Showkey

Acura must publish the EPA mileage mentioned in prior post. All manufacturers are subject to the same test. The test is designed to give an even playing field or even comparison number. Comparison being the key work……your mileage may vary. Especially in cold weather in city driving !!!!!!

EPA change the test to better reflect real life about 15 years ago.

More than a few manufactures cheated or fudged the EPA MPG test so they could advertise a better number. Some paid dearly when they got caught.

Hyundai and Kia fined $100m for misleading customers on fuel economy
Hyundai and Kia have agreed to pay $100m (£62m) in fines and forfeit $200m in credits for misleading customers about the fuel economy of more than a million cars sold in the US.
Hyundai gained a marketing edge by claiming that its cars got 40 miles per gallon in highway driving. The inflated fuel economy claims involved about 1.2m vehicles, about a quarter of the 2011-2013 models sold in the US, the EPA found.

RiotfunK

I recently went on roughly 300 mile trip each way. Fresh fill up before I left to go there and back with 91 Sunoco. I got 21.8 in comfort mode there and 21.6 in sport on the way back. 72-80mph going with traffic. Even around town there’s barely a noticeable difference in mpg between the modes. I usually just switch to sport + after warmed up in town since the throttle response in this thing is absolutely f’ing terrible and unsafe with the initial toe in. Feels like an old Nissan cvt, foot down, nothing, nothing, still nothing. Hey we’re moving. That probably doesn’t help the mpg.

Jordster

Right. On the highway, drive mode will make little difference (as long as you keep the transmission out of S). 21-22 mpg at 75-80mph sounds just about right for a well geared 4100 lb+++ tall vehicle.

But by your last two sentences, it sounds like you've never driven a heavy, fuel-economy oriented turbo before. You don't stab the throttle - you roll onto it. The only reason it's mitigated in Sport+ because the boost programming is changed to engage more readily. If you did that all the time (not on a highway trip) your fuel economy will be way worse than 21 mpg. And if you really can't stand it, aside from commenting that you probably bought the wrong car for your driving habits, I'd suggest an ECU tune.

JB in AZ

Wife and I are doing better every day. Thank you. We still have many challenges...due to the type and severity of my shoulder break, I will likely never be able to raise my right arm above the shoulder level. See my "Sad to say" topic for more...

RiotfunK

Acura also marketed this as a sporty suv. Is phenomenal in the twisties, general drivability is fatiguing though. In sport + I get like 1-1.5 mpg difference. Is negligible. But drivable. Doesn’t help this thing is in 6th gear at 35mph and holds the higher gear until you’re back on throttle and then is laggy af and clunky , waiting to shift. And then shifts hard. Have to constantly down shift on the paddles since I’m running 2-3 gears too high for the current situation. Also doesn’t change my mpg when I do that. It’s geared to stay below 2k rpm, which is pointless in a 4 cyl. sorry about the rant. The longer I have this. The less I like it. Have driven It 2k miles

Jordster

Wow. You type like you're on ADHD meds. Or something. Short thoughts. Partial Sentences.

First, I think you're ignoring a lot of details about mpg (like how much worse it is when cold, which is why you think Sport+ is returning the same mileage).

Second, you seem to be gunning for peak power like it's the only way to drive. I realize that there is no "right" way to drive but for this car, I'd assert that you're doing it all wrong. The fact that you're constantly asking for 3 downshifts makes it seem like you want to live life at 5k RPM+. That's great, and the Acura is a standout because most 2.0Ts run out of steam past their low RPM torque peak. Do you just floor it every time you want to speed up? What are these "current situations" that are always calling for instant max power?

Finally, in what way is it pointless to stay under 2k rpm when cruising? High revs while cruising are tiring as f (from someone who used to drive an '08 Si that did 3k rpm at 65 mph).

As previously suggested, if you want faster throttle response, get an ECU tune. But in all honesty, you bought the wrong car if this is the way you want to drive. The RDX is a sporty take on a premium mainstream crossover. The car you want is built by Porsche and has 6 cylinders, costs a lot more, has far worse gas mileage, but keeps you on the boil.

jkozlow3

NYC is not like any other city in the U.S. and I can guarantee you no manufacturer is testing their EPA fuel economy numbers in NYC.

NYC is basically the equivalent of one giant downtown (not just Manhattan - the other boroughs are more congested than the downtowns of many other cities). That's not what "city" driving means as far as EPA fuel economy goes.

"City" driving for 98% of the country means getting in your vehicle, driving down a few residential roads in the suburbs, (25-30mph), stopping at a few stop signs, then transitioning to some busier streets with businesses (typically 45-50 mph), getting stopped at a few decently spaced traffic lights along the way while you drive to the store. Not constant stop & go driving in heavy traffic conditions or in a congested downtown area with a high density of traffic lights where you are accelerating and decelerating constantly.

