[vcantrell]

Hey all,

I just wanted to see if anyone is getting similar gas mileage to me. I just bought a 2008 Accord Coupe EX-L 2.4l 4 cylinder..... and the advertised gas mileage is 21 city 30 highway. I got about 28-30 with cruise going from atlanta to chattanooga, but driving around town I am getting between 16 and 18mpg... (16.879 and 18.032 to be exact)

I am aware that gas mileage is affect by how you drive, and I drive what I would call "average". I'm not one of those super conservative people that take a half hour to get up to 50mph nor am I someone that floors it at every red light.

I recently put a K&N air filter in it and tried running Lucas fuel cleaner through it (the car only has 27,000 miles on it...) and I noticed minimal changes... (it jumped up to 19mpg this last tank). I know that these cars don't get the best mileage around the city, but I can quite literally drive from one side of chattanooga to the other on the highway and be Watching the gauge drop.

I've called honda and they told me that if ANY part was failing that may be causing loss in fuel economy, the check engine light would come on. They pretty much told me "that's how it is. deal with it."

I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this kind of mileage with this year and engine. I pulled up next to a 2010 accord identical to mine but it was a V6, and the lady said she gets 26-28mpg City... I know it's a 2010 but it IS a V6... shouldn't mine be getting better than 16-19 city as a 4 cylinder?

Thanks,

Vince

 

[Accordriver]

Change your driving style.

 

[giltibo]

Funny... my very worst mileage in 67 000km (about 42 000 miles) is about 10.5 L / 100km (around 22.5 mpg) in city driving.

Typically it is around 8.8 to 9.0 L/100km (about 26 mpg) mixed driving and 7.8 to 8 L/100km (30mpg) in highway driving (at 120-125 km/h - roughly 75mph).

Probably should go over 30 in more sedate driving, but I kinda have a bit of a leadfoot... :nuts:

(My car is a 2008 EX-L Coupe I-4 5MT)

 

[next_milenium]

Try not to go higher than 2.5k RPM. People behind you will be p!ssed but you'll get MUCH better MPG.

 

[krazyfiend]

i monitor all my fuel receipts and map them out using Google Doc's w/ this being my second 8g coupe. I wanted to keep an eye on my fuel consumption and if I noticed any changes after stations switched up from E10 to E15 across the board.

about to pass 9k miles on my Odo... I do a majority of city driving and have no putting any gas other than regular unleaded (87 test) in my tank.

I drive in a spirited fashion to say the least... I'm not WOT, all day , any day...but I do like to push my accord.

That being said, my lowest tank of gas....100% city driving was 21.3 mpg... I'm avg'ing, over nearly 9k miles, 26.2 mpg...best tank to date was 28.5 (nearly all highway on a trip to Springfield IL and back).

It puts me at a loss how the 4 cylinders (and this isnt the first time reading about low numbers on one, and we've read it about low numbers on v6's too) can even struggle--makes me wonder about the weight they are moving...but wouldn't a larger amount of owners be seeing this behavior? I dunno...

 

[vcantrell]

@giltibo - So you have the same car (just a manual) and get 26 normal and 22 when you really drive hard? That's exactly what I was expecting to get from mine... and yet no such luck.

I know a lot of people think it's just my driving style, but even when I drive like my grandma does I still only get 19-20 city. - Does anyone think that maybe it could just be this particular vehicle? If there's any chance that's what it is, then I'm more than likely going to sell it and get another one. I love this kind of car, but if I could be getting 26 the way I drive vs my 18 now... that's a considerable difference.

@ krazyfiend - I see your current is a 2010. The lady I spoke with at the gas station that got 26 city had a 2010 as well... she said they had some ECO thing that helped her mileage. - I also see you had an 08 EX-L V6.... any chance you kept track of the differences between the '08 and the '10? I'm curious if the year might play into it at all...

 

[Danielc409]

Yea the fuel estimates that are listed when being sold are under the best driving conditions I'm sure. Driving under the speed limit, keeping RPM's down, coasting down hills etc is what you have to do if you expect the best mileage.

