So i havent been here for a while now & my car now have 800ml on it. I was getting freaking 16mpg on this at the beginning. then, i try some of the method here like, pumping the tire up to 35-37psi and keeping the rpm at under 2.5. that seem to help a little. i got about 20mpg by doing that. then i put in shell super and i luckily got 26mpg. I know that i'm suppose be happy and all considering, that it jump from 16mpg-26mpg (with an additional $2 for shell gas). i'm driving like an old granny; when im at the red-light green light, three car pass me by before i actually pick up to speed limit. and i'm not having as much fun like how i would like because im being so careful. I went to the dealer the other day, and they did the ILP test thing. they said everything was good, but if it continue then that really suck for me.
I havent been reading but can you guy update me a little bit on what else i can do to get better gas mileage. Any help will be appreciated :confuse:
spec: Base A/t fit mainly city driving Good road condition, 93% flat surface 4-7 stoplight one way commute 35-45 speed limit
Can you go into some detail concerning the dealer doing the ILP? For instance, did you wait while they did it? If you waited, how long? Did they keep the car over night!
For your typical commute, how far is it and how much time is required each way. How many traffic lights do you actually get stopped at? When you get stopped by one, do you have to wait through more than one RED for that light.
It's been a while since I posted, I was so excited about my recent road-trip that I wanted to share it with you:
Long story short, achieved 45.32 MPG driving from IL to MN yesterday. 436 miles, 9.62 gallons. Now, the drive down to IL wasn't as good, however the driving mix on that particular tank was 80% highway, 20% commuting. I was able to reach 39.78 MPG on that run.
The great mileage I got yesterday was partially due to a tail-wind (it wasn't directly behind me, it was a quartering wind) at 6 MPH to 12 MPH. I am sure that helped.
Otherwise, I kept the cruise control set at 70 MPH (which was over the highway and did not need to use the air conditioning.
As a point of reference, I normally average 34-36 MPG in regular daily driving which is a combination of commuting-highway (40-65 MPH), and around town stop & go (30-45 MPH).
My Fit is a 5 speed manual, tire pressure is maintained at 37-38 PSI.
Fuel up here in the midwest is 10% Ethanol (even the gasoline I filled up with in IL was 10% Eth.).
I was absolutely thrilled with the 45 MPG from the road trip.
I haven't been on the forums for a long time, so I may be covering old ground here, but I have a few questions for you:
-- When you fill the tank, do you fill it all the way? By that, I mean do you fill it until the pump shuts off automatically? I don't mean that you should "top it off", as I've learned that that is not a good thing to do.
-- Before you fill up again, do you let the fuel gauge get down to 1/8 or less? Have you ever waited until the gas pump light comes on?
-- If you're only getting 20mpg, that means from a full tank until the gas pump light comes on will be 200 miles or less. Do you use your trip meter to keep track of each tank of gas? Is it really showing less than 200 miles between fill ups?
-- Can you post some example numbers from some recent fill ups so we can see the miles and gallons pumped to see if we spot anything unusual?
-- Do you have any sense of whether or not the idle speed (at a stop) seems high?
-- I'm not familiar with winter and summer gas mixes. Do you live in an area where the gas mix could be causing a problem? Do you know other fit owners in the area?
I do fill my tank all the way up, until the gas pump shut off automatically. I drive until the empty light turn on. i usually get under 200 mile each fill. I don't used the trip part due to confusion, so i just used a math equation with the mileage part to determine my mpg. here is one of my equation.
Example of my Data 3rd tank:
Costco/3.29pricepergallon/Premium/FullTank 8.9gal Rpm X1000 :2-3 Trip per tank : 8-12 Weather :Clear / Fair mile start & end : 190ml Start– 335ml End City/Freeway : 90%city -10%freeway Equation: 335ml – 190ml = 145ml/8.9gal = 16.3mpg 1.6mpgFRW – 14.7CiTy
Only my daily commute, i usually stop 4-6 one way at a stop light for at 8-14 second. There is not many fit owner here where i live. I've only seen 3 other fit around town (with a population of over 350000 people.)I don't know what mix gas is... can you explain? I usually drive 20mile one way. For the ILP testing, i did not stay to see the dealer people perform it. but i left my car there for 3hrs and when i came back, they said they ran the test because i told them that i was having problem with my gas mileage.
alright then, if you guy have any more question plz feel free to ask. and thank u for all of your advice!
There are no test to run for the ILP that I'm aware of.
It only takes a few minutes of your time to do the ILP. The engine needs to be cold, like sitting for several hours and not moved until the ILP has been performed.
It may not buy you a thing, but you will be able to eliminate one thing.
I'm, not an expert on gas mixes or "blends", but it is my understanding that gas stations sell a different type of fuel in the summer to cut down on pollution during the hot months. The summer gasoline is "better" and results in better mileage. I'm not sure if this is done all across the country, though, because I've never noticed a difference in my mileage between winter and summer. Maybe this is done mostly in places that get especially cold in the Winter or especially hot in the Summer. Where do you live?
I guess one way to tell if it is the fuel in your area causing the problem, is to ask friends who have economy cars and see what kind of mileage they are getting. If they aren't doing as well as they should too, then maybe it's the gasoline partially at fault.
