Why am I still getting crappy MPG since getting my car. I had my coupe since Aug of 08. It’s a V6 coupe and I have been averaging about 14 – 18 MPG since I got the car. I do a lot of city driving from home to work which is only about 8 miles. I keep on reading on this board that the car needs to “break in” to see improvement on MPG. I had about 3400 miles on it so far and no improvement whatsoever on the MPG. I check m tire pressure and my psi is at 32. I never go over 2500 rpm. I am at a lost now. I keep reading on this board that guys with the same car are getting 20-24 on City and 25-30 on Highway. Do I need to bring my car in to the dealership? The best I did so far was 18 MPG and 70% of it was highway and 30% was city. Anyone else with this issue?

auto or manual?

Your car won't be completely broken in at 3,400 miles... won't be until after 10K at least.

Why am I still getting crappy MPG since getting my car. It’s a V6 coupe and I have been averaging about 14 – 18 MPG since I got the car. I do a lot of city driving from home to work

That could be the reason right there. That and the winter blend of fuel will impact MPG #s.

I second what namegoeshere said. Engine won't be broken in for another 5 -10K miles yet and the city driving will bring mileage down. The type of city driving (many stop lights), weather (takes longer to warm up - which can kill fuel mileage on a short commute in colder weather), fuel type (winter vs summer mix), auto vs manual...

When I was doing 100% city driving, I coaxed 21 - 22mpg from my V6 6MT. Raleigh is pretty flat, its mostly warmer temps, and despite some stomping on the gas, I mostly took it easy being in 6th gear by 40mph.

Hwy mileage is about 27-28mpg on average with 25/75 city/hwy.

take it on a long road trip and see what happens, 8 mi will barely get teh engine warmed up.

8 mi will barely get teh engine warmed up.
+1. Your engine runs richer when cold; short trips are bad for MPG. Plus you never going to get 24 city on a heavy car with a large V6 ; don't know where you got that. Take care.

To the OP: Driving on local roads can definitely kill your MPG. I commute on local roads as well and I am averaging 17.2MPG (ALOT of steep hills in my town).

BUT it is important you dont take what the trip computer states is your MPG as fact. Honda's MPG rating system is not very accurate in stop and go driving scenarios.

The VCM system rarely kicks in local driving situations so lower than expected MPG should be expected.

thanks for the replies guys, I do alot of city driving (red lights) and maybe thats why Im getting low MPG. I still dont understand the "break in period" the car has 3400 miles on it, so in order to see a better MPG the car must have about 10k on it? Reading some of the posts by people on this board with their brand new V6 are getting much better MPG then I am. I havent taking it on a long road trip yet. I would be happy if I got about 17 mpg in the city. btw the car is auto. I just get piss when I look down at the gauge and see that I got only 120 miles on half a tank:mad:

Elementary question but are you dividing the amount of fuel used into the mileage driven at fill up? 120 miles with the fuel needle at 1/2 doesn't really tell you (or us) anything.

Elementary question but are you dividing the amount of fuel used into the mileage driven at fill up? 120 miles with the fuel needle at 1/2 doesn't really tell you (or us) anything.

yes I am filling up my tank to full. then resetting the gauge and when I get to half a tank, I get 120 miles. Tank is 18.5 gallons for my car, which is 9.25 gallons at half a tank, which gives me 12-13 MPG. Does this sound right?

yes I am filling up my tank to full. then resetting the gauge and when I get to half a tank, I get 120 miles. Tank is 18.5 gallons for my car, which is 9.25 gallons at half a tank, which gives me 12-13 MPG. Does this sound right?

Wait... are you just relying on the fuel gauge on your dash?

