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Acura MDX MPG Real World Numbers

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Comments

  • bill124bill124 Member Posts: 246
    It can be lower than 13 and I am proof of that. Totally sucks and uses premium. I would get CX-9 if I had to do it over again (if wife would agree). Power is nice but for the driving she does, it's just not necessary. Long Island, Nassau County just doesn't need that power but the MDX is everywhere.
  • ennamagunnaennamagunna Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the input. We did not go with MDX. Went with Ford Edge SEL running on regular and with same gadgets as base MDX. OK not an Acura I agree but for driving around town like she will be doing the MDX would have been overkill. Status means nothing to us with Premium approaching $4.00. She is very happy with Edge and getting 15.5 in pure around town driving. Also didn' like attitude of Acura sales people. Like MDX was only game in town
  • dms9dms9 Member Posts: 137
    I got 25.9 on the highway on a trip the other day. Granted, I was only going 60 mph and it was all highway. I still didn't think that was bad.
  • cheerioboy26cheerioboy26 Member Posts: 412
    On my 2008 MDX I've averaged 19.0 for all the driving (Trip B). My MPG per tank using Trip A ranges from 16-23. I've observed 23 MPG at around 70 MPH on a 250 mile highway run, but drops to 21 or so if I keep it at 75 MPH. Around town driving seems to be in the 16-17 range.
  • bill124bill124 Member Posts: 246
    You guys are getting good local MPG. I had wife's car yesterday for a bit and it was 13.5 local, which for us is good. Really think it has a lot to do with waiting for kids to get in car, dropping off kids, and the like as my highway MPG is around where it should be.
  • hipreckhipreck Member Posts: 67
    20K miles on mine. City mixed commuting around 18 MPG. Long trips at 80 MPH around 21 MPG. I've had a hard time getting much better than 22 MPG.
  • kurtkbeekurtkbee Member Posts: 22
    Wow, that is bad ! While this is not a bad looking SUV and it is rated as one of the best in its segment it certainly is not one of the most fuel efficient.
    I was hoping that either the Acura RL or the MDX would see improvements in mileage for the 09 models, especially considering the fact that they both "require" that you use premium fuel.

    I work 30 miles from home and not near a mass transit station (at least in the area that my office is located) so that translates to 300miles for a 5 day week and roughly $4.40 a gallon. It becomes very impractical to buy this car (or the RL).

    I will look once again at Lexus since they seem to offer the space i want in both a SUV (RX400H) and a sedan (GS-450H) but even if i go for average fuel economy (for the class) the Audi A6 or BMW 5series are far better (but slightly more expensive than the RL in initially acquisition cost) and saves me money in the long run especially if fuel cost keep rising (i think $5+ is possible by EOY).

    I guess I can only hope that when my wife is ready to change her car that Acura gets their act together and releases either a hybrid or more fuel efficient gas engine. It is just not practical for me.

    13.5MPG !!! (that's crazy, that is the mpg number for an American made SUV like the Hummer or Expedition ) :confuse:

    P.s. curious about the Hyundai Genesis also but i am waiting to hear what the mileage is like. With Honda being the only manufacturer to make a profit last month I hope that they realize how bad the market is now and that offering a better more cost efficient product in their Acura line will assure future buyers to their luxury line (which did not sell well over the last few months).
  • bill124bill124 Member Posts: 246
    Yes, the MPG is really bad for local driving (and 13.5 is good for us). I really do think it's how my wife drives. I think there is a lot of sitting with car on. Doesn't change the math but might explain why so bad.
  • wtliao321wtliao321 Member Posts: 35
    City only - 15+ MPG
    Mixed - 18-19 MPG
    Hwy 22-23MPG (65-75mph)
    Current mileage : 7K.

    I think Mixed 19 mpg is acceptable for 300HP V6 AWD MDX.

    Last weekend The cheapest gas I found was 4.13/gallon for 93 on Costco gas station in Potomac Mills, VA.

