Is anybody else having this problem? I just bought my first RDX (2013) about six weeks ago. I traded in my big Buick Enclave that got only 14MPG for this awesome RDX that I am loving. BUT the gas mileage stinks. At first I was getting about 20 MPG, which isn't that great to begin with, but much better than what I was getting with the Buick. My first tank of gas was premium, and I decided to alternate with mid-grade and see how the mileage went. I got pretty good mileage on both grades, but I was driving freeway and streets. The last two weeks, my mileage is between 17-18 MPG, but I'm mostly doing street driving.

At first I was filling my tank once every eight days, but this week was the first time I filled at the six day mark. I just filled it with premium gas and the fill before this was premium too, but I'm not seeing my MPG improve. Is this typical of the RDX? I'm really disappointed.

 

your motor will break in.. it will take some miles

my tl when i first got it was getting 17 -19 but now im getting 22-24 mpg... and that started around 10k.

 

EPA estimates 20 mpg city/28 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined (front-wheel-drive version), but since you're mostly city driving (with AC on?) its not surprising to get the mpg you're getting.

are you off the gas and cruising slowly when approaching full stops? or are you on the gas and switch to braking instantly?

my 05 TL gets terrible city mpg, around 17-18, but combined about 23-25mpg while cruising <70 mph on the freeway and not exceeding 2000 rpm.

roads trips are great, I got ~ 32 mpg on a 500 mile trip.

So it all depends on driving technique. But in my opinion, I feel like the estimated 20 mpg city is a joke.

 

^ What he said.

 

if you're mostly on surface streets with a lot of stop and go, your gas mileage will take a hit. try to maintain a constant speed whenever possible and ease on/off the throttle.

 

Thank you all for your responses. Yes, I am mostly city driving with the AC on. Yes, I have been easy on the throttle and easing to stop at red lights. But I just find it odd that when I first bought the car (which, by the way, was a corporate car with 1900 miles on it when I bought it) I was getting fair mileage and I was driving long distances on the freeway so didn't get gas for about eight days the first time I needed to fill up. I am hoping Potmilkz is right and that once the motor is broken in the mpg will improve.

I really expected better mileage compared to my heavy Buick Enclave. The RDX is a light car compared to the Enclave. It really should be getting much better mileage. Agreed, 20 mpg is a joke.

 

the fact that you were driving mostly freeways when you just got the RDX confirms what is typical to expect in fuel economy - more highway, relaxed driving will obviously get you better fuel economy than city driving.

 

What brand of gas do you use? All gas is not created equal contrary to what some might say.

 

clpassenubye, I have been using gas from the Vons gas station. Sometimes I use Costco gas. Is there really a difference? And are these supermarket brands inferior to say Union 76 or Chevron?

 

Yes there is a difference try it for yourself for 30 days or more I say more because it might take sometime to get the effects of the bad gas out of the system. You are using some of the worst gas that's why your getting poor mileage, you may think your saving money by going cheap but your getting bad mileage so your not saving anything and your gunking up your engine.

 

Do some reading at toptiergas.com

 

I didn't even know Vons sold gas lol
I never seen a supermarket gas station other than Costco

 

Thank you, clpassenubye and socalitrojan. I will try the toptier gas vendors and see what difference it makes.

 

I found a gas station that offers top tier gas, as socalitrojan suggested, and I filled up with premium today. But why is my gas mileage falling even further? I'm at 16-17 mpg now. That's not much better than my heavy Buick that was getting only 14 mpg on cheap 87 octane gas from the Vons gas station. Can my RDX really be getting such poor gas mileage? I've only had the car 7 weeks.

As I wrote in my first post, I was getting 20 mpg when I first started driving this car. Granted, 95% of my driving is street driving, but this seems to be very poor gas mileage.

 

i think when u experiment mid grade fuel you messed up big time. the harmful deposits are now stuck in there.

 

Kingkong_dav, in seven fill-ups, I only used mid-grade three times. Could it already have made a difference? And is mid-grade really that bad? The recommendation for this car is premium gasoline, but it is not a requirement. So says the manual and the Acura service department. So I thought I would see how the car would function on mid-grade gas. I am assuming it will take a few fill-ups with premium gas to clean out any deposits thus far, perhaps a month, as clpassenubye suggested. I will give this a try and report back later.

