengers, driving most of the time in rain. No Cruise Control used.
Got about 30 mpg.
...Compared to the 18.5 mpg which my wife gets driving the car for about 1.5 miles at a time (if not less)....
...I think I'm OK.
...Maybe I should tell my wife to walk.
I have 2006 Ex coupe v6 auto transmission.
I was wondering if the cat back systems and the K&N air filter increased mileage very much? I drive a lot, about 240-250 miles per day, 90% Interstate. My wife drives about 40 miles per day combo city/Interstate.
Thanks
Well, it's all there in my previous post. Read it again, babe.
I have 2006 Ex coupe v6 auto transmission.
...And? What mileage do you get?
80% highway commute, @ 70 mph..
Not bad but hope it continues to improve.....