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Just completed a road trip from our home on the San Francisco Peninsula to San Diego and back. The Sport Auto Fit worked very well as a freeway cruiser - even better than I thought it would.
On the way down, with three of us in the car, we averaged 39.7 (computer) despite going 80-85 mph on Interstate 5. Driving around LA and the Palmdale desert, I was pleasantly surprised to get just under 42, despite climbing a few mountain passes up to about 4k'. I did not baby it.
On the way home on highway 101 we got about 37. A beautiful time to drive through California. All green with wild flowers everywhere.
Byron
Getting an avg of 33MPG driving ~120 miles/day, 80% freeway. Still have original tires, tread still legal, but intend to toss @ 65K miles.
Just got my FIT shop manual from HelmInc today so I'll be changing out my timing belt @ about 70K miles.
BTW, I also just got the shop manual for my refurbished '86 CRX HF (after 23 years) today I've owned since new, 310K miles, still runs as good as new, 43 MPG, 155# flat.
rr
I thought that the Fit used the timing chain, not a belt.
Regards,
Bubba :shades:
Good post! You nailed it.
It will be fun to compare it to my 2010 Prius once it arrives sometime in June.
It generally agrees by 1/10 to 2 1/0, gallons used, and the same for hand calculated mileage. Keeps track of the tank, current trip, real world mpg, previous days mpg. Fuel used for them, remaining fuel, gas and miles used from the tank and remaining in tank, cost for all the above, and stuff I don't even use.
It also tracks function, such as water temp, maximum and average speed and rpm,
and so forth. It plugs in to the diagnostic port under the dash. Nothing else to do other than follow the directions and do a set up for your car. Such as fuel type (gas or diesel), tank size, and size of engine. Then reset your "trip" odometer to "0" and fill up with gas. Press fill up on the SC.
Drive out the better part of that tank. Fill up at the pump you used in the previous fill up. Then adjust the SC to agree with the actual amount of gas you pumped. Also adjust the SC to reflect the actual miles driven on that tank to agree with your odometer. Although the SC may have been slightly more accurate, as it measures mpg even while backing up. But if they agree, it will make you feel better about the hand calculations. Then you are good to go. If you fill up at a different pump later, and there is a disagreement, you can bet it had something to do with pump metering, the angle the car was at, or how you operated the nozzle.
The in dash trip computer is optimistic by all accounts that have reported on these forums. It is that way and will continue to be that way, Period! It is useful to let you know that it records better or worse mileage for certain driving situation, but is not "spot on" accurate, and never will be.
Kip
I have an 08 Fit Sport.
I just have to differ with most of you on gas mileage.
First off, driving habits are a determinant of fuel economy BUT so is geography. The fit only has a 105 HP motor. To merge with traffic in California, you have to use all of those little horses. Secondly, California has a tremendous landscape with many inclines and declines--it's not Florida!
With all of that said, I run my fit from SoCal to NorCal 2-3 times a week. I roll with Beemerz and WRXs in the fast lane the whole way. After a few miles of cruising at 80+, my fit gets mad respect.
What blows my mind is that I am still getting 35-40 MPG! Here is the trick--USE THE CRUISE CONTROL! Your onboard computer knows when to punch it and saves you a ton of gas by controlling the fuel rate for you.
I hope this helps.
However, I disagree with the opinion on the negligible impact of aggressive driving of smaller cars.
I wanted to get a Fit for its versatility and its better-than-average fuel economy. My wife and in-laws thought it was too small so we settled on the Toyota Matrix. Got the 2008 XRS auto version in Dec. 2007. Was always too busy / lazy to record odometer readings and fuel purchases...
Made a few work related road trips from north NJ to DC and finally decided to record and calc my fuel economy.
