catsailr

I've seen several posts of some of you complaining that the TL did not get close to the EPA mileage figures. I just made a trip to Dallas and back this weekend. The total trip was 1,287 with an average of 30 MPG. About 1,200 miles were interstate driving at 70-80 mph, the rest city driving. The more I drive the TL the more I love it.

rets

Love this car driving on the highway, too.

atltls

I am getting TERRIBLE gas mileage. I am having to refill at about 220 miles. The first tank from the dealer was at almost 300 miles before I had to refill. What gives????

04 TL Navi Auto

Shinj1EVA

I have to fill up around 200 to 220 miles too. 04 TL Navi Auto as well.

Mylriahd

Too many variables to give a helpful answer there... How are you driving? Me, I don't ahve my car yet, but i'm fairly certain the honey moon period is going to be lots and lots of driving, every chance I get. "Need me to go to the store, honey?" Thats lots of city driving. If I ignore "break in" stuff and enjoy the feel of "take off" and hard driving, that lowers gas mileage even more significantly. You can easily in excitement degrade gas mileage to 15mpg, i'm sure.

On the other hand, if you are driving like a nervous grandma with bad eyesight and doing everything super conservatively and STILL getting horrible gas mileage; take it to the dealer, Maybe something's out of wack.

jtruman

Suggest you try it out scientifically first, see the link below... If your mileage is much worse than this, take it to the dealer

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

Shinj1EVA

Maybe it's cuz my car is still relatively new, only 1000 miles on it.. literally Just hit 1000 as I was parking it in the garage. But i'm only getting about 18mpg on average (mixed driving, mostly local).

Aquineas

Nice mileage. How many miles do you have on your car?

moeronn

The type of driving you do is definitely a huge factor. I have a 5AT and I know my mileage suffers becuase I use the SS almost all the time. Since the engine is usually revving higher, it's less efficient - but more fun One of these days, I'm going to try leaving it in auto for a whole tank. As it is, I've been averaging 20 MPG for daily driving - lots of stop and go, some 'true' freeway driving.

TheOne305

ya ive been the sameway and my milage has been about the same as moeronn.i cant stop using sportshift.

catsailr

My car now has 4,700 miles, purchased 2/29/04. Went to Dallas this past Friday and got back home Sunday night. Had to go to Nashville Monday and came back yesterday. I have driven a total of 1,726 miles since Friday and the average fuel mileage is 30 MPG and average speed is 63 mph. As I said, most of the interstate driving was at speeds of 75-80.

divxz

Right now, I am at 700 miles and I'm getting 23 miles per gallon.

This is mostly 'suburban' driving (i.e. stop and go, but not city gridlock) with some highway/turnpike driving.

BLACURATL

From day one, I never got less thn 23... now that it is warming up, I routinely get 28... mixed driving with auto but in ss mode.

flnsx

3k miles and 19MPG average.

I even have a k&n filter.

I push my car very hard though.

GunnmeTaLCURA04

well, the guy who showed me all about the car said to me that i should notice for the first month, most gas usage. that then it starts to better up..... But i normally last about 280 or so a tank.

Big Ped

Man, I don't know how you guys are getting this kind of milege. I had the 02TL Type s and always averaged about 14-16 mpg and even less. 220 miles per tank almost always. When I mean tank, I mean like 15 galons worth, because the light would come on when there's a few galons left.

Just got the new TL and on my first tank I'm averaging 14 mpg, based on the display. This is my break in period and I don't even have 200 miles on it yet. So this time, I am not dirving agressively. What going on here, its a bit upsdeting, especially since gas in LA is $2.50 per galon. Any thoughts!

Big Ped

I'm in LA, and I don't have 200 miles on the car yet. I think I will get maybe 220 miles for the first tank. ShinJ, how many miles you have on yours now.

texas_acura

Saying that you have to fill up every XXX miles doesn't give ANY indication of gas mileage. If you had a 2 gallon tank and had to fill up every 200 miles that would be phenomenal gas mileage, but if you had a 20 gallon tank and had to fill up every 200 miles that would not be great. Saying "I have to fill up every XXX miles" does not take into account the QUANTITY of gas used, ONLY the distance. Also keep in mind that there have been numerous posts about the low fuel warnings on the 04 TL coming on way too early.

You need to actually compute the amount of miles driven and the amount of gas used those miles...(1) Start with a full tank of gas and note the car mileage (2) fill up and note the mileage at fillup along with the gallons of gas (3) take the difference of the two mileage readings and then divide my the number of gallons required to fill the tank.

Also, don't trust what the computer says the mileage is..those things ARE usually close, but NOT perfect.

I know that this is a simple concept and I am not trying to talk down to anyone; I have just heard too many people in the past say the same thing, but when they sit down and do the math, the numbers always look better.