    The nearest gas station from my home (Texeco in Rockville MD) asks for 4.05/gallon for regular, 4.33 for premium last weekend. Sunoco actually sells 91 which is about 5 to 10 cents cheaper than 93. I would probably still use Charvon/Texeco because their special gas additive.

    2008 MDX Tech/Ent
  • spark763spark763 Member Posts: 13
    getting 19 per gallon after 800 miles 75 h/25c using 93octane
  • hodog16hodog16 Member Posts: 53
    Drove from NC to IN last week, so with strictly interstate driving I averaged around 22-23. Now I drive a mixture of local and interstate to work ~15 minutes one way and average 20 mpg using 93 octane. I don't accelerate or brake hard and drive less aggressively than I used to (more to do with having a new car than gas prices).

    Mileage is 1,500.
  • upstatedocupstatedoc Member Posts: 710
    Hey Hosts,

    Why does Edmunds continue to use that misleading Buick ad about the Enclave getting better mileage than the MDX?

    It's apples and oranges, the MDX has SH-AWD as standard and the vehicle that they are comparing it to is front-wheel-drive. Just wondering... :confuse:
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I dunno squat about the ads, but fueleconomy.gov says the 09 AWD Enclave gets 18 combined and the MDX gets 17. Plus the MDX uses premium gas, right? Sounds like GM is trying some "conquest" advertising.
  • comet123comet123 Member Posts: 9
    Have been consistently getting about 19.5 MPG with about 4,000 miles of driving.

    Driving to and from work - some stop and go -with 5 miles on freeway at 60 MPH...getting about 19.5. This weekend, longer - 200 mile trip at about 65 MPH - still got right between 19-20. I was hoping for better on the long trip.
  • mdxrrrrrmdxrrrrr Member Posts: 42
    Comet, is that with regular or high octane fuel?
  • joryanjoryan Member Posts: 15
    Just bought 09 w/tech and ent. Did my little study on the MPG numbers and found that for 25 miles in I-45 in Houston, Tx, cruising at 62 MPH, I got 23.5 according to the computer. That was when the car had less than 150 miles on it. Car now has 500 or so and I did the exact route in the exact same way and computer held between 27.8 and 28.0. I am truly happy with the numbers. Cruised around Houston for another 30 miles and did not reset the computer and still averaged 24.9. All of this was with the A/C on and my wife and 2 small kids in the car.
  • sanjaysdcasanjaysdca Member Posts: 269
    I have a feeling that your trip computer is malfunctioning.

    To calculate it yourself Do the following
    Fill the gas tank up
    Note down the milage on odometer (say M1 miles)
    When the tank is almost empty
    Fill it up with gallons G
    Note the milage M2

    Calculate (M2-m1)/G

    and see if it matches your trip computer
  • comet123comet123 Member Posts: 9
    Sorry just saw this...w. Premium.
    Nothing too newsworthy...but I can't believe how much difference the driving makes. That is start slowing from stop signs, lights, etc.
    Or gliding into the same. When gas was at $4/gal I got a lot better mileage. Now have reverted back to my old ways....not horrible - but without any efforts to conserve.

    Cracks me up when I see a Prius on the road....maybe it is just me - but they are all driving 5 MPH under speed limits, coasting into stop lights, very slow acceleration.
  • bozillabozilla Member Posts: 1
    ODO: 168,000km
    AVG (City) - 17.4L/100km [13.5mpg]
    AVG (Hwy) - 14.8L/100km [15.9mpg]
    GAS: 92 Octane Chevron or 91 Octane Petro Canada
    Notes: Oil changed at 166,000km, all fluids changed at 166,000km

    We have winter tires on right now.

    I thought something was wrong with the car but it seems like the tires plus maybe low pressure might be the only thing. I'm pretty shocked at the mileage. When summer hits I'd like to try out some good summer tires and see if i get an improvement.

    When we first got the car (used) the trip meter read 19.5L/100km [12mpg]! Yikes!

