oppnyc

Good day RL drivers.

Just three weeks ago I traded very old Maxima and bought CPO Acura RL (with 34000 miles on it).
I had my eyes on RL for long time. Great shape, quality.
Like almost all about the car, but noticed this:
Gas mileage is terrible. Filled the tank with 17 gallons (I know by spec it takes 19.3), so there was some gas. Driving in city (New York, Brooklyn Staten Island). Tried to be as light as possible on gas pedal and at the end pull only 241 miles before had to refill and car took 16.9 gallons!!!
So on 17 gallons I drove 241 miles which gives ~14.2 MPG.
I've read similar thread on this site and from it I see that most of you easily getting 17-23 MPG in city and over 25 on HWY.
Seriously I don't understand how....
I even did this: few times I was driving so slow from traffic light that got three middle fingers (you know in NY drivers are very polite folks ), but I simply ignored these and kept driving very accurate even then I got 14.9 MPG.

Gas used -91 premium (I know that even 93 super won't make my car go from 14.xx MPG to 17 MPG)

Could you please share with me your secrets or you guys simply don't pay attention to gas consumption...
Please share... Thanks a lot

GrebRL

Try adding a fuel additive and then take it on the highway for 200 to 300 miles. Kind of an Italian tuneup. My 06 usually gives me 26 on the highway at 75mph. Good luck

037

oppnyc, your mileage is normal for the city. I used to get 12mpg until I installed an intake, it moved up to 14's now.

For city driving the RL is a gas guzzler, there is nothing wrong with yours.

Blame the city if you like and enjoy the finger signals.

Ballinger

True urban driving, with multiple stoplights (and therefore launches) just slaughters the MPG/tank in the RL. Get it out on the highway and your numbers will go way up.

In the meantime, consider running 2-3 psi higher in your tires. That will boost your efficiency.

Blazing GT

yeah city driving is bad...you got better than me haha

oppnyc

Thanks for the replies. I will keep monitoring the gas mileage, but almost sure that in city it will stay with 14.x range.

oppnyc

To 037:
What kind (brand) of intake you installed? Would you share the price paid? Thanks

christopher1

but as other say on a highway trip i can get 28mpg on a long trip. in city in is not a prius. but i love my 05 rl 127,000miles no problems!!!

Chas2

14 miles per gallon is about what I get in urban driving. In DC traffic jams I can get 9 or 10

DurgyNess

Wow i thought my 19 was bad so i replaced all the spark plugs today :p

Chas2

But it is also true that I can get 28-29 on long trips. Never quite got to 30, I think 29.7 on 400 mile trip straight through, except for a bathroom break.

037

I don't mind at all...we're having a Dyno meet on Saturday with all the intake heads :-)

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-295/we-just-got-our-shipment-takeda-intakes-734422/

foam4me

I routinely get 19-21 in city when driving conservatively. If I get on it too often that drops to 18. To get 14 mpg I guess you have to be racing light to light.

037

stop and go traffic will do that to you, if I raced light to light I'd probably get 5mpg.

phishfood

The thing is everyone's "city" driving is different.

Currently I get around 20 in "city" driving.

That is I drive for a few lights until the long open stretch, about three miles (or ten miles the other way) at 45-50MPH to get to the "city" and then once there I take an appropriate route/exit so it then takes about 2-5 minutes to get where I need to go, and a parking spot is usually readily available.

It's nothing like the "city" driving that I did when working/living in San Francisco.

I could easy see this car getting way under 20MPG driving in a stop and go big city.

db22

My daily commute used to render 25 to 26. I changed to 19 inch wheels whith 255/19's and I now never get better than 23. (BTW 90% = HWY)

Chas2

There is some error with 255/40-19 when compared to the stock diameter so in addition to other factors, the car will report you traveled a shorter distance than you actually have, though noting close to 10%.

neuronbob

Whiners.

I'm getting 15 mpg at best in my CTS-V with urban driving (50-50 freeway/city). In pure freeway driving I get 20 mpg. When I mess around .....those tanks (like my last one) are closer to 13 mpg.

OTOH, in my RL, I was getting 17-18 mpg driving similarly in the city and 25 or so driving 80 mph on long freeway trips, AC on.

TampaRLX-SH

Aside from driving habits, what is the state of your air cleaner, tire pressure, and any cargo in the car? Also, be sure you use your MID correctly and clear previous values to get accurate MPG. You may also refer to the Trip Computer in the NAVI.

