I have a 2007 Civic LX coupe that is about 6 months old and has just under 5000 miles. I have noticed that I am not getting the mileage that was advertised on the sticker and was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same problem. Previously, I had a 2000 Civic EX coupe, bought new and kept for 6 years with a little over 100k miles and it got pretty much the mileage that was advertised on the sticker, so I don't believe it's my driving habits. I might also add that before taking delivery on my current Civic, I drove a brand new one, exactly the same,as my current one,except for color, and though I only put about 500 miles on it before taking delivery on the one I own now, it experienced the same milelage that I'm getting on this one. The best thatI getin the city is about 26-28 mpg and on the highway about 35-37mpg. I fill it up each time, righ to the brim, so that I see fuel starting to pool just short of spilling out the filler tube. What I have noticed is that if I just run a full tank down only a few gallons, the actual mileage figures are even worse. I only actually get the above figures whan I get close to an empty tank. Is anyone else experiencing any problems like this?

My 06 when it was new was getting about 35 as the best and now with 22,000 miles on it I am getting around 38 on my commute to work and everyday driving.
Last week I was on my way to work and got stuck in really bad traffic. It took me 30 minutes to go 6 miles. I thought when I get gas today my mileage is really going to go down. When I filled up that afternoon, I got 38.6 mpg.
I think your mileage will go up after the engine gets broke in a little.

I think Flyboy is right. I have 10,000km on my 06. I've noticed the mileage has progressively improved.
The ECU needs to learn. I've heard its a good idea to give the car abroad variance in driving styles--slow, fast, med--speedat first.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/car-computer1.htm

Gas milage on the sticker is based on an estament your milage will fary depending on the material your right foot is made of mine is made of lead so my milage is low so in conclusion the weight of your foot is inversly perportinate to the gas milage of your car

thats true. last year when i first got my car, it was near 100 degrees every day and i had the ac on nonstop yet i averaged like 37mpg. i only drive about 18 miles each way to work.

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I thought when I get gas (http://www.hondacivicforum.com/m_379362/tm.htm#) today my mileage is really going to go down. When I filled up that afternoon, I got 38.6 mpg.
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Not to sound stoopid, but how do you go about measuring gas mileage?

ORIGINAL: dscott

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I thought when I get gas (http://www.hondacivicforum.com/m_379362/tm.htm#) today my mileage is really going to go down. When I filled up that afternoon, I got 38.6 mpg.
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Not to sound stoopid, but how do you go about measuring gas mileage?

Divide total miles drivin on your trip by the gallons of gas you use.
I think Flyboy is right. I have 10,000km on my 06. I've noticed the mileage has progressively improved.
The ECU needs to learn. I've heard its a good idea to give the car abroad variance in driving styles--slow, fast, med--speedat first.

This is true...

Gas milage on the sticker is based on an estament
I thought they were based on the adverage the EPA recived, im sure they didnt just say "its a honda....30/35mpg" they test them in real world environments and vary their driving styles, pull some numbers, take the adverage. Also they used to under state them, but i guess they changed their testing now so that their closer. BTW: 40 city 43-45 highway for me!

I've found the car is sensitive to your driving style. Mine's an automatic, mileage can differ if you have a lead foot, but if you pay attention to the tach, let the computer work, your mileage will improve. When I want her to perform, I keep it in the 3rd gear range (just a click down) and keep the revs up (it's what i-VTEC does).

I've been getting 32+ commuting (but I admit I deal with a less than urban morning drive), and at least close to 40 with extended highway cruises. No complaints. The car has been flawless.

Unless you have a log book with a record of all your gas puchases and odo readings at each and every fill, you can not accurately make statements as to your mileage. If I hand picked from my logbook I could say my mileage was 42MPG. A more accurate statement of my 2006 LX 4Dr sedan 5-sp would be 38MPG highway @70 MPH and 32-36 MPG city with a very light foot and a lot of coasting. In the dead of winter here in northern Illinois it occassionally dips to as low as 28MPG. I try to aim for 400 miles per tank of gas. My Civic now has 10K miles and yes, the mileage has gotten a little better with more miles. When one tanks mileage dropped below what I thought it should be, I checked my tires and found one with low air pressure and a razor blade in it.