    Any other ideas what might be eating up my mpg? I wish it was as simple as the parking break.
  • hvatohvato Member Posts: 8
    Dear jorryan, Can you tell me how much you paid for your 09 tech/ent drive out? and @ which dealer? I'm in houston and in market for one but dont really know what is a good number to start with? Thanks. you can email @ hvato1@gmail.com
  • hodog16hodog16 Member Posts: 53
    Over 11,000 miles of usage on an 2008 MDX tech I average 19.9 mpg with probably 60/40 highway/city split.

    The most I've seen is 24.1 mpg when a tank had 100% interstate driving, and this was with a fully weighed down vehicle, the A/C going, and averaging 75-80 mph.
  • enforcerenforcer Member Posts: 40
    I have approx 10k miles on my 2008 MDX. It is averaging about 18.8 combined city/highway. On long freeway trips we can easily beat 20 mpg, but stop-and-go suburban traffic and long traffic lights take a toll.
  • inspectoringinspectoring Member Posts: 102
    I guess since the gas prices went down a little - nobody cares about the mileage? I am considering one but just curious - how is the mileage on the 91 octane gas?
  • tastycakes55tastycakes55 Member Posts: 35
    I've done 4 fillups since buying my MDX in November. So far, mileage has been averaging 13-14mpg in 50/50 city/highway driving. Disappointing, but I knew what I was getting in to.

    The MPG is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. There are no good options in this segement, only less bad options.

    The price of gas is also irrelevant, since it could easily be at $150/bbl or at $40/bbl in 2010, and in both scenarios that would imply some serious underlying problems with the health of the US economy.
  • cegledicegledi Member Posts: 11
    Well, after three fill ups I'm as disappointed as I thought I would be. However, not as much. The salesman told me I will have no problems meeting the window sticker on my 09 Base but I had doubts. My doubts are over - I have exceeded the window sticker and I'm still not broke in yet. Two trips so far with about 90% highway and here are my numbers:

    DIC (Driver Information Center) says 22.3 MPG but doing it the old fashioned way I come up with 19.82 MPG (-2.48) and on the second trip 23.30 MPG on the DIC but doing it by hand I get 21.60 MPG (-1.70). Soooooo - I'm doing good but never trust what the DIC tells you.

    This is my second import (2008 Nissan Altima is my other car) and that car is averaging after 15+ fill ups a -1.73 on DIC to actual readings. My two latest domestic offerings (2004 Ford Expedition and 2006 Chevrolet Malibu) both averaged -.78 and -.65 MPG from what the DIC said.

    Wonder how the foreign cars keep getting away with this? I thought the new MPG figures took away this disparity????
  • kingfans1kingfans1 Member Posts: 137
    We should be happy with MPG on Honda Pilot and Acura MDX. I read on mazda, pathfinder forums. some people are getting 19-20 mpg highway miles..
  • wsnycwsnyc Member Posts: 6
    I just reset the 'A' trip odometer after 10,000. The combined MPG over the last year and a half was 19.5. We drive on the average only about 6,500/year. Most of the driving is 60/40 city/hwy. Over the last month with winter driving and using the defrost our MPG has averaged 18 mpg.

    We use the recommended octane for the 2008 MDX. Have any used a lower octane and received similar results? Any effects from using the lower octane such as engine "pinging" or lower MPG?
  • kingfans1kingfans1 Member Posts: 137
    I recently got 21.4 mpg on my 2010 pilot 4wd using 87 regular unleaded. I was heavy on gas pedal too.. I got around 20 mpg when i used 91.

