I already read through the thread "Consistent 19 MPG", and I'm a little frustrated. I've had my car a few weeks now, just did my second fill up a few days ago. I put in 91 (as I did the first time), and I figured I'd do a mileage check. 16.8 MPG!!!! WTF!?!

So here's the stats: I live in LA, sit in butt-slow traffic for 20 miles to work, 20 miles back home. I have an Auto, and I only have about 450 miles on it so I'm still doing the "break-in" (slow acceleration, early braking, haven't gotten the tach over 3K either), and when the freeway does open up, I stay at 70mph.

Note that my '97 v6 3.0 CL/auto would average about 23/24 mpg and I was definitely driving it a bit harder than I am my TSX.

I know this car should definitely be getting at least a few more miles to the gallon, right?

I'm at a loss here...

 

Your number seems low... I get an average of 26 mpg with city/highway/hills driving in the Seattle area.

 

My gas milage got better after the first 1k miles. I get about near 20 in stop and go driving. Since you have the non navi version, are you sure your calculating your mpg correctly?

 

Automatics seem to have less mileage than Stick shifts.

 

Two issues that can have an impact on MPG:

What type of gas are your using (91 will give you better MPG than 87 or 89)?

Are your tires inflated properly?

 

Nah, I think it's gotta be more than those things. I suspect some kind of artifact, maybe like what briny said. And it wouldn't be accounted for by break-in either.

One way or another, that number is way low. You'll be doing a lot better than that.

 

Question and a comment:

1) How are you calculating mileage?

2) I just filled up yesterday and received 23.4 MPG. I've been driving VERY hard lately and still have my CAI on. Your numbers are WAY off.

 

Makes sense to me.

 

LA stop and go traffic is downright awful on gas. That situation is perfect for a hybrid.

I imagine if you drove on the freeway with no stopping and consistent speed, you would get 25 mpg or better.

 

i thought the same thing after having the car for 2 weeks but now with 6,000K, the gas milage has improved big time.

 

Filled the car twice (Union 76 91 octane.) Of course I have no idea what kind of gas the dealership put in for that first tank- I'd like to believe 91 but... I check my tires once a week first thing in the morning (when cold)- run 33psi all the way around.

I calculate mileage by my trip meter total divided by the number of gallons I put in. Always worked fine in the past...

Maybe I'm going to a crooked gas station that's got it's pumps rigged to show more gas than I'm really putting in? Who knows...

I'm going to keep a mileage log for a while and see what happens.

 

It's interesting you mention Union 76 gas. When I pump Union 76 gas in my Toyota truck, I usually get about 3 mpg less than Chevron with the same grade (87). I drive the truck to and from the exact locations everyday and under the same traffic condtion.

 

Dude... we are birds of a feather... I use Unocal too... and I get a consistent 19MPG... and drive to downtown everyday.

Have you checked your tire pressures?

 

I'm getting consistent 19mpg in 100% city driving. The best i got was 21mpg.. not really what i expected.. the gas meter just seems to drop off quickly.

 

33 psi all the way around.

I'd be happy (not really) if I were getting 19 MPG...

I do notice my commute is easily taking over an hour now (since daylight savings, MTA strike, SoCal fires, fluke rains/downpours) on average, whereas it used to be about 45 minutes I think. I guess the extra 15 minutes sitting there not moving on the freeway could be a culprit of my bad gas mileage woes at the moment...

 

I just cracked 1000 miles and I've been pretty consistantly running 28mpg. The last tank was good for 28.4mpg. Most of that is freeway driving, but there's a fair amount of city driving in there as well. Plus, anyone who knows the DC-area roads knows that "freeway" driving is as often as not stop and go...

Vale,

JohnS

 

Maybe the station pumps aren't calibrated right (or purposely calibrated wrong)....or maybe someone is siphoning gas out of your tank when you park.

That being said, if you're idling your car for long periods of time, remember that you get 0 mpg during that time. So, if you're sitting there for long periods of time, you're burning a tonne of gas, and your odometer ain't moving. I don't know if shifting into Neutral will do anything to improve this? Maybe if the engine isn't working to move the wheels while your brakes are on, it will save a bit of gas? I'm not sure about this at all....

I also noticed with my EL, it took me until just past 10,000Km's until I got a consistent 8-9L/100Km (up to 10K, I was getting anywhere from 8-14L/100Km), so maybe everyone's mileage will improve after a significant amount of mileage has passed.

 

I get around 20MPG when I do city only driving. I have gotten 34-35MPG on an all highway/back roads trip though.

 

This is where my civic hybrid excels. When stopped in traffic, the engine is off. You burn a ton a fuel by just letting it idle, and your gas mileage suffers to boot. But not breaking 20 mpg... means that you never drive other then in traffic conditions.

 

I average around 21MPG in my TSX....the worse I've gotten was 18MPG.