I was hoping that we could spot some "silly" cause for all this if you posted your data. Like maybe the gas station's pumps were way off and it told you you were putting 15 gallons in your 10.8 gallon tank! Or maybe like there was an error in the math. None of that seems to be the case. I guess the only other possibility of that sort would be that your odometer is wrong. Have you measured a known distance and verified that your odometer is measuring distance correctly?
The reports I've seen like yours are baffling to me, because I can't figure out how a mass-produced car with a computer of some sort could vary so much. I could drive my car pretty crazily and still do better than 30 mpg. But that's here where I live using the gas sold in this area and maybe that's important.
If I come across any other explanation for this type of variance, I'll post it here. But, so far I've pretty much exhausted my ideas.
I have the same problem- you can noticeably improve milage by being sure the tires are properly inflated- i have my fronts up to 34 psi and watched milage rise appreciably! try it!
Just took a weekend trip to the Smokey Mtns. It's about a 340 mile trip and I kept the cruise on at 70mph, even up and down the hills. I got 34.7mpg. I found that on a lot of the hills, if I lowered the speed to 60-65mph, then the transmission would downshift to 4th and the RPMs would go up to 3000 on the hills, but if I kept the speed at 70mph, then the RPMs were at 2700-2800 and the engine had enough torque to keep the car in 5th gear. So going slower isn't always better.
In the Smokey Mtns, I had 31.7mpg because I was driving up and down really twisty roads going 10-20mph following other cars that were stopping to look for deer and bears along the road...Probably the worst type of driving for mpg...really slow stop and go up and down steep hills with and so I was happy with 31.7mpg for those 200miles. There was a mix of some 35-45mph, but not too much. And there was a lot of stop and go traffic in some of the towns too.
Driving back I kept the speed at 70mph or a little higher where the speed limit was 70mph and right at 70mph where the limit was 65mph. I've already driven 350 miles on that tank and the fuel light hasn't come on yet, so this tank should be pretty good too. This driving was in southern Ohio, Kentucky & Tenn and I had the AC on the whole way back.
The paddle shifter work great in the twisty mountain roads.
-- Before you fill up again, do you let the fuel gauge get down to 1/8 or less? Have you ever waited until the gas pump light comes on?
-- If you're only getting 20mpg, that means from a full tank until the gas pump light comes on will be 200 miles or less. Do you use your trip meter to keep track of each tank of gas? Is it really showing less than 200 miles between fill ups?
-- Can you post some example numbers from some recent fill ups so we can see the miles and gallons pumped to see if we spot anything unusual?
I am not original poster but: A few thoughts I had were that there have been times when I filled up just over 200 miles and gotten "less than desirable mpg".
Thing is, when I average it all out over a period of time, it shows I am doing quite well at around 36 mpg.
May I suggest to all of you that you go to www.fueleconomy.gov and take a few minutes to enter your mileage and gas info into their database. It will give other buyers incentive to buy a smaller, more gas friendly car like the Fit if they see it actually gets the mileage promised.
Also on the gas light issue. I am not sure of the relevance but after over 2K miles, I finally saw the light. I was filling up sooner and I do not believe it made any difference as can be seen with my overall good gas mileage.
I wouldnt put the premium gas in there. The car is not designed for it and it is a waste of money and in some circles of conspiracy theorists, it could ruin your gas mileage.
Just consider what your old car was getting in terms of "expected mileage" given your normal commute and compare it to what you are getting currently.
You could also consider taking a road trip to help break in the car on higher speeds.
Thanks alot for the idea Mike. On my next trips, i will check the distance and the odometer reading to see if it the same.
From my data so far, it seem that i'm getting better gas mileage with Super and Regular. Premium for some reason seem to waste my gas even faster. but i never seem to go pas the 20 mpg. I'm wondering if my car is broken in yet? The car have 898 mile on it. I am so frustrated, i bought this car expecting one thing and then i get another.
if I drive like a maniac, hard accelration, 85 on the freeway, stop and go, etc, I'll still get 30-32 mpg. While using anything other than regular gas does nothing but waste your money, I still say the problem is with your car, or the computer, or something.
Hey You guys, i found this stuff saling on craigslist. Do you guy think it ligit? http://4ecorp.ws/4tunate/watch the video and tell me if you think it that this can really save gas. if it does, i would totally invest in this product! Dam I'm desperate.hahah
For all of you guy getting over 30mpg city, CAN YOU PUT DOWN WHAT GAS STATION YOU GUY GOT UR GAS AND IF IT REGULAR, SUPER, OR PREMIUM? This will really help us all out, THANKS.
My Sport Auto gets 32-33 in highway driving, no matter what brand of gas I buy (I have never tired any ethanol blends). I always by Regular and I don't think to much about trying for optimal mileage, I just drive 70-80 on the freeways. The Fit has just over 5K miles and is gradually gaining in mpg. I get 29 mpg in town.
Are you saying that posts under your name are not being made by you? If so, please drop me an email with the specifics - pat AT edmunds.com. We'll get it straightened out.
My gas mileage varies from 35 (absolute minimum) to over 38 (mainly highway). I have a base manual, over one year old (almost 15K miles). I normally fill up with Chevron.
