I have searched this topic and found many answers, but I wanted your opinions.

I recently bought a new 08 TSX. I have seen really wierd gas mileage, and from what I read, it should get better around 5K miles. When I first picked it up, I drove around the city for about 100 miles and saw about 22mpg. When I left to drive back home (160 miles, all highway), I got about 33mpg on the highway. Since I have been back, my wife has used it for only short trips around town, 5 miles here, 2 there, 12, about 95% city driving, stop and go, run to the grocery store, etc. Since we got back and we're getting around 18.5mpg which I think is very low.

I love the TSX, great car, fun to drive! Once the car is broken in, what mpg should I expect to see in the city. I got about 19 in my 3.2TL, I figured I'd get about 23 with the TSX in the city. I was thrilled/suprised with the 33mpg on the highway, but 18 in the city doesn't thrill me.

Reassure me it city mpg will get better. When will I see a noticable difference? Most say after I change the oil, or around 5K miles.

 

Is all this on the first tank?

The revised EPA estimates are supposed to be very close to what you can expect.
A quick search shows different EPA estimates.
Motor Trend - 22/31
Acura - 19/28(MT) , 20/28(AT).
..... and, the catch all phrase, "your mileage may vary".

 

Well, obviously very short trips (couple miles) are going to absolutely kill your mpg. For the last 8 months or so, I've been doing mostly 2.5 mile trips from home to work then work to home every day, and my mpg has dropped a good 4-5 mpg since I started doing that (hurt my back, can't go to the gym anymore every day after work like I used to). So honestly, unless you plan on making longer trips in the car, low 20s is about all you'll probably see.

 

i do mostly highway driving in my 11 month old 06 6spd tsx. it has almost 29,000 miles on it. i try to use cruise control as much as possible. the best mpg was 41.6 and my worst was 25.3. the few times i have had to deal with city traffic my gas mileage was never that low.

 

The TSX really really hates city driving!

Stop and go traffic in an I-4 pulling +3500 lbs (car's mass, gasoline weight, passenger(s), junk in the trunk, A/C, etc). It is completely opposite on the hwy with gas mileage. I've got has high as 41 mpg avg with the cruise set to 60 mph with the 5AT.

Adding a K/N air filter (about $35) and changing to syn oil like Mobil 1 5w-30 after your 1st service at 5,000 miles MIGHT squeeze another 1/2 to 3/4 mpg extra.

 

I haven't reached past 25 mpg on my car. Any idea why? I do 120 miles to stony brook round trip and I usually get 23-24. I usually drive at 70 mph. Do you think the intake would affect it that much?

 

I do City driving Daily, and highway driving to visit family.

Strictly City stop and go I get about ~20 mpg

Strictly Highway i get about ~30

Mix of both i am doing about 23-26

I have an 08 TSX with 2200 miles thus far.

 

The only thing I can think of is the city driving is killing your overall mpg average.

Have you tried to reset your mpg avg once you get on the hwy with the cruise control on to test your hwy mpgs? A couple of miles of city driving and/or a lot idling at stops will kill your gas mileage average.

 

I have an 07 and havent reset the trip a monitor since I bought it, approaching 5,000 miles not and 24.3 mpg. Mostly city driving to from work, errands, etc. I took it on a trip from socal to the bay area last month and I reset trip monitor B before we left and got 36 mpg on the way up there.

I think your mileage will improve as you put mileage on the car. Mine acted the same way initially. I was getting about 20-21 but it improved as the car racked up the miles.

 

It varies. I bought my car used 4 weeks ago and on the current tank it is only getting 19, although I've been making a really conscious effort to get that number up. I love watching the MPG, but hate the number its putting out. My drive is 7 miles each way to work and back, about 2/3 city and 1/3 highway with a slight hill going to work and down slope coming home. I drive about a mile through downtown San Diego from 163 almost to PCH for you SD people.

When my gf drives the car, about 25 miles, she averages 28mpg, and hers is about 90% freeway. You guys are right, the TSX does hate city driving!

 

I average 25 mpg with 30% freeway and 70% city. I "gained" some miles back on my way to school but lose them after school due to traffic jam. Oh my... the TSX hates traffic jam with a passion. I got stuck in traffic once and I lost some 30 average miles on a tank.

I've reached 44 mpg before going downhill, low rev, and going at 55-65. (coming down from seattle).

I use mpg A as my "reset" and B as my overall mpg record. I haven't hit 5k on my car yet.

 

I hope to get about 23-24 in the city and 30 or so on the highway. I've got about 750 miles on it. It resets every time I fill up, but the tank with the 160 mile highway trip averaged about 26, that's after about 100 miles driving around in the city.

