pmartone

I am pleased with my 2006 Acura RL w/Tech Pkg in every respect, except for what I feel is poor fuel economy. It's been a trouble-free vehicle for the 10,000 miles that I've accumulated so far and I wouldn't trade it for any other car available today. The PAX tires, adaptive cruise control, and CMBS are great.

My daily driving is comprised of an even mix of city and highway, but I only average 18 mpg per fill-up. On three seperate 3-4 hour dedicated highway trips, I only averaged about 22 mpg.

While I realize the EPA estimates of 18 city and 26 highway are not realistic, I am curious if my numbers are low compared to other owners.

Any comments would be appreciated; thanx!

pmartone

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miner

I have 10800 miles on my base '06 RL and my Hwy mileage is about 25 - 26 mpg. Combo city/hwy is 22. The only difference between our models that would account for the delta mileage is the tires.

Mike_TX

Mine is a non-tech '06, and I typically get 18.5 - 19 around town and on the one long trip I took (4,200 miles), mileage was mostly in the 25's and 26's, but I got a 27 or two.

I don't think your mileage is really out of whack. Fuel economy will vary a good bit depending on a number of factors, but yours is within 1mpg or so of mine.
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RL06tech

That is the average fuel economy that consumer reports reported. The new EPA estimate is 19, ERGO, you are getting exactly what you were supposed to get. THe RL is not a fuel sipper, what do you expect from a 2 ton, 300HP, AWD vehicle???? The 530 weighs about the same has significantly less HP, has only 2 WD and manages only 1 MPG better overall. In that light the RL is a gas milage whiz. Look at it as a glass half full. At this performance level it doesn't get any better.

NJ06RL

06 base 6500 miles. I get about 17.5-18.5 mixed highway/city but that assumes I hit the accelerator hard now and then. I've averaged 27 mpg on a long trip on the highway. I find proper tire inflation helps by about 1 mpg. I'm moderately disappointed with the fuel economy but I'm pretty happy with the car overall. Using a 07 TL loaner while my car is getting its door handle fixed. While I like the harder suspension and tighter handling on the TL, I would not swap my RL for a TL.

Chas2

06 RL Tech Pack with 4500 miles on it. Combo driving, 16-18 mpg. On long trips, say 250 miles one way, get 27 on the highway portion. As soon as you start driving in town, that rapidly plummets.

One tank of pure suburban driving, it was about 14. Not unlike what you have, in my opinion. It is a two ton car.

Ken1997TL

I wonder what the rolling resistance is for the PAX tires. They make a significant difference in fuel economy.

mr_allenp

I wonder what owners here in NY gets when it comes to their mpg. I mainly use the car to drive to work, I come from Queens and drive to Manhattan, takes me about 25 minutes, and I'm getting 12mpg. It's a lot of stop and go. I haven't tried doing some highway driving with the car yet. I don't know if my milage is out of whack or should I have the car checked when i visit the dealership the next time.

lumpulus

On a recent trip to Western, MA on the pike I got 28 mpg, but that was with me trying to watch the gas mileage graph on the MFD, and really trying to conserve at around 70-75 mph.

On the return trip I drove as normal (80-90) and got 25 mpg.

jftjr

Your mileage is actually pretty good. I tend to average about 18-19 MPG, with a mix of town and highway driving.

It's all in how often you play with the VTEC. If I drive in Philadelphia for a while I show 14-15 MPG.

22 MPG in a heavy luxury car with AWD and a high-tuned V6 engine is pretty respectable. What more could you want?

Rob144

Stop and stop mileage is not a strong suit. My morning commute is stop and go, and my average mileage is in the 15-17 mpg range. I do not get to do much freeway driving in the RL.

I've got a longer combined freeway/highway trip planned next week that should give a better indication of the mileage.

I'd be pretty happy with 22 overall.

synth19

I'm about the same as Rob144.... I would probably wouldn't have minded if we had an option to switch off AWD if it meant better MPG.

Rob144

.....or cylinder deactivation, like the Odyssey!

pmartone

Thanx for all the replies.

I now feel that my fuel economy is within an acceptable range.

Chas2

If not acceptable, at least within the range everyone else is experiencing!

RickyG

I've got about 8k on my 2006 base RL. I typically get about 21-22 mpg in a typical week. This is about 50:50 highway and local driving (Boston/Cambridge MA). I quess I have a lighter foot than many of you.

On a recent trip to My. Tremblant in Canada I averaged 26.5 mpg for the whole trip of about 750 miles. Interestingly, the cars computer almost always overestimates my mileage by about 0.5 to 1 mpg.

kenny5

I also live in Queens, but I own an 06 TL, not RL. Just for comparison, whatever it's worth, I only get 15-17 mpg on the TL when I use it to take my son to school, a 20 minute drive with lots of stop signs in between. On the highway, however, I can get 30-32 mpg on long trips, if I drive conservatively (60-65 mph).

Dr. Colorado

agreed. last fill-up which involved 95% commuting to and from work, all stop and go on local roads, averaged just under 13 mpg. however yesterday on a fresh tank of gas driving 50 miles roundtrip on the freeway without traffic yielded 23 mpg.