I've had a Sport AT since last September, now at 4,900 miles. Regularly get 22-24 mpg city driving (very mixed, actually - alot of freeway miles are included). Very disappointed in this mileage, the Acura CL I traded for this Fit got almost the same mileage, am feeling stupid to have bought this piece of junk.
Have taken it to the dealer twice...first time (3 months ago) they said tire pressure was low (yeah, right); even after they "fixed" the tire pressure, the mpg remained the same. Second time (last week) the service rep had a fairly well-rehearsed response: he said the break-in for this Fit engine was 10,000 miles (!?!?!?), I need to wait until then to see if it improves. Also said gas additives this time of year make mileage go down. (Then why has it been the same since I bought it 6 months ago? What a bogus load of crap.) Then he didn't want to discuss it further. Even if what he said were true, but why do so many Fit owners seem to be getting >30mpg at mileage far less than 10,000?
I think there is a problem with this car, and Honda refuses to deal with it. Definitely the last Honda I ever buy! Now I tell everyone who expresses an interest in buying a Fit what crappy gas mileage my car gets, and their interest quickly goes cold. Without good mileage, this car is not worth it. Smart people wanting good gas efficiency will steer clear of this car!
I just passed 1000 miles on my Sport Automatic Fit, and my average mpg is 23. My best was 25 on a highway trip, and my worst was 21. Most of my driving is almost 100% hilly city, rarely getting into 5th gear.
I used to drive with a fairly heavy foot, but I've been accelerating very slowly lately, coasting a lot, and even putting the car in neutral going down long hills. I've been using Sport mode almost exclusively, up-shifting manually as soon as I can, so I'm in 4th gear at 21mph.
My tires were a little under-inflated at 28psi so I inflated them to 40psi. The tires are rated at up to 51psi. Is it ok to over-inflate the tires according to the car manufacturer, but still within the tire's rating?
Here is a complete mileage log from the first fillup. Changing my driving and tire pressure did little to improve my mpg, as you can see:
What, if anything, am I doing wrong? I do usually drive with the windows down (I smoke in the car all the time) but I don't use the air conditioner. Could that make the difference?
Edit: all the gas around me is "up to 10% ethanol". I have no idea how much of it is actually ethanol.
I also noticed that you're re-filling your tank even when you haven't used very much gas. I know that in my Fit, when I wait longer to fill the tank, my mpg seems to be better. Some of my best tanks have been when the low fuel light has come on. Try running the tank lower before you fill up and see if it helps at all.
The terrain you must drive in is not exactly a formula for good mileage. It is possible that you are actually forcing poorer mileage by using the sport mode and shift paddles.
I would try driving in normal mode and let the computer pick the correct gear and engine RPM for the circumstances.
Try to gently give enough throttle so that shifts will take place around 2700 rpm or so. On really steep hills, the computer may decide to go to a higher RPM before shifting. That's OK! Let it do it's job! Forcing an upshift can result in engine not in correct RPM range for the task.
Remember no Jack rabbit starts, no tail gateing, coast to a stop using as little brakes as possible, etc..
My last tank was 35.4mpg in mixed highway/suburb driving. Seems like it getting a little better now that the weather is warmer. I keep my highway speeds about 70mph in 65mph zones, and in the suburbs I don't race but I'm not too soft on the gas pedal. I'm at over 8000 miles and my maintenance minder is at 5% for my oil change/tire rotation, so I need to get that done. This will be the first time I've had to do anything to the car (I bought it last Nov).
I've stopped using the paddle shifters for my current tank of gas, and the car usually shifts between 2500 and 3000 rpms. I will also try letting the tank run down, but I cannot see how this would have an effect on mpg, unless the car is really that much lighter with less than a half a tank, increasing the efficiency.
I have found that when I start off from a complete stop, the tach will go up to almost 3200 rpms sometimes before shifting to 2nd, especially if I'm going up a hill.
I'm going to try the idle learn procedure this weekend. Though my car dealer was very friendly, after I took delivery, I noticed I had no antenna, and that the mirror brace wasn't installed either. The fact that these 2-minutes procedures weren't done makes me think a 50-minute procedure was also not done, so I could probably benefit from it.
You may already know this, but to get the auto to upshift when accelerating, just let of the gas for a split-second and it will shift into the next higher gear. Or you can just use the paddle shifter for upshifting only.
I've been getting a steady 35 mpg since I bought my car about eight weeks ago, but with all the talk about correct tire inflation I finally checked my tire pressure yesterday for the first time. I had only driven about an eighth of a mile, to the closest gas station with air, thinking I might need to inflate the front tires which look just a tad low, and I checked the pressure to find out that all four are at 51 psi!
The recommendation is 32, so I'm shocked. They don't "look" over-inflated, and the ride is fine, the mileage acceptable. Should I "bleed" them? Why would the manufacturer (or do you think it was the dealer?) over-inflate? Could it be my gauge? It's old, but I never found it inaccurate in the past - one of those with the white measuring stick that pops out.
I, for one, would be reluctant to inflate them over 40PSI and drive on the interstate a lot in the heat for fear of a blowout (hot temps + high speeds raises PSI from 7-9 PSI over cold pressure). Did you measure your pressure right after driving it a few miles? If so, they would read higher pressure than actual "cold" pressure.
