Acura RL Real World Fuel Economy

kamdog

I just test drove an RL, about a half hour, on a highway and on local roads. The computer showed 12.5 mpg, but it didnt seem to update too well.

What are real-world fuel economy numbers?

avatar1

I just drove up to Woodstock, NY from Boston, about 200 miles and got 23.5. On the way home, since it mostly downhill, I would get about 24 mpg. I drive at an average of 75-80, my tire pressure is about 37 psi.
My non-highway driving gets us about 19 mpg. As an experiment, I filled the tank 1 block before getting on the highway for a long trip. I drove a little slower, about 72-75 mph, I did get 27 mpg that trip.

tamparl

Perhaps te MID was not reset on the last fillup of the demo you drove. It shows AVG MPG and if the car was idling a lot during demos etc, it likely would show low mpg.

My RL consistently averages 23-24 mpg avg / tank and over 440 miles in range / tank. My city averages 18mpg and my highway mileage is 28mpg. It is very consistent after my 1st 1000 miles and break in. However, if you are heavy on the throtle, the RL is a heavy sedan and will lower your milage around town.

Overall, it is only 1 mpg avg less than the 2005 TL I traded for the 2006 RL.

acctprof

My mileage is similar to yours. I have 11,000 miles on my 2006 and average 17.4 to 18 around town over 100 miles. I reset it at each 100 miles just to see.

On the highway at 75 mph I get 27-28. I was on some flat backroads with no stops, stayed at 55 mph and got 32 mpg.

Len

Bushwack

Do not rely on the computer for real-world mpg. Most computers calculate the last 25 miles driven and compute a 'polluted' number. Take out the calculator and punch in the numbers the old fashion way. I find computers in most cars (GMs, Acura, Lexus) 'optimistic' by 1-2 mpg.

tamparl

I manually calculate my fuel usage and the RL MID is consistently correct withing .5mpg avg / tank.

golfnut5

I find my TL is also within the .5 MPG average.

acurat

In 6,500 miles of driving my 2006 RL Tech (CMBS/PAX), I've averaged 20.5 mpg. That's Los Angeles-area commuting, 80% freeway, yet with lots of congestion. Open-road mileage on road trips is around 28 at 70+ mph. In town it's about 16. I use Chevron Supreme 91 octane (the highest grade available in California). My 2004 TL consistently got 23-24 in the same type of mixed driving, so I estimate the mileage penalty for driving the bigger and better car is about 10-15%. I've accepted that and anticipate keeping this beauty for a long, long time.

badbuy

Bought new 2006 Acura RL end of 2006. Gas mileage on the car was horrible from the day I bought it. City driving was 14.5 mpg if lucky. Highway wasn't too bad when on cruise control....up to 25 mpg. But in the summer or in the cold winter, city mpg goes to 14 and highway to 23mpg.

This year, Acura came out with a Technical Bulletin on the Acura RL. They changed the fuel pressure regulator. Now I get 12.5-13 mpg in the city and I'm lucky if I get 18 on the road with cruise control! :lemon:

My dealer is USELESS. NO HELP AT ALL. They just put the car on the computer & then they say...."everything checks out OK". One more technical Bulletin and my mileage might be down at 10mph!....& they will still say everything is OK!

Acura customer service won't even address the issue now. Sorry I ever dared to buy from this car company. My first & last Acura in 35 years of buying new cars. I simply can't believe the federal government would allow a car company to put an "average MPG sticker" of 16mpg on a car that actually gets 14.5 MPG and with a Technical Bulletin change, 12.5-13 in the city now!

If this was back in the carburetor days, I'd say the choke was on 100% of the time! If anyone out there has had the same misfortune of having a LEMON Acura RL, I'd like to know about it. And if anyone else has had this kind of a fuel problem but it's been fixed, let be know by answering this story. Please, this car gets worse mileage than a Lincoln Navigator fully loaded with the family!

I do plan to register a complaint with the Dept of Transportation because I can't believe that a car company can cause their already lousy mileage to "drop like a tank" to 12.5 MPG without violating the CAFE mileage standards and without paying a huge $$$$ fine for having gas guzzlers in the fleet!

Beware if you even think bad thoughts.....like buying one of these.

:lemon:

jensad

Me too acurat

We have an 08 rl, with nav.and we get on our trips i.e. freeway stuff about what you posted. Cruise on, at 75-78 mpg, about 28 mph. City about 21/21 mpg.

I am sorry to hear badguy about your problems with the 06. I understand that was the first year of the current series of rls.

And yes, I too have been frustrated with the service with the radio issues, however, i kept going back and complaining and finally a service rep got me a new radio. No more lost pre-selects being gone.

Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

tamparl

I have read hear and there of people getting less than rated MPGs. I have also read people getting much better than rated MPGs.

My 06 RL has been very consistent with mileage. I average 21-22mpg per tankful in nearly 60/40 city / hwy driving. In city driving, 19 is common, and highway 28+. On one highway cruise of 347 miles @ 75mph with cruise control, my MID pegged 32mpg. That is quite a range, but very impressive for a heavy AWD sedan with beefy tires and only a 5 speed tranny. Those same attributes will bring heavy penalty for city driving with less than finessed throttling.

