Sherlock

Good Mornin..

I have noticed considerably better gas mileage in this loaner 04TL that I've had for a week versus my notorious early build 04TL. In my crazy city driving I've never reached 150 miles by half tank. Highway easy, but not the way I sometimes drive city. I noticed today that per each spot on the gas guage, I have been at higher mileage than I ever achieved in my car.

So this makes me wonder if my car really is evil and malfunctioning.

To all those who are reporting low mileage (under 22 city and under 29 or so highway), what is your Vin ?? And think honesly about how you drive city, I want a good concensus here. If you speed up/slow down a lot, and high rev and fly by everyone, then yes you will have low mileage no matter what. I kinda want to hear from people who drive relatively normally 75% of the time and are getting oddly low MPG.

Thx.

Novice

Vin 21XXX. I drive mostly in city-18-19 mpg.

berlinrl

VIN 48XXX City 17-19

DMZ

VIN 435xx ... 6MT

Averaging 15-16 City, low 20's combined

:thumbsdn:

Pug

VIN 21xxx, 19-21 city (6MT)

DopeTL04

Vin 21XXX Mostly city avg 20mpg AT. With AC off that is

Sherlock

hmmm.. the 20k's are getting 20'ish.. and the 40k's are getting lower.. a trend ??

20 city is just about right, the car is rated 20/29 so that falls in perfectly.

I get to pick mine up at lunch today.. we'll see how dearest Maxwell behaves for this week.

ensley696

I'm getting about 21 with A/C and city driving 6MT. Can not remember the VIN, but she was built June 1st.

KilroyR1

6MT vin 27***, 23-24 in normal driving and 28-29 on the highway.

Mindcrime

My car was built in late April and I'm getting 22 mpg with about 95% city driving. Only have 650 miles on it and have the A/C on about 1/2 the time.

cM3go

i rev 3000-4000, do somewhat quick stops, i like to drive fast, I have 6mt... I'm getting about 22 Avg MPG, usually A/C off

Pug

Definitely - trend around break in. Once I hit 5k or so, MPG went up a noticable amount. Before then I was getting around 17-18 city.

Mylriahd

53***, 6mt

My trip log says 19mpg right now, 23 avg. mph, 52 miles. I gassed up on Sunday, and went for a ride. I was at about 33 mpg / 57 avg mph. Its driving to work in the morning that kills me, constant stop / go / stop / GO PLEASE....

Stewie

6MT VIN 48XXX - So far 25-27 in mixed driving.
I'm happy.

Mister V

My mileage is 13-14 mpg in city (in fact it is suburban) and 33 mpg in highway. No conditioner air, very smooth driving... It seems that my TL performs well in highway, but not in city. Ask my car dealer... said it is normal that will get better when I reach 5000 miles (I have presently 2100 miles). But since I have read such much people that have much better mileage than me... as the car specification said... I have some doubt... Maybe, I have a problem with my car when I accelerate.

When I drive, sporty, the car (means not like a oldman)... mileage go down as 11-12 mpg.

Presently I do 60% of highway and 40% of suburban and the computer said 20 mpg as my gas bills. Means that the TL computer seems to work properly because it fits with my $$$. My VIN is 19UU...

achadha100

85% city driving getting about 19...i would expect about 22-23...i am getting about 270 miles per fill up that is not good at all...

greenseed

Well, I guess that I'm doing well. I travel about 95 miles a day on mostly rural roads. 14 of those miles of slow moving traffic, not stop and go, but sluggish. I average about 27MPG on my 6MT with that, however lately I've been getting 28 to 29 mpg during the same travel. Mostly the air is off, but I occasionally turn it on and it doesn’t seem to affect these numbers.

The car has 11,200 on the clock now, and it keeps getting better MPG as time goes on.

6spdzoomzoom

002836 VIN, I get about 21 in the city. I drive the car pretty hard most of the time.

MikeyK

I get about 20 in mixed driving. I really never get past 4th though on the MT so maybe thats why im not seeing huge mileage.

trube78

EPA estimates for the TL are 6MT 20/30 and 5AT 20/28. I have 6MT and that is pretty close to what I get -- my last road trip averaged 28.5 to 30 MPG per tank. There are so many variables for city that it is hard to compare. Short or long trips, traffic lights or congestion, how agressively you drive, etc. etc. etc. IF I was concerned about my TLs gas performance I would take a long highway drive with the cruise set at 70 or so if you are 28 to 30 I think that is pretty good. Knowing how the EPA tests, if you get under 18 routinely in the city I would be concerned unless you are in hideous stop and go or have lots of short trips. FWIW, here is the EPA test methodology EPA ratings are most useful in comparing vehicles vice predicting you cars performance unless ... you drive like the test.

"The fuel economy estimates are based on results of tests required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These tests are used to certify that vehicles meet the Federal emissions and fuel economy standards. Manufacturers test pre-production prototypes of the new vehicle models and submit the test results to EPA. EPA re-tests about 10% of vehicle models to confirm manufacturer's results. The vehicles are driven by a professional driver under controlled laboratory conditions, on an instrument similar to a treadmill. These procedures ensure that each vehicle is tested under identical conditions; therefore, the results can be compared with confidence.

