Honda Odyssey Real World MPG

rstoerger

We love the 2007 EXL with Res/Nav but boy am I happy we leased for three years vs buying. The millage this thing gets is worse than our 2001 Chevy Venture (city = 18 MPG). I thought I was crazy doing the math at 15MPG average suburban driving. I can see why Honda didn't include a MPG instant or average calculator in the electronic trip computer. We did see better millage (20MPG) on a recent mostly highway trip but still I see this as a disappointment. The Honda engine with the variable cylinder thing should be blowing the doors off of the larger Chevy engine...NOT. It's funny, in considering our options to either buy or lease, I pushed my wife to lease simply because when you do the math, the buy option only makes sense if a) you can sell the van at the end of 5 years (60 months would have been our only purchase option) for more than $12K or b) keep it at least through year 6 or 7. We ended up leasing mainly because I figured that in five years, millage requirements would be so much higher that selling a gas-sucking dog (which this car is by modern standards), would be impossible in five years for the $12K it would take to wash against a lease ($200+ more per months x 60 months). This was BEFORE learning that the MPG really is worse than the sticker notes. I have a less than 3 years to go and in hind site feel extremely good about having leased. I don't profess to know where gas will be in three, five or seven years, but I bet you it will be more expensive.

Last ranting note. I think the ECO light is a huge distraction as it constantly goes on and off while driving causing you to draw attention to the dash board. For those that don't have this, imagine seeing an engine warning light constantly go on and off during normal driving (although thank God, the ECO light is green). I have talked to someone who has had a similarly equipped Odyssey a little longer than we have and they use this light to help improve their driving (learning to keep it on more than not). They claim that by driving to the light as much as possible or at least more consciously, they get better millage. That makes sense so I will also try this out. Mostly though, and this is only a consolation prize, I am glad to hear others are having the same issues I am having with an otherwise wonderful machine.

thegraduate

Um, the Odyssey has a 21 gallon tank.

How are you calculating your mileage?

On a recent trip to Oklahoma in a non-VCM 2005 Odyssey (my great-aunt's van) with 37k miles on it, with no A/C use we averaged around 24 MPG at speeds of 75-80MPH. All highway (US Hwy 78 Birmingham, AL to Memphis, TN then Interstate 40 to Oklahoma City). Major hills in Arkansas.

We got about 400 miles before we'd fill up, and the low-fuel light never came on. We could've gone closser to 500 miles, but that would've been too far past my comfort zone for low fuel.

It seems most of the complaints are coming from VCM Odyssey owners.

eisiminger

hi, i have a 2007 ex with 950 miles so far. just made 150 mile round trip today filled up before i left , filled at same pump when i got back it took 5.7 gals. for 24.6 mpg. speed was 66 at 2000 rpm i live at 4330 above sea level driving was 90% hwy,10%city. guess what im happy. ike

thegraduate

I wouldn't use such small increments to measure fuel mileage. You're barely using more than 1/4th of the Odyssey's fuel capacity, which allows for larger discrepancies based on how much fuel used.

Of course all reports are appreciated, but you'll do yourself a favor by using more of your tank of fuel before refilling. It'll be more accurate.

stickguy

We get around 15 (+/-) around town, but that is very short hop driving. Lots of stops and very short (LT 3 mile) trips. Varies a bit depending on weather and how much ethenol is in the gas!

ON a trip, depending on conditions (and how fast I go) we will get anywhere from 22-25. I think the best leg ever was 26+. I expect that if I went wouth (where it is flatter) and kept the speed to 70, I could easily push 27.

Remember, this is a 4500lb. box on wheels with a relatively large engine. That is a lot of weight to push around, and it is hard to beat the laws of physics.

The real problem IMO is that the Ody did real good on the gov't test, but the VCM doesn't help that much in real life. 20/28 was a pipe dream.

