GGYY

i love my tl so much but the gas is really killing me
i drive 60% highway and 40% city
and i got only about 180 miles then the light came on
i recently changed ngk iridium spark plugs, engine and tranny oil

im a easy driver, use D5 ,barely hit v-tec, barely use ac

i use mobile or exon 93 octane only

went to acura and checked the car today but they said nothing's wrong with it

anyone know what might be wrong with the car?

please reply

whatwasthat

man, i was just gonna post the same thing. big problem for me cause the money is just pouring out of my pockets into gas.. i do the same things you do except for the spark plugs and tranny fluid. my mpg is just terrible.. hoping someone can help us?

i know there's something wrong or just soemthing needs to be done cause driving my moms accord v6 i put about 10$ @ $2.19 for premium.. so around 4.5gallons in the tank.. and i could do the things i do, twice, before even having to fill up again or for the light to come on.


btw, did the dealer charge you to 'check'? i want to go to the dealer, but afraid of them charging.

aaronnn

they usually charge to check your engine for the diagnotic port computer.. just go to a local mechanic, they usually dont charge for checking engine.

btw, did you check your air filter? that's gives a little extra MPG. you should get it changed every 12,000 miles. try K&N filters, if you havent changed the filter yet.

whatwasthat

where can i get that? is it cheap? is this the same filter that filters my air for the inside..? cause i always wanted to change it, sometimes i get a old sock smell when the a/c&heat is on..

aaronnn

waaahh.. so you never changed it? Filters can be found anywhere, autozone, pepboys, napa.. even Kmart!! they run anywhere from 18-30 dollars. its really easy to replace. just unscrew the airbox, unclip the clips and swap the filters. oyeah, before you buy it, open it and see what size your filter is. i did mine a while back so i dont remember the size.

K&N are usually the best filters, but Fram does a good job too.
I dont know if it effects your a/c and heat, but its good to change it every 4th oil change. since that should be your 12000mile mark. if your air filter is filthy and gray with little rocks and dirt allover it, than that could be effecting your gas mileage heavily. change it and see what happens. it takes no more than 5 minutes to replace and 18-30 dollars out of your pocket, but it'll save you on the long run with gas.

GGYY

exactly, i had a 01 v6 accord and i'd get about 300 miles per tank highway/city mixed driving

dealer charges $92 for diagnostic but since they couldn't figure out what's wrong with the car i only paid $40 for the labor

if your check engine light is not on....don't waste your money

whatwasthat

where can i get the k&n ? i heard that they are reusable? most of the shops here only sell fram.. but, wait, sometime later(end of winter), i will want to get a comptech ice box, so will this filter fit that or will it need a new filter? so, should i just get the comptech first to save $$$?

as you can see, i'm really picky when is comes to spending money. i have to be assured my money is well spent and not wasted... even ... plus, i'm in school.. so i'm financially tapped...so really need to be sure everything is worth every cent..

aaronnn

you got RIPPED. my acura dealer charged $10.81.
and all mechanics do it free around here.


K&N filters, you could just get it offline.. theyre on almost every auto wholesale websites.

and comptech icebox comes with its own filters. so dont worry about it. and if youre not gonna get it soon, just change the stock filters for now. youre just losing money by waiting it out. but if youre gonna get a CT icebox like right away, then hurry up! i want one of those but too pricey for me.

whatwasthat

see what i mean.. i know they'll charge me around there, but i'll definitly find out tomorrow when i called them up. i know i'm gonna get raped even before i call..

GGYY

first i thought they have a special diagnostic system for acura/honda and they might have better experenice about acura/honda cars, but they uses the same shit that i have in my garage and checked the same stuffs that i already checked

but they did spent about an hour checked all the spark plugs that i installed myself, measure all the gaps, torque, coil packs and o2 sensor so i think $40 is ok

my air filter doesn't look so bad so i don't think it is killing the gas

GGYY

what else causes bad gas mileage?
i really don't know what else to check if nothing's wrong with my spark plugs and air filter

Ken1997TL

Thats messed up mileage..

My light comes on around 300 to 350 miles on my '97 TL and 350 to 400 miles on the '03.



