I’ve got a 2007 Honda Accord 2.4 L with overdrive.
Hwy I’m getting 27 - 30mpg
City I’m getting -23 - 25mpg
City driving seems to drink gas. As a Scotsman that is hard to take.
What can I do?
Put more air in the tires and learn how to hyper mile… I don’t know how many miles you drive a yeear but you can buya lot of gas for what it would cost you to upgrade to something newer and significantly more fuel efficient. Your fuel economy seems about right for your car. Gas is actually cheaper now than it was in the 194os at 25 cents a gallon then when adjusted for inflation. In 1941 a new Cadillac was $1200.
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Was the fuel economy better in the past?
You’re getting about the same if not better mileage than my dad did in his 2007 CRV with the same drivetrain. For other reason than just mpg he traded up to a 2019 CRV with the 1.5T and CVT and now gets 32mpg on the same loop that he was getting 23mpg with the 2007.
As as Scotsman himself dad wasn’t comfortable with the mileage of the old one but finds the '19 enough of an improvement not to want a Hybrid. The '10 Prius on the other side of the garage makes the Honda seem like a gas guzzler but at his average of 5,000mi a year he doesn’t use enough gas to really worry about.
Even new the EPA estimate was 29-34 hwy, and 20-26 city.
So what is you complaint? Looking for a reason to get rid of a
14 yr. old car? Its 14 that’s reason enough for some people.
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I see a different take on this…
Are you asking why the city MPG’s are lower than highway and what can you do about it?
If that is the question… City traffic is stop and go. You use gas to go. When you must stop, the brakes take that gas you used to go and turn it into useless heat to stop your car. Now you need more gas to get going again. That uses fuel. You can’t change the situation, but you can minimize the stop so you minimize the fuel needed to go. That is the hypermiling @oldtimer-11 mentioned. Google “hypermiling” and you’ll find some techniques that will help you save fuel in city driving.
Highway driving doesn’t have much “stop” so the fuel you use is all “go” so the mileage is better. You can do things to improve things there as well but don’t expect huge improvements.
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From most to least important:
- Go easy on the gas pedal
- I put 2 psi over door sticker in the tires
- Check the alignment
You’re mpgs are fine as-is.
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Yes it does as compared to highway driving . Even highway driving can be lousy if you drive 80 mph instead of 60 mph . Is this your first vehicle ?
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If you have the automatic, your car is rated for 21 MPG city and 31 highway. If you have a manual you can bump the city up to 23 MPG.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=23567&id=23568
The fuel economy you’re getting seem to be almost dead-on for what the car was supposed to get when new. Contrary to what you think, you’re getting better-than-expected city fuel economy. There’s likely nothing wrong with your car and little you can do that would greatly increase the fuel economy.
Also if you think 23-25 MPG city is “drinking gas”, then you must not be familiar with common American vehicles. I had a Bronco that got around 10 MPG city for quite some time, I also had a n F-350 as my demo when I worked for Ford that got 8-9 MPG around town. 23-25 MPG city for what passes as a full sized non-hybrid car is considered more than reasonable in the U.S. Also keep in mind Imperial gallons and U.S. gallons are different in volume.
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My v6 suv gets 20 around town if I do not waste gas on lunchtime trips. That’s a killer. Go to work-go home. 20 is awesome. Short trips kills mileage.
Yeah, not like the “good old days”.
My 1981 Accord got ~27 mpg in the city.
Bear in mind it had a manual transmission, was comparatively tiny and the engine had about 1/3 the power.
The suggestions above pretty well cover it. One other small factor in city driving is to get rid of excess weight, so it doesn’t have to be accelerated over and over.
Next time you buy tires, opt for some with low rolling resistance, no larger than the original tire size. The better MPG will show up on the highway, not so much in the city.
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No mention of what MPG the OP was getting the previous 13 years.
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Good old days? Today’s Hyundai Accent (with CVT) gets 33 mpg and goes 0-60 in 8.5 seconds vs. 14 or 15 seconds for the good old days.
I don’t see a problem with the mileage at all. As someone of Scottish descent you do realize you’re perpetuating the penny pinching Scot stereotype and making us all look bad don’t you?
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As a Scotsman the first thing you need realise is a US gallon is smaller than a UK gallon. Your consternation at what is actually pretty reasonable fuel economy makes me think you possibly don’t.
Converted to home-country units you’re getting: 32-36 Highway; 27-30 City
As a fair comparative reference, one of our vehicles is a 2008 Mitsubishi Delica 2.4 with CVT. It’s essentially an Outlander with a minivan body (brilliant design) weighing 3,800lbs.
It gets: Hwy 27mpg; City 21mpg (US).
We only have the Delica’s that are old enough to bring into the USA, 90’s ones have a following in certain areas, with specialists for mechanical parts. Has to be 25yrs old at the time, 15yrs old for Canada.
Indeed, which is why I referenced the Outlander. The post-2007 Delica D5 iscthe same engine and transmission but with a more sophisticated 4WD system.
Those older Delicas from the 90’s, especially the 4WD models have something of a cult following for their off-road capabilities. They and the Toyota Hiaces from the era have a real following in Canada & USA. I have a ‘95 Hiace 4WD and often give advice on forums to US based owners who have almost zero parts or mechanic support.
It takes a certain kind of masochist to want a 25-30 year old vehicle that bears very little relationship to the domestic market vehicles (especially in diesel form) and has limited scope for repairing. A kind of innocent insanity.
Mechanic and parts support for the older Delica’s exist but mostly through the companies that import them.