Buy a digital gauge and check it again. 51 would be considerably over inflated and your ride should be pretty choppy. It would also be unsafe. Max rec is likely 44 psi. I wouldn't run much over 34-36 as you lose traction and increase tire wear, but many run at 42 for improved mileage.
In your kind of circumstance, I would definitely try one thing in order to see whether or not something is indeed wrong with your Fit. Create an ideal mileage condition, and see if the mileage improves. Is there any relatively flat terrain in your area where you can drive at a sustained speed of, say, 55 mph, for an hour? If you drove in a place like that and still got a bad mileage, then I would conclude that there is indeed a problem with your car. It need not be an absolutely flat terrain or anything. Basically, give your Fit a driving setting that you think should give you the best mileage, and see what the MPG reading is then. If that number does not vary significantly from a non-idea driving condition, then, again, there may be something wrong with your Fit.
Thanks, viamede. A coworker bought me a new gauge today, but I haven't tried it yet. It's not digital though. I will say that the ride is very smooth, and the front tires actually have that look like they're a little low, so hopefully it's just my gauge not reading correctly... but then that would mean I incorrectly inflated the tires on my old Tercel for years. Though they never seemed to be underinflated... this is weird.
I think there is a problem with this car, and Honda refuses to deal with it. Definitely the last Honda I ever buy! Now I tell everyone who expresses an interest in buying a Fit what crappy gas mileage my car gets, and their interest quickly goes cold. Without good mileage, this car is not worth it. Smart people wanting good gas efficiency will steer clear of this car!
I am a smart person who just filled up my fit for 38 mpg. (overall after ten tanks of gas I am getting over 36.) I love it!
It turns out it was my gauge! I got a new gauge yesterday and checked the pressure to find it read 34 psi. I tried my old gauge again and if I barely put it on the tire stem it read 34, but when I pressed it on all the way, like I normally would with my old car, it shot up to 51.
At least I know the pressure is actually okay now! Whew.
I filled up my Fit last night, and got my best mileage so far - 36.9mpg. I'm not sure why this tank was so much better....previously I've been averaging 33. Since I'm driving an AT, I'm really happy with that number. Hopefully the trend will continue :shades:
I'm going to try the idle learn procedure this weekend. Though my car dealer was very friendly, after I took delivery, I noticed I had no antenna, and that the mirror brace wasn't installed either. The fact that these 2-minutes procedures weren't done makes me think a 50-minute procedure was also not done, so I could probably benefit from it
Assuming the New Car Get Ready procedures were not done, what else would need to be done in addition to the ILP? Everything seems to be working just fine, other than my low mileage.
Also, can someone explain to me how filling up when the tank gets very low will affect mpg? I do wait till I know it will take at least 4 gallons, and I realize that it may be more accurate to put more in, but I don't understand why putting in 9 or 6 gallons would matter, as long as I fill it the same way each time.
I filled up my Fit last night, and got my best mileage so far - 36.9mpg. I'm not sure why this tank was so much better....previously I've been averaging 33. Since I'm driving an AT, I'm really happy with that number. Hopefully the trend will continue
I have been making notes about the weather as I track my mileage. The cold weather REAALLY seems to be the most consistant negative effect. Now that it is warming, my mileage continues to improve/stay at an even great level of 38.1 mpg. That will continue to raise my overall MPGS.
I am a bit anxious to see how much I get when I have to start running AC. The last two tanks have been consistant 38.1. I would like to see if it levels off at 38 for a time before having to run AC but it might warm up too quick for that.
I am glad to say the tires still have 35 psi from when I adjusted them about two months ago.
The other day, 4 of us with A/C on all the way, made a 150 mile round trip and got a little over 34 mpg. That's w/ a Sport AT in central Texas. Everyone seemed very comfortable.
The other day, 4 of us with A/C on all the way, made a 150 mile round trip and got a little over 34 mpg. That's w/ a Sport AT in central Texas. Everyone seemed very comfortable.
Bubba
Great! I have not driven too many people in the car for any real length of time. Mostly just short stuff around town.
My overall mpgs is a bit over 36. In my opinion that overall really is the key/final number. And with only about ten tanks of gas, that 36 creeps up and up with every tank. So far, 4 of 10 tanks were 38.1 so with a few more of those, it has nowhere to go but up!
I love saving money on gas. This is such a neat car!
Your question re: Mobil-1 Oil got me looking at my overall MPG so far (since 23 April 2006). The following are the basic statistics, based on trip miles per fill up. FIT Sport Manual. Suburban driving does not generally include any highway, just residential town (to/from work 8 miles). Somewhat aggressive driving style. Highway is long trips generally at 5 MPH over speed limit (~75 cruise), passing up to 80. I switched to Mobil-1 at about 6500 miles.
Total mileage: 13237 Accounted for by gas receipts: 11562
Miles 0-6500: Suburban: 31.20 Highway: 35.84
Miles 6500-13237 Suburban: 31.37 Highway: 36.25
Miles 12000-13237 (Latest Trip) Highway: 37.66
Conclusion: Mobil-1 does not significantly improve gas mileage. The improvement seen here could just as well be the engine breaking in.