If the ratings had been a more normal 17/24 people wouldn't be so upset.

eisiminger

i posted mpg as 24.6 it should have been 26.3. i agree with (thegraduate) not a good test, but this shows that great mileage is possible. this van is only 1 month old with total of 900 miles.

dsrtrat2

Keep a running total for a while; total miles driven divided by total gallons used for those miles. That will even out the "not full" tank problem. I rode in my son's '04 Sienna last week and his instant MPG was all over the place for no reason. This van gets 20% worse MPG than their previous Sienna with the same drivers, etc. Go figure.

type_b_driver

I have 32000mi on my 2005 Ody Touring/VCM makes the most difference in favorable driving conditions. Tail wind on I-80 across WY or I-25 Colorado Springs to Denver (downhill with lots of coasting) or low altitude where the power developed on three cylinders is adequate to maintain speed have all produced well above 34mpg on the computer readout. More typical conditions have yielded 05 EPA of 26 mpg on trips between Colorado Springs and Klamath Falls, OR. My odometer mileage was right on until I changed tires. With 235/65R17 108H Yokohama tires, I add 2% to the odometer when calculating the mpg. Interesting that the computer now appears to be calculating the mpg about 7% lower(not sure, but this may be due to Purolator air filter, changed when new tires were mounted) Ethenol cuts my mileage by 10%. I run 85 octane above 4500 ft elevation with no problems.

hj708

just an update on my pitiful fuel mileage experience. I now have 4700 miles on the car. I did manage to get a WHOPPING 17.1 MPG with about 70% of those miles being highway miles, cruise at 75mph. Alert the media, I got 17mpg. I just put a K&N air filter and Mobil1 synthetic oil in the car. I filled the POS up and the needle on the fuel gauge is right at the halfway mark, and guess what my trip A odometer reads? 94 miles. All city driving, of course. Still, this is a joke.

bikechuck

I have come to peace with the poor mileage on my Odyssey as I have come to understand that it is a "feature" and not a mechanical problem with my car. I have a very short commute to work (3 miles) and no car will get good mileage when it is being driven for 3 miles and then parked all day. I purchased the van as a tandem accessory (to haul my bicycle built for two), for camping and cycling vacations and for occasionally moving bulky objects. It does that all very well, it is comfortable and I enjoy driving it.

We just try to do the majority of our in town driving in my wife's car which gets much better mileage.

Do I like the fact that the mileage is soo poor and so much worse than the EPA estimates. Heck no! However, to be fair those EPA mileage estimates are inflated on all vehicles. And if MPG was going to drive my purchasing decision I would not have purchased a van.

lavrishevo

Don't feel to bad your still getting better then I get in my Sedona. Though I do have a larger engine but I'm averaging 17 city 24 highway if I am easy on the pedal. I did notice a huge improvement once I put about 6000 miles on the van.

stickguy

our usage is about the same as the bike dudes. 3 miles to work, and that might take 15-20 minutes with lights and traffic. Other driving is lots of short hops to the store, etc. I would say that a majority of trips are 2 miles or 10 minutes at most.

We can also go a tank easily without ever really hitting anything passing for highway (or a couple miles at most).

We do however travel in it fairly often.

So, given the usage, and the fact that it is a 4,500# box on wheels, with a fairly powerful engine, I don't really expect better mileage!

Normal for us is ~15 around town and 22-25 on trips. Town might be 14 now (winter gas, etc.) and during the warmer months could hit 16-17.

Highway depends on how much open running, and what speed! But on a relatively flat, open run at 72ish, it will easily get 25 MPG.

Not great, but as good as I would expect for what it is. Hard to get 25 MPG and still carry 8 adults in relative comfort!

blackexv6

I traded an '00 Odyssey with 160k miles that routinely got 22-24mpg with 90/10 highway/city for an '08 4 cyl Accord.

Guess what...the 4cyl Accord 3500lbs & aerodynamic gets the same MPG as the Odyssey 4300lb box on wheels.

