JCD

I've got a 2004 RL getting 20/23 gas mileage. I see comments of people getting much higher gas mileage but the best I've ever gotten is 24 miles...all highway. On average, I get 21-22 mpg.

I'm in CT and run on mid-grade gas (89 octane) and have no problems running the car (no ping at all). I've gone with premium but have never seen a change in mpg.
Here in CT it's about 10-15 cents more per gal.

Question: Do others owning an RL (circa 2004) feel that premium gas definitely gets better MPG than mid-grade?

John N

I see no increase in MPG with 93 premium over 89 midgrade but I had a sensor go in the engine that they told me was from not using premium. The sensor was $300 so I use premium since

Ken1997TL

I get 26+ mpg using premium fuel. I drive about 72 to 75 mph

cbrig

I just checked my '97 RL 3.5, and I got 19.5 MPG from a combo of in town and highway, driving at 75- 78 on the highway. I have never been able to get over 20, even if I drive 62 on the highway.

JCD

Yes...I've heard that Acura claims a sensor goes from not using Premium gas. Also heard it's a scam.

Re overall mileage...I have never gotten anywhere near the 26 mpg I've seen others claim here that they've gotten. (When on highway, I drive 70 mph...when not on highway, it's not a lot of stop and go...just smaller highways.)

I do know I have much less power in my 2004 RL than I had in my 2000 RL. The '04 feels like a 4 cylinder sometimes....but when I've taken it to Acura, they say "nothing's wrong".

TrojanKing

I have no power complaints, but i have been averaging 16 mpg combo. painful granted i make $500 a month

Zipho

getting 19 mpg pretty regular, with about 80% city driving, using prem

Tha ABomb

I have a 1998 RL and if I average 20 MPG on premium. I dunno if octane affects your mileage or not, but it's definitely better for your car if you run on premium (that's probably what your ECU is tuned for, especially if it's a 2004). Also, I have a friend who has a TL Type S from 2000-ish, and he said by using injector cleaner and replacing the air filter, he got his mileage up to 30 MPG, but I dunno how accurate that is.

3.5RLv-tec?

iTrader: (2)

I would love to know what kind of injector cleaner your friend is using lol

onebadna1nsx

I got 17avg going 80ish oon freeway, and 40 in local.
Going 72-75 freeway, and 40 local, I get 22-25 avg.

Ken1997TL

When I had a '03 TL-P, I would get 33 mpg going 72 mph

3.5RLv-tec?

iTrader: (2)

are you serious! damn TL that efficient? my RL get 20 mpg with premium fuel. I always get 20 mpg mix driving 80mph+ lol

Ken1997TL

400 pounds lighter, more efficient motor and taller gearing

Jimmay

Wow I wish I could get 19mpg. I did the calculations the other day and I was getting about 16mpg in the city. Ill redo it this tank full. I hate Chicago/suburb driving.

Big Green Acura

My 99 gets around 25-30mpg on the freeway doing 75-80, and I get about 22 in town. That RL My first the Big Green has stock wheels, a K&N filter, uses 94 octane, and gets lucas oil additive along with lucas injector cleaner every time I change my oil.

3.5RLv-tec?

iTrader: (2)

lucas oil additive and injector cleaner hmmm.. does it works? lol or its just a scam. My car is a 96 with 143,000 mile and it is getting 20 mpg mix driving. I want to add an additive to my engine but I'm afraid it will fuck up my engine lol..

Big Green Acura

I use Lucas additives after using the transmission additive in my Chevy when it had transmission problems. It actually saved me needing to get it repaired for about 2K miles and eliminated slippage. I would like to see dyno data about how much it actually does though.

turbobore

'02 RL gets 26 mpg highway at 70-75 mph with the A/C on and about 17 mpg around town with a bit of freeway. I installed a K&N filter years ago with the hopes it would help but the fuel efficiency did not improve. If it had a 5 speed auto transmission it would get up to 30 highway.

My 2003 CL-S get 33 mpg highway at 75 mph with the A/C on and about 20 mpg around town. This is pretty impressive fuel economy considering the power of the CL-S.

MasterD86

since we're talkin gas mileage, what are your guys' take on driving highway with the windows down? I've heard the drag from th window open effects mileage, and might as well run the a\c, but not sure about that. so which saves more gas?

Ken1997TL

Running the A/C is fine while driving on the freeway

In addition, just push your A/C button and put it on A/C econ mode. It will turn on the A/C as needed instead of always running

2000RL

Air conditioning vs. opening windows. Some people advise you not to run the air conditioner because it puts more of a load on the engine, which can decrease fuel economy. But others say that opening the windows at highway speeds can affect gas mileage even more by disrupting the vehicle's aerodynamics. Our tests show that neither makes enough of a difference to worry about. Using air conditioning while driving at 65 mph reduced the Camry's gas mileage by about 1 mpg. The effect of opening the windows at 65 mph was not even measurable.

The statement above was taken from a fuel milage test done recentley by Consumers Union. The single biggest gain in mpg is still reducing speed.