There are two different fuel economy estimates for each vehicle in the Fuel Economy Guide, one for city driving and one for highway driving. To generate these two estimates, separate tests are used to represent typical everyday driving in a city and in a rural setting. Two kinds of engine starts are used: the cold start, which is similar to starting a car in the morning after it has been parked all night; and the hot start, similar to restarting a vehicle after it has been warmed up, driven, and stopped for a short time.

The test used to determine the city fuel economy estimate simulates an 11-mile, stop-and-go trip with an average speed of 20 miles per hour (mph). The trip takes 31 minutes and has 23 stops. About 18 percent of the time is spent idling, as in waiting at traffic lights or in rush hour traffic. The maximum speed is 56 mph. The engine is initially started after being parked overnight. Vehicles are tested at 68 F to 86 F ambient temperature.

The test to determine the highway fuel economy estimate represents a mixture of "non-city" driving. Segments corresponding to different kinds of rural roads and interstate highways are included. The test simulates a 10-mile trip and averages 48 mph. The maximum speed is 60 mph. The test is run with the engine warmed up and has little idling time and no stops (except at the end of the test).

NOTE: To make the numbers in the Fuel Economy Guide more useful for consumers, EPA adjusts these laboratory test results to account for the difference between controlled laboratory conditions and actual driving on the road. The laboratory fuel economy results are adjusted downward to arrive at the estimates in the Fuel Economy Guide and on the labels seen on new cars, light trucks, and vans. The city estimate is lowered by 10% and the highway estimate by 22% from the laboratory test results. Experience has proven that these adjustments make the mileage estimates in the Fuel Economy Guide correspond more closely to the actual fuel economy realized by the average driver."

At any rate mileage near 22 city and 29 Hway is pretty good based on the EPA estimates. If you are not satisfied with your TL check out some of the Hybrid forums/reports. They are not getting close to their EPA estimates.

ATB,
Tom

Final note -- in the city turning off the AC "may" help your mileage, But on the HWAY the increased drag from the windows being open usually decreases mileage more than the AC being on.

lakeman

I am one who has been normally getting very good mileage in my 17XXX VIN 6MT. However I have noticed that the TL is capable very poor mileage similar to the two Audis (80 and 86 5000 T's) I have had. I could get 25 to 30 on the road but only 13 to 15 when driven hard or in stop and go. I think Honda has managed to tune this six so that it can get suprisingly good mileage, but it will drink gas when pushed to produce the 270 ponies. If you are having poor mileage, try getting on a level interstate and running a test. Reset the Trip computer after you are up to speed, and drive a consistant 65 or 70 for 10 miles. If you don't get mid 20's or better, you likely have something wrong. 6MT's can get around 30 or more. In town its all about how much accelerator you use.

Champcar1

Low VIN 008XXX, 6MT.
I am averaging 21-22MPG in the city. Have not been on the highway yet.

Sherlock

well to be honest, it sounds like everyone who's posted (minus 1 or 2) is getting pretty much the same mileage once all points are taken into account and driving styles are admitted to. Under hard city driving, revving, speed up slow down speed up slow down like on Atlanta Connector, yeah.. 12-14 to 17-18 would be very expected. It's a high compression high horsepower medium sized v6, it's going to get thirsty when you gun it or have to change speeds. Cars use the most gas when accelerating, even from a stop, or from whatever speed you are going. Cruising on an interstate, and not having to pass anyone with acceleration, that's when you get the best mpg.

Also both cars have 2 overdrives.. on the 5AT, 4th and 5th are overdriven. 5th and 6th are overdriven on the 6MT. So yes, sitting in top gear was designed to be max fuel economy. I belive the 5AT is like .4 ratio, thats killer for highway, makes for great miles if you can stay in it.

the MT gets nice mileage in 6th, also .4 I think, because the MT loses less grunt to the tranny than the AT does.

I did notice that when my MIL was on last week.. boy howdy. 155miles by like 1/4th (to empty) tank, so I knew it was sick and not running its mixture correctly.

I got my baby back today so I'll see how it does over a few days.

greenseed

I guess I should note that I do drive in 6th most of the time. I do get on it once in a while, but mostly just driving in "boring" mode. This would probably account for the good MPG.

cullal

VIN# 008XXX - Averaging about 19-20 MPG mixed City and Freeway driving.

DaveK

33XXX, 21 -City/stop,go 27 Highway. 5AT

JoganJani

Vin 15xxx 6MT. Combined city and highway get about 23-24 mpg. A/c on all the time.

Motoracer

My 6 MT with only 1,000 has ranged from 21 - 27 on essentially the same suburban commute. My mileage varies as a direct function of right foot pressure. Short shift it everywhere and it easily gets 24-26. I expect it to get better as time goes on, though I'm thinking of unloading it as the squeeks and rattles from the dirver's side window are getting increasinly irritating.

Hybrid

Unless you've actually filled the tank and calculated mileage, your comparison is meaningless. The difference could just be in the gas gauges between the loaner and your TL. Also, as you know, your driving needs to be the same to properly compare mileage, and even a single tank won't do it.

With modern computer controlled fuel injection systems, large true differences between cars for mpg aren't common.