Honda Odyssey Real World MPG

bikechuck

The only one who wins in a class action suit is the attorneys that bring the suit.

Each individual owner would probably see a couple of hundred dollars at most, the attorneys would make millions.

I would rather see the Govt crack down on all automakers and force them to stop the deception.

ezshift5

... we got 27.6 MPG on a recent trip we took that used about 3/4 tank of gas. 90% or more interstate miles, with tires inflated to about 38PSI with nitrogen (Costco apparently does this now).

...that's decent MPG considering your cd is like a brick compared to the Honda Accord coupe.....

...next year the coupe gets - like the Ody - VCM.......

any VCM comments, observations, feedback solicited herewith.

ez......

bobber1

We're on a 850 mile road trip to Texas with our 2007 Honda Odyssey EX. I've tracked the mileage at three different speeds. I take the miles drive and divide by gallons of gas at fill up. At 60 MPH we averaged 26 MPG. At 70 MPH we averaged 24 MPG. At 75 MPH we averaged 22 MPG.

We've only got about 2,000 miles on the van, so am ecstatic with the mileage since it's barely broken in and we don't have the cylinder de activation system. I haven't been setting the cruise and just going either as I periodically have been varying my RPM to help with the engine breaking. Going from 70 to 75 MPH really has a mileage penalty.

dsrtrat2

I'm on my 4th ODY; 2000, 2002, 2004, and a 2006 EX-L. I don't think the VCM does hardly a thing as my MPG are very similar on all 4 vehicles.
I would like to hear of someone disabling the VCM and comparing MPG before and after,then we would really know!

chirp

I absolutely concur. I think the VCM is some kind of marketing hype and does nothing. If it actually IS helping with the MPG, then God save us all!!! at 15 in town and 23-24 on the road this van is not so hot in the eco department or we're driving it too hard.

printer2

Your right about class actions. The government?? they are totally worthless today. So I guess we just live with it and keep shelling out up to $3.00 a gallon.

esteeze

Yeah, from what I've seen in the forums and on the specs for the Odyssey's with VCM, it look like you'd only get 1-2 MPG worth of benefit with the system... and then, probably only with highway miles.

With the way we would use an Ody, it would mostly be used around town; so, the VCM would probably never kick in. We'd maybe get use out of it on the 2 - 3 highway trips we'd take each year.

It's a real shame... it sounds like a good idea; in theory you'd think there'd be more of a fuel efficiency gain by shutting down half of the cylinders once at cruising speed.

stlmom

We have to vote with our dollars I guess. Next time we're buying a smaller, fuel-efficient vehicle and we'll just rent a minivan for trips we really need one on. Forget the Odyssey.

sdshell140

Yes, I say a Class Action suit is in order. It makes me so mad every time I see Honda bragging on commercials about their superior gas mileage. I get 13 city and 17 hwy. Honda has said this is in the acceptable range. Well, I don't see that on any of their paper work.
By the way I have a 05 Odyssesy EXL +Navi +DVD

stickguy

Well, the government defined the test, and they require that Honda reports the results as is. So who is to blame them for advertising the numbers?

Besides, if you drove in a manner close to the test protocal, you would likely get close to that mileage. Plus sweaty (no AC), and bored (not very fast)!

Seriously, much depends on how you drive (hills, speed, etc.). I have the same van as you ('05 EX-L). Your city mileage isn't great, but is not too far off what you should expect. Highway though, is way low.

But, you need to be clear what highway/city is. We get 15-17ish local, and 22-26 on a trip.

But, for us, local is severe use. Tons of short hops (1-2 miole trips), lots of lights and stuck in traffic. For a 4.500# bos with 250+ hp, I don't expect much better. Plus, it is worse in the winter when it is cold (and winter formuoa gas), a little better when nice out.

Trips are usually a mix of local highways, hilly terrain, and open road (in the hills) at 70-75+. Depending on weather (an AC), roof sack, etc. we can do low 20's to better than 25.

