I have owned my 2004 TL for 2 months now. I also own a 2001 CL. I had expected the new TL to have similar fuel economy. Under the same combination city/highway conditions my CL will get about 25 mpg while the TL gets only about 22 mpg. 12% higher fuel usage for basically the same car and engine is very disappointing. Otherwise I am very pleased with the TL.

Have others noted the same result?

 

I get about 23-24 with spirited driving, I have a 6MT though, and most of it is local driving. I have gotten 31 mpg strickly highway. It depends on how you drive and your tranny and traffic conditions.

 

I have had mine since May - about 7500 miles now and I am consistently getting 27-28 MPG mixed driving - mostly highway (but that involves stop and go - esp. on a friday night) My worst MPG was 26 - but I must confess - that was a really, really fun tankful...so I guess I deserved it. Like someone else said - really depends on how you drive - the specific conditions etc. Some people have bad driving skills like my Mom and press the gas, release, press gas, release while they drive...


maybe it will get better as she ages a bit (your car that is - not my Mom)

 

city/local = 12/13mpg
highway = 27mpg (best i've seen), 21mpg (typical)

mixed = 17-19 mpg

 

I find it hard to believe that some of you are getting 28 MPG in "mixed" Driving. Ive spoken to other owners of this vehicle, and unless there is a new Hybrid TL on the market I have not heard of, we average in the low to mid 20's.

I could understand 28 MPG with mainly highway driving, but Mixed? No way

 

Depends on type of gas too I suppose. I saw my best mileage w/ Unocal (76).. I only got up to about 25mpg with Chevron.

 

I drive 140 miles/day. Tollway (avg of 65-75 mph) + Chicago suburbs with stop and go. My last tank averaged 28.4 mpg.

My experience at 10,500 miles is that this car is VERY sensitive, gas mileage wise, to full throttle accelerations and steady highway cruising. Keep it on the highway below 80 and it will easily give 31-33 mpg, if you use the cruise control. Faster and it drops. Running the engine in VTEC range is like pumping the gas straight onto the ground. Its fun, but you will pay.

Normal stop and go city driving averages 23 – 25 mpg if you don't try to beat every car from a light.

BTW - I use Mobil 93 Octane

RRP / 5AT / Camel / Navi

 

I haven't had any highway drving yet but I've been seeing 17MPG to 19MPG on daily commute with a 6MT. This commute is a mix of 45-55mph open road (no traffic, no traffic lights) and stop and go traffic.

Shinj1EVA, The brand of gas or octane rating will not effect you fuel economy.

 

I'm coming up on 2 weeks of ownership this Saturday and I now have 1529 miles on the odometer. So far I'm averaging 24mpg. My commute is also 140 miles a day. Mostly freeway, with a couple nice stretches of twisties and some city streets. I'm using Chevron 91 octane.

 

5 months and 7,000 miles. I'm getting ~24 MPG. Mixed driving with a 5AT. My highway driving is mostly the stop & go rush hour variety so I have no complaints with my 24 MPG average.

 

I bought 6mt on mid july but only have 650 miles so far. In 60% city driving with remainder highway I record 21 mpg. I hope the average increases as the car ages. I use 91 octane from costco.
Quite frankly, this is the one area where the TL does not shine; I even drive my car gently--rarely above 3500 RPM.

 

I'm glad to see some of these posts here. I've been very disappointed with city mileage. I have a VERY short commute daily (20 mi round trip) but the entire trip is pure stop and go - NO stretches that would allow better mileage. I've been getting 17mpg (5AT). My 2000 Accord (granted was a 4cyl) got 21-23 mpg for same exact driving ... and I literally drive my car like a baby - no jump starts or flooring it.

Now, I get anywhere from 28-31 on the highway, which is as expected. I only have about 1250 miles on the car and am hoping for a slight improvement. I use 93 octane (can't get 91).

 

6MT i have about 10K miles now and i get consistent 24mpg about 70% highway (but with a good amount of traffic). i was getting 21mpg at first when i got the car but its gotten better.

 

I just filled up within the hour on the way home from work. Driving was mixed (a 90 mile road trip on Sunday) with most miles recorded for back and forth to work. A/C was used over 50% of the time. Here are the results.

Miles: 317.8
Gals: 12.14
MPG: 26.1779

I have actually gotten 26.93 in back to forth work driving. I expect that once I switch to Mobil 1, my weekly work mileage will average in the 27-28 MPG range.

Incidently, none of my results are from the on-board computer. I use the tried and true method and even fill up at the same pump with the car in the same position and round to the nearest 5 cents at shutoff. This gives me a very accurate result.


To TexAcura;

Believe it. Before I bought my TL, I read this website for several weeks. I also saw where a fair amount of people were complaining about their mileage. At the time I had a 2002 Altima SE which I had modified a little (intake, full catback exhaust, and a UDP). It was putting out in the area of 265 HP and around the same figure in torque. That engine consistently delivered around 28 MPG in to and from work driving.


