THE ROCK

I just got a reg 02 TL on monday night. The car's been driven for a tad over 200 km (120miles) and already the gas guage reads a tad under half a tank! that basically means I'm getting 5.7 km for every liter of gas when it's supposed to be 8.3km/liter. This means for you American ppl, that it has taken 9.2 gallons of gas for 120 miles. The major concern is that the car hasn't had hard accelerations or anything! the highest RPM we've taken the car is about 3000 and that's once or twice, normally the car changes 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears at about 2000-2500 rpm which is not too much (we've been tryin to go easy on the car). We drice mostly on city streets and so far i'd say 20% hwy, 50% city driving, 30% stop and go traffic. Any reasons y the car is drinking up the gas? Anything would help cuz we really just squeeked the TL into our budget and every dollar saved on gas is every dollar earned!

derrick

Dude,

That is some seriously LOW numbers you're getting. Regardless, you can never believe what the gov't can obtain with respect to the fuel economy. It would be fair to say that a difference of 10% is reasonable.

Another thing: the fuel gauge is another non-scientific meter. Go to the gas station and put in gas to calculate exactly what your average fuel economy is.

Lastly, what kind of gas are you using? I'm using the Optimax Gold at Shell. Pumped gas twice and I'm averaging about 10L/100km. (I drove 430km and pumped in 43L yesterday. I do mixed highway / city driving.)

Your 225hp car should get the same mileage as mine (the Honda engineers somehow were able to crank out 35 more hp and extra torque without hurting mileage!). I wonder what's the deal?

Hope your numbers turn out for the better once your get actual hard numbers.

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'02 TL Type-S (aegean blue) no navi, factory spoiler

Guest

I thought I was getting terrible mileage too until I did this little test. 1) Fill the tank. 2) Set trip-od to zero. 3) Drive combined highway and city miles until tank reaches approx 1/2 full. 4) Re-fill tank. 5) Divide miles driven according to trip-od by the number of gallons used to re-fill the tank. I'll bet you find that the mileage is much better than you thought. I sure did.

I think the reason you perceive the mileage is low is because the TL has a smaller than avg gas tank so the needle moves faster than in cars w/ larger tanks. I traded a 96 Camry V-6 and tried to judge based on how far I could go on a 1/4 of a tank. There seemed to be a huge difference, but when I actually calculated, I found I was getting 26 mpg combined. Believe it or not, the Camry has a larger tank than the TL. Good luck! Also, it improves with miles driven.

THE ROCK

The gas i'm suing now is the gas the dealer gave me filled up. I really suspect they gave me less than what the recommended gas should be. I think they prob gave me 87 octane instead of the 91 octane. I would so wish to get that 10 liter/100km. Any ideas on how much reserve gas there actually is when the light flashes? btw, i'm still on first tank of gas from the dealer.

feliz

I get over the rated mileage with both my Acuras using premium.

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Feliz

98 Acura CL, primrose
2002 TL-S, silver

SLVR TL

I get 15 to 18 mpg depending on how I drive. This is including both city and hwy driving. We at the "TL" forum is complaing about poor gas mileage... I'd assume TL-S would have pretty bad gas mileage also.

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Y2K SiLVeR TL, non-navi
SLVR TL Homepage

Let's do a SoCal TL meet soon!

derrick

Rock--

Where did you get your car from? Terrace Gate? Downtown? Anyways, virtually every car improves fuel economy after 10k kms. In the mean time, you're going to be crying each time you go to the pumps...

As for what eric miller had to say, I have to agree with what was said. I can't believe how fast the needle went down when I first got it but when I did the number crunching, it wasn't that bad. So don't fret so fast... you may be surprised at how well your car is doing. (My car has a range of about 600km if I was to go to empty.) Then again, you may have a gas hungry car for the time being.

Good luck.

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'02 TL Type-S (aegean blue) no navi, factory spoiler

imax

My mileage sucks as well. This is my second 3.2TL, although the second is a TL-S, and the mileage on both is not good at all. I find it hard to believe all of the posts I read in these forums touting the "great" gas mileage people are getting. I am sure I am not the exception and maybe people just do not know how to calculate their milage correctly; or don't want to face facts. I get 19-21mpg combined city/hwy and that's it! I f I get on it I am closer to 19mpg, if I am Mr. Nice I get closer to 21mpg. I have done NO extended highway driving yet so on that I can not comment. But come on, I just find it hard to believe these high mpg posts; imho.