Note:The amount of gas shown on thegas station dial is not always the most accurate. It can vary, as can the quality of gas. These things do affect your mileage. I have kept a log book on every vehicle I have owned since 1973.

yeah good point, if you notice your gas gauge going down faster than normal, you should first check your air in your tires.

I agree with what everyone's been saying. See how it does once the engine gets broken in a little more, keep an eye on your tire pressure,and keep a light foot. Also, I don't think this will be a huge difference, but it might helpsome if you don't fill up all the way. Fill up only to half a tank and run it to a little less than 1/4 and calculate the milage. On a full tank you've got around 86 lbs of gas (I think gas is 6.52 lbs per gallon and the civic lx 07 has a 13.2 gallon tank) so if you're only at half that's 43 less lbs in the car. Just a thought though... (and I didn't research that gas weight, I saw it in Patrick's Drag racing 101, and somewhere else too but I don't remember, so just to give him credit for that)

BCivic93: Yes, that would help. So would removing the rear seats, taking the spare out of the trunk, getting the junk out of your car, leaving the dog home, and Oh, losing some weight yourself would definately help. Also leave the radio off and always drive with the windows up and the AC off. If you did all of the above maybe the mileage might go up 1MPG. You might try only driving on days you had a tail wind too.

Seriously, by far the best way to save gas is with the usage of your right foot. And not just the gas pedal. Drive as if you had no brakes. Your mileage will jump.

Start a logbook and keeptrack of: the date; ODO reading; miles since last fill; gallons added; MPG; cost of gas added; price of gas added, and always fill your tank to the same spot. With these facts you can tell trends and can accurately state how your mileage is going.

You will notice your mileage fall off during the cold months and rise as the weather warms up. During the hot summer months the AC will make it drop a bit, of course. All this will be apparent to you once you get a log going.

hmmm...You will notice your mileage fall off during the cold months and rise as the weather warms up. During the hot summer months the AC will make it drop a bit, of course. All this will be apparent to you once you get a log going. thats when i get about 45 or more...maybey cuz my windows are always up, reduceing areo drag?
Unless you have a log book with a record of all your gas puchases and odo readings at each and every fill, you can not accurately make statements as to your mileage
well i guess since i have never gotten less than 40 mpg except the night i did 125-128 for 2 minutes.....i can give an accurate range. i dont need a log book, i drive a honda, their consistant...lol

ORIGINAL: the_turtle

yea, i took all mine off to put on ......reverse glow guages....[:'(][>:][X(](too many emotions) and now my speedo is 20mph off, and i have to rely on my trip OD to know how much fuel i have...and for any one that says you cant know how much MPG you get...F-off...i have relyed on multiplyinggallons offuel times 40 for over a year now and have yet to run out of gas....


My guess is that my logbook is a little more accurate. Nice try though...............

All the expected sticker mileages are miscalculated in thier tests,they're changing the tests by 2009 to portray the actual mileage (somewhat)

I am 54 years old. First I would like to say I have NEVER seen the fuel consumption of any vehicle get better after it is broken in. I guess I have owned about 30 new vehicles in my driving life.
My 06 LX sedan is an automatic. It is mostly used for commutes of about 15 miles each way with that being 80% highway at 65 mph and the rest in the city. I baby it and the best mpg for it has been 32. 29.5 to 30 is about normal.
I did manage to take it on a long trip once and it got 40 on the button. I also run Mobil 1 in it year around and that doesnt make any difference in the fuel mileage. It currently has 24,000 miles on it and the mpg is the same now as it was the first tank. I rarely ever use the AC as I live in Alaska and the summer mileage is basically the same as the winter.
I suspect the 5 speed would get about 1.5-2 mpg better if you drove it reasonably.

Just to give you all an idea of what an '07 hybrid is getting, since purchasing it in January, I've averaged 45 mpgs (8,067 miles/180 gallons), with my best tank being 51. I drive 130 miles a day, with lots of hills, and a very light foot.

For comparison: My '06 LX 5-speed in it's first 8,172 miles averaged 35.2 MPG. I used 232.3 gallons doing so. My best tank was 42.2 MPG. The mileage during the winter months here in northern Illinois was in the 32 MPG range. My driving is mostly city with about 25% highway thrown in. I also drive with a light foot except during the brief times I pretend I am Marcos Ambrose.