I've consistently gotten above 38 mpg on the past 3 trips to DC with a few local trips in NYC / NJ area mixed in. Here are the numbers:
484 mi. 12.67 gal. = 38.21 mpg
483.9 mi. 12.56 gal. = 38.52 mpg
304.7 mi. 7.85 gal. = 38.81 mpg
If you are getting 36 mpg on a 2600 lb Honda Fit, how can I get 38 mpg on a 3200 lb Toyota Matrix? I think the answer is probably how differently we drive.
I usually go about 5 to 10 mph above limit (mostly 65 mph limit) on the way to DC to be on time. I stay at around the limit when returning to NJ. I have to say that 99% of other drivers (including trucks / 18 wheelers) drive faster, some much faster. I stay on the right lane, listen to the radio, and enjoy the scenery. I've learned not to mind all the other vehicles passing me on the left.
One of the funny things I've observed from my trips is that driving faster doesn't necessarily reduce my time on the road. On paper, if I average 50 mph for 300 miles, it would be take 5 hours. I can save 1 hour by driving 10 mph faster (60 mph would cover 300 miles in 4 hours). In reality, traffic conditions often have much bigger impact. I can drive at 75 mph for an hour for 75 miles and have the 10 or 15 minutes of time gained wiped out when I hit traffic and have to drive at 45 mph for 1/2 hour. One of my faster 1-way trips (about 3-1/2 hours) happened when I limited my top speed to the posted limits and was lucky enough to encounter little congestion. Other 1-way trips with higher top speeds have lasted beyond 5 hours due to congestion / construction / accident.
Some of my biggest concerns about driving relates to careless, aggressive, or rude / inconsiderate drivers whose actions can lead to road rage and accidents. I think by having an aggressive driving attitude, you will not only lower your fuel economy, but you also increase the risk of causing confrontations with other drivers / road rage / and accidents. That's my gut feeling based on my observations.
I hope more drivers will relax, loosen up, slow down a little and drive safe. I see too many drivers tail gate / don't keep safe following distances and pass other vehicles with only a few feet to spare between bumpers - at 70 + mph. What's scary is that even drivers of 18-wheelers do this, and not just a few of them. If they make a mis-calculation....
As for fuel economy involving going up hill versus downhill, here's my view:
A trip is made by the same car from point A to point B and then back to point A, all at the same speed.
If point A is at a significantly higher elevation than point B,
then mpg should be higher for trip from A to B than the return trip from B to A because the potential energy at the higher elevation can be converted to kinetic energy (motion) when traveling from A to B. Extra chemical potential energy in the form of gasoline has to be used to return the car and passenger from point B to point A.
I agree with the response from wistlo.
My usual around town mileage in Asheville continues at 35 mpg in warm weather and 32 mpg in mid winter. (I got my Fit in September, 2008.)
Those of us, that have been out of high school for a while, understand that driving in the mountains results in poorer mileage than driving on flat ground. If the grades are steep enough to require brakes on the declines, the mileage suffers even more.
Fuel mileage is greatly affected by several factors. Gravity is one of them.
Many think that because they might get 20 mpg going up one side of a mountain and 40 going down the same distance on the other side that the "average" for the two is 30 mpg. Not true!
I've read several times that due to the size and weight of it's body and the size and speed of the wings, physics can prove that a Bumble Bee can not fly. Really? :confuse:
Kip
Both the the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics apply. The First Law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
When driving on hills, the First Law tells us exactly the same energy expended climbing a hill is recovered during descent. Think of a roller coaster that gets pulled up by force and then travels its course without any mechanical input. The coaster speeds up as it moves down, converting potential energy from its height into velocity. As it climbs, the momentum is transferred back to potential energy.
The reason mileage drops on hills comes from the Second Law, the fact that processes are inherently inefficient to some degree. Internal combustion engines are most efficient at steady state. Also, hilly driving usually means curves and speed variation. To conserve all the energy gained going uphill, a car would have to be allowed to accelerate freely downhill, which on long grades results in unsafe downhill speed.