I am sure if I went south (the flatlands) and just did highway with CC at 72 I could pull a tank at 28. But driving short highway spurts with local mixed in at XMAS we get more like 21-22.

So, as always, YMMV, but 17 on a legit highway run is way out of range.

artfog

2500 miles so far on a 2007 Touring. Pretty much all city driving in LA - lots of stop and go. Only 10-11 mpg.
I hope it improves.

bikechuck

I am beginning to believe that the only comparable measure is highway driving. Everyone's city or in town driving experience is different. How many stop lights do you go through on your normal commute and what is the wait time at each? Are you driving kids to school, picking up their friends at times leaving the car running while you wait for them to get from house to car and as people get in and out of your vehicle etc.

When I read of the 10-11 MPG some people are experiencing in town my 14 MPG does not seem so bad. My 07 EX still has less than 1,000 miles on it and I have not done much highway driving. It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage I do get on the highway.

My kids are grown and my hobby is bicycling. I have a very short commute of 6 miles round trip to work. The only reason I purchased a van was to haul my tandem without having to carry it outside the vehicle on a bike rack. Given the low amount of miles I drive each year, the low MPG that comes with a van does not bother me too much. That said, I do think that there ought to be more honesty on the part of the industry when it comes to this. I do feel that they are being deliberately misleading and that should stop.

user777

just comments from another van owner...one thing to do is monitor your driving habits and make sure you avoid pushing the vehicle hard between lights and doing lots of resulting hard braking. the engine in your honda is pretty peppy and the power delivery substantial even with it's weight.

i'm sure for example, my wife and i have mileage in our '03 that will differ by 3mi or more to the gal in the city. even on the highway she's on and off the accelerator and typically doing 10MPH faster than me...

another thing you could consider is removing the middle seats. having a tandem, maybe you are already doing this.

you have less than 1K miles on the van. i think your mileage will continue to improve, but i also think you aren't driving it very far each day either.

you might make sure your tires are inflated properly. i like riding on mine a bit stiff, maybe 1 or 2psi below max sidewall.

mb6986

The van has been in my possession for 6 weeks or so and I have put in about 1700 miles. Mileage have been around 18 around town here in suburban NJ. The only "long" trip I have taken so far, spent some 35 miles each way on an interstate, I got 20 miles on the gallon. That was with me going real easy on the gas and use cruise control set at 70 mph whenever possible. The mileage is similar to the 2004 Ody I had after I had it broken in. It is my hope that the new Ody will get 21 to 22 mpg eventually which will represent a 10% improvement or so. The new one is more refine and have more gadgets so any improvement over the previous generation will be look upon positively.

comeon

traded in the 2004 odyssey for the 2007 Ex-L. The '04 got about 18 city and 26 highyway.

The '07 it aweful. So far have driven 2,500 miles while getting 9-10 mpg city and 20 highway.

Everything else about the vehicle is wonderful. Just wondering why I did not buy a Hummer. Cheaper and better gas milage.

babsy2

As one of the original posters on this thread, I have been very relieved to hear from other 07 EXL w/DVD & Nav owners who are experiencing the same problems with local gas mileage. Interesting that most of us are also repeat Odyssey owners who have found the '07 a major disappointment in terms of mpg. Yes it is an incredible vehicle, super-comfortable and loaded with terrific bells and whistles. And I did get 26 mpg on my one long drive. But still getting 13-14 locally and not even sure if it's worth pursuing with my dealer any longer.

user777

The only "long" trip I have taken so far, spent some 35 miles each way on an interstate, I got 20 miles on the gallon.

don't believe short-term mileage estimates.

take the vehicle on the highway and drive it for 300-400mi, and then fill up and compute the mileage. do that a few times and average.

