Honda CR-V Real World MPG

northwest1 · September 2005

Just drove on a trip (90% highway, 10% city) for 292 miles (mostly level). Temperature in the mid 70s. Filled up at same pump as before. Costco gas. Just over 30 mpg. Fronts at 35 psi, rears at 33 psi. OEM Duelers. Last fill up at 1030 am, this fill up at 1130 am.

Anybody know if there is an appreciable difference in shutoff points between pumps at the same station and vs. pumps at a different station? In other words, if you don't fill up at the same pump that you used last time, how much might your mpg calculation be thrown off?

stevedebi · September 2005

"ust drove on a trip (90% highway, 10% city) for 292 miles (mostly level). Temperature in the mid 70s. Filled up at same pump as before. Costco gas. Just over 30 mpg. Fronts at 35 psi, rears at 33 psi. OEM Duelers. Last fill up at 1030 am, this fill up at 1130 am."

I bet that your speeds were at 65 MPH or less?

northwest1 · September 2005

Yes, speed no more than 65 mph, no A/C, no cruise control.

stevedebi · September 2005

"Yes, speed no more than 65 mph, no A/C, no cruise control."

Yes, that checks with my 2003, which has only the 4 speed transmission. The CR-V does really well at secondary road speeds. Though my 27 MPG at 80 MPG isn't bad either.

ironhead3 · September 2005

Just wondering if my mileage will get better after I put more miles on it , it only has about five hundred miles now

stevedebi · September 2005

"Just wondering if my mileage will get better after I put more miles on it , it only has about five hundred miles now"

Mine got better at around 3K, but you also need to drive conservatively in town; if you dip into the VTEC, the CR-V mileage plummets.

ironhead3 · September 2005

ok, great to hear,the mileage doesnt seem to good right now. I do mostly city driving stop and go . I hope it gets a little better after it gets a few more miles on it

stevedebi · September 2005

"ok, great to hear,the mileage doesnt seem to good right now. I do mostly city driving stop and go . I hope it gets a little better after it gets a few more miles on it"

Unfortunately, that is the worst cycle for all conventional (non hybrid) vehicles. You will probably max out at 21-23 MPG, but I'm not sure what the 2005 (with it's 5 speed transmission) is capable of.

My tips:

Accelerate firmly, not gently or hard. Keep the RPMs below 2500. When you hit 2500 RPM, let off on the accelerator to let the transmission shift.
The idea is to get into high gear as soon as possible, and stay in high gear
Try and avoid stopping and accelerating by watching the traffic and the traffic lights
Plan your route to avoid slowdowns, traffic, and lights
Time the traffic lights if you can, accelerating or slowing so as to make the green. I see many people (daily) accelerating hard just to get to that next red light.

ironhead3 · September 2005

I will take 21 - 23 MPG, thats not bad, thanks for the tips

ronniej · September 2005

My wife drives the vehicle, she does not drive very fast or aggressively, mostly around town (45-55 mph). We bought a 2005 CR-V EX automatic in June and it has 2K on it right now. The AC is always on as it has been hot here in NC since then. I'm hoping with more break-in miles, less AC usage in the near future, and using Amsoil after the first 5K oil change will help things. I certainly thought it would get better mileage than it has so far. We use Amoco 87 by the way.

ironhead3 · September 2005

I drive our 2005 CR-V EX most of the time , it has around 500 mil on it now ,the next tank full I am going set the odometer and check the MPG, I have been told the MPG will get better when I get more miles on it. we will see

stevedebi · September 2005

"We use Amoco 87 by the way."

Yikes! Switch to a better fuel. Aamco makes good octane fuels, but I always use one of the following, who put better cleaning addatives in their gas: Texaco, Exxon, Mobil, Shell, Chevron. Over time, the fuel cleaners will help your MPG and engine longevity.

fleetwood72 · October 2005

Hello,

We just came home from a road trip to Nova Scotia from Ontario. It was about 80%highway. Total distance was 5440Kms. We used 509.71 Liters of regular 87 octane.
I figure we have about 9.36 L / 100 KM.
I think this translates to about 25 MPG for US gallons, or 30 MPG for Imp Gal.