Anthracite/Ebony/6MT/Nav

 

Based on my experience, and these seems to be supported by others, you will most likely experience a nice improvement once you have a little more mileage on your car. But.....you can expect to continue seeing a big difference between the stop and go your encounter on your daily commute and what you'll get with highway cruising.....big big difference...........

 

I have about 14000 miles on the car and average 18-19 mpg city driving. On long hauls the average is 22-24 mpg.

I use 91 Octane - Chevron or Shell.

 

Just about 6,000 miles on car, average normal drivinng 23-24 mpg mix 65 % local rest highway. Straight Hwy 26-29. I think it really matters how you drive TL, if you are winding gears out or have a heavy foot starting up it effects mileage greatly. I consider myself a moderate driver only winding up on acceleration lanes for highway.

George in NY

 

I’ve filled up my car 7 times since puchased. I now have 2200 miles. All results below were calculated by hand, not MIL.

20.3 mpg ( dealer fill )
27.3 mpg ( short road trip, 80% highway kept it under 75 mph )
24.8 mpg ( 50% highway, 50% city )
23.6 mpg ( 50% highway, 50% city )
22.2 mpg ( 50% highway, 50% city – 1500 miles, start to rev it a little harder )
22.9 mpg ( 50% highway, 50% city - a little harder )
22.7 mpg ( 50% highway, 50% city - 1 or 2 mild launches )

23.4 mpg average

The last tank I drove for just over 12 hours on the MIL.

On the last tank, I drove the car 20 miles past the MIL counting down to zero, still only took 15.2 gallon. I think the light comes on a little too soon.

 

See the correlation between MPH vs. MPG

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82207

 

Driving to Indiana for first long drive with 3K on the odo we were going 75-80 on cruise much of the time and the compuper said 32mpg.
In city with a little highway 22-23.
Craig

 

3080 miles - averaging 22-23 all around driving - have gotten 29 on a trip - MID is VERY accurate, btw.

 

140 miles a day? I live in Tracy, too. Where do you work?

 

Im getting only 19 mpg according to the computer on the car.....im really not happy with it. I often find myself fighting my right foot from going into VTEC just because the gas milege is so shi-ty.

 

550 miles so far. 21mpg all in town and 23 mph average speed.

 

Same here, man. I do about 90% city and am lucky to get 18 with AUTO climate control half the time. I've only average more than 20mpg about 3 times since I got the car and that was with >50% highway miles.

Like someone else pointed out, the TL gets excellent mileage on the freeway and in suburban cycles but is very disappointing in major city stop and go.

dsc888

 

Thanks Cesci. I'm counting on it. I started today taking a slightly longer route to work, but one that gives me some highway miles - loop around the city. Maybe I can trick my baby into better mileage

Thanks again for the input.

 

ONLY??? Wow I would love to get that kind of mileage as I am getting 16 mpg on my 6mt which now has 1500 miles on it. I have NEVER seen MPG in the 20's since I have owned the car. Granted every now and then I do open her up, but I was expecting a wee bit better gas mileage. OPEC sends me thank you notes each week as that is how often I need to fill up!

In fact have to run and fill her up now......before all the gas stations run out of fuel again (for the record HURRICANES SUCK)

 

I've had my 6MT for just over 3 months and I've never gotten less than 25 MPG nor more than 28 MPG in mixed driving.
My 98 CL 3.0 (auto) gets about 25 MPG in the same type of driving.

 

I would say this to you people who are experiencing mileage in the teens. Either you have a VERY aggressive right foot or something is wrong with your engine management system. There is absolutely no reason why you can't achieve at least low 20's in normal city driving and at least the high 20's on the road. I understand an aggressive foot or extremely heavy traffic takes a toll, but consider those to be the exceptions. Find a way to do an accurate test in a more normal manner and see what your engine returns. The lowest I have managed since I bought the car (can't count the dealer fillup because I didn't fill the tank), was in the mid-24 MPG range in around town and to and from work driving. I don't live or work in a metropolitan area like Washington D.C. or New York city. I live in western Prince William county about 6 miles from Manassas and work in Fairfax just outside of Centreville, VA. I drive in a fair amount of traffic (ranges from a light-moderate to moderate-heavy usually). I only use the A/C about 1/2 the time and I am not hard or abusive on my car. That doesn't mean I don't get into it from time to time, but I am not rough on it.

I know I can top 28 MPG once I switch to Mobil 1 and finish off the break-in periond (car now has close to 2700 miles on it).

So if you are only managing 16 MPG like Nodoze2004 and you are not pushing the hell out of it, I would begin to suspect a problem.

 

Oh, one more thing. Do a manual mileage check.. don't rely on the car's computer for your check. That way you know you got it right.

Fill up to a shutoff in a cool tank, then round to the nearest 5 cents. Do your driving for at least 10 gallons burned. Then return to the same station and the same pump with your car in the same position as before (not nose up at first fillup that nose down at the second). Fill up in the same manner as the first time then just do the math.