Drive at a moderate speed. This is the biggest factor. You may have to be a little patient, but driving at 55 mph instead of 65 or 75 will save you money. When we increased the Camry's highway cruising speed from 55 mph to 65, the car's fuel economy dropped from 40 mpg to 35. Speeding up to 75 mph cost the car another 5 mpg. One reason is that aerodynamic drag increases exponentially the faster you drive; it simply takes more fuel to power the car through the air.

REF: Consumers Union

Big Green Acura

I just wish it had a bigger gas tank for a longer range. My brother's Audi A8 has a 23 gallon tank that gives it a 400-500mile range. The S8 gets a little less mileage so it has a shorter range. I still love the Acura RL and it is my Daily Driver until it dies.

SeamusNH

22 mpg very consistently over the past 8 years and 200k miles. Regular gas and mostly highway driving (usually at 80 mph).

John N

Use premium. I had a sensor go on my 99 RL because was using midgrade and had to spend $300 for new sensor. My milage is 20/23 but on the highway I go 85 so if you slow it down you will get better milage.

jerm1386

my '99 is averaging 22mpg overall, with 27 on long, mostly-highway trips and consistently 30 on long flat stretches of highway with cruise control on, going the speed limit. Premium fuel, 150k miles, regularly 200lbs of tools/computer gear in the trunk, minimal AC (econ mode). Of course, my transmission shifts hard so I don't put the car under any unnecessary hard acceleration.

vas25tl

I got through my first tank last week, averaged 19.1mpg. This is a little lower than I expected but it is winter.

In My TL, I drop from 24-26mpg in summer to 21-22mpg in winter so we'll see how the RL will do. I also need to slow down on the hwy and ride the right late time to time.

silver3.5

you're not alone. on freeways only, cruising about 75mph, i average 22-23mpg at the most. around town and some highways, i average 17-18mpg. i only pump premium also. this falls within the range specified by the government fuel rating system so i'm not too upset or anything.

pdbailey

Does anybody use the OBD-II to get instantaneous readings?

OLD_HATCH

yeah 80 mph give or take and ac on nets me about 22-23 depending on traffic. oh and full of 5 and trunk full.

I average 18-19 city with a bit of highway.

When I was in NYC I averaged like 14-15 mpg ouch!

vas25tl

14-15?!

Might as well get the LX470 I've always wanted.

I started using cruise control and stopped going 80mph and I'm at 20.04mpg for the last tank. I only improved by 1mpg. I'm going to continue to keep track the next few tanks as I drive "nicer"

OLD_HATCH

plug and air filter make a difference along with some good fuel system treatments.

Yeah in stop n go nyc traffic its a killer. Your basicly flooring it all the time to get around.

imnfni

I just purchased an 04 RL Navi from my mom. The car has 68k miles on it. I have replaced timing belt, all accessory belts, and all filters in the car. However I am getting very poor gas mileage. When I mean poor, I mean like 16-17 mpg. I filled up using premium (that is all that has ever been put in it) and I was only able to go 255 miles before the needle was dead on the E line. I just had an oil change done on the car and the service advisor at Acura dealership said that it may need a valve adjustment and that could take care of the low fuel mileage problem. I have run a couple of cans of injector cleaner (Seafoam) through it but no improvement. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Am I expecting too much?

Ken1997TL

Unfortunately 16 or 17 mpg is what you'll get in the city with 10% ethanol in the gas.

Do a purely highway drive at 70 mph and you should see it rise to 23 or 24 mpg.

OLD_HATCH

Yup, if ur driving in downtown all day that's probably what you'll get. Don't feel sad though cause brand new V6's of similar size get the same MPG. If u take it light on the throttle u might take it up a gallon or 2. I usually get about 18 MPG. Mostly short trips etç.

Kirkland Inc

I go to college about three hours away from home and I get anywhere from 22 to 25 MPG when I drive home on the interstate, I usually go about 75-80 on the major highways. City driving is usually around 18. I don't notice any difference in the gas grades with mileage.

dallison

i still get about 20mpg in this thing, but i am not the slowest driver out there.

OLD_HATCH

LOL you must be taking those backroads with no stop signs over near York or something.

Its all about how much you flog it though. If u got a lead foot your gonna get like 15 MPG. I drove in time square for aa day and managed llike 14.something mpgs lol

eshofuniwon

i get about 15 mgs in my 96 and thats all city.. would love to see that "claimed" 26 mgs! especialy with the dreaded $5 a gallon right around the corner!

3.5RLv-tec?

iTrader: (2)

Dude, I have a 96 with 168K and ever since I have a code for EGR the gas mileage goes down the drain. The last time I checked it was 16/17 majority highway driving Before the EGR code, I usually mange to get 19/21. My car have K&N CAI, Magnaflow muffler, and recently I started to put Lucas tune up in a bottle. I can't wait to summer for a tune up. I've planed to change the spark plugs(NGK IX iranium),PCV valve, and if I have some extra cash I'll take to the shop to let them clean out the intake manifold.