I would like to commend you for your desire to achieve greater MPG. I suspect that your motivation is to save money. The cost of fuel is going up and up. We need more people to take the same steps and do the same type of investigation that you have done. As a matter of fact we need to do more. If everyone would do more, to achieve greater MPG, it would be a great help in putting a lid on these advancing fuel prices, plus it would help in the fight against terrorism. [That’s another topic for later.]
My story is as follows: I drive a Ford Ranger pickup as a courier for an Environmental Analysis Lab. I drive about 850 miles per week. I increased my MPG from an average of 27 mpg to 29.8mpg. It works out that for every .07 cents I spend on the additive I save about .22 cents. That’s good economics. If you’d like more free info; you can contact me by email which is listed in my profile.
True, I've found that the type of gas one buys does not make a significant difference in MPG. I use Chevron with Techron. [not my choice, bosses idea.] However, I still got an increase of about 10%. See my earlier post for the complete story. Good luck with your efforts.
I did the ILP this past weekend. I turned off all the acecssories then disconnected the batter for about 5 minutes. Before I disconnected the battery, I could hear a high-pitched beep coming from somewhere in the engine, but once I was finished, I could no longer get it to make that noise. Any ideas what that was?
Anyway, I sat in the car for about 15 minutes waiting to hear the radiator fan turn on, but I never heard it, so I simply let the car idle for about an hour. After I restarted the car, I put in the radio code and all my presets came back. I did not need to reset the "Auto" for the window, though. The car seems to be shifting from 1st to 2nd a bit smoother now. I will continue to keep track of my mileage and keep everyone updated, keeping in mind that the current tank will likely be a bit lower than expected due to getting 0 mpg while the car was idling.
Hopefully, I'll see a good increase in my efficiency. If not, I didn't lose anything other than the bit of gas used while idling. I'm quite jealous of the people who are getting 30-35 mpg in the city who aren't even trying, while I need to work so hard to get a measly 25 mpg. :mad:
Other than my low mileage, though, I'm quite happy with everything else in my Fit! My question is are there other things that I should do that my dealer didn't do to improve my driving experience? I'm assuming my dealer did nothing, as the antenna wasn't even put on!
Hopefully, I'll see a good increase in my efficiency. If not, I didn't lose anything other than the bit of gas used while idling. I'm quite jealous of the people who are getting 30-35 mpg in the city who aren't even trying, while I need to work so hard to get a measly 25 mpg.
I hope so for you too! I want everyone in a Fit to be getting great mileage.
Not sure who touched on what with you (having a brainfart with short term memory loss) and do not recall if anyone mentioned checking tire pressure. Proper pressure and sometimes slightly above the "recommended" will help it improve mpgs. Also, keeping it below 3500 RPMs will be of great help because once you hit 3500 rpms on the tachometer, the vtech engine kicks in and uses a great deal more fuel. I have found that it is at 3500 rpms on my MT Sport somewhere around 70-78 mph.
You could fill it up sooner rather than wait till whole tank is empty, so you can guage your mpgs better. Also, consider taking it on the highway for a spell, just to enjoy the ride and try to get the engine used to running further for longer periods of time.
Thanks for the reply. I've been browsing the forums here and on fitfreak.net for a while, so yes, I'm already doing all of what you said, and unfortunately, hasn't helped much.
My tires are all at 40psi, and I try to keep my RPMs below 2500. I've seen my tach hit about 3200 going up a hill from a stop, but that's as high as it usually goes. I coast to stops, and accelerate fairly slowly but steadily. I'm going to let the current tank run down pretty far to average out the time spent idling, but I usually fill up at about half. I have not had the opportunity to check out highway-only mpg, but I will as soon as I can.
To clarify my situation, my commute is about 10 miles, about 2 are suburban with about 4 traffic lights, and the rest is city with 30(!) lights and one stop sign. The whole trip takes about 40 minutes, and the terrain is hilly. They aren't steep hills at all, but no part of my trip is actually flat. I can't compare my mileage to my old car, since I got my fit the same day I started this job! I've been ranging from 20 mpg to 25 mpg, nothing in the teens, but nothing in the upper 20s either. I hope doing the ILP boosts it up at least a bit!
That is pretty severe city mileage. A stick shift would help under those conditions, but when you average 15 mph mileage is never going to be very good.
Go visit some relatives 200 miles away, and keep near the speed limit. That should show what the Fit is capable of.
Comments
i'm driving like an old granny; when im at the red-light green light, three car pass me by before i actually pick up to speed limit. and i'm not having as much fun like how i would like because im being so careful.
I went to the dealer the other day, and they did the ILP test thing. they said everything was good, but if it continue then that really suck for me.
I havent been reading but can you guy update me a little bit on what else i can do to get better gas mileage. Any help will be appreciated :confuse:
spec:
Base A/t fit
mainly city driving
Good road condition, 93% flat surface
4-7 stoplight one way commute
35-45 speed limit
Can you go into some detail concerning the dealer doing the ILP?
For instance, did you wait while they did it? If you waited, how long? Did they keep the car over night!
For your typical commute, how far is it and how much time is required each way. How many traffic lights do you actually get stopped at? When you get stopped by one, do you have to wait through more than one RED for that light.