alwyn2

Have Odyssey 2006 EX-L-around 18 to 23 on all mixed driving-unusual cold or hot does keep it below 20 MPG-have 11,000 miles on it-has been consistent since new

pcodyssey

We purchased the '07 Odyssey EX-L last October. Now, with just over 7K miles, we are experiencing extremely POOR GAS MILEAGE getting just 14/15 for local driving and 18/19 on extended trips over 100 Miles -- and that is with the iVTEC VCM engine! We went through 2 quarts of oil duing the first 5K miles. We have attempted to work with the dealer who responds that this is NORMAL for this vehicle -- I don't buy it!! I wrote to Honda America in February and have yet to get a response -- Our next step is the LEMON LAW! :lemon:
It's a shame as otherwise we like the vehicle. Anyone else have this experience? :mad:

blackexv6

2006 EXL/NAV/RES:

We get around 22-24 MPG with suburban driving 90% highway (70mph & under). When we are running around shopping we get 20 MPG with 30% city & 70% highway.

The car is garage kept & doesn't take long to warm up. Is yours kept outside? My in-laws keep their cars outside & they get bad gas mileage (NE PA - cold climate).

I'm not sure our Ody eats oil since we just look at the oil gauge for service intervals.

Our 2000 Ody eats about 1 quart for every 5,000 miles. The engine is still running strong at 140k miles. Actually runs better than the new '06.

:lemon: Lastly, we filed a dispute with Honda regarding the droning defect. The Attorneys think we have a good shot at winning since the paperwork clearly states failure with engine components each time (5 repair attempts). I don't think we'll win.....high paid Honda lawyers know how argue these cases.

Sorry to hear about your frustration....I am also disappointed with our new van since the old 2000 Odyssey was built much better (except for the transmission problems).

pcodyssey

Thanks for the follow-up. We're in Maryland and usually keep the car in the driveway -- occasionally the garage. This has been a very mild winter so I wouldn't really consider the weather a contributor. My two sisters drive Sienna's and get about 19 for local driving and around 27 on the highway. We also have a 2006 Ford Windstar that gets 18C - 24H for similar driving... so I can rule out the 'driver' factor.
Sorry to hear that Honda is going to fall back on the high price lawyers versus finding an equatible settlement. One of the reasons I purchased this Honda is I believed that they would take better care of their customers!!! :lemon: Maybe that was a bad assumption!

sebring95

One thing to keep in mind on the Ody: the HVAC system runs/cycles the A/C all the time when it's in "auto", even if you're calling for heat. The only way around this is to push the A/C button while in auto mode and "A/C off" will display on the screen. Obviously if you're needing to cool or defrost the vehicle, you don't want to turn the A/C off. But we try to remember to turn it off in the winter because all it does is suck gas for no good reason. Our mpg actually used to be even worse in the winter until I realized the A/C was cycling constantly and we then tried to remember to keep it turned off. Sit in a parking lot some time when you're heating the vehicle in Auto and listen to how often the A/C cycles.

chipo2

pcodyssey is right! My 07 odyssey is bad when it comes to fuel consumption.. I get 14 - 16 / mile and this is very disappointing because I gave up my 99 odyssey knowing the new one will give me more mileage for my buck and I was dead wrong. Also the transmission has some delay when you're in reverse and shift it back to drive. You'll hear some kind of noise and it feels like it's getting choke a bit and then it will move forward. I will definitely look into the LEMON LAW and make HONDA take actions. Thanks guys!! Please post all your experience with your Odyssey, together we can all help each other here....

skyhawk

I have an 06 EX-L mainly for heated leather seats. Gas mileage last fall before Rhode Island switched to winter gas, was 19.5 to 20.3 around town - no highway - no inner city. Once RI switched I dropped to 17.5 to 18 mpg around town. My other cars always dropped with the winter formular. I recently went from RI to the Outer banks. Driving highway 75 to 80 mph I averaged 23.7. I did one tank between 55 to 60 and averaged 26. Either way I was happy. Two people with luggage. I bought this to carry grandkids and luggage when my wife and I travel, not for great economy.

pcodyssey

Thank you for your gas mileage reply... We too, purchased the vehicle for the amenities -- heated leather seats, Navigation system, DVD, etc... But, I assumed that we would be getting something closer to the advertised mileage!! -- I'd be happy getting the mileage you are experiencing. The best I ever did on the highway traveling at about 50MPH during the Christmas holiday highway traffic, was 19.5 MPG -- Considering the low, steady highway speed for over 300 miles, I certainly expected to have mileage in the mid 20s -- especially with the new 3x3 engine that shuts down 3 cylinders in order to squeeze out the best mileage. So, I'll continue my fight with Honda! I certainly expected better service / support from Honda than I have received!