Nothing about NYC driving meets anyone's definition of normal city driving, the EPA included. I'm an ex-NYC resident and have lived in 5 states as an adult and driven all over the country on various business trips. NYC is different from the rest of the country in just about every imaginable way and driving is certainly no exception!

anoop

If you click the "Test Details" tab on this page, it shows exactly what test is used to measure city mpg.
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

Texasrdx21

Anything over 65mph and your mileage will decrease a lot. Add wind or hills, and the size and turbo will drive down mileage. In pure city driving with a light foot I get 17mpg. At hwy speeds of 65-75, rolling highways with elevation changes and wind - best I got was 25.4 mpg with a strong tail wind pushing and 22mpg at lower speeds with a head wind of 15-20mph. I have the SHAWD Aspec, 2nd oil change done at 4K with pure synethic and thats terrible mpg in my book. Also, the RDX was empty, only the driver and tires inflated to 36psi.

Peter Vred

Boy, there is a lot of poor mileage going on in this thread!
I recently bought a used 2020 RDX Advance SH-AWD, and have been getting 28.* MPG, in comfort mode, and not "getting on it" often.

Then a month or so ago, my Auto engine shut-off feature quit working, I see an Engine idle shut off "Unavailable" message, briefly on the dash when I stop.
This has reduced my fuel consumption to 27.* MPG, no big loss.
I have yet to figure out why the auto shut off doesn't work, but I really didn't love it so much anyway.
I wish there was a way to disable the feature to when I want to, and have the disable "stick".

SilverJ

My RDX with 90% city/10% highway gets about 17.5 MPG.
I get on it every now and then. No complaints from me. I didn't buy this car and expect it to be a Corolla MPG wise.
I'd rather drive a car I want and enjoy vs saving a few dollars at the pump.

Midi Man

In real NYC traffic I was getting 9 to 12 with a grandpa light foot.
On a highway 28 to 30 driving at 70 MPH with cruse control on.
The city was the reason I got rid of this car. Mine was a ASPec with bigger tires.
I have drove a 2022 2021 MDX and RX350 I get 17 to 198 driving with a V 6.

BTW did everyone hear about the major recall for 2016 - 2022 MDX and TLX V6 engine lock up recall?

Midi Man

You will not in real In real NYC traffic I was getting 9 to 12 with a grandpa light foot

Peter Vred

I live just outside of a smallish town in Illinois, near Springfield.
Grocery store is 1/4 mile away.

I drive 13 miles each way thru 7 stoplights to go to the gym, to swim, 4 days a week.

Once or twice a month I’ll drive 50-70 miles to see grandkids or eat out in Springfield.
Not a lot of crazy driving.

I have a love/hate with the RDX, but I’m stuck with it, and I love the stereo.

The Acura is a dream to drive.
I love the adaptive cruise control. Wow.

ns324

I am contemplating getting this:

(idlestopper)

It does require disassembly, but the video does a good job of the "how-to".

I came across the link on a thread on the site but I cannot find the thread.

Also, there was a thread identifying how to re-enable the stop/start once it starts to fail activating, but I made the mistake of not bookmarking the thread. The thread indicated that a low battery charge due to short drives is frequently the reason for the stop/start not engaging, causing the display of the message that you saw. Sure enough, that's the case for me. I got the RDX more than a month ago and the mileage is still below 300; my driving opportunities are currently limited, so after intially having the stop/start engage, it stopped after a couple of weeks.

The reason that I am considering the idlestopper is because when the feature was working, the start did not feel smooth. Should I get the stop/start working again and be brave enough, I will probably go for the idlestopper. If that courage doesn't come, I will have to develop the habit of disabling the feature each time I begin driving.

Midi Man

Illinois is better city driving than NYC. for me to go to a grocery store 1/4 mile away from me I would go through 2 stop signs and 15 red lights.
Forget about getting on a highway that is a parking lot. Traffic is a nightmare at times in NYC. Really bad.

I like the car other than that Yes stereo was great The sh all wheel drive was a blast to drive. I just could not stand the very poor City Gas Mileage.

Also I had the blank display three times on the car. Which after the second time they said they fixed but it came back one month later and they had to call Acura about fixing it again.

Texasrdx21

Would matter if you stomped on the go pedal with that type of NYC driving. That's what a Hybrid RDX (if they ever build one) would rock the MPG in the city.

SilverJ

Hmm...I have not used that yet. Time to read up on it...I never really use cruise control period.

quikj

It's amazing. I use it most at slow speeds in traffic in the city. Makes stop and go traffic much more bearable and returns better gas mileage.

Peter Vred

First thing I tried was having a local battery specialty shop test and charge the battery. Tested fine, took a full charge. Still no auto shut off.

I made an appointment at a non-dealer shop to get this looked at, but like you, not sure I want it, especially if it does not do the car any harm to not use it.

Baldeagle

Changing subjects, since the change to winter fuel formulation and colder/denser air, my highway fuel economy has decrease over 10%. (Same tires, all set at 35 psi.) That drop seems worse than other years. Anybody else observe a similar decrease?