Fortunatly we drive a total of about 80 highway/20 city. We just haven't gone anywhere yet. I averaged about 23mpg overall with my 2001 TL. It had about 106,000 miles when I traded it in. I am hoping for an overall of 28mpg with an 80/20 split.

Thanks for the insite.

 

Your 19 mpg with 3.2TL = 16 mpg with new rating so your TSX is still better

 

I don't have the navi so I can only calculate mpg manually at fill up. I don't idle at all. Everytime I get to a point, I will turn off my car. Hmm....

 

initally i would get around 27mpg (40% city) i hit some of that lovely LA traffic but not too bad

now i get around 25mpg mostly cuz i drive it harder, im at 18k miles now.

lowest i have gotten on a tank is 21, highest is 37

freeway is an easier number to relate to, but city numbers seem like they would have a wider range due to different driving styles, traffic, and general area (speed limit, # of lights/stopsigns) compounded by the weight of our car.

18 doesn't seem that bad thou

 

I get 33 on the highway also. City milage sucks because the car doesn't have any toque, so you have to put your foot in it to leave a stop light.

 

I don't Nav either, but my milage shows up on the info screen in the IP.

 

Lately I've been getting 28.8mpg or so (according to the MID); fill-up computations are about 1mpg lower. But for the past month or more, I haven't been consciously driving conservatively, nor burning up the roads. Mostly work commute. But i do sometimes sit for a minute or two or three idling, a/c on, getting my @*%& together.

Considering that my 2nd choice Accord V6 is reported to get 23/25,... I couldn't be happier. T'is better than what Cons. Reports published.

 

Hmmmph.

Just today I filled up after two weeks of commuting, about 50/50 city/highway.

12.7 gallons, 357 miles. That's 28+ mpg.

You guys must have a lead foot or something. (2007 6MT, 7000 miles)

Coasting is the key to mpg int the TSX. As long as you're above idle RPM, the ECU wll completely shut off fuel to the injectors and you literally burn no gas. So, instead of rushing up to the next stop and braking (braking = $$ out the window), try anticipating the stop and coasting some.

 

My overall average MPG for the last 4741 miles is 27.00

Now with the stock tires/wheels I average 31.98 mpg (with two long trips avg 36 and 35 mpg).

With my summer tires (Kumho SPT 235/40/18) and summer wheels (Volk Racing Ce28n) I average 24.51 MPG. Hehe, I have a little more fun in the summer...even with (3) 200 mile trips in there as well.

This winter I will document my mileage with my winter tires (Nokian RSi 205/60/16) and winter rims (Honda Accord cast Alum).

My lowest MPG for a tank of gas was 20.10 mpg, but I was having a lot of fun that tank

So, 18 mpg is fine, especially all around town on a tight vehicle.

 

Heartily concur. Jack rabbit starts and rushing to red lights only to brake hard, are great ways to burn gas and wear out components IMHO. I do a lot of pacing, coasting, slow moving in stop 'n go traffic so that I don't have to stop,... and it certainly pays off in better mileage. Oh, and it's safer. Oh, and it seems to result in less road rage and anxiety (I'm less susceptible to "get ahead" syndrome). Just adding my .

 

I spent the last 5 years in a Civic Hybrid learning the ins and outs of economic driving. I've had an 06 AT since April. Some observations:
- Getting EPA mileage takes work. Most folks have "normal" driving habits that are very wasteful. We don't realize it until you start paying attention. You can improve your MPG by 2-3 on technique alone (if you have bad habits, and just about everyone does).
- The last time my wife drove my car I had 31 MPG on the meter and it came back with 25 and she drove 10 miles. I'd actually have to really try to do that kind of damage in 10 miles. But, it goes to show how naturally bad driving habits can be.
- New tires are the enemy until they break in. Expect that to last 1-3K miles. I can't speak to the oil having never experienced it (my O6 had 6K miles on it when I bought it). Maybe the oil mixture they use (which is known to be "special" in order to break the car in) is thicker than usual. I would not rule it out however, because oil is the next enemy right behind tires.

On getting good mileage:
- I'd strongly recommend using the instant MPG guage in your car. You'll be surprised at how little gas petal travel is needed to cruise at 20 MPG versus 40 MPG. So part of getting good mileage is training your right foot to use just enough gas to maintain speed and no more. I've found I can drive on level roads at 45 MPH and hold 40 MPG on the display and maintain speed. Actually, I can do that on the highway too at 70 MPH if traffic allows.
- Keep the car in shape. Correct oil, alignment good, correct air pressure in tires.
- The TSX is remarkably aerodynamic, but under normal conditions wind resistance is your #1 factor after 40 MPH. Speeding hurts MPG, even though the TSX seems to handle it very well. I drove around 150 miles at 70-75 MPH and had 35 MPG on the display at the end (~33 real MPG).
- Fast starts kill MPG. If you're a lead-foot, you'll eat up gas. In stop-and-go or city driving, this is what hurts most. You'd be surprised how relaxed you can make starts and stops and still get where you are going without being a road hazzard.
- Idling also eats up gas. If I know I'm going to be stopped for more than say 60 seconds, I'll turn the car off. However because starting takes a bit of gas, if you turn the engine off a lot you'll actually do more harm than help.