 

^no, dont listen to kingkongdav...
he throws out misinformation all the time.

in 7 fill ups, I DOUBT you have carbon deposits.
if the ECU detected knock, it will retard timing.
The ECU might take a little time to re-adjust.

But I do agree that in stop and go traffic + stop signs and stop lights are the death of MPG

 

It's important to use the highest octane available NOT because of carbon deposits but because of the high compression motor.
if the ECU sees or detects knock or ping, it will reduce timing thus lowering performance and fuel economy.

 

+1 to the baby engine being the cause.

i've been noticing if i shift under 2k i can get decent mileage. yesterday before some highway driving i was at 20 mpg at avg 16 mph on the 45 mph streets of irvine.

 

ez12a, I suspect it is the fact that the engine is still a bit green. I know with time it will break in and give me better mileage. I'm just surprised how bad it is right now. I just expected better.

My mpg this week has been averaging 18 mpg on the streets and highway. I'm not sure if the better gas has made the difference or what. If I average 20 mpg eventually, I will be happy,because it's better than 14 mpg that I was getting with my Buick.

 

OP-what is your avg mph per tank? this is one of the biggest factors that will influence your MPGs. if you are avg less than 20mph on a tank of gas, then the 17-18 mpg maybe completely normal for your RDX. if you avg 25-26mph, then you will most likely get the EPA 20 mpg. everyone's "city" driving is defined differently. living in so. cal....that means less than 20mph avg unless you live WAY out in the burbs.

 

I have the 2013 RDX. I bought it in Aoril and have 10,000 miles on it as of last week. I average 16.5 to 18 miles per gallon tops. I just filled up a few moments ago and came home to research this crap on google. I complained about the sorry MPG about 5 weeks after getting the car and am still unhappy after hitting the 10k mark. I sold my mazda CX9 AWD so that I would have better MPG- I loved my car and now am stuck with this spec home of a car that does not perform- hate FWD and want to drive a real car again. Audi is calling.

 

^^again what is YOUR avg MPH for your driving? if you idle and sit in stop and go traffic most of the time, then your MPGs are going to suffer. if the car is a hwy queen then your MPGs will be much higher (obviously). everyone who complains about their MPGs fails to realize that the EPA rated MPG for every car is based on an avg for "city" and "hwy". according to their standard which would be representative of the avg and ideal situation/environment.

my MDX hwy MPGs is much higher than the EPA rating for the car by 3-4 MPG! so called city miles (avg 25 mph), it rates at 15-16 mpg. i get about 16-17 mpg with "mixed" driving which avg's 25 mph according to my MID. i use these numbers as an example.

 

I used to own a 2008 TL purchased new and originally I was getting around 16 MPG and I thought that was horrible so after several thousand miles I complained to the dealer where I purchased the car about what I was experiencing and they relearned the ECU and I got better gas mileage (21+) from that point on. I now have a 2012 TL and have never had any issues mileage issues with it. I hope you find a solution.

 

Have had my 2011 FW RDX Tech for 2 weeks now. Only filled up once, and the trip computer said 24.4 mpg, while the miles driven divided by gallons, was 23.4 mpg. Could have been that the dealer did not top it off when I first got it. Quite pleased with it either way. Can't wait to take it on the Highway for an extended drive. NOTE: I am not a lead foot, so that seems to help, though it is fun to see the boost kick in every once in a while. Takes its toll on the gas MPG though.

 

Have 2011 FWD now since March 15th. Only two fill-ups and did notice the trip computer estimates approx. 1 mpg more than I have experienced. Have been playing with the trip computer when I drive and noticed between 50 and 65, great gas mileage, close to 30 mph if the highway is flat (like in Florida). Between 65 to 75, the RPM's go to about 2200 and any touch of the gas pedal kicks the turbo in and thus MPG decrease. Very touchy above 65 mph for the turbo boost show. Not complaining, just an observation about the RPM's at normal highway speed seems about 200 to 300 higher than my 2004 Saturn Vue V-6 (with Honda Drivetrain). Oh yeah, dealer replaced battery over the weekend under warranty of course, and headlight is ordered. No complaints on service so far.