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Comments
My last road trip of 1,700 miles I got 25 mpg 100% highway miles averaging 70-75 mph. . With a strong tail one on one tank I got 26.5 doing 80 mph. Loaded down with 4 people luggage and a 70 lb dog. Gotta love all the room!
I turned the AC on and off. didn't notice to much difference. In normal use running around town the van gets between 17.5 and 19.5 mpg. in mixed city/hwy driving.
Not great in town but personally I am very happy with the highway mpg.
> >
> > Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early
> > morning when the ground temperature is still cold.
> > Remember that all service stations have their
> > storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the
> > ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets
> > warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon
> > or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a
> > gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific
> > gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel
> > and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products
> > plays an important role..
> >
> > When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of
> > the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see
> > that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle,
> > and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low
> > speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are
> > created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump
> > have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast
> > rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank
> > becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and
> > back into the underground storage tank so you're
> > getting less worth for your money.
> >
> > One of the most important tips is to fill up when
> > your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason
> > for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the
> > less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline
> > evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline
> > storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This
> > roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and
> > the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.
> > Unlike service stations, here where I work, every
> > truck that we load is temperature compensated so
> > that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
> >
> > Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck
> > pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy
> > gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is
> > being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and
> > you might pick up some of the dirt that normally
> > settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get
> > the most value for your money.
> >
It's hilarious watching the Escalade's and other blimps blow by in the fast lane, easily getting less than 15mpg. I was almost considering swapping out for a Honda Fit, or waiting for the 09 Navi Fit (too bad the sky roof isn't coming to the USofA), but the Fit mpg boards are only reporting 30-33mpg, not a big enough improvement to make the jump.
The wife has a 06 Civic Hybrid and gets 41-44mpg depending on her mood :P We sold our mint 03 Insight to get the more plush Civic, and now sort of wish I had kept it for myself, so I wouldn't have small car withdrawl pangs, or guilty thoughts when driving the Ody. Both are paid for, so I guess we'll sit tight and wait for the diesel hybrids to start popping up maybe in 2010, or with the FCX Clarity comes available in NorCal.
I noticed this same problem with the AC. Each time you turn the car off and start the car again it defaults to the AC on position. The worst part is the display does not say if the AC is on or off. The screen is void of any indication to the status of the of the AC until you press the AC button. After you press the button it will indicate off. I plan on contacting an attorney to force Honda to make reparation because this has cost a significant amount of unnecessary wasted gas mileage. Have you received a notice from Honda about the speedometer inaccuracy and the court case that made Honda extend the warranty?
I didn't hear about the speedometer problem. Can you post the link? Thanks.
Good luck!
2,500 miles
Mostly suburban, stop-n-go driving (including 3 mile work commute).
Averaging about 15 MPG.
We previously had an 04 Ody EX, and it would get ~17 MPG using the same driving profile. From what I've seen, so far, the 07 is more thirsty; maybe it's heavier.
Will take an 250 mile interstate trip next month, so I'll get to see the highway mileage then.
That makes sense; the 07 seems to be roomier inside, so I figured that it must be bigger/heaver.
At current gas prices, I figured that the 07 Ody is costing ~$0.22 / mile in gas to operate.
I'll take the space I get with the Honda over the incremental mileage loss. Really it's amazing a vehicle that big gets the mileage it does. 25 years ago a comparable weight full size car would have been low teens in town and maybe 20 on the highway
I miss the days of fresh air vents, or having the option of fresh air intake thru the dash vents that doesn't go thru the heater core or other "conditioning" stage.
Shutting the car off doesn't change the Climate Control settings in the Honda. Want it set on "72 Driver, 66 Pass., recirculate, feet, A/C Off, fan speed 2" all the time? Set it once and never touch it again. It'll hold it the life of the battery.
-Usually, I'm just driving myself. (but once I carried 6 people and 6 bikes on a trip to the other end of the Metro area.)
-I live in Fla., so my winter mileage is little different from summer.
-My driving this spring has been mostly suburban driving in the Tampa
Bay Metro area.
-I use the A.C. at least half the time.
-I check my mileage at every fillup.
-I have not been on a real highway trip yet. That will come in July.
The around-town mileage is really no better than my previous minivan: a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Touring. But my EX-L is some 400 lbs. heavier and has a more powerful engine. (241hp vs. 197)
Another interesting finding was that while older cars used to get poorer gas mileage with dirty airfilters, newer cars with their computers, automatically compensate for dirty filters by keeping the air/fuel ratio. the same. So gas mileage will stay the same, but in this situation, engine power decreased noticably. This was beared out in their fuel testing of the Camry.
