Hello,

I just bought a brand new 2014 Civic EXL (now with 600 miles) because the gas mileage was supposed to be 30/33/39 and I'm only getting 24MPG city/combined (probably more city mileage) driving like a little old lady trying to keep the green lights on each side of the speedometer lit up while cars honk at me because I'm not accelerating fast enough. And, yes, I'm checking my mileage the accurate way by filling up with gas and writing down my mileage, then when filling up again I take the new increased mileage down and divide the distance traveled by the amount of gas I just put in.

Then, I noticed on the LCD screen that tracks the MPG that while waiting at idle in park and/or at stop lights that the ave. MPG drops about .1 MPG every 30 seconds in Econo mode and .1 MPG every 39 seconds in regular mode (exactly opposite of what one would expect) or about 1 MPG every 5 minutes or 12 MPG every hour (with air con running). Now I realize that cars use gas when idling but I've never had a car where you could actually sit and watch the ave MPG number reduce so quickly while sitting at idle.

I realize the car needs to be broken in and that the break-in oil needs to be changed which should show some improvement but 6-9 MPG (30city or 33combined -24) seems to be a lot to make up and, therefore, I'm not optimistic that this car will prove to be the gas saver my 2014 Mazda is. And, it's actually probably worse than that because I'm driving way too conservative and would expect to get 30MPG city with normal driving like I do with my new Mazda CX5. I can drive the hell out of it and it still gets better mileage than what was posted on the sticker.

So my question is....I have read that the Civic uses about .34GPH at idle with air running but I don't know how to convert -12MPG/hour (which is what my LCD readout is showing at idle in park) to GPH so I can compare with the .34GPH figure to see if I'm using an excessive amount of fuel in park and if there is a mechanical problem. The Dealer wants me to wait until after Break-in and American Honda wont acknowledge there is a problem unless an indicator light is lit up. So, I'm hopeful that others here can either convert the figure for me or, better yet, sit in their car and stop watch how much their ave MPG drops while sitting in park with air running.

I'm really disappointed in the mileage to say the least and will hopefully get some input here that will make me feel better that Honda isn't another Ford, Kia, or Hyundai just waiting for a class-action lawsuit for false claims about MPG.

Any help is appreciated and forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong place. I saw the forum for fuel economy but since I think this may be a mechanical issue I thought I might should post my problem here.

Thank you in advance for any insight you can give.

PS: I understand that sitting in idle will have a negative effect on MPG because I'm not traveling any miles while using gas. So the issue here is not whether it should be using fuel in idle but rather, is it using too much fuel in idle or about right so that i can eliminate this as a potential source of problem. I will definitely change my driving habits and start turning off the car instead of waiting in it. But as I said, I don't have to do it with my new Mazda and one would expect that Honda would be equal or better in this regard.

 

Every conventional (not hybrid or electric) car gets zero mpg the moment it stops moving, and for the whole time it sits still at idle. Zero miles divided by any number of gallons is zero.

The rate that the number on the display drops depends on the averaging time and mathematical method the computer uses, which you don't know. It is not going to tell you how much gas is being used. After sitting long enough, it will always average its way down to zero. If you start with a high average mpg shown, it will drop faster because it is inevitably headed to zero, so will follow a faster trend down.

 

Thanks mk378 for taking the time to reply. And, yes, I'm aware of those things.

However, I have never seen a car use so much gas at idle than this new Honda and the fact that it uses more gas in Econo mode than regular mode tells me that Honda may be hiding something. I have checked with two different other people that own 2014 Civics (one at Starbucks I walked up to randomly and one in my neighborhood and both are having the same problem and getting 24 and 26 MPG combined respectively and are upset like I am.

Thus, it appears my case is NOT an isolated case and that Honda most likely has inflated their MPG to sell cars such as Ford, Kia and Hyundai or has a problem that needs to be addressed via a recall. My purpose for joining the forum is to see if any others here with 2014 Civics are experiencing less than promised MPG like I am to better determine if this is a wide spread issue which I suspect it is.

If there are others here who are getting the MPG that Honda advertises for their 2014 Civic then I would like to know that and ask them to do the tests I mentioned. Just sit in your car in park with the AC on and use your stopwatch on your smart phone, it should only take you a couple of minutes. As soon as the ave MPG drops .1 start the stop watch and as soon as it drops .1 again stop it. You may want to do it a couple times to double check your figures and see if your ave MPG drops .1 every 30 seconds in Econo mode and .1 every 39 seconds in regular mode. Then, if you are **** about your MPG as I am and want to help to get to the bottom of this problem, check your MPG between fill-ups in Econo mode once and regular mode the next time to see if Econo mode is worse as it is in my case. I suspect there may be a problem with Econo mode in all 2014 Civics which actually causes your car to get worse gas mileage which is opposite of its intended purpose. Thanks in advance for anyone experiencing similar problems or not, in sharing your experience.

I will give it until my first oil change (after break-in) and if I don't see some major improvements I intend on contacting the law firms that handled the Ford class action and also file a lawsuit against Honda and the dealer as well. But I will reserve judgment until I get responses from other 2014 Honda Civic owners on this and other forums I intend on joining to help determine if the 3-2014 Civics I know of are an isolated case or is this a wide-spread problem.

Regards,

 

Very odd, have you taken it to the dealer to have them check it over?

I leased a zero miles 2013 Civic EX in January, and MPG's have been excellent. 3hr round trip last weekend at about 60 got me a solid 44 mpg, hwy only. I'm averaging 34 in mixed driving typically.

