Honda Fit Real World MPG

jacksan1

Best mileage: 29.6 MPG, 100% highway driving, paddle-shifting, 65 miles per hour max.

Sorry to hear about this, and frankly, I don't know what to say, except that our experience has been very different from yours. We also have a Sport AT, and with 100% highway driving, we have never gone below 35 MPG, with the best coming in at almost 40 MPG. We also drive at 65 to 70 mph maximum. We average over 31 MPG driving 50/50 city/highway. I have no clue why your results are so different from ours....

lokion

If you were doing 100% highway at 65mph, did you use the cruise control? What sort of paddle-shifting would you need to do on the highway going 65mph? Are you driving in the mountains or flat land?
Cruise control when I could, straight paddle-shifting when the traffic grew tighter... typical highway driving around here. Speeds ranging from 45-65mph typically. No need for mountains when there's traffic!

bobw3

From his other post, he indicated that his highway driving consisted of speeds between 45-65mph with the need to shift because of traffic. That's a lot different than driving 100% of the time at 65mph on cruise with only minor variations and no need to ever downshift.

jacksan1

As a matter of experiment, I would stop using the paddle shift and let the AT handle itself for a while in order to see whether that makes any difference in the MPG.

lokion

Thanks.. we tried that for two entire tanks last summer/fall, one with my wife driving and one with me driving. Some of the first tanks were a mix of AT and "manual" since we both drove before trying to nail down the problem. Before this car, my wife only drove AT. I'm the one who likes manual and can get by happily with the paddle shifters; she likes them now, too.

Both AT tanks were roughly 50/50 highway/city. Both of the tanks were 2 mpg below comparable paddle-shifting tanks we each drove. Two tanks is anecdotal I know, but AT was at best comparable to ,and definitely no improvement on, the paddle-shifting.

lokion

LOL... That's true. There's nowhere around here where there is so little traffic and enough lanes that I can drive cruise 100% of the time. My best trip (29.6mpg) was cruise for maybe 30% of it; almost all of the rest was in 5th with minor variations in speed to accommodate other traffic.

It's heartening to hear the other posts from people getting much better mileage. It does sound like there are some others getting low mileage though, some past the beginning while the car is getting worked in. Ours shouldn't be any longer, should it? I'm 99% sure it's not our driving. My wife is a good conservative driver, and my old manual Corolla was always at or above its rated mileage so I doubt my driving style hurts the mileage too much.

This is a fun and useful car otherwise; just need to figure out why the mileage is so low. Per an earlier suggestion, I'll look into what oil is going in during the oil changes.

jacksan1

I see. Another experiment that I would like to propose to you is this: Go out to a place where you can drive for at least an hour, preferably for two hours, using the cruise control. That would be a true highway condition. Fill your Fit up right before this test, and fill her up again immediately after the test. If your Fit's mileage is still poor (e.g., under 30 MPG or somewhere around it), then I would take the car into the dealership for a checkup.

The intent of this experiment is not so much to get an absolute number as to see whether a change in the driving condition has a major effect on the mileage. If nothing or little changes even when giving an ideal driving condition, something is wrong with your car.

fitluver

Now wait a minute!! I represent that remark as we have a Pilot and a CR-V.

In reality the Fit is an SUV with a tiny outside, incredibly versitale inside, and great fuel mileage.

So there!
Kip

LOL sorry kip but wouldnt you RATHER be filling up your fit and getting change for your twenty rather than the pilot or crv?

To be honest, I almost DIDNT buy a fit because I thought it looked like a "small SUV that couldnt possibly get good gas mileage".

While 35.44 is good overall, I really really want to get it up closer to 40.

I hate being smackdab in the middle.

fitluver

My suggestion to you would be to definately bring the car back to the dealership AND file a complaint with Honda Corporate (Customer Care) just to start a file about your problems if nothing else.

Have you considered taking a road trip for an afternoon?

It just seems much easier.

It shouldnt be that hard to travel the tank distance of a FIT in any given few hour afternoon off.

See what it is after that, and then when you go back to driving city. The pamphlet has great info in it. I find it useful after 20+ years of driving.

shneor

My BM was a year old yesterday, with 14K miles. Last week I completed a 2150-mile road trip. Mileage ranged from 39.99 to a low of 34.5 (a lot at 90 on I-5). My Fit was heavily loaded - no bounce in the suspension. Incidentally, I have also carried 5 adults in my Fit - comfortably. But I'm still a bit disappionted that I never broke 40 mpg.. I just changed the oil for the second time, too.

kipk

LOL sorry kip but wouldnt you RATHER be filling up your fit and getting change for your twenty rather than the pilot or crv?