On longer grades, the use of brakes or engine braking dissipates energy and reduces efficiency (Hybrids recover some of it).
Bikes are a terrible analogy because we perceive the great effort required to muscle up hill. But in terms of actual energy expenditure, difficulty does not correlate to energy expended or recovered. A car or bike that can traverse hills without using braking will be less efficient only because of incremental differences in engine performance and rolling resistances at varying speeds.
3488 miles and 99 gals used comes to 35mpg. (am I allowed to round numbers)
Trip was from western SD to NY city,1% was in stop & go traffic and 80% was driven at speeds higher than 65mph. Indiana,Iowa,Minnesota & SD have limits of at least 70mph. We used cruise about 95% of the time,stopped every 2hrs for breaks.
3 adults & 1 12 yr old child + baggage for a 9 day trip. Yes we bottomed out the suspension in the rear a handfull of times. BTW I replace the air filter 1/2 way thru the trip & it had no affect on mpg.
Good analogy.
A roller coaster, with only one mechanical assist, is pulled to it's highest point at the beginning. From that point it is released and gravity takes over. The combination of the up hill grades is less distance and/or angle than the combination of the downhill grades. So it reaches it's destination at the bottom. Some of the larger, longer, roller coasters require more than one mechanical assist.
Engineers use physics and other stuff to figure in the factors to make the "Coaster" function as it should. I expect those same engineers can dig up some formulas that explain exactly why a car in mountainous terrain gets less mileage than on flat ground.
A marble allowed to roll down a given hard surfaced grade will not continue and roll up an identical grade for the same distance. It will always fall a little short. When it stops forward momentum and begins to roll backward, it will fall short going back up the first grade and so forth until it eventually stops. That marble likely has nowhere near the resistance to movement as a moving car. When a skate boarder in a half pipe stops exerting extra energy, he will quickly come to a stop at the bottom, because there is simply not enough energy built and stored by the gravity effect to make it all the way to the top of the other side of the half pipe, in the real world.
So far we haven't found a way to overcome the "slow down" factors in real world, without exerting "Extra" energy.
Until we do, we are forced to live in a world that requires more fuel to be used in mountainous driving than flat ground driving.
Kip
The major source of loss in hilly driving is braking, regardless of source of friction (brakes or engine pumping against a closed throttle). Hybrids recover some of those losses by converting deceleration forces into stored energy.
Engine performance does vary under load, but it's a moderate to minor effect. The evidence is out on the highway: On hilly I-81, I get within 1-2 MPG of the mileage as I do on flat I-10 in both a FIt and a Civic, both with manual transmissions.
No, I'm not having you on.
All I did was to ensure that the tachometer never--or rarely--went above 3000rpm.
I'll give you the full story so someone can maybe identify something I haven't thought of yet.
Bought my 08' Automatic Fit Sport in August of 2008.
It only registered 30 test-driven miles on it, being brand new.
The dealership was a good hour from my house, and they filled up the tank all the way, and I drove it all the way home on the freeway, averaging between 55-70 the whole way.
Even then I wasn't that excited about the gas mileage.
The next day, I was almost broadsided by some jerk who was going about 150 and going into my lane. I had no choice but to slam on the breaks and swerve left and right really fast so I wouldn't hit the car next to me, avoiding him.
That incident balded my tires a bit, and I think my car eventually got out of alignment from that.
I was a little suspicious of the dealership because they were selling another color of the new '08 Fit and it had custom tinting on all the windows... the Fits don't come that way.. so what gives, were they selling a returned one and saying it was new?
Ok... thats the sum total of the negative forces (that I'm aware of) that have impacted my car.
I've only done 1 oil change, and theres less than 6,000 miles on it now, almost a year later. I've only EVER put in Mobil or Chevron, and never used the cheapo gasses. On this recent oil change, I put in a synthetic Mobil1 oil filter. I changed the air filter and cabin filter, even though it was way under the time needed, obviously.