I can always sit at idle at a red light and see the tenths drop off the avg mpg #. This is normal, and will be more obvious right after you do a reset on a full tank. It's not likely your idling usage alone is the cause of the low mpg readings. If you haven't already, call the dealer service dept and discuss what's happening.

 

Thanks for your reply David. Yes, I called the dealer and they want me to wait until after break-in and don't want to acknowledge any problem as of now. Also, called American Honda Motor company and they assigned me a case number but pretty much said I was lying and they would in no way acknowledge the problem. In fact, their poor attitude in regards to my problem was enough to keep me from ever buying a Honda again.

I have since spoken with a fourth 2014 Honda Civic owner and yet again, they are having the same problem with VERY poor MPG's. I stopped and talked with an independent Honda mechanic who says that the problem is they did away with the 5 speed automatic in 2013 and went to the 3 speed CVT in 2014. He said the CVT is marketing gimmick in that there is NO WAY a 3 speed CVT will get better mileage than a 5 speed conventional automatic which may explain why you are getting such great MPG's in your 2013 as compared to my terrible MPG's. He said Honda and the other car manufacturers must have an incentive by switching to the CVT, most likely manufacturing $$$ savings, because they sacrificed MPG's and are lying to the public trying to convince them CVT's get better MPG's.

Also, he said Econo Mode may be another marketing gimmick because mine is definitely sucking more gas in idle in Econo mode than in normal mode. I am doing some MPG tests as to whether or not this hold's true when driving and will report back.

I am still hopeful that others here with 2014 Civics will report their MPG performance.

Thanks again for your input.

 

i thought ECO mode was only beneficial during stop and go city driving ??? i believe using it at idle or on the highway won't gain you MPG.also if your leaving the AC running at idle your going to be using alot of extra fuel.

 

Thanks itburnswhenIP for your post.

"i thought ECO mode was only beneficial during stop and go city driving ???"

That's what I thought too. However, the first sign that this is not the case is the increased fuel consumption in Econo mode at idle. My Civic MPG average drops .1 every 30 seconds at idle with AC running in Econo mode and drops .1 every .39 seconds without Econo mode. Of course, one would not be expected to disengage Econo mode every time you stop and engage it every time you go in city driving. Thus, at idle fuel consumption is very important especially when you live in a city with long, non- synchronized, traffic lights like Las Vegas. And, there is even more bad news for those counting on Econo mode, it currently appears that it lowers your MPG by about 1-2 MPG in the city. However, I have to do more tests to be sure. Even if it turns out to be no difference between Econo mode and standard mode in city driving the amount of fuel lost in Econo mode at idle in the city will ruin any advantage that may have occurred. I have yet to test Econo mode on highway driving, however, by what I know now, it's a fairly safe assumption that Econo mode is nothing more than a slick marketing gimmick.

Also, I firmly believe now that the independent Honda mechanic here in Las Vegas nailed the problem I and other 2014 Honda Civic owners are having with poor MPG's right on the head....

CVT transmissions are efficient in terms of fuel mileage because they keep the engine within its most efficient RPM operating range as compared with conventional transmissions. However, this can only be so if you're comparing apples to apples. Hence, a 5 speed conventional auto (2013 Civic) to a 5 speed CVT (not in the 2014 Civic) one would see an increase in MPG's. However, in the case of the 2014 Civic, it appears that Honda robbed Peter (the 5 speed trans in the 2013 Civic) to pay Paul (the 3 speed CVT trans) so that they could advertise the CVT is more efficient, which is technically true, but in actuality its a BIG lie because there is NO WAY the extra MPG's a CVT provides, due to more efficient RPM's, can overcome the reduced gas mileage of a 3 speed CVT vs a 5 speed conventional transmission. Hence, it's why you are hearing all the 2013 Civic owners touting their great gas mileage and you are just beginning to hear the 2014 Civic owners complaining about their poor gas mileage.

This is such an important topic that it should be a leading topic on this and other Honda forums that when purchasing a new car with a CVT transmission compare it with the prior year model and if the CVT does not have the same amount of speeds, DO NOT expect better gas mileage and in fact, expect WORSE. Had mechanics on this or other forums, or Auto journalists, just informed the general public that you must do an apples to apples comparison with CVT vs conventional transmissions to determine which one will be more fuel efficient it would have saved me a purchase of a car that I thought met my criteria of min 30 MPG/city when in fact, it is anything but fuel efficient. Because now that I possess the knowledge, or think I do based on what I have learned through this experience, it is so obvious that Honda skimped where they shouldn't have by incorporating a 3 speed in lieu of a 5 speed CVT in their 2014 Civic (which would have shown a MPG improvement over the 2013 Civic) and I and others will pay a hefty price over the long haul by getting much worse MPG's than what we expected.

Mark my words, this will end up in a class-action lawsuit when this plays out, probably in 2015, and Honda WILL have to eventually pay the piper! However, they WILL ultimately pay in a much bigger way as they have lost a loyal Honda customer (I have three in my family) for life!

Thanks again,

 

i bought a 2014 civic LX from carmax with 3770 miles on it and now have just over 10K on it. although i'm not big fan of the cvt, my car consistently gets 40+ mpg hwy miles. with my highest being 44mpg.

i drive between 55-62 miles one way to work mon-fri, depending on route, and couldnt be happier with the mpg. you cant beat physics...0 movement means 0mp...period. idling means using gas and 0mpg. the econ feature definitely makes a difference, especially when using cruise control.

what i'm not real happy about is the size of the gas tank, i wish it were bigger, like an 18 or 20 gal.