The MPGs on the new PZEV vehicles dropped dramatically.

hj708

I thought after getting at least 17mpg that maybe it would keep getting better. last night filled up. 238 miles (150 of those were highway miles). 15.8 gallons. you do that math= 15mpg. After the highway trip the car starts making a louder than usual whining sound..like a power steering pump failure type of whine, only I wasn't steering. Strange. Van does run beautifully though. I'll try to quit my bit**ing. maybe it will improve substantially with some more miles.

scottinky

I am considering trading a 2008 Armada for an Odyssey to get better gas
mileage. After reading this forum, not sure if it is going to be worth it.

blufz1

The cheapest car to own, is usually the one you've got.

ctmom2

My 05 EX gets better city gas mileage - much better - at 43K than it did at less than 20K. I have climbed to about 19 in the city and get 27 on long trips/highway. I have to admit that initially I was very dissatisfied with the Ody mpg. But it is now within a very acceptable range.

bikechuck

What would make a car achieve higher mileage adter a break in period such as this? I do not doubt what is being reported, I just do not understand it from a mechanical standpoint.

cccompson

The engine literally loosens up, allowing freer movement within.

I find it interesting that those here who are complaining the loudest about gas mileage seem to be those who drive in ways guaranteed to get the poorest mileage.

The worst my '05 Touring has ever gotten was earlier this month, 19 mpg on a tank when there was no highway miles driven at all. Fortunately, it is never driven in heavy stop and go city traffic.

jalimey

We have a 2007 EXL Odyssey with 6000 on the clock. We consistently get 240miles for a tank of gas....and I thought we'd be getting a lot more. Most of our driving is stop and go city streets. I wondered if our van was in need of some adjustments, but it would appear that this is fairly typical mileage. What do others get on a tank with a similar aged Ody?

thegraduate

Stop and Go is going to deliver poor mileage regardless of vehicle.

You aren't telling us what your actual mileage is though, leaves some info to be desired.

jchan2

I think I would just keep the Armada. The gas savings in a minivan (Sienna, Odyssey, or otherwise) isn't worth the depreciation you would suffer from trading the Armada.

scottinky

drove the Odyssey last thursday. liked the space and interior features. HATED
the wind and road noise, and the driving position, and the cheapo interior.

thegraduate

Having spent time in a QX56, I hope the Armada has better interior quality. I felt like the climate knobs were going to wiggle right off they were so loose-fitting. Nissan's own Versa put the quality of the Armada to shame, to me, which had very poor tactile quality.

Have they improved in the last 2 years?

rstoerger

We have gotten use to what I would say is poor gas millage. Again, our driving patterns are the same as those when driving our two Ventures. The Venture had an even bigger engine and we averaged 3 more MPG, 18 vs. 15 with them. And like others here, 250 miles on a tank is about it with a mix of city/hwy. The only other think I don't like about the car is the stiff lumbar of the driver seat.

thegraduate

The Venture had an even bigger engine

I thought all Ventures had a 3.4L 185hp V6.

The Odyssey has a 3.5L 244hp V6.

gotribe

These posts that talk about "mileage per tankful" are really not very descriptive because everyone fills up at a different point. If you get, say, 250 miles per tankful you arent really running it to empty--you are refilling it with 15, 16, 17, 18 or some other amount. If its 15 gallons you're getting 16.7mpg, if its 18 gallons you're getting 13.9 mpg. You either have to calculate the number using actual miles driven divided by actual gas used, or in models with the trip computer use that.

BTW after a 3000 mile trip from Ohio to and around the state of Florida, I've watched mileage very carefully. On the interstates at a steady 65-70mph it varies from 19mpg into a headwind to 24mpg without one. I'm guessing the aerodynamics of the Odyssey arent very good and that headwind'taiilwind makes quite a large difference. Any opinions on ths? Anyone know the cd (coefficient of drag) of the Odyssey?

ss777

What kind of mileage are people getting in the 2008s, expecially the ones with VCM, getting? Thanks.

jeffmo2334

We have had our 2007 EX-L since 10/07, and have about 18k miles on it.

We typically average about 18mpg, with about a 60/40 split in highway/city. I have a pretty lead foot, and my wife does a little bit too.