I took it to another dealership and told them my story and had their service department check it over. They (said) they checked it top to bottom; no faults or codes on the computers, the breaks aren't sticking (thereby causing extra friction which I was suspicious of). They offered to have one of their technicians drive it an hour away and back and check the mileage but I told him I've done that over and over and over. They said they didn't know what to tell me. They offered stories of salespeople who own the Honda Pilot and they were very displeased with the mileage until after about 15,000 miles the gas mileage suddenly went up, apparently after the engine was broken in.
Eh.
I don't drag race it, I don't drive it like its a sports car, and even when I've done entire tanks driving like a very cautious old lady, the mileage is pretty much the same. Whether I drive 90% freeway or 90% city, the mileage is the same. Whether I have lots of passengers or just myself, the mileage is the same.
When the dealership says they can't find anything wrong with it.. .what am I supposed to do?
I'm a young single guy and I could've bought a Mustang for this kind of mileage. I tried to be wise and sensible and I wanted to save more money on gas in the longrun than look cool and impress people. I test drove the Yaris, the Nissan Versa, and the Fit. I had to go with the Fit because of the safety rating, the cheaper auto insurance, and the overall features and kudos/awards from all the car magazines.
I know, this was a very long story and I'm sorry for that but I wanted to give you the full details so y'all wouldn't have to ask for them later.
My parents drive a 6-cylinder GMC Jimmy SUV thats from 2001 and it gets... 18-20 mpg... the same as my damn Fit!!
I saw a guy today driving the 2009 Fit Sport and I asked him what kind of mileage he is getting and he looked on his dash and said it was reading 33, and he said thats about right.
That's when I decided enough is enough.
The fact that it needs an alignment and the tires are slightly balded a little can't possibly kill the mileage by 10 mpg or more??? I've checked and re-checked everything over and over. The air pressure in my tires is correct. Like I said, I've never used cheap gas. Its only had 1 oil change. All the filters are brand new in it since I changed them a few weeks ago. I run the AC alot but so do others who live around here, including that guy who gets 33 mpg average.
I need some advice/help on who to contact.. Honda corporate? I have absolutely no idea who I would call or email there.... maybe contact a consumer advocate to put on the heat? the dealership I bought the car from?? I want to start getting the 27/33 mileage this car is rated for, or I want a different car.
I'm sick of this. I'm tired of throwing my money away. Maybe I should've bought a Prius like I was thinking. I know, I know... you end up paying about 7,000 more in the long run. But I could *REALLY* use that immediate gas savings in my wallet right here and now!
Someone, anyone... please help me figure this out... shed some light on this!
P.S. Thanks for listening
The reason I ask is that it sounds like you might not be getting all the way to top gear in the automatic.
That being said, I drive the you-know-what out of my 08 Honda Fit Sport (auto) and I get anywhere between 30-42 MPG.
Saying that, what is the difference between my car and yours?
Part of me says that you are full of it but your long post makes me think that you are sincere.
There are so many variables involved with how much fuel your car actually consumes that most likely your problem is either major (not likely) or incredibly simple.
So, you must post on this blog, your exact driving habits for someone to actually give you good advice.
That means, all of the details that you can possibly think of...including but not limited to...
-type of terrain you drive on
-type of fuel you use
-exact condition of your tires
-air pressure on all your tires
-exact percentage of highway v city
-exactly how many miles do you get per gallon
-how often are you merging with traffic
...and so on
Details are important if you expect resolution; your post was mostly ranting--justified but not really results driven, if you will.
Can't imagine how the mileage could be so bad and not be getting error codes.
First thing I would do is the Idle learn procedure (ILP). You can find that on page 11 of the Pilot "Real World Mpg" forum. Do it EXACTLY as it is written. No short cuts.
If that doesn't help, you need to become a Fixture at your dealer. Top off the tank and have a technician drive the car for a hundred miles or so and check the mileage, with you in the car. Another thing, would be to drive one of their demo Fits for a hundred miles and see what kind of mileage you get.