For 2009 the engine was bumped from the 3.5 to 3.7 with modest gains in power and torque AND modest loss in MPG rating.

And a few points to previous posts....the current generation RL was the 2005 model year, not 2006.

Concerning the TSB for the fuel pressure regulator...badguy would you care to enlighten us as to the TSB #? I have scanned through all the TSBs issued for the current generation RL and have failed to located it. You say it came out this year...meaning 2009? I do not believe they have been released for January 09 and I cannot locate such TSB in the 2008 releases.

If in fact, your RL has such issues, it seems to be somewhat unique as the majority of RL owners I read posts from seem to be with rated MPG range. That would indeed make your RL unique and likely a Lemon. However, as unfortunate as your situation may be, that does now condemn all RL owners or potential owners to experience the same.

Machines made by production methodology will likley produce occaisional flaws. And if you condemn and entire automobile model when a lemon surfaces, you will condemn every vehicle model that ever has been produced.

nebraskaguy

I have an 05 RL. Last spring I drove 8,200 miles on one trip and consistently got 28-30 mpg - often at 70+ mph. Over Christmas, I drove 4,100 miles and got around 24-26, possibly because of the colder weather. One thing I noticed on my last trip - I got consistently better mileage using Shell V-power, usually about 2 mpg more. I want to experiment more with this to see if it was an anomaly. I usually use Sunoco, but plan to use Shell V-power for a while to see how it does.

My city driving is a different story, however. I quite often get in the 14-16 mpg range. I attribute part of that to relatively short trips - 2-4 miles is standard for me.

eclipse2

I have a 06 RL and I never heard of that TSB# you are talking about!!! I get my service done at the Acura dealership and no one said anything about that!! I work 42 miles from home round trip 84 miles and I get around 24-25 mpg mostly highway... I love the car it just doesn't have alot of power!!

badbuy

Sorry for the confusion on timing. The TSB is 07-003 which mandates (for ALL 2005-2006 RLs and certain Vin # 2007s) a replacement for the fuel pump modulator which has a recalibrated fuel pump. This was to fix the lag problem that showed up (I guess in 2007 when the TSB was issued) in very hot climates and/or at high altitudes.

I'm not condemning all RL owners or future owners. I'm condemning a car company....American Honda Motor Company....which doesn't give a dxxm to do anything about this. They put it on the computer and say it's OK rather than deal with the real world. In fact, they did not even have the courtesy to reply to any letters on various problems.

For a car to have such erratic behavior in MPG, there has to be something wrong. And for the Long Trip mileage to tumble after the TSB fix, there certainly is a problem.

In decades of buying new cars including products from: Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, GM , and Ford, I've never had this deafening silence. "It's truly luxury living with ghetto management".

There should never be an exception for horrible customer service...especially if you're attempting to produce a "luxury car line".

desert_rat

I have a new 09 RL, about 900 miles and get 20-21 mpg if I threat the accelerator like a raw egg. I get about 23 miles on the freeway with almost no traffic at 80mph
I certainly hope this will improve.

michael0137

My son gets 29-30 at 75 MPH with his 2005, and 20 around NYC; I am getting the same with the 2008 we just bought. I am actually very pleased - this is a solid HEAVY car with 245/50 tires - the same I had on my '88 Trans Am!!! Uh ... can you say rolling resistance? I am shocked it gets the mileage it does for a 4000+ pound car. My Trans Am got 28 MPG on the road turning 2000 RPM at 80, and weighing 500 pounds less that the RL.

act4

We have 2 Acura RL's in the family. I have only purchased Acura's for the past 20 years. Even though the gas mileage is pathetic we have not had ANY car repairs for the past 20 Years!!!! So if we consider the fact we have not had any down time other than the scheduled maintenance and oil changes etc ... and the cars are now paid for .... I have to say I am a happy camper .... however, I would be a much happier camper if the gas mileage were a little more reasonable!!!! I agree ... Oh, and I have never put in premium gas ... there is absolutely no difference in mileage....

michael0137

Soimething must be wrong - just took a 450 mile roundtrip and got 29.5 MPG each way - AVERAGING 73 MPH with occasional full throttle spurts and some steady 85 MPH cruising with our 2008 RL. Better mileage than our 2008 Accord with VCM!

pearlie1

Just drove 975 miles round trip and averaged 28-29 mpg both ways. I verified the MID mpg reading with an instant fill up at the end of each trip. Driving a 2010 RL and used cruise control 85% of the time drove the speed limit it was a four day week end pleasure drive.

michael0137

Took another900 mile trip - averaged 29.4 MPG at 75-80 MPH - and I am not a featherfoot

fpsdean

I bought a '07 Acura last July. In the summer, doing roughly 50/50 combined driving I was getting 23.5 to 23.9 fairly consistently, doing the same driving with each tank. At the pump it would read 0.1 to 0.3 lower than the readout. I was not using the AC, as it wasn't nearly hot enough for it this summer and I like having the windows down and sunroof open whenever possible.

It has been closer to 20mpg lately now that it's finally cold out, but I have been doing far more trips around town as well.

Where I live, I got significantly lower mileage because of all the hills.