On long highway trips, with cruise set at 75 or so, we have gotten 19-21 mpg. (loaded with 2 adults, 3 kids, and luggage)

A little disappointed with the mileage -- not much better than our old 1999 Olds Silhouette, but given the power the engine has and the weight of the vehicle, I guess it's not too bad.

stickguy

2005 EXL (VCM)

around town (real short hop stuff, no highway) is about 14-16 (worse in the real cold months). Call it 15 on average.

On trips, 22-25, depending on how much steady highway, and how fast (usually in the 70-75 range, but it can vary +/- from that).

So, not great around town, but about what I would expect. Highway is the same deal.

junbug6

around 1000miles

All city driving, light footed..

1st tank 16.21 MPG
2nd 14.46 MPG (temp -22F to 5 F, heavy snow)
3rd 17.3 MPG
4th 16.85 MPG
5th 18.47 MPG (temp 14F to 50F, very little snow)

last tank 339 miles on 18.3 G. Still has the oil smell...

scottinky

i just sold my full size SUV, damn, these numbers are horrible. i want to replace
it with an Ody, but oye.

junbug6

can anyone with a touring comment where the computer estimate avg MPG is accurate or not? Friend of mine has a MDX, it shows a 11.8 L/100km avg (or 19.9 MPG), but he only got 210km (130 miles) with nearly half tank of gas. My ody EXL can gets about 300KM (186 miles) with half tank gas but my calculation is 12.7 L/100km (or 18.5 MPG) get the best. Friend of mine with Seinna also shows 11.8 L/100km on his. I know Ody has a slightly bigger fuel tank (19.2 vs 21 gal).

carfun888

The Ody touring computer MPG is spot on. I double check every fill-up and it is always accurate. Around 7000 miles on the odo.

newodyowne

I'm a brand new owner of a used Odyssey (2004) that had ~43K miles on it when I bought it 2 weeks ago.

I've filled the tank once - 22 mpg - with a mix of about 50/50 highway/town miles(medium sized town, no real lengthy stop and go traffic issues). Highway driving means steady 70mph jaunts of 25 miles or so (each way). Town driving is 3-10 mile jaunts of 30-45 mph with a handful of stop-lights/signs along the way.

I'm ~3/4 of the way thorugh the second tank with ~300 miles on the tripmeter so it looks like the mileage will be about the same.

I moved from a Chevy Tahoe (350 cid - 15 mpg) to the Odyssey so I'm a happy camper when it comes to the mileage gain I've seen.

One thing I noticed - the Odyssey has a more sensitive throttle than the Tahoe - and because the engine is smoother and quieter I have to be careful I don't over accelerate from a stop. Kinda funny actually given that I'm driving a minivan...

thegraduate

That style Odyssey is actually faster than the new one I believe, due to less weight. Sounds like you are getting good MPG too!

odyexlrn07

I bought my 2007 EX-L on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2007, with about 14 miles on the odometer. I started tracking the mileage in January after a 140 mile each way trip to Chicago that I've made for almost 20 years in at least 5 different cars, but in this car was the first time ever it took MORE than one tank of gas to get there and back.

So since my 3rd tank of gas, from Jan18-Mar13, I've gotten the following mileage:

Miles Driven -- Gals. to full -- MPG
80 ---------- 7.78 ---------- 10.28 (all local)
289.2 ----------16.79 ---------- 17.22 (highway)
121 ---------- 8.45 ---------- 14.32 (mixed)
87 ---------- 8.31 ---------- 10.47 (local)
210 ---------- 18.03 ---------- 11.65 (local)
295 ---------- 8.31 ---------- 16.11 (200 highway mi)
155 ---------- 12.88 --------- -12.03 (local)
265 ---------- 16.93 ---------- 15.65 (185 highway mi)
264 ---------- 17.67 ---------- 14.94 (185 highway mi)
289.6 ---------- 18.13 ---------- 15.97 (200 highway mi)
97 ---------- 8.06 ---------- 12.04 (local)
202 ---------- 18.87 ---------- 10.70 (local--in the best weather yet!)