Big Ped

[QUOTE=texas_acura]Saying that you have to fill up every XXX miles doesn't give ANY indication of gas mileage. If you had a 2 gallon tank and had to fill up every 200 miles that would be phenomenal gas mileage, but if you had a 20 gallon tank and had to fill up every 200 miles that would not be great. Saying "I have to fill up every XXX miles" does not take into account the QUANTITY of gas used, ONLY the distance. Also keep in mind that there have been numerous posts about the low fuel warnings on the 04 TL coming on way too early.

QUOTE]

Been doing it for 3 years, doesn't get any better. Full tank on the 04 TL and 02 TL type s is 17 galons. By the time it hits "e" there are like two or three galons left in the tank. I know because when I filled up the tank I would usually fill it up with 14 or 15 gallons. Now every time I filled up (14 or 15 gallons) and drove the care till "e" I would get around 220 miles total. There is no real science here or quantum physics. Simply 220 miles divided by 15 gallons = 14.6 MPG. Likewise 220 miles divided by 14 gallons = 15.71 MPG

My new 04 TL is reading 14 MPG right now and I have the empty indicator on. I know that it is not 100% acurate, but I presume it cant be off by more than 2 mpg. And even at 16mpg, thats terrible. And I have been driving like a nervous grandma so that I can break in the car properly (not what I used to do with the 02 model). Sorry for venting, but I've been frustrated with this for over three years. You'd think I would get another car right. Nope, been hooked on the ride since the day I got the 02 model, and I'm even more addicted to the 04 TL.

Big Ped

Sorry to get off topic. FLNSX, congrats on the Abys/Camel that's a great color combination.

claud

I have about 1400 miles on my TL. This weekend I took my first highway trip to the beach, about 150 miles , one way. Once I got on the road, I set and reset the trip puter at different speeds to find best cruise mpg. The road I took is relatively flat (I-40), with a 70 mph limit. At 75mph indicated on the trip puter (about 78 on spedo), I got my best indicated mpg at 29. Faster, or slower you loose a little.
In town driving is highly influenced by stoplights. My worst in town mpg has been 16, with 18 being normal during my breakin up to the 1400 miles.

marquis

I'm up around 6600 miles now. From the beginning, I have always averaged around 23-24 mpg in a mix of highway/city driving. Pure highway driving has averaged upwards of 31 mpg (usually at speeds of 75-85 mph which seems to be this car's sweet spot for cruising). I always use plus grade gas these days....I tried periods of experimenting with all 3 grades to see the difference in performance/mpg.

I've also noticed that recently my mpg has crept up a couple. I'm now consistently averaging 25-26 mpg. This would be in line with others who have said that their mpg increased a bit after a while. It may also be that I'm consciously driving slightly more conservatively lately because of the price of gas, but I don't think that would account for the full amount of increases I'm seeing lately.

But, I've never seen the mpg dip below 22.

VOdoc

I have 520 miles on my 5AT. I averaged 25 mpg on the last tank of gas (exactly the same by trip computer and manual computation). This is a mix of congested freeway and street driving around L.A. I don't have a throttle-and-brake style of driving but do occasionally need to zoom around a bozo.

I see plenty of folks (in other makes of cars or SUVs) who speed up and slow down constantly rather than anticipate their speed changes. Might I gently suggest that may be an issue for the folks reporting especially lousy mileage...? Somehow I doubt it's the car.

Big Ped

You know, you may have a valid point. However, I do not think my driving is that drastic to warant 14-16 mpg. I would think that would be more like SUV mileage. I'll just live with it and stop compalining. I have set asside money for my next fill up. he he. By the way, it cost me $41 to fill my tank last night. It is 2.52 per galong out here in LA. It is insane.

briden

I'm averaging about 21MPG with a little over 800 miles on my automatic. I've been doing more city driving then normal and have been tending toward "enthusiastic driving" more often than not.

dsc888

After about 700 miles of driving, I have gotten 18, 19, and 18 mpg in mostly city stop and go and about 15-25% highway driving. It's about right since that's what I had in my 97 Camry with a 192 horsepower engine. In my case, the TL is an improvement considering how much power it makes. I have the 5AT.

dsc888

auee92

I sometime commute with my TL and I monitor the mileage quite a bit. When it is smooth non stop highway driving, I am getting between 28 - 30 mpg consistently. When there is traffic or local driving, it will drop to around 18 range. I have more than 5000 miles on the car and it still getting this mileage

Lore

Tell me about it. I'm loving the use of this rental Civic while my car is in the shop. I can give it good ol 87 and it won't bitch at me!

JoganJani

From day one I'm getting between 23-25 mpg. Now have 8000 miles and have the same average.