    I don't know why acura recommend 91 octane.. Basically pilot and mdx have very similar engine.
  • emmeffemmeff Member Posts: 3
    The Acura and Pilot don't have the same engine. The Pilot has the 3.5L and the MDX has 3.7L. Not to mention, I would guess the Acura has higher compression, which is the primary reason for the need for increased octane gas.
  • kingfans1kingfans1 Member Posts: 137
    I understand. Acura MDX required 91 octane.. My 2010 Honda Pilot required 87 octane.. But I will be using 91 octane for the better engine.. what type of brand fuel do you recommend???
  • golfnut5golfnut5 Member Posts: 202
    I am considering the purchase of a 2010 MDX and wondering if anyone can speak to the MPG highway only. Just wondering if the six speed has much impact on mileage. I drive mostly highway. Any 2010 owners out there?
  • gigagirlgigagirl Member Posts: 21
    Just bought one in March - it gets excellent highway mileage! I'd say at least 24 or better - very impressed with this! Understand as well I came from jeep commander territory whereby you'd leave the driveway go to a destination and have to refill an entire tank then and there! Cyncially speaking on ''that'' subject - aside, very impressed with it!
  • golfnut5golfnut5 Member Posts: 202
    24 MPG highway is impressive. Thanks.
  • dinkardinkar Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 MDX for last 5+ years, 104,000+ miles now.
    Having the screen of "Trip Computer", I started experimenting at different speeds with every tank fill ups. When driving on the highways at 80mph and city mix, I was getting around 280 miles for the tank full of 20+/- gallons ( 4 to 6 people in the car ). Then I started lowering the highway speed to 70, 60, 50,45 and 40. I have tried 38 at the lowest with the D5 gear but on the slopes it looses the lower gear setting and I have to speed up to 45 miles speed to get back.
    I have recorded 35 miles per gallon as the best reading on the highway after driving around 25 to 30 miles after the fill ups.
    The city and highway mix lets me drive for 520 miles+/- for every tank fill ups.
    There are few more gas savings things I do:
    1. Drive on the right lane of the highway with flasher on.
    2.In city driving, I turn the engine off at the traffic light if it is going to be more than a minute wait. There are few more gas savings ideas I am using also.
    My first brakes lasted till 60,000 miles, front two tires changed after 90,0000 miles. The muffler is still original.
    Let us save the fuel and have some fun!
    Thanks.
  • upstatedocupstatedoc Member Posts: 710
    "I have tried 38 at the lowest with the D5 gear but on the slopes it looses the lower gear setting and I have to speed up to 45 miles speed to get back"

    "There are few more gas savings things I do:
    1. Drive on the right lane of the highway with flasher on. "

    I see a rear end collision in your future, If you're that concerned about mileage why not get a Prius?
  • crvexl4wdcrvexl4wd Member Posts: 35
    Also switching on and on at red light eats more gas then saving. It’s worth switching off if light staying red more than 2 min and that's not the case. Enjoy the MDX instead of insulting it by switching flasher just to save few bucks. As other user said switch to Prius and forget about thinking of gas saving and have peace of mind.
    Only real gas saving is drive sensibly, avoid excessive braking and acceleration.
  • nvenerablenvenerable Member Posts: 1
    I drive a 2009 MDX for 20 months already. Have 63000 miles and my mileage is 23.2-23.6. With the original Michelins I had 23.5 on the average. With the Yokohamas I drive now it is 23.1. My drive is 90% highway and 10% city. Reasonable driving at 72-75 mph, very careful breaking and accelerating, but constant AC use (California). If I use 91 then I have the numbers above, if I switch to 89 mileage falls too, to 21.3. Still have 80% of brake pads and rotors. Made 60K on the Michelins.
  • kingfans1kingfans1 Member Posts: 137
    I am average 20 mpg on my 2010 honda pilot ex-l 4wd. 6,600 miles. maybe my car is not fully broke in yet. as u know honda engine is not fully broke in untill it has between 7-10,000 miles

    but yea, on freeway i drive 65 mph with cruise control. keep it legal.
  • aknayakaknayak Member Posts: 5
    I have 2008 MDX with 20,000 miles. When I go to "Trip Computer" Average fuel is showing 14.8. Any idea as to why is it showing so low? I just bought this car few months ago. I have not calculated MPG by filling tank and miles driven method yet. But 14.8 pretty low for suburb driving.
  • aknayakaknayak Member Posts: 5
    Can you please tell as to how did you reset the 'A' trip odometer? I have 2008 MDX and the trip 'A' seems to be stuck at 14.8 MPG.
  • aikaik Member Posts: 3
    I recently bought a new 2010 MDX tech. Get around 13 MPG for 50/50 city/highway (computed using trip computer and manual tank-filling method). Did a lot of checks and turns out while I get around 19-21 MPG on the highway I get only around 8 MPG in the city which is why I get such an awful average MPG.

