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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.