If gas averaged $2.50 during that time, you saved (52.3 gals x $2.50) $130 in gas. Nice driving crzympg!

i have seen cars get better economy after their broke in...also even after youve reset the ecu....and you guys (Gene J) have verying results due to trim levels of your car...more so the weight difference....also the weight of the driver. i weigh about 125-130, depending on what month lol. to where as when my step dad or mom drove my car they would odviously get less due to them weight at 270 and 170 (ish) lbs. also, cargo makes a difference.
I suspect the 5 speed would get about 1.5-2 mpg better if you drove it reasonably.
you can get more than that from a 5 speed....i have drivin my moms 99lx auto and sometimes it stays in first or second "too long" if your driving slow, to where as in a 5 sp. you can coast, skip gears shift at 2k rpm...etc. it just all depends

yea my lx coupe has been gettin better and better so i know what you mean

I have a 2006 Civic LX and drive approximately 800-1000 miles per week. I have had my Civic for 16 months and have 61,000 miles on it. My commute has 18 miles of county roads with a 45 or 55 mph speed limit and about 40 miles of intersate with70 mph speed limit. I have two stop signs between home and work, and only a few red lights on my last mile in the city.

As gas prices continue to climb, I've done my own experimenting. On my county roads, I set my cruise control to exactly the speed limit either 45 or 55. On the interstate, I set it to 65 mph and turn up my XM radio and enjoy the drive and let everyone fly past me. I regularly get 38-39 mpg and it has become somewhat of a fun game for me to see how well I can do with a light foot. I used to get about 33-35 mpg for the same drive when I did not pay attention to how I was driving. Now, I rarely go over 3000 rpm on my tachometer.

Ok, I am 51 years old and my driving habits and priorities have shifted as well. The highest mpg in my Civic was 42 mpg, on a non-stop 500 mile one way interstate trip. One time, but it was fun!

Admittedly, with practically no traffic and being able to use all cruise control I probably have more ideal daily driving conditions for optimal gas mileage than most.I do enjoy this car, a good value and it looks cool.

Hope this helps. I'm a newbie here, thanks for everyone sharing your tips and thoughts.

Excellent mmarler! The next step is to use your brakes less. Each time you step on the brake pedal, look at the speedo to see how fast you are going. Try to get your speed down to under 25 MPH every time. That means you must anticipate traffic. If you have a manual tranny (I do), then additionally you can coast down to that speed. Do you drive in a hilly area? Increase your speed on the downhill sections and lose speed going uphill. Try never to accelerate on the uphill sections. I drive about 75% city driving and still get 36 MPG or so regularly. My local (Rock Island, IL) Hondaservice managersays that most ('06-'07) Civic owners tell him they are gettingaround 28 in the city. Keep us posted.

Note: I have been keeping a detailed log since 1973 of mileage on my cars. It has definately been a learning experience.

The window sticker mileage estimates are changing in 2008. Here is a link to what the estimates would have been for the 2006 Honda civic. They claim the new estimates are real world obtainable, not just pulled out of the air. It seems the hybrid mileages suffer the most under the new standards. You can link to other cars and years here also.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySide.jsp?column=1&id=21737

Thanks so much Gene, I'll try coasting more and backing off the brakes.

I also appreciate your link to the www.fueleconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov) website.

Take care, good to have folks around like you who have actually logged real world mpg rather than just checking it a time or two.

Malcolm

My average on an 06 coupe with auto has been about 34. oddly thought, last summer when it was 100 degrees here everyday, i got 36 mpg.

Now that the weather has warmed up a bit my mileage is also going up. I got 430 miles out of my last tank of 11.2 gallons. That comes to 38.4 MPG.At least 75%of that tank was city driving. I am finding it is much harder to get good mileage in the city.

I try to fill up at the same pump at the same gas station every time to keep things consistant.

Now that my Honda '06 LX has some miles on it and the weather has warmed up, my mileage is going up also. I went 415 miles on 10.571 gallons my last tank for 39.3 MPG. There was still one bar on the gas guage. 100 miles of that tank was a road trip with two bikes hanging off the back of the car on a bike rack. The rest was city driving.