    In seems like there are only two options:

    1. The 2010 MDX in fact gets MUCH lower city MPG then the Federal EPA tests suggest (at least given my route) and this is NORMAL.
    :sick:
    2. My car has an issue/is a LEMON.

    I am trying to figure out what is the case and would appreciate if anyone can let me know if they have faced such a low city mileage.

    I have looked into detail in how the EPA conducts their MPG tests. Here is the link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml. Their city tests do look somewhat better than my city driving conditions. For example, my morning commute is 2.5 miles. The total trip takes me around 12-14 minutes (including stoppage time) so the average speed is around 10.7-12.5 MPH.

    The EPA city test runs a bit longer (around 11 miles) and has slightly less stops per mile. Their average speed is 21.2 mph. This would suggest I should get somewhat worse specs than the 16 MPG that the EPA city test though getting a 50% drop seems a bit too much.

    - Does anyone get such a low MPG on their commute (I live in Cambridge)?

    - Also appreciate any advice on what to do. Raised this with Acura Boston tech people and first they said I should wait till after the break-in period. The car now has 1000 miles on it and still just as bad MPG. When I pushed again, the tech person called saying that he test drove drove a 2000 MDX and got and MPG of 10.9. Not sure what to make of that since who knows what a 10 year old car will give.

    But also not sure what to make of that response since it seems to suggest that the EPA city ratings are just off for any type of boston-type city driving???

    I have now asked them to give me a similar 2010/11 MDX loaner to compare its MPG on my route & also to run extensive checks on my car. So far though feel am getting a bit of run-around and seems I need to excalate my complaint. Would appreciate any advice/experience on that as well.

    - Also if anyone has any clues on why the city MPG is so low would appreciate that. My highway MPG is not so far from what the EPA ratings would suggest. The issue really shows up in city driving and the car seems to do particularly bad on routes with multiple stops. I also get the sense it moves faster than what one would expect from a stop situation after releasing the brake suggesting that the engine may be consuming too much fuel in idling state (although the RPM does seem to be at 750 as expected).

    Help! Frustrated and Disappointed.
    :sick: :sick: :sick:
  • aikaik Member Posts: 3
    goto the trip A odometer menu. then press the top select button for a few seconds till trip A odometer sets to 0.
  • crvexl4wdcrvexl4wd Member Posts: 35
    I felt the same way with my 2008 MDX Tech when it was new. I am repeating what you may be knowing.
    1.) Shorter trip with frequest stop is bad on gas.
    2.) Accelerate easy instead of pushing or racing.
    3.) Avoid hard brakes, means when you see light is red, no need to rush and take foot off gas. In half of instances when you reach stop sign, it's already green that way not need to stop and accelerate from zero.
    4.) Use suggested fuel.
    5.) Last but not least, when you reach around 10 K miles point, car already adjust to local conditions and mileage inproves.

    I had my car giving 12 at new and now around 16-17 MPG.

    Hope it helps and satisfy some of your concern. When I say do not race to reach stop sign, I mean go normal and not also offend other drivers by blocking the lane by going super slow. Here I do not want to start that war as why you bought MDX then.
  • aikaik Member Posts: 3
    Thanks appreciate the advice. Have been following it though.

    the MPG increase you list sounds encouraging - I assume your route has remained the same though in which case it's an impressive increase.