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'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV

TrubLuS

Driving from NJ to DC over the long weekend gave me about 25 hwy going down, and 22.5 hwy going back. I expected better cuz the gov't estimate is 29 hwy? On the trip I just turned 1K (in 3 weeks of owning the car). My mom was in the car and said I got the lower mileage on the way home cuz I was "driving too fast!"

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2002 TL-S, Aegean Blue Pearl/Ebony, rear spoiler, underbody, Xtra Bowling Ball!

Darla

And you can't fool a Mom!!! She's absolutely right!

PaulKCK

24.5 for 1st 300 break-in miles. FWIW

vandy786

Just got back from picking up my TL-S. The trip back was exactly 300.9 miles. I still have about half a tank left (looks exactly half). In the owner's manual, it says that the tank capacity is 17.17 US gallons, indicating I used around 8.5 gallons on my way back home. This averages to around 35 MPG. Am I doing the calculation wrong or can the TL-S achieve such good gas mileage?

TrubLuS

Vandy786- You need to fill up the tank and then use the miles/gallons to determine the MPG. Then you'll know if you made 35 MPG (which I doubt).

Darla- I have a built-in auto-brake that notifies if I'm driving too fast...it's my mom's foot in the passenger side. When she thinks I'm going to fast, or not slowing down fast enough, her right leg starts stomping "her brake pedal!"

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2002 TL-S, Aegean Blue Pearl/Ebony, rear spoiler, underbody, Xtra Bowling Ball!

THE ROCK

derrick, i bought my car from downtown acura, terrance gate and acura north of toronto wouldn't really budge on the price and they didn't really seem too interested in making a sale to me.

Firebird_EOU

maybe you need to drive 55mph on the tank to get 29mpg on highway... TRY that..

daverman

I seriously doubt that the gas gauge is linear.

Mr Hyde

If you want to calculate your mpg this is how you do it. Fill your gas tank to the top, and reset your trip meter. Then drive till your tank is almost empty and refill the tank again. Now record the number of gallons of gas you put in. Then divide the number of miles driven buy the gallons you put in to get your true mpg.

FYI Im getting about 300 miles per tank and about 22 mpg so far in mixed highway and stop and go driving. Oh and your MPG will further improve once your engine breaks in.

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Just call me..................Mr Hyde

TL Type-S Forum Moderator
02 Aegean Blue TL Type-S with Navi
Accord Forum Moderator/Honda-Acura.net

RedLined

For the first 5000 miles I put on my TL-S, I averaged just over 26 mpg using premium. That's w/ about 75% highway miles cruising at about 75-80 mph on average, with many long runs over 100 mph and fairly spirited driving in town. I've calculated it based on total miles driven divided by total gallons consumed. I don't bother calculating it based on what the gauge reads but whenever I get down to half a tank (based on the gauge) all on the highway, the trip odometer always reads somewhere around 225 miles. And the low fuel light always comes on after I've used somewhere between 13.5 and 14 gallons. For in-town/urban/ suburban driving, I have been getting about 22-23 mpg. This is all with 225/50-17 Mich. Pilot XGT-Z4s which I think decrease my mileage by at least 2-3 mpg (they did on my '98 Honda Accord EX V6 anyway). But, I would guess that if you live in a larger city w/ stoplights every couple hundred feet, you could get pretty crappy mileage.

vandy786

Ok, so far I have 463.7 miles on the trip meter (which I set when I left the dealership after the purchase). The low fuel light has not appeared yet and there is still some gas in the car (about 2 to 2.5 notches on the fuel gauge). I guess I will wait till I refuel and recalculate as Mr. Hyde says. Thanks for the info.

I forgot to mention, these are all highway miles, and I have been varying the speed between 45 and 80 MPH.