Yes!

Kip

fitluver

My BM was a year old yesterday, with 14K miles. Last week I completed a 2150-mile road trip. Mileage ranged from 39.99 to a low of 34.5 (a lot at 90 on I-5). My Fit was heavily loaded - no bounce in the suspension. Incidentally, I have also carried 5 adults in my Fit - comfortably. But I'm still a bit disappionted that I never broke 40 mpg.. I just changed the oil for the second time, too.

fitluver

My BM was a year old yesterday, with 14K miles. Last week I completed a 2150-mile road trip. Mileage ranged from 39.99 to a low of 34.5 (a lot at 90 on I-5). My Fit was heavily loaded - no bounce in the suspension. Incidentally, I have also carried 5 adults in my Fit - comfortably. But I'm still a bit disappionted that I never broke 40 mpg.. I just changed the oil for the second time, too.

LOL damn that elusive hundreth of a mile!

If it makes you feel better, there is a .1 margin of error. Your .001 could simply be that margin of error. Dont sweat it and be happy.

I admit it tho, I share your frustration. I wanted to be up at fourty also.

How was your mpg during breakin? Has it improved drastically or notably since you got it thru breakin period?

Is this MT or AT?

Good luck with the magic 40!

anahita61

My second fillup, first real gauge of mileage:

30 mpg - manual transmission Sport

Whoops! Bad math! I was counting on a 10.8 gallon tank, instead of looking at EXACTLY how many gallons it took to re-fill (my first time actually having the refuel light come on - it went from 1/8 tank to that light awfully quickly, I thought).

Okay, recalculation provides with this lovely number (I wonder how many others are not doing a proper calculation?):

35.25 mpg

Yeah, now that's more like it. I re-filled, from the light being on at empty (or so I thought), only 9.2 gallons. I can definitely live with this number! :shades:

This is with a healthy mix of stop and go and highway (highway at 70 to 75 mph), no jackrabbit starts, but I have been learning to drive the manual transmission, i.e. get a good feel for it. My last car was a Toyota Tercel I drove for 22 years, also a manual, but the Fit has a really different feel.

I've also driven a bit with the a/c on as it is Pollen Season in Georgia right now. I'm thinking 30 mpg is not too bad, but not as good as I'd hoped. I'll keep experimenting with my driving, and trying not to use the a/c if I can help it - I suppose I could also check the tire pressure. I've only had the car for three weeks so I've not really checked any fluid levels or the tire pressure, assuming it's all as it should be. My bad.

anahita61

Anyone else have a problem with these numbers from FuelEconomy.gov?

Example: 335 miles divided by 9.5 gallons equals 35.5 miles per gallon.

nthomas

I keep my own records and also enter my info in on fueleconomy.gov. Their numbers have always matched mine (they round to the closest tenth of a mile). I tried your link, but I get an error when trying to get to the page. Not sure why it would be inaccurate like that....

bobw3

My daily commute is 30 miles round trip 75% highway and 25% suburb. On the last tank, I drove about 338 before filling up with 9.8gal for about 34.5mpg. I kept the speed between 65-70mph on the highway and took it easy on the gas in the suburb driving.

Now I'm on the next tank and I'm keeping the speeds at 70-75mph on the highway and I'm more of a lead-foot in my suburb driving. I just want to see the difference conservative driving makes. I'll post my results after my next fillup.

After 253.9 miles of driving more aggressively, I put in 7.529 gal = 33.7mpg. So my mpg was about 3% better for slowing down on the highway and being lighter on the gas in the subarbs...not too much, so I'll go back to my 70mph highway driving and just drive normally in the subarbs without worrying so much if the shift points are above 3000rpm.

About the only difference is that the weather was warmer the past 2 weeks possibly making the mpg better, but on the other hand I was using the AC on this last tank, while on the previous tank I never used the AC, so I think that evens out.

On 100% highway road trips, I was getting about 38mpg at about 70mph, a little lower at 75mph, and a little better if I kept the speed around 65mph. I have yet to do a long road trip at 100% 65mph, but I'm guessing I'd hit 40mmg.

fitluver

35.25 Not too shabby.

The tires have a range of pressures and I think 32 is recommended.

I heard some random number like it can lose about 1 psi a month, and, that one psi could affect mileage after a few months.

Have fun babying your baby.

fitluver

I keep my own records and also enter my info in on fueleconomy.gov. Their numbers have always matched mine (they round to the closest tenth of a mile). I tried your link, but I get an error when trying to get to the page. Not sure why it would be inaccurate like that....