037

what I think is the easiest way to tell mileage is the average speed of your trip. I've never seen mine go over 20 in mixed highway/city driving.

sleepinxlionhart

I was reading up on this thread, and it's very convincing
Any idea if it'll fit on an 05 through your research? Knowing that you tried AEM CAI on yours, and it didn't fit..maybe I should specify I have a 3.5L engine when ordering? I'll shoot an email to Excelerate, but if you have any insight, it would be great!

I like how it's an easy install as opposed to the AEM CAI, that pretty much sold it for me, and the brand, and the sound, lol.

fongz

I replace the air filter, transmition flash, and engine oil 3 weeks ago, my MPG goes from 23.2 mpg to 25.1. I drive 30% city/70% highway. This car takes a lot of gas in urban area, about the same on the freeway as my 98 V6 Accord coupe. Also, which brand of gas are you using? I realize some vendor are better than others. The worst one for me is the sunoco 94. It has worst mpg then some 91s.

oppnyc

I increased tire pressure to be 35 in front and 33 on rear wheels. This helped: my MPG went up from 14.2 to 14.4

As to these RL drivers who are able to get 27+ MPG on HWY I would assume that this is not based on computer reading on MID display. If you can get 27+ it means you can travel ~500 miles before refill on HWY.
Do you really can travel 500 miles on one tank?

But anyway thanks for all replies and suggestions

JPSMAN

winter gas and different types of tires can make the mileage go down a couple of clicks.

The tire change alone for me (from OEM to stickier Michelins), saw a 1-2 MPG drop.

037

I think the easiest install for you would be that AEM CAI that did not fit my car because of a sensor.

I am not sure if Takeda makes an intake for older TL's, but if it does, as long as it's for the 3.5 engine you're good.

TLs are very similar to RLs under the hood.

037

I'm riding on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and I am pretty sure I am taking an mpg hit over stock MXM4s. At least I am not afraid to drive in the rain...

sleepinxlionhart

I think the Takeda SRI in the 4th gen TL forum can fit the pre MMC RLs since we have a 3.5, just like the base 4th gen TL. Keep forgetting to email excelerate.

037

my friend got an 05 RL and he used a TL-S aem cai. It is missing a huge sensor slot that was present on 2.5 MMC.

470hpGS400

iTrader: (1)

RL is not known for MPG, just the opposite. I averaged 19-21mpg. Never and I mean never hit 25mph like others claim even if driving 65mph. My other car which is now closer to 600hp if not a tad more pulls in 20mpg at 75mph all day long.
The RL drivetrain sucks down the fuel pretty quickly.

stevesrl

If you are on the interstate and can't even get 25 mpg while doing 65 I believe something is wrong.

I kid you not, on a flat interstate (well almost flat) I have gotten 30.3 mpg over an entire tank of gas (Premium). I have done this 2 times. Moreover, today I made a bus. trip to Johnson city TN and drove through the mountains and got 27.2 mpg over 275 miles with premium gas.

Ballinger

I drove from San Diego to Las Vegas averaging over 27mpg, per the trip computer, on the tank. Freeway speeds, cruising and cruise control are the magic combo.

sleepinxlionhart

Yeah, me too. I got 31 from a road trip from Socal to Arizona. Cruise control set at 80-85mph. Pleasantly surprised.

037

post your average speeds too

db22

100% agree, I experienced the same thing. Stocks are for MPG only.

db22

I could not get 27 downhill with the wind behind me and I use the same lightbulbs.

briny319

I've been getting 14/15 city and 22/24 highway. Combined I get 18. I don't know why anyone starts these threads. It depends how you drive and what kind of roads. I drive 60% highway but drive pretty aggressive.

oppnyc

I started this one. I drive not aggressively at all and see that RL sucks on gas consumptions. In city I am able to pull 14.2 MPG. That is terrible. When I play with a car and really want to be first from the light my MID display shows 9 MPG. Great results.
So on full tank of 19.3 gallons I am able to manage just ~240 miles (that’s included driving ~ 10 miles with low fuel warning).

dwboston

The RL sucks at stop and go city driving. It's a heavy AWD car. I has the same issue when I used to drive 8 miles a day to the train and back - my mileage was lousy, but at least I only had to fill up once a month or so. Now, with a 70 mile commute round trip that's 60/40 highway and back roads, I get around 23 mpg. That's not bad at all.

pickncrew

Recently got 28.7 on a 70 mile trip... these new 18" Michelin Primacy must be getting broken in. I don't do much city but 18-21 in stop & go last I checked. I consistently get 450 miles per tank... mostly highway driving, 75-80mph, cruise control at all times.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

This was me at 1/2 a tank with normal driving to work.