 

If you drive mostly in stop and go traffic then you are going to get lousy mileage. The more you are stopped, the more time you spend getting 0 mpg. About half of my commute can be described as stop and go: most of the time stopped, max speed about 15 mph and then stop again. My mileage is in the high teens. I don't think there's anything wrong with the engine control system for a couple of reasons:

1) My last car was lighter with a smaller engine and a stick and it got the same mileage under the same conditions, and

2) I can see 32mpg on a highway cruise.

Mike

 

My MID at 1500 miles (never reset) reads 21 MPG and 25 Avg MPH.

Here is how my 1500 miles have been reached:

My 5 day commute:

17 miles each way.
15 stop lights each way. I usually make it through only one or maybe two lights (very lucky).
Most of the route (14 miles) is one lane. The other 3 miles are two lanes wide. Not a lot of areas to pass and most of the commute is about 40 to 45 MPH. Other than the 15 lights I am moving.

This comprises about 80% or about 1200 miles.

I have been on the highway about 20% of the time and in one week I did two 140 mile trips (280 highway miles). So I'm rarely on the highway.

I notice my Miles to Empty on the MID is always around 250 to 280 without highway driving. I always fill the car up with 91 or better.

I filled up a few miles into my highway trip and as I drove I noticed the Miles to Empty shoot past 400 as I was driving. I did about 70 to 80 both ways. There was some traffic but nothing serious. And there are about 6 tolls that I had to slow for (not stop EZPASS). After the 240 mile trip I still had well over 100 miles to empty. Those last 100 miles were back to my off highway driving.

I'm hoping to stay at 21 MPG and move up a bit. But not too confident it will. I'm sure if I predominately did highway driving I'd be looking at 29 to 32 MPG.

I'll see how I'm looking at 3000 miles.

 

Mileage in my 2001 CL was 10 - 15 % better than 2004 TL (four months). Doesn't matter whether city or highway. I also think engine in CL felt way more responsive. Just my opinion.

 

Southernboy,

Thanks for the comment but I think nothing is really wrong with my car. If I reset the MID while cruising on the highway, I will get anywhere from 30 to 36 mpg as long as I hold the speed close to 65 mph. However, like svtmike mentioned, I spend a good deal of my time stopped in heavy city traffic where traffic signals are spaced less than a quarter mile apart getting 0 mpg. At last check I got

17 mpg avg.
15 mph avg.
138 miles

This was not too far off from my 97 Camry V6 which also averaged between 18-19 mpg without a heavy lead foot. It's just the nature of the beast I guess. That top gear really helps with mileage.

dsc888

 

To svtmike and dsc888;

I understand both of your situations and I made reference to heavy, stop and go traffic.. though I neglected to elaborate. Solid stop and go for a work commute will most definitely take a toll on your mileage, no question about it. If you are able to get in the very high 20's to low-mid 30's once out on the open road, then that's an excellent indicator that your engine is delivering decent and acceptable mileage. Also a heavy foot with aggressive acceleration from stop lights and signs plus using much more throttle than necessary for lane changes, passing, etc. will also cost you. My 1988 Mustang LX 302 CID (that's a 5.0 for you liter-lovers) returned close to 20 MPG (19.77 was the best) in work commuting and over 25.5 on the road and I had modified it including installing lower gears (from 3.08 to 3.55). Incidently, that was the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Because of my "analness", I take a longer route in to work in the morning (about 5 miles longer) by going through Manassas.. at around 5:00 AM. I do this to save my TL from the trauma of stone damage to the paint and windshield. Plus it is a leisurely drive to work. There are the usual lights and stop signs, or course. After work, I take much the same way home and run into quite abit more traffic.. around 3:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

I don't worry about fuel economy in the cars I buy unless that IS the reason for buying a specific type of car.. which I've never done hardcore. I look at good fuel economy as icing on the cake.. I'd much rather drive something that I find fun and entertaining than an econobox.

 

yep. 78 miles per day commute. Cruising speed is about 80MPH - some days bumper to bumper jam and other days it is a pretty clean shot. Local roads part of the way as well. I'd say 70% Highway and 30% local if that makes the number any easier to swallow. I agree with the other post that says VTECing it lets me watch the needle actually move - very thirsty. So to be fair I would say I get a guaranteed 26 MPG, but usually she is 27, 28. I can't wait to take it on a long trip sometime with cruise control on - 30's here I come!! I use Exxon 93 octane and fill up once per week at @ 350 miles (use the wife's car on weekends). I Got 400 once but that light was on and a lot longer than I was comfortable with.

If you really are getting much lower than that in similar conditions - keep an eye on your driving style - my Dad proved to me many moons ago that you can greatly change your mileage by adjusting your driving techniques.

Good Luck. Hope your MPG goes higher soon with prices like these!