I thought the most recent epa numbers were going to start to include factors outside their limited tests. I didnt pull up the numbers you linked but I have to wonder about their "new way of estimating".

nthomas

This isn't about the EPA estimates. It lets you enter in your information and keep track of your own mileage. It looks like they just messed up one of their examples on this page

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=calcMPG
Example: It took 9.5 gallons to completely fill the tank, and the trip odometer reads 335 miles.

But when I enter my miles driven and how many gallons I put into my tank, their system always comes up with the right number. I just find that it's a nice, simple way to track my MPG.

ten_year_man

I took my Sport MT on its first road trip, travelling 80-85 MPH on the interstate with 3 passengers plus backpacking gear. Averaged 35 MPG.

hsipes

I drive the MT, Fit Sport. My first fill up was 40.3 mpg. My second was 37.5 mpg. I drive a mix of highway/rural/city to get to work every day. For about 80% of my drive I use the cruise at 60 mph. I noticed my MPG dropped as soon as I filled up in Louisville. They have 10% ethanol in all of their pumps. Oh, if you thought ethanol improved MPG check again. It saves us from buying foreign oil and it is good for the environment and the local farmers, but you will see decreased MPG. I am going to try to fill up in my rural county to get rid of the ethanol to see if my MPG improves.

Henry

dromedarius

There is no doubt ethanol will ding your mileage. My '01 Chevy Prizm gets 38-39 mpg on the highway on pure dyno juice, but that drops a mile or two per gallon with 10% ethanol. The reason is ethanol only has 75% of the energy per unit. I only buy the ethanol when the price gap is substantial enough to offset the mileage penalty.

fitluver

I drive the MT, Fit Sport. My first fill up was 40.3 mpg. My second was 37.5 mpg. I drive a mix of highway/rural/city to get to work every day. For about 80% of my drive I use the cruise at 60 mph. I noticed my MPG dropped as soon as I filled up in Louisville. They have 10% ethanol in all of their pumps. Oh, if you thought ethanol improved MPG check again. It saves us from buying foreign oil and it is good for the environment and the local farmers, but you will see decreased MPG. I am going to try to fill up in my rural county to get rid of the ethanol to see if my MPG improves.

Henry

Still, you are getting good mileage.

Mine is creeping up, happy to say and no ethanol here I don't think.

This week I am experimenting with NOT using cruise. It may be hard to tell now that it is warming up a bit.

coloradocraig

My manual sport FIT just turned 5000 miles, so time for a report on fuel milage. My worst tank was this winter during our cold snowy spell and with the ethonol in the gas - 34.8 mpg. Best tank was on a road trip in eastern Colorado - 42.1 mpg. Overall average since I bought the car is 37.7 mpg. Only two short road trips, the rest of driving is suburban/city driving in Boulder/Longmont area. Car is stock except that I run 37 psi in the tires. Use 85 octane gas which works fine here at altitude. My oil reminder reads 20%, so I'll be doing the first oil change in the next month or so - going with Mobil 1 synthetic. Overall, I am VERY pleased with the car and the gas mileage.

fitforless

First fillup after taking posession from the dealer on my brand spanking new Fit Sport Automatic:

281.2 on 8.828 gallons = 31.85 MPG

Mostly freeway, some hills.

fitforless

What is "the ILP"?

kipk

Idle Learn Proceedure. Lots of posts refering to it, here, on the Pilot MPG forum Post 201 or so, and on the CR-V MPG forum.

You did real good on your first tank.

Kip

fitluver

First fillup after taking posession from the dealer on my brand spanking new Fit Sport Automatic:

281.2 on 8.828 gallons = 31.85 MPG

Mostly freeway, some hills.

I believe the first tank of gas is the one they ship the car with and it never really is a full tank of gas.

I filled my first tank up 32 miles into it and put 1.8 gallons in at the time. IF that were included in my calculations, it would be what, about 17 mpg?

I start my calculations from first full tank after that, personally.

HTH.

No doubt next tank will be better for you.

Congrats on the Fit!

fitluver

I decided to experiment and see if my car does better for a week without cruise control.

It is rather hilly here, so I decided to give it a go.

Anyone else get all scientific like that?

subirats

I have had my 2007 Honda Fit Sport AT since Oct 06. After driving it close to 6000 miles (yes, I have only 3 miles commute to work!). Recently I have started to really gauge my mileage. So I have started to fill the tank all the way to the brim of the fuel tank. The Fit can be filled up to approximately 13.6 gallons (specs state 10.8 gallons).

