Honda Fit Mileage?

I bought a 07 Honda Fit Sport version in April and so far, am only
averaging 22 mpg. This is mainly surface street driving with 60 mile
round trips each weekend. About 3/4 of total driving has been with a/
c fan speed #2 or 3.

Can this be normal? I don't normally use the paddle shifters, but
thinking that would help some.

 

Well, I'm certainly no expert, but it seems incredibly low to me, as I'm
averaging 35.69 MPG, but that is for a 5 speed manual trans. I think the
mileage would depend a large part on what your speed is when the a/c is on.
In city driving, especially stop and go, the A/C can take a huge toll,
especially for a small engine such as the 1.5 liter Fit engine.

Also, I think the paddle shifters would not increase your mileage; I think,
if anything, they would decrease it.

Robert A. Cunningham

 

Try switching the A/C off to accelerate, leaving it on when
cruising, braking and stopped. Also try being a little more gentle with
the throttle; speed isn't as important as how hard you accelerate.

 

How many miles on it so far? If not much, it's probably not broken in.

 

As HTM says, break-in normally improves fuel economy. My next question is:
how long are most of your trips in town (count all legs when the engine
stays warm as one trip)? All cars get awful economy the first mile or so as
the engine warms up.

If you don't mind doing a chicken dance, you can try something that has
worked for some Prius owners when their economy is low after the car is
serviced. Sometimes the parking brake is set too tight, so the procedure is
to apply the parking brake hard and release it about ten times. Cheap and
easy, even if only a shot in the dark.

Mike

 

wrote in

just the driver or with a couple of passengers,or a lot of extra weight in
the car?
Have you checked tire pressures?
Are you one who's heavy on the gas pedal?(I note it's a "Sport" version...)

running AC will drop mileage a bit. It's an extra load on the engine,and
IIRC,the gov't mileage tests do not include running AC.
Fan speed doesn't matter.

 

Here are your EPA figures.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySide.jsp?column=1&i
d=22862

The EPA MPG is 27-city 34-Hwy.

You are on the low side of owner reported mileage of 21-city 37-hwy.

Here are some good tips on driving efficiently:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml

 

Hey...thanks everyone for the tips!

The car was new in April this year, about 1,300 miles on it. My
driving is usually local, no more than 10 miles a shot, usually more
like 5. But I do get on the freeway for a 60 mile round trip every
Sat.

Not heavy on accelleration or speed, pretty conserative driver here.
70-80 on freeway (this is California, if yu don't keep up, you get
creamed). Not a hard breaker either.

May try the parking break trick, that sounds reasonsable. If mileage
does not improve in the next month, I will probably take it in for a
look see.

Thanks again!

 

My wife's base Fit A/T gets 22/25mpg, no highway, all in town Los Angeles
area.
The Fit has 5 star crash rating, that comes at a cost. That cost is
weight... the Fit is heavy for it's size.
Blame it on all the airbags, and steel to make the crush zones that make
it safe(?)

On the other hand, if a person's budget is stretched that tight. That
another 10$ at the pump is the difference between travel and eating.
Perhaps they should consider an alternative such as a motorbike or
bicycle...

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All current model Honda's turn the A/C compressor off during spirited
acceleration. The Myth Busters proved that car's get better mileage with
the A/C on and windows closed.

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First, you can save even more gas by turning the A/C off during
normal acceleration, not just "spirited." Second, the A/C uses more
power than just the ventilation system, with the windows closed. I don't
believe anyone mentioned driving with the windows open. If you leave the
A/C on and the windows closed and think that's enough, you'll lose 2-5
MPG. depending on driving conditions.

 

Actually, that was the result of the computer indicated mileage which
found the AC had no effect at all. When they actually drove the SUVs,
the one with the AC on ran out of fuel first.

http://cartalk.com/board/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=341160&page=6&vc=1

I tested my '98 Odyssey with A/C vs. windows partway down at 75mph and
posted the results in this newsgroup about a year ago. I found that
the A/C reduced fuel economy by about 6% vs. 2% for partially lowering
the windows. (I only lowered the windows part way because there was
too much turbulence lowering them all the way.)

 

Sounds reasonable. And you usually need to just lower one window
partway to greatly enhance the ventilation...

 

That's far to fast for good hwy mileage.
Mileage falls off very rapidly over 60 mph, particularly with boxy
shaped vehicles.
My well shaped mid sized car's mileage drops 10% going from 60mph to
70mph.
I would expect a greater than 10% mileage drop with a smaller engine and
a boxy rear design vehicle.

 

Mebbe. My 2004 Accord got the same mileage anywhere between 55 and
80, far as I could tell. And my 2007 gets the same, too, just lower.
But the Fit does end rather abruptly.

J.

 

Once again, it's the Fit's gearing. Our Camry sedan (with
automatic!) will get close to 40 mpg highway at 65-70 on level ground,
but it's loafing along at about 2600 RPM. It's also got a nice, smooth
shape.

 

dude /WHAT/ is it with you and gearing??? it's not the gearing, it's
the overall equation of the motor's characteristics, the car's
characteristics, and how those two match up. simply reducing revs does
/not/ automatically reduce gas consumption - it can increase it
significantly if it's a mis-match.

 

I filled my wife's Fit last week and she managed 22.5MPG. The best recorded
mileage is 25.00. last September. This is ALL in town, short trip driving.

It is what it is... Why have a car with A/C if you're not going to use it?
Personally, I run the A/C 365 days a year.

People that are fanatics about MPG, maybe should consider an Insight or Prius.




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or an old civic. mine will do 40+mpg on the freeway driven legally. or
better yet, a crx hf. that will do 50+.

 

I also never said not to run the A/C. Let me spell it out,
carefully: in city driving, press the A/C button when you're up to speed
or decellerating. Leave it on while stopped. Turn it off only to
accelerate. If that's too hard, then don't do it. We won't be waiting to
hear the next installment.



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