Lhibbitts

I have an 5AT w/ Navi, anthracite w/ ebony leather. I've got almost 6000 miles on my TL now - my driving is about 85% highway driving, at speeds of 70-80 mph. I always buy premium fuel - I typically get 25-26 mpg, but I recently went on a 4 hour trip, and got 30 mpg. No complaints here!

automophile

One IMPORTANT thing to check is tire pressure. Only a small drop can affect your mileage significantly. The brand of gas can also affect your mileage. Itr is worth it to pay more for the good stuff. I found a drop of 2-3 mpg on Costco gas, for instance.

I'm getting 18-22 in L.A. slow n' go, and over 30 on the highway, 75-85. I'm satisfied. C'Mon - it's 270 REAL horsepower! A 70's muscle car with 270 REAL horsepower (most 70's horsepower ratings were highly inflated) would be giving you 7-12 mpg.

KidWithTheSick04TL

Ease up on the throttle Leadfoot, thats why you get horrible gas milage

DMZ

Since changing the tires from Bullshitstones to Falkens, then switching brands of gas from Hess to BP/Amoco, I've noticed an average increase of 2 MPG. Also, running on BP/Amoco Ultimate, the car seems to have more power.

Those of you who remember the Amoco Ultimate 93 TV commercials from a few years ago with the slogan
"Your Car Knows...", can understand how true that is when you try this gas. It's all I'm using from now on.
.
.

GSD98

04 TL 5AT with 1350 miles on odometer. Bought new. MID shows 16 miles per gallon over 134 miles on current tank of gas. This is a mix of surface street and freeway driving in San Diego. Driving style on this tank of gas has ranged from easy to moderate. No jack rabbit starts. No pedal to the metal. My wife drives much smoother than I do and she is the primary driver on the car. On the prior tank of gas I tried driving it harder and was averaging 14 miles per gallon before a 60 mile freeway trip raised the mileage to 18 overall on that tank of gas. I have checked the mileage manually against the computer and the computer is correct. Not only is the city mileage through the floor but the freeway mileage is also. It plain sucks.

Keeping in mind, the car wasn't yet broken in but before the wife went on maternity leave she was driving 44 miles a day to and from work in light to moderate traffic. Out of those 44 miles, 41 were freeway and the other three were surface street on and off the freeway. Average mileage according to the computer was 21 miles per gallon.

So far, the dealership has stated there is nothing they can do for the car. When I called to make an appointment, the service writer told me there was no point in bringing the car in. Apparently, no other TL's are getting poor gas mileage and I was the first to bring it to their attention. I would think that at the least a basic diagnostic test might be in order. This thing is a gas hog, plain and simple. Super unleaded is $2.49 a gallon in San Diego. I was counting on getting 20 on average, but 16 to 17 miles per gallon? Should have bought the wife the crew cab F-150 she wanted. I keep hoping something is wrong with the car and it can be rectified but my gut tells me I got one that likes to drink a lot of gasoline.

claud

You guys should be getting a price break. When I went to the beach last weekend, premium was $1.95/gal for cheap gas. Today in the big city, I paid $2.05/gal. for Exxon premium. This is a $.10/gal dip in prices. Did OPEC blink?

Big Ped

I can't complain about purely highway miles. I got 32mpg when I first got my 02TLS in 2001 on a trip to Toronto from NY. On highway, the car is great. But damn the city mileage sucks "for me" and I can't figure it out. Since the last fill up (above), based on your responses, I've been driving really modest. Really, it is even uncomfortable and not fun at all. I hit the gas (not hard), get a little momentum, get off the gas peddal and just glide to the red sign or stop sign. When I accelerate again. I do it slowly. No change in mileage, I'm half the tank now and it reads 14mpg. And that is only because I took a few trips to Hollywood this weekend from West LA (15 miles each way with hardly any trafic). Before that it was reading 12 mpg. MY comute to my office is about 3.7 miles and I make that in about 10 to 15 minutes with traffic in the morning/afternoon via local streets. It does not appear to be like a traffic jam or anything, there are stops, but it is not that bad.

Big Ped

It never occured to me, but that is a great point. I'm checking tire pressure today. I will report back, because if there is no improvement, I'd love to complain about mileage again. It would help ease the pain associated with the monthly payments and the $40 a tank I pay out here. If you live in LA and get 18-22, I hope its tire pressure, but I thought the dealer would take care of that off the lot.

GSD98

Could it be that the gas is that bad here in CA? The worst mileage reports I have seen have come from So Cal. If that is true, how ironic would it be, given what we pay for fuel?

When I was telling the service writer about my mileage, he tried to blame it on the gas quality. Maybe he is right.

KeithL

5AT I am getting about 20-21 around town (not pure city driving, ATL suburbs) with 50% AC on, on straight highway runs with AC about 28MPG and I cruise at around 80-85MPH.

Big Ped

Well for one thing, the highest octane here is 91 becuase of smog laws and jazz. It is 93 octane in most other parts of the country. But forget it. I lived in NYC and had my 02TLS for two years there (used 93 octane). I moved to LA and had the car for one year here (used 91 octane). Mileage was about the same, usually around 15-17mpg.