I can live with it.

 

Same numbers and same feeling here

 

One thing I've noticed is that the gas gauge on the TSX is much larger and has more increments than most other cars. I notice it especially coming from my 2000 Accord. I think the larger guage leads you to feel like the gauge is dropping fast, when really it is just moving faster because it is sweeping through a larger arc.

Doesn't account for the calculated numbers, but IMO has some impact psychologically that "my car is guzzling gas". The Camry is on the other extreme - their gauge is designed so that the needle doesn't move for about 75 miles. It drops quickly after that, but you feel like a champ for that first bit.

 

Yikes...18mpg...that is pathetic.

I usually get around 26mpg. Mostly city driving, but nothing to the extent of LAs stop and go traffic.

Lowest point is right now at about 25.4mpg...gotta check the tire pressure, though.

 

I'm around 26-29 mpg in mixed highway/local driving in my 6 MT, using 93 octane (Exxon) gas. I've got about 3,900 miles, and consider myself neither very aggressive nor very sedate driver - i.e., "medium." I'm pleased enough. Anything under 20 is an aberration of some sort.

 

My first two tanks were 23.8 and 22.9 mpg

Freeway on the way to work, city during the day (10-15 miles most days, multiple trips), stop&go for three miles on the way home then it opens up.

600 something miles and no complaints yet.

 

my last tank was 26.5 mpg probably a little more than half the tank was freeway miles.

 

LA might be the only place where the surface streets can be faster than the freeway. well maybe the only place... maybe in HELL it's the same way.

 

Could coasting in neutral be the difference? If two city drivers drive the same speed, but one driver coasts in neutral whenever possible, would that resuult in better gas mileage? I guess the question is, if two cars are going the same speed, one coasting in neutral, the other with clutch engaged and engine revving higher than idle (but accelerator not depressed), is the gas consumption different?

 

Yes. With good anticipation, coasting down in neutral lets you get out of gear a lot before you'd actually drop the throttle if you were to do gas & brake. It also helps in tight traffic to reduce the risk of piling up.

 

Yes, sauce, but in this case, I doubt it, because I don't think many of us who get better numbers spend much time (if any) coasting in neutral. I don't do this at all, and my numbers are always at least in the mid 20's, usually higher.

That would be a way to try to milk extra-high numbers out of the car. And that's not what he was asking about, just what the normal numbers should be -- which is what most of us were talking about.

 

this is illegal, not to mention HIGHLY dangerous.

 

What?!

 

So far it says 24.6 mpg with mixed driving on my TSX. I'm still on my first tank, I have 200 miles on it, and I still got about 200 mi range left, it says. Fuel tank reads slightly less than 1/2 full

I think my mpg will drop once I start work on Monday. I have to drive stop-and-go in L.A. to get to work

 

Neutral coasting on a downgrade is illegal in virtually all of the many states (CA VC Sec. 21710). If I recall why....

-your brakes don't work effectively (something about heating up due to the weight of the car on your front brakes with the trans disengaged)
-you have less control over your true speed
-inability to drive around obstacles on the downgrade
-potential for a stall at the end of the downgrade (unusual, but it happens)

and me personally... I would assume that if your AT is not in gear... maybe some of the fluid pumps are not going to be working? Either way... it's illegal... and if you get into an accident on a downgrade and they can determine you were in N... 100% liability. Personally I don't like it because I can never tell how fast I'm going and I fell like I'm not in control of the vehicle.

 

So..... every time I push my clutch pedal in, I'm breaking the law? That's a little hard to believe.

 

Compare and contrast.

 

With mountain driving I won't coast on a downgrade jsut because I'd have to ride the brakes for much longer, introducing fade, wear, and possibly warpage.

But otherwise, like pulling up to an off-ramp stoplight, I'll coast out of gear if I have the opportunity (unless I'm coming in real hot).

 

I used to do the same in my manual... and I think the law is aimed at coasting in N for extended periods of time as opposed to coasting to a stop.

 

I don't understand... Are you talking about coasting in Neutral with the enigne shut, or just plain neutral? If you're coasting in Neutral with the engine running, let alone the shifter still in gear, but with the clutch depressed, the speedometer still gives you your speed.

Another reason why I think it doesn't make sense, is that on an auto, it requires less energy to brake to a complete stop while in neutral than in D. Try it. From 60 mph, start by plain braking in a constant way, then drop the shifter from D to N. If you are still braking at the same intensity, you will feel the car stop a little quicker and you will even feel yourself pressing against your seatbelt. This shows you that brakes are actually working less hard in Neutral on an AT than in Drive.

Anyways, I am very skeptical about the illegality of coasting down in Neutral, I've never heard of such a thing. Can you please post your reference?

 

There... I posted it for the THIRD time for you.

Here I will post the LINK to the California DMV site.