Honda civic cheap on gas? Wtf? -.-

[Takeno]

Ok, so the reason why I have a honda civic (01) is due to its desirable 32mpg quality. Recently I just noticed that it has been eating a lot more gas than normal. I decided to test this by just measuring how many miles a full tank goes through (tank is about 10 galons). So as of right now Ive gone through almost half of my tank and only 110 miles. This is supposed to last for 320 miles theoretically but rather it will probably will get to 240 or 250. So does anyone know why this could be happening? If so, what could I do to get back to my 32mpg love?

Thanks

[Edgie]

OMG I so know the answer to this, but I forgot.... Im serious, this kid at work had the same problem, I belive it came down to the meter that says how much fuel is left in the tank was damaged... Sorry Ill try and find out next time I see him.

[netz]

Yeah, you should probably recheck the actual consumption by refilling the tank and then calculating the mpg from what the pump says it refilled, rather than relying on the needle reading (my 05 Civic's gauge is a bit baffling). If that's off, then you can start looking for other problems.

[Cochise]

i dont know what honda's call it but the fuel guage on american cars is usually on the sending unit which sends the gas out of the tank to the engine.

32 mpg sounds like Highway mileage which is considered a steady speed at low rpms.

City mileage will be less say 24 miles per gallon which you seem to be getting due to stops and starts and idling.

[Takeno]

i dont know what honda's call it but the fuel guage on american cars is usually on the sending unit which sends the gas out of the tank to the engine.

32 mpg sounds like Highway mileage which is considered a steady speed at low rpms.

City mileage will be less say 24 miles per gallon which you seem to be getting due to stops and starts and idling.

Supposedly its 38 mpg highway, so I still want my 32mpg

[Nystul]

Tire pressure, filters, tuneup, etc? How fast do you drive? Do you brake hard and accelerate hard?

Those estimates are just that- estimates, based on the most ideal situations.

[Skyylya]

when car companies calculate mpg and put it on the cars they use highly inflated numbers. Like going downhill on the highway with the wind behind you. your city mpg will be about 50-60% of what's listed as your max mpg.

so if it say's that you're supposed to get like 32-35 you can actually expect about 18-22 driving through the city and probably only about 27-30 with realistic driving conditions on the highway and assuming proper maintenance.

I drive a good condition 2006 focus which is supposed to get about 34mpg on the highway and i've got about a 12 gallon tank, so you'd think that under decent driving conditions I should at least get around 350-370 miles per tank, and that's being conservative, when i'm actually only getting around 300-315. Those 40-80 miles have gone somewhere and means i'm losing about 2 gallons per tank in poor fuel economy or unrealistic estimations of the cars potential mpg.

bottom line is never take the approximated mpg to heart cause you will never, ever reach those numbers in realistic driving conditions. Car companies have one goal, to fuck you in the ass and will put anything on the car they can to make you buy their's rather than someone elses. MPG is usually a clincher for a lot of people so they'll put the highest possible number they can on there.

[Kurp]

Don't use 'about' or eyeball it, make it exact if you want to figure out MPG.

Like Nystul said, there are quite a few factors that could be lowering it.

[Avinor]

The car companies don't calculate anything, its an estimation provided by the EPA based on various scenarios to approximate real life conditions. The tests were recently updated, so if you are basing your numbers on what the EPA estimate was in '01 for your '01 Civic, those numbers should be considered inflated for modern day conditions.

As for reducing consumption, there are plenty of things big and small you can do, and these days it should be simple to find tips on line with a quick google/wikipedia search.

[Churchill]

Tires
Windows up/down
Guages don't actually show accurate readings, ie: Empty=1-2gallons left
Oil change
Engine maintenance

[Nystul]

windows up/down reminded me of AC/Heat- if you have one or the other going that can eat gas too- especially AC.

The best way to precisely calculate your MPG:

Run the tank lowish
Fill up, clear the trip odometer
run tank down
Fill up, write down how much was put in, compare that number to your trip odometer. That eliminates faulty gas gauges.

[Seditedi]

It's probably because the piece of shit gasoline companies are gradually adding more and more ethanol into their products.

[fstfrk13]

Actually on myth busters they proved that having your ac on with the windows up saves more gas then no ac with windows down because of air resistance. And they were only going 55 so its even better when you drive faster.

[zoobernut]

Actually on myth busters they proved that having your ac on with the windows up saves more gas then no ac with windows down because of air resistance. And they were only going 55 so its even better when you drive faster.

IIRC they went back and tested more carefully and found a crossover point of right between 50 and 55 mph where below that speed is more efficient to drive with your windows down and above that speed it is more efficient to drive with your windows up and AC on.

And for the OP yeah the only way to tell what mpg you are getting on your car is to measure exactly fill up your tank completely and reset your trip counter drive then next time you go to the gas station write down the miles you drove from the trip meter and write down how much gas you put into your tank. The EPA estimates they put on the sticker when you buy a car are incredibly inaccurate and shitty in my experience.

[Amastacia]

How hard do you accelerate?

How hard do you brake?

How high do you let the engine rev?

How much throttle do you use?

Do you pass a lot and/or drive aggressively?

How has the weather changed?

How's your tire pressure?

Do you stay up to date on recommended engine fluid changes and maintenance?

Do you employ any gas-saving driving techniques?

The list goes on, but there's a ton of reasons you can be seeing poor mileage.

[wyrmtung]

You can double your gas milage by using hypermiling techniques.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermiling

[Osede]

Easy rules to save gas

1. Don't accelerate hard, just don't rush like mad cow when the trafic light turn green
2. Don't brake hard, calculate the distance and brake gradually
3. Don't keep pedalling the gas while in neutral gear

[Exoduso]

There's no such thing as "cheap gas" these days..

[sephir]

It may be a problem with your cars computer. my Jeep had some computer glitch and was using 20% more gas than what it was supposed to be using. 10 minutes in the repair shop fixed it.

[Serif]

It's probably because the piece of shit gasoline companies are gradually adding more and more ethanol into their products.

Ding ding ding, we got a winner.

Also if your car automatic or stick shift?