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THE ROCK

ok, now i'm sure i'm getting horrible gas milage. I put in 51.5 Litres (13.6 gallons)of premium 91 gas after driving 360 km (216 miles). That averages out to 6.99 or 7 km per liter (15.9 miles per gallon) which really sucks crap! Governmetn rating says i should get 8.3 in the city while 13-14 km/l for hiways. I've driven a mix of hiway and city and still get crap milage. Let's see how this tank of gas goes.

thejavagod

Thats low..I consistently get 20-21 mpg and I drive like a maniac (70-90 mph all the time, mix of city and highway, always accelerating between 4000-5500 RPM...the way the car needs to be driven for maximum enjoyment ;-)

pianoman41

I just filled up for the first time on my own (not counting tank dealer gave me which looked like it was full). Just over 400 miles (about a 50/50 split highway/city) and I averaged 23.8 MPG. Because it was during the break-in period, I've been keeping it below 4000 RPMs and 65mph on the highway. Now that the car is over 600 miles, we'll see what happens...

Matt

vtecracer

I am averaging 23 MPG in town, and just got back from a road trip to phoenix, AZ and I got 32 MPG on the way there. This is with the climate control on full auto, temperature outside was 90-100 and the cruise was set at 75-80 depending on what part of the state I was driving in. I am totally impressed. Best so far is 32.6 MPG

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2002


AEM Cold Air Intake,H&R Springs,Comptech Exhaust
vtecracer1@home.com

Guest

Just took a weekend trip in my 2000 tl, about 600 mile round trip. Going I got 33.6 mpg and coming back I got 36.06 mpg. The downside is while there in town driving was about 23 mpg (22.6). I usually average about 23-25 mpg in all city driving (I have a very short commute app. 5 miles). A little lower than that during the winter.

RedLined

Has everyone who is getting terrible mileage checked to make sure parking break is not on? I mean 15 mpg is REALLY bad.

OldGuy

I get really good mileage, over 32 MPG (US) on the highway at constant 120 KPH. Haven't checked city driving but I think the mileage is better than my 99 TL. BTW, where are you Canadian guys getting the Aegean Blue cars. The Canadian blue is "Eternal Blue Pearl". Not the same as Aegean Blue. That is why I went for silver.

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02 TLS Silver/Ebony

vandy786

AH HAH! I knew it was true. I was the first one to post that I got 35 MPG and now look at all these people getting close to the same. This verifies that it is indeed achievable. I am thoroughly impressed by what this car can do, although I am sure I have not seen all of it, specially the aggressive side yet as I am still breaking it in (468.7 miles on the ODO). But for me, the gas mileage was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Guest

How in the absolute hell are you people getting 30 something miles per gallon? I drive almost 75% highway and am getting about 22. I keep the AC on about 74 full auto all the time (New Orleans is HOT!)but do not drive it hard. I was hoping for about 25 or 26. I have 1800 miles on it and don't expect it to get much better.

imax

Personally, I thinks it's all BS. This is my second TL series Acura, a '99 3.2TL and now the '02 3.2TL-S, and they both get the same LOW gas milage. I'm sure my gas mileage not an aberation or an exception. Maybe some of our posters just COAST along; that's the only way to get the high mileage figures being posted. Sorry guys I just don't believe it under normal, to aggressive, driving. Hell, even with almost ALL highway driving I couldn't crack 30Mpg with a hammer



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'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV

vandy786

Great, You Posted Your Opinion And Now I Will Post Mine. I know for a FACT that it is possible to get 30+MPG on the 2002 TL-S because I have achieved it myself. On top of that, there have been other posts by owners indicating that they too are getting good gas mileage. I am sorry you and some others have had such bad luck, but that is no reason to discredit those who didn't. And just for the record, I do not coast or drive too aggressively. I haven't been using the A/C and I don't have a navigation system (although I don't know if that makes any difference).

By the way, does anyone know how much gas is left when the empty fuel sign comes on? I am still using the gas the dealer put in there and I have 480 miles on the odometer. The yellow sign has not come up yet

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thephantom

What seems to be the problem here? I get pretty good gas mileage, matter of fact, I got 29MPG last week. Maybe it's the Canadian gas.

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Those who know, don't talk.

thephantom

I believe you have another 3-4 gallons to go. I had my light come on last month and I drove another 30 or so miles before I filled her up, and it came out to 13+ gallons, not 14 for sure. Since we have a 17.2 gallon tank I can only assume, 3-4 gallons left.


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Those who know, don't talk.

RedLined

What's not to believe? Calculating gas mileage isn't that complicated. Miles driven divided by gallons used. As I said earlier, I calculated my mileage over 5000 miles, most of it highway, as well as for each tank/fill up. For some tanks, the mileage was as high as 29 mpg and others were as low as 22 - 23. I filled up today -- drove 261 miles on 11.7 gallons = 22.3 mpg for 75% in-town driving. A friend of mine has 2 TLs as well -- for his wife a 2000 TL and for him a 2002 Type S. They do all of their driving in town and get low to mid 20s.