    Btw I did get a loaner car from acura. It was exactly the same (2010 tech) and interestingly gave me better mpg on the same exact route (so for e.g. instead of 8 MPG in my mdx, the loaner gave be around 10.5)

    that does suggest that either there is may be a natural improvement over time

    however one very different thing i noticed about the loaner is that at a stop/light, the minute i take my foot of the gas it would drop rpm and gen slow down quite rapidly (as is normal) and the car would not move forward much. However with my MDX even when I come to a complete stop, the MDX still seems to take a few secs extra in revving down (and in fact keeps moving several feet on a flat road after a dead stop i.e. even if I press the brakes fully and then let go). This seems like a small distance but on a route with lots of stops this can make a big difference

    i tried asking the local acura guys whether there was a way to adjust the settings to have a normal/rapid slow down when one takes ones foot of the gas but they didn;t seem to know how to do so or whether this was even possible.

    do you/any others notice this with your Acura? (FYI - on a flat surface when I do a deadstop and then let go of the brake my MDX moves forward about 20 + feet easily and only after that comes to a slower crawl)

    Btw - there was another boston based post where someone had the exact same problem - the post is no longer there so am wondering what happened? I am still talking to the acura people so would be interesting to compare/coordinate.
  • guy2watchguy2watch Member Posts: 5
    Hi - I just wanted to share numbers I have on my '09 MDX (base) - Just purchased a month back when the meter had 17001 had on it.

    Total Miles - 17996

    Avg Speed - 30MPH

    Avg Fuel A - 28.0 MPG
    ">
    Avg Fuel B - 20.8 MPG

    I drive about 5 days (work) in city and 2 days on highways. These readings are right after my couple hours drive (120 Miles)

    I feel these are good numbers, what do you guys think.
  • crvexl4wdcrvexl4wd Member Posts: 35
    Has anyone tried Fuel Doctor FD-47. I saw this in Best Buy last week. Packaging says works well with vehicle 2 or more years older and improve the mileage by 15 to 25 % ?
    Just interested to know if any one Acura MDX 2008 or older owner have tried it and if so, what he thinks about it. Neither I am favouring it or otherwise, just curious to know.
  • cheerioboy26cheerioboy26 Member Posts: 412
    I believe that was just trashed in the Jan. Consumer Reports as being worthless.

    http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/12/fuel-doctor-fd-47-fails-the-consum- er-reports-fuel-economy-mpg-test.html
  • mdx_lovermdx_lover Member Posts: 5
    I agree it was trashed in Jan edition of CR. But see FD-47 reply on the following link. I am not favoring or trashing this just updating.

    http://www.fueldoctorusa.com/fuel-doctor-challenges-consumer-reports/
  • mnsheamnshea Member Posts: 11
    I have a 2011 MDX Tech that now has 425 miles on it. Using premium grade gasoline, I am only getting 13.5 mpg city and 18 mpg highway. The dealership tells me that I must put a few thousand miles on the car before I can begin to see the mileage approach what the sticker says. I would be very interested in hearing what I should realistically expect in terms of gas mileage. Do you agree with the dealer's statement? What is your experience with the 2010 or 2011 MDX?
  • jensadjensad Member Posts: 388
    How one drives and at what speed has a great deal with your mpg. I have an 08 RL and I get in the city about 20-21 mpg. I do not race it but just try to stay steady speed. (I'll probably buy an MDX in the fall so I follow this board.)

    Now many of you may queston what I say now, as i did at first. On the highway at 75-80 mph, (yes I speed) our trip down to the Mojave Desert and later up to Yellowstone from the SF Bay Area Ca. i averaged 29-31 miles per gallon with cruise control on at a steady 80 mph.

    I believe the MDX is a bit smaller than my RL, and little less weight ergo, after break in the mdx :) should do better than my old 08 RL.

    I am not trying to start something but I do see a divergence in results on this board and on the RL board. I hope ALL of us get excellent milleage and enjoy their vehicles for a long time.

    Good luck to all and stay safe.

    jensad :)
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