The car is 2003 CR-V LX, a/c was on about half the time. Speed between 110-120 KPH.

My .02c worth.

saabgirl · October 2005

2005 CR-V EX auto, 5000 miles on odometer
Drove from central CT to Western PA and back -- 1177 miles
People, luggage etc weighed approx 600 lbs
Tires at 32 psi

Avg mpg for entire trip was 27.18
Best stretch was 335 all-highway miles with cruise control set at 65 in which we avg 31.6 mpg.

Minor note:
The only thing that bugs me about this car, and it shows up more on a long trip, is the storage pockets in the door. The top "pocket" is annoying because it has no bottom and interferes with access to the second pocket under it. I find it hard to dig stuff out of the second pocket, because it seems too narrow/deep. Good thing the little center tray is handy and there's a separate cranny for the cell phone..

parrotheader · October 2005

We bought an '05 CRV-SE back in July. It now has a little over 4,000 miles on it, but I'm still a bit frustrated with the mileage. I was thinking it would improve over time, but so far it's remained pretty much the same.

We've been getting 22mpg ever since we got it wavering only a mpg difference either way occasionally. My wife is the primary driver and she is most definitely NOT a heavy-footed driver. Our driving is mostly suburbs/highway. Her daily commute in particularl is mostly interstate and rural roads so I was expecting her mileage to be closer to the highway rating than the city rating.

We love the vehicle overall. I'm actually thinking about getting an older used one for myself. But I have been a bit frustrated with the mileage aspect as this was a major consideration when we bought the vehicle.

blueiedgod · October 2005

The only thing that bugs me about this car, and it shows up more on a long trip, is the storage pockets in the door. The top "pocket" is annoying because it has no bottom and interferes with access to the second pocket under it.

I think it is a door handle, not pocket. I have 2005 EX and I only have a pocket on the bottom, no pocket with no bottom.

saabgirl · October 2005

I think it is a door handle, not pocket.

... except the door handle is right above the bottomless "pocket". I just wonder what the designers had in mind. Granted it's a pretty picayune concern, far outweighed by the very favorable mpg I've been consistently getting..

me3 · October 2005

Taller map books and the like...

Taller papers don't bend over and yet you can reach into the lower part of the pocket if you need to.

dan bitman · November 2005

planning to buy a 2WD LX.
Did you noticed an improvement in MPG since you bought the car?
Listed is 22-29 MPG....far from real life driving...

tamaraster · November 2005

I have about 2800 miles on my CR-V (EX AWD), and it's been pretty consistent. I get about 21/22 mpg in city driving. It's hard for me to give a figure for highway driving, since I've done so little, and what I did was in the mountains, but it looks like about 25-28 mpg based on my records.

sockpuppet1969 · November 2005

First tank, mixed driving, 60% Highway/40% Suburbs - 25mpg.

rrrrb · December 2005

I have a 2002 CR-v EX with Automatic and 64k miles. I have taken several trips from Dallas to Colorado Springs, and on these trips, have averaged 28-33 mpg with A/C on.
Around Dallas, I average 19-23 mpg with A/C.

Over the years, my milage has gone down. I think it may have to do with the new tires that I put on the vehicle, the Goodyear TripleTred. Great tires for traction, but noisy.

tc4all · December 2005

I was getting about 20 mpg. I do 95% city driving with lots of lights. I have used Goodyear Triple Treads since the first week. (Very hard ride but good traction) I recently changed to Mobile 1 synthetic of the right value and a top Purotator (As I remember) filter. At the same time, the change to part Ethanol gas and cold weather hit NJ. Plus my battery was defective and replaced. My mileage has dropped from 20, down to about 16 mpg. Does this make sense or could I have a problem? I don't carry much cargo or people as a rule. Tires are inflated properly. I am at a loss.

theracoon · December 2005

At the same time, the change to part Ethanol gas and cold weather...