I drive in flatland Florida and sometimes drive on the interstate around 75-80 MPH and get around 28 MPG. But when I drive at the speed limit on the highways, I can get up to 37MPG. In town driving, short distances I get approximately 25MPG. YES IT IS A GREAT GAS SAVER compared to my 1998 Isuzu Trooper which gets 11/14 MPG in the city/highway.

wulybugr

I now have 13,000 miles. My suburb drive is consistently
34-35. As posted early in this game, I drive at 2600 RPM
except to pass etc. Usually 62 MPH, use cruise when i am open road. Have Mobil 1 and keep 40# air in tires. have got as high as 44.625 on hwy. You must keep the rpms, below where thw v-tec kicks in. love the car My milage took a definate increase at about 11,000 miles. Also-pls keep in mind the computer adjusts to your driving pattern. It takes about one tank to get it to change. When I go on long road trips, after first tank I get 2-3 mpg more.
Likewise, after I get home, that tank gives me 2-3 mpg more than the next fillup at home. Love the car. use cruise on flat country, and on hilly areas, do not. Going down hills let it run faster to get a start on the next hill. cruise keeps you constant speed up and down. Oh Yes: I have put in 11.5- to 12 gallons on occasion, just after my fuel light came on.

bobw3

12-13 gal??? must be in Canada.

fitluver

I have had my 2007 Honda Fit Sport AT since Oct 06. After driving it close to 6000 miles (yes, I have only 3 miles commute to work!). Recently I have started to really gauge my mileage. So I have started to fill the tank all the way to the brim of the fuel tank. The Fit can be filled up to approximately 13.6 gallons (specs state 10.8 gallons).

OK wait, the guys that made the car have to know what the size of the tank is. There is just so much room under that seat.

I find it far more likely that the gas station is ripping people off.

Is this the same gas station over and over again? If it is, try another station and then if you are back to 10.8, call the state department of weights and measures or some such.

That just doesnt seem right.

How many miles do you have on your tank when you are putting that much in?

Still, congrats on the gas mileage. Sounds pretty good overall.

fitluver

My oil reminder reads 20%, so I'll be doing the first oil change in the next month or so - going with Mobil 1 synthetic. Overall, I am VERY pleased with the car and the gas mileage.

Can you tell me about the price difference with the synthetic and the "how long it lasts"?

Figure 6-7K average for "regular oil".

Is it worth it to go synthetic?

fitluver

I took my Sport MT on its first road trip, travelling 80-85 MPH on the interstate with 3 passengers plus backpacking gear. Averaged 35 MPG.

You could probably boost that simply by keeping the RPMs under the 3400-3500 rpm mark. I hear that at that point when the vtech engine kicks in, it really jacks up your fuel usage.

Hope that helps.

fitluver

I now have 13,000 miles. My suburb drive is consistently
34-35. As posted early in this game, I drive at 2600 RPM
except to pass etc. Usually 62 MPH, use cruise when i am open road. Have Mobil 1 and keep 40# air in tires. have got as high as 44.625 on hwy. You must keep the rpms, below where thw v-tec kicks in. love the car My milage took a definate increase at about 11,000 miles.

This gives me hope!

I wonder if the spring thaw is helpign also.

jkandell

Just got my best tank thus far, 39.19 mpg. This was 31% highway and 69% urban (rush hour, lots of lights, school zones, etc). I am determined to break 40. My average for the 2182 miles I've owned the car is 35.6, mostly urban. I think moving my tires up to 40psi has helped a lot.

jethaden

The engine computer will give you no more miles with Mobil-1 than you would get with regular oil. My first change was about 5700 and my second with Mobil-1 about the same again. You pay the extra for a cleaner engine, not for increased oil life, unless you intentionally skip the the oil reminder and decide yourself how long you will run the oil for (a foolish thing to do during warranty). So, is $6/qt worth it? I choose to, but many would argue the logic.

bobw3

After another 330 miles of 75%hwy & 25% subarb, driving 70+mph on the hwy and not paying attention to the RPM in the subarb driving, I had another 33.7MPG. Considering the Auto is rated at 31/38, it's not too bad. Maybe I'll try the next tank at 60-65mph and see how it goes.

shamydoo

I have approx. 7500 miles on my Fit Sport Auto. I was wondering how much of an increase did you see when your Fit reached 11000 miles? Also, I thought the Fit had a 10.8 gallon fuel tank. Have you been able to fill it to 11.5 to 12 gallons? I hope to achieve better gas mileage from my Fit. I know that keeping the RPM's down helps and not kicking in the V-tec will improve gas mileage. I have only been able to get 25-29 miles per gallon since I purchased my Fit in August of 06. I have taken it to the dealer for an idle relearn procedure( Did not help). I hope to see an improvement when the gas mixture change back to summer mix. I will try inflating my tires to 40 psi and see if that helps. My driving is 40/60 city/highway. I love this car but I'm not impressed with the gas mileage for its size. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Maybe I should have waited to buy a stick shift.