Do you have aftermarket wheels?

GGYY

nope, it is a competely stock tl with no modifications at all

GGYY

i would suggest you just bring the car to a local mechanic shop
acura dealers doesnt do anything different but charges alotta more

what gas mileage are you getting?
is your check engine light on?

slikz

Hmm, get an oil change? My gas mileage was horrible until I got my oil change, I got synthetic. And the gas mileage was pretty good after the oil change, got nearly to 300 per tank and light came on, mixed driving. I was going to refill the next day but sadly I got into an accident. =(

GGYY

thanks for the reply
sorry about your accident
i just changed my engine and tranny oil a week ago but doesnt really help about the gas mileage

you said u were going to refill it the next day? do you refill it everyday?

fla-tls

Wow - that mileage is horrible. Are you towing a boat? Did you leave the parking brake on?

A couple of comments on the posts above

1. The light he's talking about is the low fuel light - not the check engine light
2. Starting in 1996 all cars come equipped with ODB II computers. Any shop (or autozone) can read them. The codes lookups are available at about.com and are standard. The OEM's were starting to go down proprietary roads - but that was stopped with OBD II to enhance competition (you friendly neighborhood mechanic would have been put out of business).
3. K&N filters for your engine (no - not the ones for the cabin air - those are behind the glovebox) are about $50.
4. No - a K&N replacement filter for the stock airbox will not fit the Icebox. The Icebox uses a foam cone filter (although you can use a K&N type of filter {oiled gauze} in its place).

Finally - causes for bad gas mileage
1. Tire pressure - make sure you keep it to the recommended pressure.
2. Air filter (yes - the one for your engine) - paper air filters should be replaced every 30k miles, K&N type filters should be cleaned and reoiled every 50k miles, and foam filters should be cleaned and oiled every 6k miles (at least that's the interval for the Icebox filter).
3. Bad spark plug(s)
4. Worn out O2 sensors - I've read that you should replace them every 50k miles. Personally - I think that's a bit too often. If you do it yourself it's not that expensive. And no - an old O2 sensor will not always give you a check engine light.
5. Excessive carbon buildup in the engine - when's the last time you ran a bottle of fuel system cleaner through the car? I'd recommend anything with Techron in it.
6. Extra junk in your car. If you don't need it in your car - put it in the garage.

whatwasthat

okay guys, after reading the thread i'm gonna change:

air filter to K&N
cabin filter
&
spark plugs

where can i get all these for a good price?? btw, which plugs do i get, which brands are good for plugs?

slikz

Not everyday, I had it filled up full tank after the oil change, which was about 2 weeks before the accident, and before the accident I was at the Empty mark and the light was lit, that was when I was planning to refill the next day but I got into an accident before I could`ve refilled. =(

fsttyms1

PM sc345. he had similar issues and the dealer figured something out. ( i cant remember what it was they fixed) that mileage is horrible, and something has to be wrong, and i highly doubt a air filter and plugs are going to fix any thing. if the plugs that bad you would have a rough idle and more than likely be throwing codes.
im hard on my car and rarely get anything under 300 to a tank (except for in winter when my mileage is down like 15%

shawn744

i don't think the cabin air filter is going to improve your gas mileage.......or are you changing it just for maintenance reasons.

GGYY

thanks, i tried to PM sc345 but it says invaild user ID
are you sure it is the correct user id?

please reply

deye

I think he meant sc354. I will be curious to know what he says. Keep us in the loop.

whatwasthat

yeah, might as well change it since i'm gonna change the air filter...


so anywhere to buy them for cheap?

GGYY

thanks, just sent him an PM
waiting for responds

sc354

To be honest with you guys, I tend to agree with one of the users a while back. You end up stressing over your mileage, when in fact the TL is so spiratic with mileage. Some tanks I'm so amazed at the distance, and some tanks I'm enbarasssed to even think about how bad the mileage is.

The dealer didn't fix anything on my car in regards to poor gas mileage. I just found that changing my driving style (being more aggressive) and removing the intake resonator and replacing the OEM filter with K & N improved my numbers. Personally, I don't drive the car easy anymore, and my gas mileage is right on track. I find that hitting 3500-4k RPM off the line is the TL's sweet spot. Believe it or not, the lighter you are on the TL, the worse off your results will be. Call me stupid, but I've tested it, and that was my conclusion.