The change in fuel blend is the cause of your reduced fuel mileage.

JM2C

tc4all · December 2005

Thanks for the response. I just don't remember it being that big a difference on my past cars. The last was a Camry 6 cyl. I spoke to a former Exxon chemist who thought the 4 mpg difference was a little too much to be just the fuel, but that was just his guess. I remember about 2 mpg loss on past cars, but if it is 4 mpg now with the CRV, I guess I just have to live with it. I have to wonder if the air stays cleaner burning normal gas and getting 20 mpg or burning the Ethanol mixture and getting only 16 mpg over the same 2000 or 3000 miles. Can using the heater or a different oil filter have any effect?

blueiedgod · December 2005

Thanks for the response. I just don't remember it being that big a difference on my past cars. The last was a Camry 6 cyl. I spoke to a former Exxon chemist who thought the 4 mpg difference was a little too much to be just the fuel, but that was just his guess. I remember about 2 mpg loss on past cars, but if it is 4 mpg now with the CRV, I guess I just have to live with it. I have to wonder if the air stays cleaner burning normal gas and getting 20 mpg or burning the Ethanol mixture and getting only 16 mpg over the same 2000 or 3000 miles. Can using the heater or a different oil filter have any effect?

It is more likely that 2 mpg came from ethanol and the other 2 mpg from MTBE used in winter gas. Also the grade of oil will make a difference.

I usually do my own changes with Mobil 1 0W-20, but I had a freebie from the dealer, and went with their change. Supposedly they used 5W-20, and my mileage went from 30 mpg highway (summer) to 25 highway (winter). Combination of winter gas and non-synth oil are probably contributing to my MPG descrease. I will change out to Mobil 1 after 3000 miles on the dyno oil.

af1023 · January 2006

I own the same car and I do not get near the same mileage.

Are you using synthetic? What type of tires were you using previously?

Thanks

un_limited · January 2006

I noticed that till I hit the 5000 miles mark my CRV drove a bit heavy with some kind of resistance. The pickup was very poor.. I would be afraid to make quick lane changes in a crowded quick stop and go freeway.

But now it seems to be responding a lot better and feels more lighter to drive.

I always use Mobile 87 grade and tire pressure is usually 34psi. Till date I was pretty frustrated with the mpg but it seems to have improved now.
Seems to have improved from 21/22mpg to 24 mpg till date for city traffic.

seahorse1 · January 2006

Hi
I'm looking @ Toyota, thinking Matrix, Corolla, or Prius, mostly to save on gas $$ and have a reliable car. From what I'm reading here, Matrix doesn't sound like a good bet on either count.

I'm looking at a loaded 2006 XR Automatic.

Comments/insights are much appreciated!
Thanks

bshel · January 2006

seahorse1,
You are on the CR-V forum, which is Honda - do a search for toyota/matrix board. Or XR car.

blueiedgod · January 2006

Hi
I'm looking Toyota, thinking Matrix, Corolla, or Prius, mostly to save on gas $$ and have a reliable car. From what I'm reading here, Matrix doesn't sound like a good bet on either count.

I'm looking at a loaded 2006 XR Automatic.

Comments/insights are much appreciated!
Thanks

Go with the XRS, 6spd manual version. The engine is made by Yamaha.

tcasboy · January 2006

I am just at about 1500 miles on my 2006 CR-V EX with the manual transmission. Thought I would share my gas mileage with the board. I keep a log for all my vehicles where I note the date, mileage, gals and cost of fuel and also for maintenance work. My numbers are thus pretty exact. Most of my driving is mixed about 70% interstate and 30% around town. I bought the vehicle 300 miles away so the first tank was just about all hwy, since then the mix has been about 70/30.

MPG per fill up
22.7
24.0
22.9
24.5
23.4
25.0

Overall average 23.98 1221 miles, 50.9 gals used since first full tank.