Thank You!

pcodyssey

Wow! So, I'm not alone... Aside from the very poor mileage, we like our vehicle -- but I would not have purchased this had I known what the gas mileage would be. Do you also have the iVTEC engine?

I really appreciate this sight with the ability to post messages for others with a common issue.
Where are you located? I'm just outside Columbia, Maryland. -- just curious if it could be a local thing?

user777

if you have the time, try checking your tire inflation pressure. put it near the limit on the sidewalls. i run mine a few pounds under the SW pressure rating. check your engine air filter and make sure nothing is stuck in there (i opened my engine air filter compartment once to find a "ball" of styrofoam from the road).

now, go fill up, reset your odometer, and get on the HWY and go a good 250-300miles at 60-65. come off the HWY and fill, and divide miles travelled on your ODO by gallons pumped.

reset the ODO and do the same on your return trip. see if it's better than 19.5MPG.

skhill62

I read many complaints about gas mileage prior to purchasing my exl/res in February. While I agree that the winter around town mileage isn't great, that was impacted by very cold weather. We took a 400 mile trip this weekend, where about 350 were highway miles, averaging 65-70, and we got 24MPG.
This included 2 adults, 4 children, Thule roof rack, etc....
In short, very satisfied, and if all was highway, and I kept it at around 60, I suspect I could exceed the estimated 26MPG on the sticker. Thanks for listening.

blufz1

Good observation. These things have the aerodynamics of a thrown brick! Slower is better if you get in the slow lane and the other traffic is not prohibitively fast.

rsmiedema

I just wanted to throw this out to everyone and see what you think. Have you all noticed if your RPMs are staying high or higher than normal for the speed you are driving? In other words, the car is not shifting at the right points. I was driving my '04 and it stayed at around 2000 rpm even though I was only going 40 mph. Normally, it runs under 1500 rpms. After about five miles of driving, it shifted to a different gear. This would also account for higher fuel consumption. It was a thought I had given the transmission problems we know these cars have. Just a thought.

user777

do you live in a cold climate? was it cold that day? the vehicle will retard shifting all the way up as a means to warm the engine and transmission fluid. it's in your owner's manual.

roberts5

Have you or anyone else noticed a difference in your gas mileage if you use 89 or 92-93 octane gas? On our 1999 Odyssey we usually used the higher octane gas when we traveled and I hit 28 mpg on one tank. Happy Odysseying!

texasranger1

My wife and I just returned from a 2,800 mile trip to Florida in our '07 Odyssey EX. We hauled our tandem bike and 150 pounds of other stuff. Expressway speed ranged between 70 and 75 MPH. About 500 miles of the total was local driving - not really in town, but stop and go on local roads. Average MPG for the entire trip was 24.7.

bikechuck

Interesting post Texasranger1,

I purchased my 07 EX to haul our tandem bicycle too. At this point my kids are raised and the van is basically an expensive tandem accessory. How do you secure your tandem in the van while you travel?

Note, I tried to send you a private message to avoid taking up bandwidth on the forum but the ability to send a private message is down at the current time.

odyssey2007

Come on - the 2007 Odyssey weighs 4500+ pounds and is shaped like a block. I get ~19 mpg around town and 24 hwy with the mandated ethanol laced gas - that gas by itself drops milege 10%. the mileage is great! yeah i'd like 35 mpg but then again the odessey has every creature comfort known to man,quiet and flies down the road. just gotta pay at the pump.

bikechuck

Well,

I would be delighted with ~ 19 around town but I am getting 14-15 around town. I will say this. Highway mieage is a better comparative. Everyone's in town mileage will vary quite a bit by how many stoplights they go through and how long the wait time is on red etc. In my case my commute is less than 3 miles (one way) so I am using my van as a bit of a cab which probably is not condusive to high mileage.