Wait... are you just relying on the fuel gauge on your dash?

yes is there another way to calculate how much gas I get per gallon?

yes, next time you go to the pump, reset your trip meter, then next time you fill up look at the meter on the pump to tell you how many gallons you put in then divide the miles by the gallons and that's your number, do not assume that because the needle is on the halfway mark that it is exactly half a tank of gas. :D good luck

this has got to be wayyyy off, ours is brand new a little over 1K and we are getting pretty good mileage, your gas mileage is worse then my camaro in the city with a big V8. that can't be right. if it is, then something might be wrong, or like they said the fact that your car never really warms up could play a big role in it.

yes I am filling up my tank to full. then resetting the gauge and when I get to half a tank, I get 120 miles. Tank is 18.5 gallons for my car, which is 9.25 gallons at half a tank, which gives me 12-13 MPG. Does this sound right?

Wait... are you just relying on the fuel gauge on your dash?

yes is there another way to calculate how much gas I get per gallon?

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/doh.gif A-ha! So that's where the problem lies.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR CAR'S MPGs:

1. Go to the gas station and fill up the fuel tank.
2. Record the mileage, before even pulling away from the pump. We will call this Mileage A.
3. Drive normally until the tank is less than half full.
4. Fill up the tank again (preferably at the same station using the same pump as pumps may be calibrated differently). This time, pay attention to how many gallons it takes to fill up the tank. This is usually shown at the pump.
5. Record the mileage again, just like before. We will call this Mileage B.
6. Subtract Mileage A from Mileage B. This will give you the number of miles you drove since your last fill-up.
7. Divide your answer by the number of gallons it took to fill up your tank. This will give you your car's MPG.

:yes: Gauges are just an estimate. You have to do the math. Miles divided by gallons used off the odometer & the gas pump.

Break-in is the first 5K. At that time you need an oil change. MPG generally goes up after that.

As stated, Winter blend fuel, stop lights & shorts trips along with your driving style are the usual culprits.

I WAS getting 16 in mine. If I was REALLY careful 19. Now with longer trips (the same driving style) I'm getting 22. I'm still outdone by my prince.

My Mazda's tank is 18.5 gallon and at half tank, I only manage to fill 6.5-7 gallons. At 1/4 tank, I fill 10 gallons. My Odyssey (20 gallon tank) fills about 10 gallons at half tank but at 1/4 only fills about 12-13. So you can't really depend on it being a straight scale.

yes, next time you go to the pump, reset your trip meter, then next time you fill up look at the meter on the pump to tell you how many gallons you put in then divide the miles by the gallons and that's your number, do not assume that because the needle is on the halfway mark that it is exactly half a tank of gas. :D good luck

Last night I filled up my tank, my gas light came on that morning. I normally reset my trip meter after leaving the gas station. I filled up 16.5 gallons, and my meter read 285 miles. When I get to half a tank I will fill up again. I dont know if the cold weather has any thing to do with bad MPG, cause I am in So cal and my car is always in the garage.

yes I am filling up my tank to full. then resetting the gauge and when I get to half a tank, I get 120 miles. Tank is 18.5 gallons for my car, which is 9.25 gallons at half a tank, which gives me 12-13 MPG. Does this sound right?

As suspected.......operator malfunction :lmao::lmao::lmao:

When you get around to figuring the mileage correctly you'll be surprised.

When I get to half a tank I will fill up again.

No, no, no, the fuel gauge indication is very much non-linear.

Make sure you did reset the trip mileage yesterday right after your fuel-up, then drive until the fuel level is almost all the way down before filling and noting the amount of fuel and the mileage driven since last fuel up to do the calculation, you don't have to drive it down to fume, but the lower the level before filling up the more accurate your calculation will be.

wait i think someone said something about the car using more gas when its cold outside...is this true?

Of course it uses more fuel when cold, the computer richens the mixture until the engine gets to operating temperature.

wait i think someone said something about the car using more gas when its cold outside...is this true?
Not literally. But when it's cold outside it takes longer for an engine to warm up to full operating temperature, and while that happens it does use more fuel since it has to run richer. In addition, when it's cold outside it could also mean your gas station sells a 'winter blend' (a.k.a. oxygenated fuel), which has less energy, and also reduces fuel mileage (all the time here). And finally, cold weather also means warming up the engine, and that further erodes MPG. Hope this makes sense.