Thanks,
Kip
Long story short, achieved 45.32 MPG driving from IL to MN yesterday. 436 miles, 9.62 gallons. Now, the drive down to IL wasn't as good, however the driving mix on that particular tank was 80% highway, 20% commuting. I was able to reach 39.78 MPG on that run.
The great mileage I got yesterday was partially due to a tail-wind (it wasn't directly behind me, it was a quartering wind) at 6 MPH to 12 MPH. I am sure that helped.
Otherwise, I kept the cruise control set at 70 MPH (which was over the highway and did not need to use the air conditioning.
As a point of reference, I normally average 34-36 MPG in regular daily driving which is a combination of commuting-highway (40-65 MPH), and around town stop & go (30-45 MPH).
My Fit is a 5 speed manual, tire pressure is maintained at 37-38 PSI.
Fuel up here in the midwest is 10% Ethanol (even the gasoline I filled up with in IL was 10% Eth.).
I was absolutely thrilled with the 45 MPG from the road trip.
Kip
I haven't been on the forums for a long time, so I may be covering old ground here, but I have a few questions for you:
-- When you fill the tank, do you fill it all the way? By that, I mean do you fill it until the pump shuts off automatically? I don't mean that you should "top it off", as I've learned that that is not a good thing to do.
-- Before you fill up again, do you let the fuel gauge get down to 1/8 or less? Have you ever waited until the gas pump light comes on?
-- If you're only getting 20mpg, that means from a full tank until the gas pump light comes on will be 200 miles or less. Do you use your trip meter to keep track of each tank of gas? Is it really showing less than 200 miles between fill ups?
-- Can you post some example numbers from some recent fill ups so we can see the miles and gallons pumped to see if we spot anything unusual?
-- Do you have any sense of whether or not the idle speed (at a stop) seems high?
-- I'm not familiar with winter and summer gas mixes. Do you live in an area where the gas mix could be causing a problem? Do you know other fit owners in the area?
Thanks,
Mike
I do fill my tank all the way up, until the gas pump shut off automatically. I drive until the empty light turn on. i usually get under 200 mile each fill. I don't used the trip part due to confusion, so i just used a math equation with the mileage part to determine my mpg. here is one of my equation.
Example of my Data
3rd tank:
Costco/3.29pricepergallon/Premium/FullTank 8.9gal
Rpm X1000 :2-3
Trip per tank : 8-12
Weather :Clear / Fair
mile start & end : 190ml Start– 335ml End
City/Freeway : 90%city -10%freeway
Equation: 335ml – 190ml = 145ml/8.9gal
= 16.3mpg
1.6mpgFRW – 14.7CiTy
2nd tank:
187ml – 30ml = 157ml/8.6gal
= 18.3mpg
Only my daily commute, i usually stop 4-6 one way at a stop light for at 8-14 second. There is not many fit owner here where i live. I've only seen 3 other fit around town (with a population of over 350000 people.)I don't know what mix gas is... can you explain? I usually drive 20mile one way. For the ILP testing, i did not stay to see the dealer people perform it. but i left my car there for 3hrs and when i came back, they said they ran the test because i told them that i was having problem with my gas mileage.
alright then, if you guy have any more question plz feel free to ask. and thank u for all of your advice!
There are no test to run for the ILP that I'm aware of.
It only takes a few minutes of your time to do the ILP. The engine needs to be cold, like sitting for several hours and not moved until the ILP has been performed.
It may not buy you a thing, but you will be able to eliminate one thing.
Kip
Thanks for the data.
I'm, not an expert on gas mixes or "blends", but it is my understanding that gas stations sell a different type of fuel in the summer to cut down on pollution during the hot months. The summer gasoline is "better" and results in better mileage. I'm not sure if this is done all across the country, though, because I've never noticed a difference in my mileage between winter and summer. Maybe this is done mostly in places that get especially cold in the Winter or especially hot in the Summer. Where do you live?
I guess one way to tell if it is the fuel in your area causing the problem, is to ask friends who have economy cars and see what kind of mileage they are getting. If they aren't doing as well as they should too, then maybe it's the gasoline partially at fault.
I was hoping that we could spot some "silly" cause for all this if you posted your data. Like maybe the gas station's pumps were way off and it told you you were putting 15 gallons in your 10.8 gallon tank! Or maybe like there was an error in the math. None of that seems to be the case. I guess the only other possibility of that sort would be that your odometer is wrong. Have you measured a known distance and verified that your odometer is measuring distance correctly?
The reports I've seen like yours are baffling to me, because I can't figure out how a mass-produced car with a computer of some sort could vary so much. I could drive my car pretty crazily and still do better than 30 mpg. But that's here where I live using the gas sold in this area and maybe that's important.
If I come across any other explanation for this type of variance, I'll post it here. But, so far I've pretty much exhausted my ideas.
Good Luck,
Mike
I get to about 190 miles when the fuel tank hits the halfway mark.
I'd dump it at the Honda dealer and demand they tear it apart.
In the Smokey Mtns, I had 31.7mpg because I was driving up and down really twisty roads going 10-20mph following other cars that were stopping to look for deer and bears along the road...Probably the worst type of driving for mpg...really slow stop and go up and down steep hills with and so I was happy with 31.7mpg for those 200miles. There was a mix of some 35-45mph, but not too much. And there was a lot of stop and go traffic in some of the towns too.