Does this look familiar to anyone else? I would have bought an entirely different car if I knew the mileage would be like this. I called the dealer twice in January, when I started tracking, and they said it's winter so worse mileage is to be expected, what kind of gas am I getting (regular, mostly bp Amoco and a few times Mobil), it needs break-in time (5000-6000 mi), etc. etc.

But even with all that this seems ridiculous. I called two other dealerships today, where I would have bought the van only they didn't have the color I wanted, and both said they get complaints but nothing as bad as my numbers (10-12mpg local, 17 highway). I haven't called the purchasing dealership again yet but I want as much info in hand as possible before I do. I just filled up last night and am making the 185-200 highway mi drive again this afternoon and twice next week, so will track that and see how it does, but geesh.

Granted, it's winter, and it's been a bad one at that. I live in IL. ECO is on much of the time I am driving around town, and about half the time on the highway, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. No warning lights have come on. Regular occupants are a 150 lb female and 3 kids, ages 11, 9, 3, plus light cargo, so not a lot of weight.

Any and all input would be really appreciated here. If I've got a lemon, I'd prefer to know before I go broke filling it up. 80-90% of my driving is local and I've only been doing the 185+ mi trip in this car (with just myself each time) just to drive the mileage up faster to see if it improves any, because otherwise it could take me the better part of a year to bypass what they said was break-in point, and my options may be more limited by then.

bikechuck

Get used to it, as they say in the software biz, "its a feature".

cccompson

These are porky vehicles and your mileage will be heavily influenced by your driving habits. For instance, my '05 Touring will hit 29 mpg at a steady 65 mph but it's lucky to get 25 at 75.

Also, there is a BIG difference between stop and go city driving (as in a metro area downtown) and running around suburbia. If your use is truly 80 to 90 percent local, you're simply never going to see great overall mileage. In 40,000 miles there's only been a couple of tanks when I haven't gotten at least 20 mpg because it's on the highway about 75% of the time.

odyexlrn07

I get that. I'm not looking for exceptional mileage, but I think 10-12 mpg is outside of acceptable tolerance. I wondered what others thought.

I live in a midsize college town, about 60K people. We have "rush minute" here, as we like to say, so it's much more suburbia than stop and go. As I said, I see the ECO light on much of the time, and have been adapting my driving to it even more, so I don't think I'm doing anything to tank the mileage. It just sucks.

What kind of mileage did other people get when their ody was new for local driving? Was it significantly lower?

cccompson

While there's no question mileage will get better after the motor is fully broken in (perhaps as late as 10K), complaints such as yours are not rare.

I had ocassion for the first time in almost 40,000 miles to run a full tank in town in January and got the lowest mileage it's ever recorded - about 16 mpg. And that was in suburban type driving.

As you know, you're fighting several things here - tight engine, winter gas, and winter driving. Your mileage will get better - the question remains by how much.

I would complain now though there's little or nothing your dealer will do. If your mileage has not improved by mid-summer, it'll be time to scream.

user777

something for you to consider...

the conditions under which you drive highway are almost constant, yet for city, by implication those (let's say 202 miles) arguably may have been comprised of 202 short 1mile jaunts to the local grocery store, or 101 2mile jaunts to the kid's school, or 50 4mile trips to your local video/dvd rental outlet, or 25 8mile trips to your local favorite restaurant.

more than likely a blend of usage. lots of start cycles i bet.

here's what is happening to your vehicle when you do that though: it's running rich, very rich to warm up. you're not efficiently burning gasoline. you got a lot of start cycles and periods where the transmission isn't using all the gearing. specially with winter blend in cold weather, yeah, i bet a lot of vehicles fail to meet their city estimates.

try this experiment: wait for the weather to warm up. get in your car, drive a while till the engine and transmission is warmed up, then get a fill-up and reset the ODO. stay in the city and drive all day without stopping, about 202 miles in stop and go traffic. :surprise:

your results are gonna be better than what you are reporting, but less better than that for highway driving.

how do you think manufacturer's calculate city estimates? just curious.

newodyowne

Ok, newodyowne here again.