My 07 is only now approaching 1,000 miles and I have not yet had an opportunity to check the highway mileage. If it is in the mid 20's when I check it out, I will be pleased. I did not purchase the van for excellent gas mileage.

texasranger1

I will contact you when the e-mail function is working again. Do you attend any of the tandem rallys in the Midwest?

amg3

I have a 2005 Odyssey EX-L bought new in the Autumn of 2005. I have complained to my dealer and Honda Canada (I live in Montreal)about the poor fuel consumption which averages between 15-17 mpg (US gallons) for typical driving conditions of 90% highway driving, two people in the vehicle, speed not exceeding 65mph.Initial responses from the dealer were - it takes 10,000Km before the vehicle is run in, the weather is too hot to expect good mileage, and -the weather is too cold to expect good mileage. Interestingly enough, having recorded the fuel consumption in temperatures ranging from +26 deg.C to -15 deg.C, the best consumption of 17mpg was at -10 deg.C
At the last visit to the dealer, a few days ago, with a mileage of about 22,000Km on the clock, the dealer advised me that he had replaced the fuel program with an updated version. For the first 100Kms since then, I recorded a fuel consumption of 20mpg. Only time will tell if things will improve from here on in!

justaveragejoe

Does your have the cylinder management system or was that only on the touring model?

amg3

The EX-L has the cylinder management system. In my vehicle it does appear to be activated when under low load conditions - if the indicator on the instrument panel is to be believed.

ezshift5

...it does appear to be activated when under low load conditions - if the indicator on the instrument panel is to be believed.

..the VCM - which sleeps three cylinders - as noted above will be offered on the AV6 for 2008.

..be interesting to have Odyssey owners estimates on fuel economy improvement potential here: low load conitions, high gear - - - on the interstate.

cheers,

ez..

coupedncal

What is AV6?

thegraduate

Ok, now that we have 10,000 miles behind us here is an update: with a mix of local & highway driving (1-2 days a week on the highway) in the St. Louis metro area, we average between 17 & 20 mpg. And I drive with a gentle foot, with an eye on the ECO light. So it's not horrible, but disappointing as this is about what our old Pontiac Montana mpg was, and we bought the EX-L for the alleged mileage improvement.

Similar mileage, and 60 more horsepower in the Odyssey. Sounds like a good trade to me!

thegraduate

Accord V6.

justaveragejoe

Just thought I would apply this info from the Pilot discussion board. The gear ratio for 4th and 5th gears were changes in 2005 for the i-VTEC motor (Touring and EX-L models) and all gear ratios were increased in 2007 for all models. We are thinking this has had an effect on the mpg.

2007
http://www.hondanews.com/search/release/3618

2005
http://www.hondanews.com/search/release/2083

stickguy

are different fro the VCM models. Somewhat of a tradeoff, as the LX (non-VCM) revs lower on the highway, but is always running on 6 cylinders.

stickguy

just filled up from our latest trip. My wife drove, so I think the average speed was slightly lower (as in CC at 72).

about 280 miles, mostly highway except for about 20 miles of local 2 lane. Got an overall 27.3 on that tank, although it might have been skewed a bit since she said the guy that filled it before she came home crammed in quite a bit extra after the click. Still not bad though.

justaveragejoe

According to the specs, all 2007s have the same ratio.

mb6986

With gas price approaching $3 here in Jersey, I have been driving slower and use cruise control as much as it is safe to do so. I am happy to report my latest mpg is at 22.2 the last time I filled up. Mostly urban highway and local driving in the NJ/NYC area. I purchased an EX-L with R&N about 4 months ago and currently have about 4,000 miles on the car.

ezshift5

......I am happy to report my latest mpg is at 22.2 the last time I filled up.

.....would it be a fair statement that...

your vehicle has variable cylinder management (VCM) ?

..ez..