It's not the car, that's just the way it is basically, try different gas stations.

 

[CtheW0rld]

have you checked the air pressure in your tires?

i think the lady who claimed 26 - 28 in the city was lying or figured it wrong.

on just highway i got 29.8 on a recent roadtrip (gong 75 - 80). in the mixed/city i get 22 if i'm careful. for the record i still have the original oil in it, not time for the 1st change yet.

 

[vcantrell]

See though, most of the people commenting on gas mileage all drive V6's....

Should a 4 cylinder get better mileage? The expected mileage for the V6 is 17 city.... so basically I'm getting V6 mileage with only the power of a 4 cylinder -__-

 

[Danielc409]

The mileage they estimate never said it can't be any worse than that. City driving is the worse you can get with all the stop and go, idling etc, I mean you just can't get a solid number until you are out in the real world. I imagine in certain situations, the i4 will have to work harder than the v6 to do particular things, possible burning more gas, but that's just a opinion.

 

[tehnighthawk]

when you idle you get 0 mpg...the more time you idle and the more you stop/start the lower your mileage will be. the shorter your trips, the lower you mileage will be. It just all depends on your commute. The number you're getting is perfectly normal for sitting at lights and stopping and going a lot. If you want good mileage, turn your car off at lights or get a hybrid

 

[amedad]

How you drive really matters. I typically get 24-25 mpg with ~75/25 street/hwy (although, street is not really stop and go) driving fairly conservatively. When I travel and my wife takes the car, she gets about 18 mpg - (yes, she is a much more aggressive driver)

 

[thermodynamics]

What is the average distance you drive for each start? I get around 21 for all city driving within 5 mil radius. My best is 23 when i have had 10% freeway miles. I have 2010 LXP. I spoke to Honda Service rep as well. According to him 21 is good mpg considering 10% ethanol mix in my city. City driving MPG numbers are all over for these cars. It needs to be driven continuously on freeways to get good mpg.

 

[ncelk]

I call bull on a V6 getting 26-28 in the city. No way.....

 

[Danielc409]

I got around 20 with 20" wheels and mods.

 

[Oninuva]

I get only average of 21-24 in the new 2011 i4.. moderate driving, around half of the 300 miles I drive before fillup is highway, but there's no way that I'll be accelerating at under 2500 rpm, just no way..

 

[krazyfiend]

@ krazyfiend - I see your current is a 2010. The lady I spoke with at the gas station that got 26 city had a 2010 as well... she said they had some ECO thing that helped her mileage. - I also see you had an 08 EX-L V6.... any chance you kept track of the differences between the '08 and the '10? I'm curious if the year might play into it at all...

yeah..she's mistaken, I could see at the high end..maybe pulling off 23.5 or 24 if you drove and maintained 3k rpm or less as much as possible through the gears.

I only kept track from time to time w/ the '08...I put a beating on it and drove that car like I was doing a 3 yr review of it, dispatched by Top Gear

..anytime I did a regular fill up and noted the gallons and mileage from receipt to receipt..I wasn't avging much less than 23 with it--I was always quite content w/ what I was getting.

No, the fit and finish is what changed more so amongst the yrs...I had a very early production '08--which could have been a factor.

 

[drg889]

i get 21-24mpg city and 29-31 highway in my '10 lxp. i guess you could say i drive "average" as well, occasionally trying to be cool when i drive on campus and stuff lolz. but the lowest i ever got was 20.9mpg since the car was new, it has close to 11k miles on it now. the best i ever got was 33-34mpg driving from SF to LA on the 5

 

[vcantrell]

Thanks guys for all the input... I think I'm going to put fully synthetic oil in it and check the tire pressure and all that good stuff. I'll do my best to keep it under 2500k for one gas tank and see if that makes a difference...

I'll report back when I do. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tato]

Over a three-year period, I have averaged overall only 21.5 mpg - this is the car's life average mileage. Highest on highway was 35.5 mpg (during summer, at 65 mph); lowest in city, short drives, stop and go, during cold Canadian winter was 17.2 mpg. I have the 2008 EX-L I4.