BTW - lifetime average for my car (7000 miles) is 28.8 MPG, about 70% highway 30% city.

It's basically that simple. Drive it gentle and watch the guage. Good luck -

 

no but your lead foot will

 

the speed limit on the highways near me is 70 mph. i set my cruise control to 73-74 and average 33-34mpg.

 

i thought i read in the forums somewhere... someone calculated that around the 75mph'ish is the prime speed for the best mpg???

 

I would be very surprised if this were true. Wind resistance increases as the square of vehicle speed (which means that power consumption required to overcome drag increases as the cube of your vehicle speed).

I would exepct the TSX to get the best mileage probably somewhere around 60 mph, since this lets you get into 6th gear and still keep the engine RPM in an efficient operating range.

 

The government did a study and reduced the national speed limit to 55 in the 80's (I think) because 55 gave the best mileage at that time.

 

This is one of the best write ups on fuel economy I've ever seen, second to Sauceman's. I concur with everything, especially the minor amnt of gas pedal movement to further increase or decrease mpg. Cheers!

 

Can't find the article, but CR did a study with same car/same fuel at 55, 60, 65, 70, etc., and found that mileage started decreasing with higher speeds due to parasite drag on the vehicle.

Here's a quote from another article on their site:

 

It seems that for me, when using cruse control, gas mileage doesn't start to decrease until after 70 MPH. I can get 30-33 MPG up to 70 MPH. Anything above 70 MPH (never set the cruise faster than 80 MPH) usually yields me around 28 MPG.

 

we have an instantaneous fuel economy gauge in our car? maybe i don't because mine is an 04

 

on an '04, you would have it with the navi... if you don't have navi, I think you're SOL...

 

Yep.

 

My MPG has leveled off to the 26 range. I was having trouble getting above 22 MPG in the first few months of driving. Level freeway driving helps a lot as does coasting whenever possible. The mileage type ranges from 50-70 percent highway. I watch the MID a lot, but I also like to open up and rev the engine above 4000 and beyond a few times per week. Strangely enough, when I started revving the engine a little more, every so often and then go on long highway stretches, the mileage seemed to get better. This may have been coincidence, but I thought it was worth noting.

2006, 5AT

month mpg
MAY 25.37
JUN 25.59
JUL 26.23
AUG 25.48

 

For those with the 6MT, do you ever shift into neutral for the sake of fuel mileage? The reason I ask is that I read an article recently about maximizing fuel economy and it talked about shifting into neutral and costing on downhill grades. Is there any advantage doing this over simply letting off of the throttle and leaving it in 6th. By the way - through a combination of anticipation (coasting vs. braking to keep pace with traffic), a bit of drafting behind commercial trucks, and shifting into neutral on grades, I was able to accomplish 38 mpg on my last 65 mile commute to work!

 

^^ When engine braking on a downhill the engine management system shuts off fuel so there is no fuel consumption. If in neutral then fuel is consumed to maintain the engine at idle.

 

Plus, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to accelerate suddenly, you better be real quick at shifting. The idea has always just felt unsafe to me.

 

STOOPID idea, IMHO. You need to be in control of your vehicle. If you're rolling in neutral, you don't have any speed, maneuvering control (you need to maintain torque to the wheels in avoidance).

Don't believe everything you read.

I've also heard that drafting trucks is overrated, and hazardous. If a truck doesn't know you're there, you're endangering yourself. Stick to the 2-second rule (I prefer 4 seconds, something I learned in sports cars).

 

I've been averaging a consistent 30 - 31 mpg on 75% highway 25% city for the past 25k miles or so - doin ~80mph on the highway

oh yeah, drafting a truck is dangerous and NOT recommended.. but a recent myth buster episode proved how effective it can be.....

myth busters - drafting for the money

 

You guys are starting to sound like a hybrid owners form.

I've been in long discussions over extreme techniques to get fuel economy (the proper phrase for this is "hypermiling"). Some hybrid owners I was on the chat boards with would go to the kind of extremes you would not believe. Not only would they use neutral to coast, some would kill the engine too.

The list goes on and on, but all roads lead to the same conclusion (IMO) - no amount of fuel savings is worth your safety or the safety of others. Drafting trucks, coasting in neutral, killing the engine while moving - none actually make any kind of real difference in fuel economy and add all kinds of risk to you and others. There are a lot of things (mostly the things in my previous post) that are safe to do, don't make you a road hazzard, and get good results.