Driving back I kept the speed at 70mph or a little higher where the speed limit was 70mph and right at 70mph where the limit was 65mph. I've already driven 350 miles on that tank and the fuel light hasn't come on yet, so this tank should be pretty good too. This driving was in southern Ohio, Kentucky & Tenn and I had the AC on the whole way back.
The paddle shifter work great in the twisty mountain roads.
Sport Auto
I would think if you are at 70 and still under the 3500/vtech kicking in threshhold, you could get that sort of mileage.
I have to take it out on the highway to see how fast you go before you finally hit that threshold.
-- If you're only getting 20mpg, that means from a full tank until the gas pump light comes on will be 200 miles or less. Do you use your trip meter to keep track of each tank of gas? Is it really showing less than 200 miles between fill ups?
-- Can you post some example numbers from some recent fill ups so we can see the miles and gallons pumped to see if we spot anything unusual?
I am not original poster but: A few thoughts I had were that there have been times when I filled up just over 200 miles and gotten "less than desirable mpg".
Thing is, when I average it all out over a period of time, it shows I am doing quite well at around 36 mpg.
May I suggest to all of you that you go to www.fueleconomy.gov and take a few minutes to enter your mileage and gas info into their database. It will give other buyers incentive to buy a smaller, more gas friendly car like the Fit if they see it actually gets the mileage promised.
Also on the gas light issue. I am not sure of the relevance but after over 2K miles, I finally saw the light. I was filling up sooner and I do not believe it made any difference as can be seen with my overall good gas mileage.
I wouldnt put the premium gas in there. The car is not designed for it and it is a waste of money and in some circles of conspiracy theorists, it could ruin your gas mileage.
Just consider what your old car was getting in terms of "expected mileage" given your normal commute and compare it to what you are getting currently.
You could also consider taking a road trip to help break in the car on higher speeds.
From my data so far, it seem that i'm getting better gas mileage with Super and Regular. Premium for some reason seem to waste my gas even faster. but i never seem to go pas the 20 mpg.
I'm wondering if my car is broken in yet? The car have 898 mile on it.
I am so frustrated, i bought this car expecting one thing and then i get another.
Demand it be serviced.
How long (distance, time) is your commute typically?
but anyway, my commute usually last 20-35minute one way.
Have taken it to the dealer twice...first time (3 months ago) they said tire pressure was low (yeah, right); even after they "fixed" the tire pressure, the mpg remained the same. Second time (last week) the service rep had a fairly well-rehearsed response: he said the break-in for this Fit engine was 10,000 miles (!?!?!?), I need to wait until then to see if it improves. Also said gas additives this time of year make mileage go down. (Then why has it been the same since I bought it 6 months ago? What a bogus load of crap.) Then he didn't want to discuss it further. Even if what he said were true, but why do so many Fit owners seem to be getting >30mpg at mileage far less than 10,000?
I think there is a problem with this car, and Honda refuses to deal with it. Definitely the last Honda I ever buy! Now I tell everyone who expresses an interest in buying a Fit what crappy gas mileage my car gets, and their interest quickly goes cold. Without good mileage, this car is not worth it. Smart people wanting good gas efficiency will steer clear of this car!
I used to drive with a fairly heavy foot, but I've been accelerating very slowly lately, coasting a lot, and even putting the car in neutral going down long hills. I've been using Sport mode almost exclusively, up-shifting manually as soon as I can, so I'm in 4th gear at 21mph.
My tires were a little under-inflated at 28psi so I inflated them to 40psi. The tires are rated at up to 51psi. Is it ok to over-inflate the tires according to the car manufacturer, but still within the tire's rating?
Here is a complete mileage log from the first fillup. Changing my driving and tire pressure did little to improve my mpg, as you can see:
Miles Gallons MPG
184.2 7.648 24.085
120.7 5.757 20.966
41.6 1.835 22.670
136.8 6.367 21.486
149.7 6.069 24.666
171.8 7.362 23.336
102.5 4.079 25.129
95.7 4.269 22.417
Totals
1003 43.386 23.118
What, if anything, am I doing wrong? I do usually drive with the windows down (I smoke in the car all the time) but I don't use the air conditioner. Could that make the difference?
Edit: all the gas around me is "up to 10% ethanol". I have no idea how much of it is actually ethanol.
That's 6 months.
I would try driving in normal mode and let the computer pick the correct gear and engine RPM for the circumstances.
Try to gently give enough throttle so that shifts will take place around 2700 rpm or so. On really steep hills, the computer may decide to go to a higher RPM before shifting. That's OK! Let it do it's job!
Remember no Jack rabbit starts, no tail gateing, coast to a stop using as little brakes as possible, etc..
Good luck!
Kip
I have found that when I start off from a complete stop, the tach will go up to almost 3200 rpms sometimes before shifting to 2nd, especially if I'm going up a hill.
I'm going to try the idle learn procedure this weekend. Though my car dealer was very friendly, after I took delivery, I noticed I had no antenna, and that the mirror brace wasn't installed either. The fact that these 2-minutes procedures weren't done makes me think a 50-minute procedure was also not done, so I could probably benefit from it.