60 mph with no AC: 27.25 mpg
65 mph with some AC: 26.3 mpg
70 mph with lots of AC: 24.2 mpg
varying speeds 70-80, fair amount of AC: 23.2 mpg
In Orlando, mixed city/highway driving with constant AC, we got about 19.2 mpg.
So yes, easing off on the gas does seem to have a measurable impact on fuel economy.
It's a great car! We used to have a Pilot which was too high off the road and always pulled against us on turns. The Odyssey drives a lot more like a car.
For the past month I have been trying to save money by driven different. When I accelerate I try to keep the rpm less than 2000. I noticed that if you accelerate up to 45 mph the transmission shifts into fifth gear and is around 1500 rpm. I also have been coasting when possible. If you shift into neutral you can almost coast forever although I would not recommend this. I also have been turning of the engine at a particular signal that takes over four minutes to change. My MPG increased to around 20 mpg in the city. I also noticed that while filling up the gas tank it can only hold 17 gallons. Recently I tried and was able to add four more gallons to the tank but at a slow rate.
The horsepower race is going to kill off a lot of these thirsty vehicles. Our 2000 Caravan (SWB model), also a V-6 but lighter & with less horsepower, had much better mpg - approx 30 - 40% better than the Ody.
At some point you have to ask yourself if the money saved in fuel cost will overcome the money spent in trading a year-old car in on a new one.
It never pays to trade a vehicle in just to get better gas mileage. The key is to start with the most economical vehicle that can meet your needs and hold on to it as long as practical.
On the bright side, driver submitted data on the EPA website suggests that the Honda loosens up as it is used and gets more efficient. Estimating from the data there, I'd say most people see a 2mpg improvement by the time the van is a couple years old.
You need extra room in your gas tank to allow the gasoline to expand. If you top off your tank, the extra gas may evaporate into your vehicle’s vapor collection system. That system may become fouled and will not work properly causing your vehicle to run poorly and have high gas emissions.
2006 Odyssey w/vcm 34,000
Next week, we will be fully loaded traveling to Ft. Wayne, In from Hampton Roads, VA. I use to put premium in the 99 Ody for mountain travel. The 06 Ody does not require premium, but I wondered if it would help any in the mountains. I appreciate several people sharing that 60ish mph gets better mileage than closer to 70mph which I usually drive with the low gearing of breaking the 2000 rpm mark at 72 mph. I usually try to keep it in over drive and let off the gas when it drops out of O/D. I just wish the Honda had a trip computer to see what kind of instant mpg we were getting.
In my 04 Accord (auto - I4), I hit 40.5 mpg driving through a tank from Augusta, GA without out stopping. I ran Shell gas which I think helped with the extra fuel ingector clearner of "Tier One Gasoline." I usually try to fill up with BP, Chevron, Texaco, Sunoco, or Shell for their Tier One rating.
We are truly a Honda family since they have treated us well.
I would greatly appreciate any comments about using higher octane gasoline and/or what speed is most efficient in the hills.
Happy Hondaring and God bless you all!
EPA Agrees - DON'T TOP OFF!
2008 Toyota RAV4 LTD V6 w/AT - EPA 19/26 - I am getting combined 20 MPG (95% CITY). I know the EPA numbers for the RAV4 are not that much better than the '02 Odyssey's but at least I am able to achieve the EPA numbers with the RAV4. The '02 Odyssey never came close to its EPA numbers no matter what I did. And forget the dealer helping; they just brush it off.
2008 Honda Fit base model w/AT - EPA 27/34 - don't have good stats yet on this one because I just ran the ILP reset and need to accumulate some mileage.
The EPA numbers for the RAV4 are actually 3 MPG higher than those in the Odyssey (which has 16/23 when using the new EPA rating system that your RAV is measured with). So, you are getting approx. 3 MPG better with the RAV than you were with the Odyssey. You aren't doing much better compared with the EPA than you were in the Odyssey.
For those who didn't know, the EPA rating system was revised for 2008, sending all estimates down by a sometimes-substantial margin. For example, the Odyssey had been rated 18/25, but was revised to 16/23. The RAV4 V6 4WD had been rated 21/28 but was revised down to 19/26. Your new Honda Fit? It was previously rated 31/37 but has been reduced to 27/34 thanks to the new system.
So, in reality, it seems to simply be your driving style or commute that is bringing your mileage down. You are getting the same numbers (relatively, approximately 1 MPG below the old EPA estimates for City) or approximately 1 MPG above the new EPA estimates for City) in both of the vehicles. The Odyssey really wasn't any less accurate than your new RAV when compared to the EPA.
All that being said, the RAV is a terrific vehicle if you don't need the space efficiency of a minivan. That V6 is a real powerhouse and gets great economy. I just wanted to clarify the EPA ratings issue, and show that Honda really didn't do any worse relative to the EPA ratings than the Toyota.