Why am I getting such poor city mileage from my 2006 Honda Accord. The epa mileage was 24 but I only get 14. The epa highway mileage was 34 and I get 32+. I took it to the dealer after the first month and they confirmed that was the mileage but they said that there was nothing wrong with the car and Honda did not garentee the epa mileage. The car seems to run fine. What could be wrong? What should I do?
It depends on your city driving and driving habits. The epa might consider city driving at 35 mph with few stops. You appear to live in NY where you race everyone to the next light, tailgate and are very aggressive. I love driving in NYC, expecially a van full of family members. If you sit in traffic idling you are using gas and putting on no miles. The longer you sit idling the worse you mpg will be. If you accellerate hard there is one more thing contributing to the 14 mpg. try driving as if you have a cup of coffee on the dash not in a cup holder but on the dash or as if you have an egg between the gas pedal and your foot. My thought is if I have to use the brake I used too much gas. I try to coast to stops. I hope I was some what helpful.
“city driving” can mean an enormous range of things-- the EPA definition is driving in moderate traffic 35-45 MPH with occasional stops. Many cities have stop-and-go and gridlock that are far worse than the conditions the “city” mileage apply to.
Tested gas mileage for both the Accord V6 and 4 cyl is 16mpg in the city according to Consumer Reports. Given that you’re in Brooklyn and your traffic situation is a little more agressive than average 14mpg sounds about right. Go for a long ride on the freeway and you’ll see it hop into the 30’s.
My GF’s BMW is the same way-15mpg in Boston, but 36mpg when we go on trips outside the city. Modern cars are heavy with thirsty engines and the laws of physics get in the way.
With only a 2 MPG drop on the highway I see nothing wrong with the car. City driving can really be a deal killer because of so many variables.
If the car was really suffering from atrocious gas mileage the Check Engine Light would be illuminating.
Engine torque and powerband also plays a part in this. My V-8, 4000 pound Lincoln will get 18 MPG in town, go figure.
Idle fuel consumption for most V-6 engines is in the neighborhood of .4 to .5 gallons per hour, depending on if the AC is on and the design of the engine.
Extreme congestion forces you to spend most of your travel time standing still with the engine idling and can easily pull your gas mileage down to what you are getting.
I have been experimenting with eliminating idling with my 1.2 liter motorcycle. My commute is hardly what you would call congested, mostly just an occasional red light. Anyway, I have gone through the third consecutive 55 mpg tank. Before adapting this “if it’s running it’s rolling” driving style, my best was about 48 mpg. Don’t underestimate a car’s standby losses due to idling.
Your post contains two obvious clues as to the situation:
*If the car is capable of achieving 32+ mpg on the highway, it is clear that there is nothing mechanically wrong with it.
*If your screen name is an indication of where you live, then this gives a clear indication of the problem. Driving in Brooklyn (I was born in Bay Ridge) or anywhere else in NYC is going to produce poor gas mileage, especially if your driving habits are not the best.
Your engine does not need to be “warmed up” prior to driving it, so don’t waste gas by warming it up. Don’t use the car for short errands, so attempt to make one trip that combines several errands. Avoid drive-up windows at banks and fast food joints, accelerate slowly from a stop, learn to anticipate the pattern of the traffic lights, and in general, drive as if there is a raw egg between your foot and both the gas pedal and the brake pedal. Als, be sure that your tires are properly inflated. You might even want to add a couple of pounds of pressure over the car manufacturer’s recommended pressure, but be sure not to add more than a couple of extra pounds, given the nature of the pavement in NYC. (Damage to front end components and to the tires can result from tires that are too hard)
If the car is used mostly for city driving, be aware that this qualifies as “Severe Service” and the car should be maintained in accordance with the Severe Service maintenance schedule, not the regular maintenance schedule. Essentially, this means changing oil, fluids, and filters on an elapsed time basis, rather than on an odometer mileage basis.
You may never be able to achieve the EPA city mpg, given the environment in which the car is driven, but if you drive as I have suggested, you can probably eke out an extra mile or two per gallon in your city driving.
Once you learn that your foot doesn’t have to be on the gas or the brake all the time, your city gas mileage will soar. If fact, the less you use the brakes, the better your gas mileage will be. If you had to brake, you used too much gas. Drive as if you just bet your brother-in-law an entire bottle of beer that you can get across town without touching the brake. If you can regularly win that bet, your gas mileage can even go “upside down” that is, your city gas mileage becomes better than the car’s highway gas mileage.
Your gas savings will be compounded by brakes that last nearly forever.
The BIGGEST factor in MPG is driving habits. If you do jack rabbit starts and speed up to a red-light and then slam on the brakes…don’t expect to get anything more then what you’re seeing. We’ve been able to do BETTER then the EPA estimates in every vehicle we’ve owned since there’s been EPA ratings…SLOW DOWN.
This URL tells us how the EPA does their testing.
http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml
You have to match their representative driving scenarios to match the EPA mileage. I suspect that you just sit in one spot more than they do in the city.
You waste four times as much energy hitting the brakes and stopping from 20 MPH as from 10 MPH.