With legitimate mileage that bad, possibly the states "Lemon Law" would help. The car is not as "Green" as it is supposed to be, therefore not meeting EPA standards.
Kip
You can actually do a test yourself: find a level stretch of highway without much traffic (might be hard to do in the Bay Area, may have to travel a bit to find that). Top off the tank at a gas station that is as close as possible to an entrance to the highway. Fill the tank until the pump shuts off, and STOP. Clear out the trip odometer. Then drive as far as you can in one direction on this level highway, with the cruise set at a moderate speed--either around 55-60 mph or whatever the speed limit of the highway is (if no cruise, try to maintain a set speed with light pressure on the pedal). (As was mentioned, be sure the transmission is in the highest gear.) Then turn around and do the same thing in the opposite direction until you return to the same gas station you used before. Fill the tank at the same gas pump you used the first time, until the pump shuts off. And calculate your fuel economy for the trip (the longer the trip, the better). The mpg should be close to the EPA highway estimate for the car, at least. If the speed was around 55-60, I'd say the mpg should exceed the EPA number. If not, if instead it's closer to 18 mpg, then I'd say the car really does have some kind of problem.
Only thing I can offer is try the ILT mentioned in other posts.
The thing that really puzzles me about all the FITs is the wide range of MPG reported, from 15 to 44. That just doesn't make sense to me even with all the different factors that play into MPG.
Actual from mileage to gallons used was 37.5 mpg which is still a WOW.
Base model five speed manual 80/20 highway/city.
love my new fit.
JAREW
I got an indicated 42.4 during a rather "aggressive" test drive session a couple of weeks ago. Even if that translates only to a real-world 34 mpg, it's still better than my Civic gets when driven comparably.
i have to think honda could remedy this, but too many drivers not in the know would have to face the reality that the mileage of the fit isnt as rosy as they think.
Some of the disparity across reporters may be CPU versus real mileage--although I also noted before that I actually got 47.5 mpg over 280 miles on an interstate tank that involved a lot of drafting behind 18-wheelers doing 65 mile per hour.
It will also say how many miles were driven. The driver can can calibrate the Scan Gauge to the car's odometer by adjusting the indicated speed. For example the car is driven 100 miles according to the odometer. But the scan gauge says the car traveled 98 miles. That is a 2% difference and the gauge can be adjusted to reflect "+2" . Then the next time the car is driven a given distance, the gauge will agree with the odometer. Or pretty close as it also measures the fuel used when in reverse.
Problem is, that odometers are not the most accurate of devices. So we really don't know if the odometer is more accurate, or the gauge. If we don't believe that, Next time on an X-way, reset the tripometer at a given mile marker. Drive a hundred miles and see how far off the odometer really is. Another, and even more accurate way, is to set a GPS for trip. It will tell us how far we have traveled as well as how fast we are going. That can be compared to the odometer and other devices.
The differences folks are seeing may actually be the cars odometer, the cars trip computer or a combination of the two.
The key for super accurate results, the fill ups must be done exactly the same way every time. Same nozzle setting, same pump, same car position, etc..And know how accurate the measuring devices actually are.
Kip
So far, I've done 300.6 miles/9.06 gallons for a calculated 33.2 mpg on my very first tank, mostly in stop-and-go suburban driving on no-name gasoline. The gauge reading was 35.3. I'm looking forward to seeing how it does as it gets broken in more thoroughly. It's already significantly better than the '99 Civic it mostly replaces.
My almost new 09 Fit with manual trans gets in the low to mid 40's actual MPG corrected (thanks to my wife's careful driving), so you should not have to wait for it to break-in further.