DMan

I always get between 21-22 MPG. My driving style is very rough mostly 50/50 highway/city driving. When I took a trip to Baltimore I was getting 27-28.

The gas milage is what I expect. My 98 Accord V6 milages was even worse.

VTEC Animal

Well, I rarely travel on the highway, and when I do it's long distance trips... So my numbers may be kinda low since they're not mixed at all, but when I got my 2001 TL I was getting like 12 in town for the first tank, then it slowly climbed up to where I am right now and that's just shy of 18 (been linke 17.7 to 17.9 for the last 3 visits to the station). I've got 4600 miles, and my mileage is still improving but not much at all, I've been above 17 since the 2k marker. You really need to just wait on that sorta thing. I've also heard of some people getting better mileage once the breakin oil is changed out at 7500 miles (or 6 months). I'll find that out pretty soon since it'll be 6 months at the end of July.

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2001 Acura 3.2TL Non-Navi
Satin Silver
FormulaOne Premier 35
(Metalized 35% Tint)

Guest

This is all very interesting folks, however, when you purchased a 260 HP vehicle, did you really expect to get Honda Civic mileage? Wake up and smell the gas fumes. Not gonna happen. If you think this is bad, try some others that have far less horsepower and I don't think the mileage is much better. I think some of you have under-estimated the effects of driving style on the mileage of "any" vehicle!

Mr Hyde

Driving style plays a huge component in mpg.

So far I have been getting about 22mpg , MY commute is 40 miles round trip> I go in at 6 AM, so traffic is light, but I get home at 7-8pm, and theres still a bit of traffic, so thats stop and go traffic. And of course a few short trips here and there.

This week, I am not working(caught a light schedule, and had some days I had owed to me) so alot of my highway driving was cut out. Anyway I took a ton of very short trips, and I was really working the engine, plus using the Auto CC/AC. I am at about a half a tank of gas now with only 120 miles on the trip odo. So at this pace I am definitely going to be under 20 mpg this week.

If you want the best MPGs posible with this engine, you have to be very light on the accelerator, minimize Auto CC/AC use, and one thing which is hard to avoid, but dont drive in traffic.

I am actually happy with my mpgs as I am getting similar mpgs as my old 4 cyliner Accord because I dont have to beat the engine as much to drive the speeds I want to and the TL-S has me more relaxed and not as aggressive, but when I beat on the engine just as I used to on the Accord, the gas gauge lets me know.

I still smile when I see the soccer moms in my area gassing up their Expeditions at the pump. How can you complain about weekly $50-$60 fillups when you bought those beheamoths to begin with, and use em to go on short trips grocery shopping and runnig errands by yourself?

lonny

No matter how I drive, I can't seem to get worse than 24 or better than 25! I am still waiting for a long road trip to see what it will really get "just cruisin"

The Phil Zone

I get 20 mpg in the city delivering pizzas, and I floor it constantly from 0-40 !

Just did a trip Denver to Aspen, I 70 to hwy 82 up: never under 80mph on the big hills, Independence Pass to I 70 down to denver, 400 miles total just over 13 gallons of Texaco premium (same station, same pump).

Sunroof open also! I've got the forehead burn to prove it.

Thats 30 mpg and trust me folks I don't pamper the pedal! Better or at least as good as my wifes 98 civic.

Damn, what a car!

pianoman41

I bet the biggest pig in the MPG camp is the SS. For those of you that use it and think your gas mileage stinks, try this. Fill the tank and drive one full tank without using the SS. When it gets close to empty, fill it up again, check the mileage and then run another full tank, this time using the SS as you would normally. I bet you'll see a big difference in the mileage.

I know that when I use the SS, I tend to leave it in the gear much longer than the auto normally would (that's the whole point, right?). Longer in a gear = higher RPMs = more fuel consumption. Tonight driving home with the SS, I was doing 60 on a back road in 4th, turning about 2300rpms. Slip it over to D5 and it upshifts to 5th and drops to about 1700rpms. Over a full tank of gas, even this small difference would add up to a big MPG hit.

Matt