Sylvain

I got 23 mpg (27.6 mpg in Canada) on a 340 miles (mostly freeway) roundtrip last week-end. While consistent with the other RL owners, this is about 25% less economical than the 04 TL I was driving before. I did expect a difference with the RL (weight, AWD) but did not think it would've been that much. And that's not counting the doubling up of the insurance cost.

jftjr

All depends on how hard you dip into the VTEC. I get about 18.5 too, and I'm not real patient in the acceleration department, so there it is.

Jackzilla

2006 RL w/Tech Package @ 12,700miles. With PAX tires overinflated 2 lbs. cosistently average 30MPG running a steady 70 - 72 MPH -- trips ranging from 200 to 650 miles in mixed traffic. Around town average is about 20 MPG, mostly stop and go.

supergreen

Thank (whoever) the RL doesn't have cylinder deactivation!!!! Have you driven a new Odyssey? It gets real annoying real quick when you're trying to maintain a constant speed on the freeway.

Chas2

Well I am jealous. Around town, about 14, that is stop and go lots of traffic lights.
Mixed highway about 17-18. On pure freeway trips, 400 miles you can get 29+

TampaRLX-SH

Perhaps the offroading is suspect in your mileage Chas???

TampaRLX-SH

Ineresting. In my TL I avereaged 25mpg per tank. Now with the RL I average 23mpg per tank. My driving route is identical and it is 50/50 city /highway. I was pleased with that difference considering the weight difference and SHAWD. I wold say I drive more assertively now with the RL than I did with the TL (SHAWD is pure EVIL!). However, the refined capabilities allow me to drive the RL easier in moderate and heavy traffic over the TLs urgent throttle tip in and agressive gearing.

Also, my insurance dropped $300 / year from the TL to the RL. Understandably, insurance rates vary by local. That savings more than makes up for the fuel efficiency difference.

bkw

2005, 60k miles, wife is the primary driver (99%), half city/highway = 19.7 mpg

I think that her right foot is heavier than I had initially thought.

TampaRLX-SH

Hopefully she uses the left foot on ya, bkw!

gcook

I get around 17mpg if I used the gas mileage real time indicator to temper my driving..

I do 50/50 driving in SF Bay area. 17 is good for me, most of the time it is 16..

lausy

I recently changed my air filter (23000 miles) and my tank average went from 23 to 24.5 with the same driving condition.

Sylvain

While I did 23 MPG over a long drive out of town, I am now in the 15-16 MPG range with mostly city driving. I suspect it will be worse in the winter though...

black label

Holy Crap!!!!!

How did I not hear about this directly from the OP!

I sold him that car, it took over a year to do so, and I had to locate a CMBS in silver for him. He went through 4 salesman before me and no one could handle his questions. He bought an RL owners manual and Quick Start guide in 05 so he would know all about the car when he bought it in 2006. The only thing was.... the one he boght in 06 is a CMBS so not all the info was relevant.

Just so the Azine community knows, Pmartone is quite possibly the most knowledgeable guy when it comes to the RL, he is fanatical about knowing everything about it. He was the guy I was with when we figured out where the ANC mics were.

If you're still poking around the forums Pmartone, I'm not at the Acura store anymore, but if you email me there, it gets forwarded to my new home.

RickyG

I get about 22-23 with a 50/50 mix but I must admit I drive to maximize economy. If I don't have to step on it I don't. On longer highway trip I have never gotten less than 26 and on at least one trip back from Burlington Vt. to Westford MA I almost hit 30.


My worst tank ever was 18 and that was a week I spent a lot of time sitting still in traffic. Gotta love Boston traffic

gdevine

I went to Las Vegas 464 miles one way in March. Averaged 28.7 all highway. However coming back we hit some heavy head winds in the desert most of the way and averaged only 25.3. Average speed 70-75.

On the highway with the cruise set at 65 I have averaged as high as 31MPG but I think the gas formula has something to do with that.

static808

My commute is 70miles round trip daily. Some stop and go traffic but mostly highway. Average between 24-25mpg. Split is 70highway/30city.

TrojanKing

stop complaining, my 98 with 163k is getting less than 16mpg combo.

fstshrk

Here in CA, with the bad gas that we have, I am averaging 16-18 mpg depending on how bad of a traffic jam I hit during my commute. On the freeway only long drives, I am above 25 mpg.

rlerman

I bought an 05 RL w/43k miles on it about 6 weeks ago. I'm getting unbelievable mileage. In suburban driving, averaging about 25 and on a recent 400 mile highway trip, got 30.2 mpg with ac off one way and on the return trip with AC on got 29.2 mpg. Getting between 450-500 miles per tank, hard to believe. I also am using 89 octane. I've found that in suburban driving it's best to get the car into 5th gear ASAP and then let it cruise at about 40-45. At this point, the rpms are at about 1500 (in 4th gear at this speed, rpms are closer to 2000). The car won't shift back into 4th until about 37 mph.

AustinTaper

i used to get about 16-18 avg while driving it hard and fast, but lately i've been watching mpg, keeping rpms consistently below 2500 between shifts, and improved my avg's to 21-22 in city driving. highway avg's are good, usually 26-30.

foam4me

Wow. I must be a really conservative driver.
I routinely get 26-28 mpg on the highway; I always use the cruise control and it is set between 70-75 depending on conditions. This is actual mileage calculated from the trip odometer and fuel fill-ups. In the city it is typically 19-20 and again actual mileage. I prefer to use the available power judiciously, definitely more fun.
It will be worse during winter months with snow tires and cold starts.