Assuming you:
-have correct tire pressure (try at least 36 - 38 psi),
-are not using ethanol gas (this could cause a 20 to 30% hit on MPG),
-are not driving in a aggressive fashion (this could cut your MPG in half easily),
-are not doing all stop and go traffic (heavy traffic is where the diesels and hybrids do well),
-are staying under 70 mph most of the time,
-are keeping the engine below 3,000 rpm as much as possible
-are letting the car warm up completely (driving 10 minutes at a time will not warm up the engine/transmission and your MPG will be 15 to 20% or more low - Open-Loop in the computer)
-don't have a leak or someone stealing your gas,
-are getting into top gear with your automatic transmission (RPM at 60 mph?)
-are driving in the "Drive" position (letting the automatic shift itself) and not the "Sport" position on the auto trans (and shifting with the paddle shifters at high rpm)
-don't let the car idle for long periods (its OK to shut down at long lights)
-don't get any error codes - I'm not sure if they would show a bad spark plug - but this would show as loss of power or rough idle.
-have done the Idle Learn Procedure suggested earlier.
-are sure that your hand brake (parking brake) is releasing completely
-have tried driving 5 to 10 miles at 50 mph or more without using your brakes at all and then coasting to a stop (going up a hill helps), then feel your brake discs and drums (the discs and drums should be barely warm - if you can't touch all four of them without burning your hand - then that's the problem)
-have checked your odometer against known accurate highway mileposts.
-are calculating your MPG by Miles Driven/Gallons Used and not using the MPG gage numbers which are known not to be very accurate.
Then I would try the following:
See if you can buy or borrow a ScanGage II for your Fit. This is a digital readout unit that plugs into the cars computer system. The same unit works on most cars made after 1996 (with the OBD II computer system) One costs about $140 new, but if it fixes your problem it will quickly pay for itself in gas saved. The same Scan Gage will work on most modern cars so you can think of it as a tool investment and move it from car to car as needed. Or you can put it back in the box and sell it on eBay for $100 after you are finished with it.
The ScanGage II will give you an instantaneous readout in gallons per hour for all conditions: idle, coast, cruise, full-throttle, etc. It will read water temperature (low temp equals low MPG). It can be adjusted to read instantaneous and average MPG within a few percent by entering a correction after each fill-up.
This is the best way for the average driver to monitor MPG and fuel consumption plus it gives you a lot more information about the engine. It will indicate if you have correct Spark Advance (in general more advance will improve MPG until the engine starts to "ping"). It will confirm that the engine computer has switched to Closed-Loop operation as soon as it warms up (always in Open-Loop will hurt MPG). It will measure Intake Air Temperature (warm is good for mileage). It will show Battery Voltage (always high - above 15 volts - might indicate an alternator overcharging the battery, which might hurt your MPG).
It scans the engine for any trouble codes and stores and reads out any found. This would allow you to confirm the dealer's analysis or discover any code problems that he may have missed. It has many other features but these are the ones that would be important for good MPG. See their web site for more information.
Once you get it calibrated and working (it will take a few days to appreciate all the features) you will be able to determine and compare your results with other folks. I'll be glad to move my ScanGage from my Acura to my 09 Fit with manual transmission to give you some readings for comparison. If your ScanGage numbers don't make sense, then it may indicate computer problems as well, but I would expect the code readout to have shown a problem here.
Good Luck!
I do not have a lead foot. I have had the car tested 2x by the dealer, including checking pressure. The Fit Sport has alloy wheels. I have a regional managers phone number and this week, I will be calling and following up with a letter. I get 18-22 mpg with mixed driving, but little sitting at lights. I rarely use the a.c. I hypermile on downhill grades and at longer red lights. I weigh under 150. I don't carry bricks. Something is wrong with the car and that has nothing to do with the EPA and whatever vehicles they tested. The dealer says everything in the car is computerized and it reads out fine. I was told to change my oil (did) , I was told to "wait a while as the car breaks in." Now, am I supposed to wait until the warrantee runs out? I think not. I want to know what satisfaction anyone has received from Honda. Thank you all.