Stop worrying, drive it harder, and it should fix itself.

SK2003TypeS

Interesting....this isn't the first time I've seen the suggestion to drive it hard. I'm one here who gets low mpg (usually between 18/20). Best I've gotten to date is 27 mpg all hwy. Most of the time I'm easy on the pedal and open it up maybe once in a while. Guess I'll have to get on it

fsttyms1

jeff i thought you said that the dealer fixed or replaced something?? humm i guesss i goofed. (rather appearant with my typo of your name earler)

i dont drive easy and get great mileage. like jeff said change your driving style around and see.
but i still think something is wrong to only get 180 to a tank??

sc354

I can tell you that I get about 360km to the gas light, but that is 100% city driving, and many short trips included. If you actually look at my driving pattern, you will see that it is not the most friendly towards preserving gas, I tend to drive very short distances (school, grocery store, few errands).

Anyhow, if you drive the car more aggressively, you will achieve better numbers. I didn't believe it until I tried it. I figured, it can't hurt anything, it just may not help the situation...but it did!

Change your driving style for a month and you'll see the difference. Pull her up to 4k RPM when entering onto the highway. I always keep my eyes on the RPM gauge. With an experienced driver behind the wheel, the TL is still a very fast car without ever hitting VTEC. I'm not saying I never feel the urge, because I do regularily enter into VTEC, but the Type S's are powerful even below 4500 RPM's when you get up in speed.

Later guys.

fsttyms1

haha i figured out where i went wrong jeff. you had your FSU replaced. i knew you had something fuel related replaced

TunedTL

www.ajusa.com has K&N for pretty good price and free shipping. You can buy a K&N Filter Care Service Kit for future cleaning and re-oil.

98tlracer

I think I remember someone talking about changing the fuel regulator. Is there anyway I can get warranty to conver that?

whatwasthat

agressive?? i changed from agresssive to easy since i always get bad mileage.. man, don'it know what to do now.. guess i'll go back to agressive and see what comes out...

btw, which spark plugs are good??

SK2003TypeS

Denso Iridiums are kind of popular. But I remember someone using the stock plugs to about 130,000 miles, pulled them out and posted pics here. They looked like they were in good shape considering the milage.

prostreet440

I Am Stunned I Have Had Two 02 Tl-s In The Last 7 Months And I Drive 1000+ Miles A Week And Get 30+ Mpg Or About 420 Out Of 1 Tank Full Sounds Like Either You Think Your Car Is A Prostocker Or Something Is Really @#%@#^% Up

TeknoKing

say hello to STP COMPLETE Fuel Injector System Cleaner...i tried them all, and this is by far the best and is noticeable. I get 360-410 a full tank.

sc354

I actually stopped using STP after a number of people complained that it's bad for your fuel system. Some of the higher end products such as Redline and Pennzoil produce better cleaners, that will do just as good a job at cleaning up, but won't corrode any of your fuel lines like STP does.

fsttyms1

that was probably me, i pulled them out lin the 100k area, looked great too, the denso iridiums dont last that long (like 40k) stick with the NGK iridium

SK2003TypeS

.....and there ya go....I was guessing it wuz you, but wasn't sure.

As far as fuel system cleaners, I still use Cheveron Techron.

makers

1. Check your tire pressure. Make sure that you are not under inflated.

2. When not using A/C (not cooling or defogging front), punch the A/C button to manually turn the compressor off. If you leave it on "AUTO", the compressor runs full time. Personal experience is that this adds 40+ miles per tank.

3. Do you manual shift often? If so, try a tank on full automatic and see if it makes a difference.

4. You mention 60% highway. How much do you/do you not use your cruise control?

5. Ever had your exhausts checked out for obstructions?

With good pressure, 80% highway (80+ MPH), high or medium octane, moderately agressive driving, occasional fuel injector cleaner, manual override of A/C, and no manual shifting, I can get between 300-320 miles from full tank to yellow gas light. Hope this helps.