The recommendation is 32, so I'm shocked. They don't "look" over-inflated, and the ride is fine, the mileage acceptable. Should I "bleed" them? Why would the manufacturer (or do you think it was the dealer?) over-inflate? Could it be my gauge? It's old, but I never found it inaccurate in the past - one of those with the white measuring stick that pops out.
Advice? :confuse:
I am a smart person who just filled up my fit for 38 mpg. (overall after ten tanks of gas I am getting over 36.)
Maybe it is the way you drive.
At least I know the pressure is actually okay now! Whew.
Assuming the New Car Get Ready procedures were not done, what else would need to be done in addition to the ILP? Everything seems to be working just fine, other than my low mileage.
Also, can someone explain to me how filling up when the tank gets very low will affect mpg? I do wait till I know it will take at least 4 gallons, and I realize that it may be more accurate to put more in, but I don't understand why putting in 9 or 6 gallons would matter, as long as I fill it the same way each time.
I have been making notes about the weather as I track my mileage. The cold weather REAALLY seems to be the most consistant negative effect. Now that it is warming, my mileage continues to improve/stay at an even great level of 38.1 mpg. That will continue to raise my overall MPGS.
I am a bit anxious to see how much I get when I have to start running AC. The last two tanks have been consistant 38.1. I would like to see if it levels off at 38 for a time before having to run AC but it might warm up too quick for that.
I am glad to say the tires still have 35 psi from when I adjusted them about two months ago.
Bubba
Bubba
Great! I have not driven too many people in the car for any real length of time. Mostly just short stuff around town.
My overall mpgs is a bit over 36. In my opinion that overall really is the key/final number. And with only about ten tanks of gas, that 36 creeps up and up with every tank. So far, 4 of 10 tanks were 38.1 so with a few more of those, it has nowhere to go but up!
I love saving money on gas. This is such a neat car!
Total mileage: 13237
Accounted for by gas receipts: 11562
Miles 0-6500:
Suburban: 31.20
Highway: 35.84
Miles 6500-13237
Suburban: 31.37
Highway: 36.25
Miles 12000-13237 (Latest Trip)
Highway: 37.66
Conclusion: Mobil-1 does not significantly improve gas mileage. The improvement seen here could just as well be the engine breaking in.
My story is as follows: I drive a Ford Ranger pickup as a courier for an Environmental Analysis Lab. I drive about 850 miles per week. I increased my MPG from an average of 27 mpg to 29.8mpg. It works out that for every .07 cents I spend on the additive I save about .22 cents. That’s good economics. If you’d like more free info; you can contact me by email which is listed in my profile.
Anyway, I sat in the car for about 15 minutes waiting to hear the radiator fan turn on, but I never heard it, so I simply let the car idle for about an hour. After I restarted the car, I put in the radio code and all my presets came back. I did not need to reset the "Auto" for the window, though. The car seems to be shifting from 1st to 2nd a bit smoother now. I will continue to keep track of my mileage and keep everyone updated, keeping in mind that the current tank will likely be a bit lower than expected due to getting 0 mpg while the car was idling.
Hopefully, I'll see a good increase in my efficiency. If not, I didn't lose anything other than the bit of gas used while idling. I'm quite jealous of the people who are getting 30-35 mpg in the city who aren't even trying, while I need to work so hard to get a measly 25 mpg. :mad:
Other than my low mileage, though, I'm quite happy with everything else in my Fit!
I hope so for you too! I want everyone in a Fit to be getting great mileage.
Not sure who touched on what with you (having a brainfart with short term memory loss) and do not recall if anyone mentioned checking tire pressure. Proper pressure and sometimes slightly above the "recommended" will help it improve mpgs. Also, keeping it below 3500 RPMs will be of great help because once you hit 3500 rpms on the tachometer, the vtech engine kicks in and uses a great deal more fuel. I have found that it is at 3500 rpms on my MT Sport somewhere around 70-78 mph.
You could fill it up sooner rather than wait till whole tank is empty, so you can guage your mpgs better. Also, consider taking it on the highway for a spell, just to enjoy the ride and try to get the engine used to running further for longer periods of time.
I apologize if this is repeatative in any way.
My tires are all at 40psi, and I try to keep my RPMs below 2500. I've seen my tach hit about 3200 going up a hill from a stop, but that's as high as it usually goes. I coast to stops, and accelerate fairly slowly but steadily. I'm going to let the current tank run down pretty far to average out the time spent idling, but I usually fill up at about half. I have not had the opportunity to check out highway-only mpg, but I will as soon as I can.
To clarify my situation, my commute is about 10 miles, about 2 are suburban with about 4 traffic lights, and the rest is city with 30(!) lights and one stop sign. The whole trip takes about 40 minutes, and the terrain is hilly. They aren't steep hills at all, but no part of my trip is actually flat. I can't compare my mileage to my old car, since I got my fit the same day I started this job! I've been ranging from 20 mpg to 25 mpg, nothing in the teens, but nothing in the upper 20s either. I hope doing the ILP boosts it up at least a bit!
I love my Fit!
Go visit some relatives 200 miles away, and keep near the speed limit. That should show what the Fit is capable of.