I'm pretty happy with the mileage thus far, and I am really happy to not be using premium, which was required for my Audi. Ouch. I'm hoping that it picks up a bit as the car is broken in, but even if I only average 24 I figure I'm doing pretty well. My Audi averaged about 28-30 MPG on the highway, but using the premium was killing me.

I am very happy with my new CR-V.

TB

carlessone · February 2006

Owner manual says to keep tires at 29 psi. Why do you use 34 psi? Seems to me it would be dangerous to deviate from manufacturers reco's. Affects braking distance, traction and your ride is probably more harsh---all to get maybe 1% better mileage?

carlessone · February 2006

City mileage about 24 mpg. Highway mileage about 30 mpg. I use mobil 1 now, but didn't until 12,400 mile mark. Till then used organic 5W20. Now use synthetic 5W30.

blueiedgod · February 2006

City mileage about 24 mpg. Highway mileage about 30 mpg. I use mobil 1 now, but didn't until 12,400 mile mark. Till then used organic 5W20. Now use synthetic 5W30.

Switch to 5W-20 and you will get better mileage, I use 0W-20, but it is no longer available from Mobil.

dan bitman · February 2006

I am trying to find out if there is a significant MPG difference between LX 2WD vs EX 4WD CRV ( all auto).
What edmunds is listing is not that much of a difference ( 2MPG less for the EX AWD), I wonder if real world is the same.
I heard people being very dissapointed for the EX MPG...
Thanks to all LX and EX owners!
Dan

marg2265 · February 2006

Well, I just purchased an 04 EX 4WD CRV, and only two tanks of gas in, I am less than impressed with the mpg. It is a bummer, because other than that, I love the vehicle. There are only 10800 miles on the car. My last tank of gas only netted 250 miles. Granted, that is city driving. But not a whole lot of stop and go - I don't live in a big city. I don't drive fast, don't stomp on the gas. I was just wondering if there was something that I was doing really wrong, because I am seeing nowhere NEAR estimated mpg.

I'd love any suggestions, is this something I should discuss with the dealer?

kyfdx · February 2006

Have you calculated your actual MPG? I ask.. because the low fuel light comes on really early... and even though you are only getting 250 miles.. you may only be using 10-11 gallons.... and that would be 23-25 MPG.. not so bad..

regards,
kyfdx

marg2265 · February 2006

Hi, I haven't calculated actual MPG, and was hoping that something was just weird with the guage. I would be happy with at least 20ish MPG. My guage now shows a little over half a tank, and I have only driven 90 miles! My last fill-up, my dad took it for a test spin and filled up the tank for me, so I didn't get to see how many gallons were actually used. I will check actual MPG with my next fill up and report the results. Thanks for your quick reply!

saabgirl · February 2006

As kyfdx implied, your problem may be simply that the CR-V has a smallish tank, 13.5 gals, I think. Miles driven divided by gallons used will give you the # you're looking for which should be a gallon or two better than 20ish.

drive62 · February 2006

Since MY '02 every CR-V sold has a 15.3 US gallon capacity. Some may think that is "smallish". To me it seems correct for a vehicle this size.

saabgirl · February 2006

From November thru February, I've averaged 23.5 mpg in my '05 CR-V EX AWD during a mild New England winter. The low was 19.3 during a cold snap in December that had a lot of mall crawling and drives through Christmas tree farms. It's been about 50/50 suburban running about and highway on 87 Shell and dino oil. The car now has approx 7500 miles.

Since MY '02 every CR-V sold has a 15.3 US gallon capacity. Some may think that is "smallish". To me it seems correct for a vehicle this size.

Oops. You are correct as to fuel capacity. Pardon my transposition. I think preference on this matter depends on driving patterns. My second vehicle is a 4 cyl '99 Saab 9.5 which gets about the same mpg as the Honda CR-V. However, the Saab tank holds 19.8 gallons. Granted the Saab is a "cruiser" rather than a "runabout," but the extra range is nice to have on a long trip. For me, two more gallons in the CR-V tank would be nice.

kyfdx · February 2006

The question is....how much can you put in it?

run it to the low-fuel light... then run it on down to E.. then run it down until the needle has left E behind..