The second tank was virtually identical to the first - between 22 and 23 mpg with a 50/50 mix of highway/town driving.

For an experiment over the weekend I refilled it after driving 45 miles of purely town driving (3-10 mile jaunts of 30-45 mph with a handful of stop-lights/signs along the way) and the mileage was 16 mpg.

bobber1

Just got back from a 2,000 mile vacation. Every time I filled up I calculated mileage based on gallons at fill up and miles driven since last one. I drive a 2007 Odyssey EX with about 12,000 miles on it. The van was loaded up with 5 family members and a trunk full of "stuff".

The lowest mileage noted was about 23 mpg. However about 25% of that was driving around Fort Worth Texas with some stop and go traffic and the balance on the open highway.

I had one 25 MPG, one 27 MPG, and one 28 MPG all 100% interstate driving. We drove a steady 71 miles per hour. Ran into traffic in various towns, but probably only 15 minutes of stop and go in one city.

Needless to say I was impressed. My wife's old Buick with the 3800 engine didn't get much better then that and was a lighter vehicle. My current Ford Taurus will barely do better. The key is steady driving and not going much faster as I've noted in the past that when you go much over 70 mileage drops fast. The warmer spring weather is also helping.

ss777

I live in the Chicago area and have been getting 22 mpg on the highway in my 2007 EXL. I've been noticing a clicking sound like the compressor is kicking in whenever I turn on the heater in the car. This occurs regardless if I run the heater in Auto mode, or manual by turing it on with the fan switch. So on the weekend I poppped the hood and observed the compressor while having my wifre turn on the heater and sure enough the compressor was in fact kicking in . It can be turned off via the AC button, but will reset again if you turn the heater on or off.

I experimented by manually turning off the AC everytime I turned on the heater and took a 250 mile trip over the weekend. While I haven't refilled and calculated the mileage again, I can say that definitely the mpg on the trip were bettter as I could only get 200 miles on half a tank of gas according to the gas gauge before, this time I got 250 miles. I'll post the actual results when I fill up this week.

Has anyone found their compressor turning on when starting the heater or vent even though the AC wasn't turned on? I realize it is normal behavior for the AC to run when running the defroster to remove humidiity, but this should not occur in non-defroster mode. At least the owners manual doesn't indicate this.

Comments welcome.

thegraduate

Typically, the A/C is on unless you've selected the "A/C OFF" mode in the automatic climate control, for Honda. Our 2000 Odyssey was this way, as is my aunt's 2005. We drove to Oklahoma in December in the 2005, and just left "A/C OFF". We averaged over 24 MPG at 80 MPH.

ss777

Why should the A/C run when the heating is on? I can understand the compressor running in defrost mode. This allows faster removal of humidity and also keeps the AC lubricated during winter months when it is typically not used. But why would you want the A/C to run in all heating modes? I tried to get an answer from Honda but so far no response.

I believe I am getting better fuel economy since I started manually turning off the AC whenever I run the heater based on the number of miles driven and the fuel gauge. I'll have the actual number tonight after filling up.

cheapdad000

so far averaging 19.7 MPG on first 500 miles. 3 fillups from about half a tank each time (wife won't let tank run below half full, so have to aggregate mileage over multiple fillups). Driving has been 100% local leisure driving (no roadtrips/no commuting), but for RTP, NC that means 3-10 mile drives, half dozen stop lights, 45-50 MPH most of the time.

thegraduate

Often, the temp stays close to the dewpoint in the cold months, making the humidity chronically high. People will either have to manually turn it ON to prevent fogging, or manually turn it OFF to save gas, Honda just chose the option which is most "clearly" visible, pardon the pun.

yatesjo

I ran across this on the EPA website today where owners can report their own real-world economy results.

On the road fuel economy

Most interesting thing for the Odyssey:
Reported numbers for the standard Odyssey engine is better (avg 19.0mpg) than the engine with VCM (18.3mpg).