anahita61

25-29 mpg would be disappointing, I agree. I'm glad I bought a manual (I haven't driven an automatic for about 23 years, except rental cars), and I'm getting a consistent 35 mpg per tankful. I do need to check the tire pressure - this forum keeps reminding me, thankfully - because I would like to get closer to 40.

nthomas

I'm at just over 3500 miles since I bought my Fit at the end of February, and my overall average is 33mpg. I'm pretty happy with that. My lowest was just over 30mpg (first tank), and my best was a little over 35mpg. I commute a little over 40 miles each way to work, about 90% of which is on the expressway, plus in-town errands, so probably a 70/30 highway/city mix overall. The mpg numbers have been pretty steady for the last few tanks, even though my driving has gotten a little more aggressive (not watching the RPMs as much, cruising at slightly higer speeds on the expressway)

I'm going to try upping the psi on the tires to see if I can get it any higher, and hopefully the weather will warm back up so I can see what effect that has.

kipk

I have taken it to the dealer for an idle relearn procedure( Did not help).

shamydoo,
From the experiences others have had at their dealers concerning the ILP, there is a GREAT chance the dealer did nothing more than Hide the car from you for a while.

Keep in mind the ILP has to be done, starting with a "COLD" engine. This would require the car to sit for several hours to allow the engine to cool to outside air temps. Then the ILP has to be done where the car is sitting. If it is cranked and moved to another location before starting the ILP nothing will be accomplished.

Kip

shamydoo

Kip, what post has the ILP in it? I agree, the dealer may not have done anything. My presets on my radio was not lost after taking it to the dealership (due to disconnecting the battery). They claim that they used a computer to do the ILP. I would have done it myself but the outside temp was too cold. It would have taken forever for the fan to kick on. It's starting to warm up here in ohio, so I may try again. If I can get 30 mpg on the average than I'll be happy.

Thanks,
Gretchen

kipk

Gretchen,

You can do it yourself. Go to Post 202 (page 11) or so of the Pilot Real World MPG forum for simple instructions. Keep in mind there are NAY sayers in our mist. I say nothing ventured, nothing gained. Our Pilot and CR-V both get excellent mileage. Read all of page 11. The ILP will not help you if it was done correctly during the new car GET READY. However, if you do it yourself following the instructions carefully, you will know that it has been done correctly and you may gain bennefits.

boughtalemon, "Honda Pilot Real World MPG" #190, 26 Dec 2006 10:14 am

You don't have to stand there while the car warms to operating temps and the fans come on. What you are after is the fans to cycle twice and idle an additional 10 minutes. So if you crank and go inside for 30 minutes in real cold weather, when you go back out you may have to only wait a short time to observe the 2 cycles. Doesn't matter if they cycled before you got out there. What matters is that you observe at least 2 and the car idles at
least 10 additional minutes. Changes are good the fans will cycle some during those 10 minutes.

Kip

shamydoo

Thanks for the information. I will try again and see if there is any change.

--Gretchen

fitluver

The engine computer will give you no more miles with Mobil-1 than you would get with regular oil. My first change was about 5700 and my second with Mobil-1 about the same again. You pay the extra for a cleaner engine, not for increased oil life, unless you intentionally skip the the oil reminder and decide yourself how long you will run the oil for (a foolish thing to do during warranty). So, is $6/qt worth it? I choose to, but many would argue the logic.

fitluver

The engine computer will give you no more miles with Mobil-1 than you would get with regular oil. My first change was about 5700 and my second with Mobil-1 about the same again. You pay the extra for a cleaner engine, not for increased oil life, unless you intentionally skip the the oil reminder and decide yourself how long you will run the oil for (a foolish thing to do during warranty). So, is $6/qt worth it? I choose to, but many would argue the logic.

Oops, try again.

I was also curious if you get better mileage with the synthetic. Not necessarily you, but the bigger you in general.

That might argue the logic further for paying a few dollars more.

If you know, great!

bobw3

Seems like I'm getting 33.4 or 33.7 or somewhere right in there if I'm driving in the low 70s mph or right at 65mph on the highway portion of my commute. My commute is 15 miles one way at 75% highway 25% suburb.

I'm driving 340 miles (nearly all highway for the weekend, so we'll see what I get. Round trip is 680 miles plus some driving around while we're there. I'm hoping to get 40MPG on the long summer highway trips, so we'll see.