I've still never been able to put more than 12.8 gallons in it... I get the feeling that 2 gallons of that "capacity" is above the fuel filler pipe.. lol.

drive62 · February 2006

I know this is an exaggeration to some extent but the principle holds true. The extra weight of the larger tank and the gas in it would negatively effect your mileage. So it seems to me it's a trade off. Have a larger capacity tank so you get more miles out of said tank but your overall mileage will be somewhat lower.

Because of it's interior size and other features I think people forget that the CR-V is a small, entry level SUV, and it has the mechanicals to go along with it.

stevedebi · February 2006

"The question is....how much can you put in it? "

14.8 gallons on my 2003. Never want to be that low again - in any vehicle!

Only one I ever got lower was an '89 Hyundai Excel - I had .3 gallons left when I filled it up... in the desert too. Stupid to let a car get that low just because I missed a turn off for gas.

saabgirl · February 2006

run it to the low-fuel light... then run it on down to E.. then run it down until the needle has left E behind..
I've still never been able to put more than 12.8 gallons in it

First, I salute your determination to get to the bottom, so to speak, of the fuel capacity question. You prompted me to check my vehicle log. Yesterday, with the needle near E, I filled up and, lo!, it took only 10.8 gallons to fill the 15.3 gallon tank, using the automatic shutoff on the pump. I flipped through the pages and discover that the absolute max I ever pumped into the tank, with the red warning light on, was 12.6 gallons, a couple tenths behind you.

I opened the 2005 Owner's Manual to look for an answer to the relatively generous reserve capacity. I think I found it on page 62 in the Gauges section: "Avoid driving with an extremely low fuel level. Running out of fuel could cause the engine to misfire, damaging the catalytic converter."

kyfdx · February 2006

Very true... you should never try to run your vehicle out of fuel (or nearly out).

And..generally.. I never do... Today, I had to fill up at 276 miles... The light had been on for about 20 miles, and I was about to get on the freeway for an 18 mile ride home... A little above E.. 12 gallons on the nose... 23 MPG..

I'm relatively happy with that mileage... Just think, if I was able to use 14 gallons of the 15.3 gal. capacity, I could have put off buying gas another day... and driven another 46 miles..

marg2265 · February 2006

Well I took a little road trip this weekend, and calculated actual MPG with my fill-ups. The first fill-up (filled 8.69 gal after driving 156.9 mi) netted 18 mpg. This was city driving, some of which in sub-zero temp, always idling the car for 5+ minutes before driving. The second fill-up (filled 11.62 gal after driving 266.4 mi) netted 23 mpg. This was all interstate driving at 70 mph. I am happy with the 23, and hope the 18 city mpg will be better next go-around. I am surprised at how early the gas light comes on. My second fill up was after the light came on. But it makes sense after reading the recent posts. Thanks!

dromedarius · March 2006

I've read you only need to warm your vehicle up for 30 seconds. Anything longer than that is a waste, and it can actually be hard on the engine if you let it run for too long. Of course, having heated seats on our SE helps!

We generally get 21-23 MPG with about 8000 miles on our '05. Most of that is short trips in town by my wife, to and from work, which is about two miles through town each way. We got as low on 17 MPG and as high as 25 MPG. We have yet to drive it when it has been broken in during the non-winter months, though, so I'm expecting to see some better tanks this coming year. Also, I seem to get about 2-3 MPG better than when my wife drives, but we're working on that.

PS - My 1990 Ford F150 is getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 MPG this winter, or lower...

:sick:

yho · March 2006

My driving is pretty much the same everyday.

I do not know any of you try to use diferent gasoline, but if I use Exxon/Mobil Supreme gasoline I got around 22 - 23 MPG, if I use Exxon/Mobil Plus gasoline I got around 25 MPG.

Any body know why? appreciate for the answer

Honda CR-V Real World MPG

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