Open up the attachments to see my logbook. You can see the lowest mileage during January and February and a steady rise as the weather warmed up.

local://upfiles/19981/6D53C120438045568FE159B9DC374E8A.jpg

local://upfiles/19981/785F0A96B7934C1C8226E10B86B82E45.jpg

local://upfiles/19981/541A018399B94BB3AC32E3A3AA2ED438.jpg

Studies by transport canada and other agencies have found this to be true on most new cars. The manufacturers state: road conditions; braking; speed; etc. etc. etc cause this to happen, who knows for sure.

Wow.

I am definately not the only one with MPG concerns! Been posting like a crazy person about my new 2007 Honda Civic Ex Automatic Sedan with my so far disapointing gas mileage. I keep HOPING The Break in will help, but I admit I'm impatient and keep wanting to research the hell out of this subject. I'm not even at 500 miles on the car yet, only on my second tank of Gas. My first tank, by my estimates got about 23 MPG, which is disapointing to put it mildly. Since tank 2, I've really tried to improve my driving, especially the way I would accelerate from a stop. Braking is going to take me a little longer because I still press the pedal like it's my old car, this one needs alot less pressure.

After tank 2 I'm also going to try and change Gas. Figured at the very least it will be better for my car, if not my MPG. So I will be going from Arco to probably Chevron.

I went out to my car here at work and just checked my tire pressure. From the dealer right now they are all exactly at 34 PSI. But the book says it should be 32. Should I lower them or would it not make a big difference?

*Bumping* For the tire pressure question.

^ do u have bad driving habits? thats the onlything i can think of since u said u have a 2007 civic which mean the o2 sensor should be good and ur filter shouldnt be dirty or anything like tht.

I'm endeavering to improve them on this current tank of gas. I feel I've been better being more concious of it. I know all the engine stuff should be fine, sensor, filter, etc. And that's what worries me. Or on the other hand if it IS the car. Well that would sure be a problem. My first ever new car and I get a bad one.

The only thing left to really wait on is the break in peroid and hope this improves over time. And I still plan on using a better brand gas on my next tank.

As of coming to work this morning I'm down to about 1/4 a tank and am only at 230 miles. I'll just barely make it to 300 miles before I fill up I bet.

I've also had the AC off 98% of this tank's "test" run.

u sure you are calculating those figures right? to get that low of a number i can't think of any way to do it. because i don't even get below 30 hiting the gas as hard as possible non stop. something is not right.

Pretty sure but I wouldn't bet my life on it. :)

Since my first tank of gas (From the dealer) I started coming here and learning how to do MPG properly. I did a slight guess after my first tank, and from my own estimates, I got about 23mpg. Seriously.

To confirm, when I fill again, I take my mileage (which I set to zero at the start of this) and divide how much gallons go into the car when I fill up again. Right? So if my mileage ends at 302 miles and I put 10.6 gallons in, I got 28.49 MPG... or whatever.

Thanksfor talking through this with me. Glad it's not just me that thinks this is very baffling. My driving is definately more highway that street, by the way.

yeah, on the highway, i just took a trip to tennesse and on the way back i went 477 miles on 11.184 gallons of gas.. so i can't really figure out why your numbers would be so low. unless the computer is not programmed right, sending in more gas than is neccessary.

I admit I'm not good with dealing with people about getting things fixed. Not very assertive for lack of a better term. If this problem persists, I suppose I should take it to the dealer. I just don't want to get...**** for it you know? I gave them $22,000 afterall. I don't want to hear the excuses like "Maybe it's your driving" or "Break it in more." Etc.

I will be taking a long road trip in September. 400 miles each way. But I dont know if I wanna go that long before a big test like that.

Would checking that computer thing be hard?

You are worrying about a non-existent problem. Drive your Civic and let the mileage fall where it may. Keep track and you will see that it will end up in the 28-30 MPG range in your daily driving. If you are a careful driver you may even get to see an occasional 34 MPG tank. I posted a link earlier in this thread to thewww.fueleconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov)economy ratings. See what the realworld ratings are, not what someone got on one tank or what they wish they were getting.

One tank does not an average make......

Milage is effected by far more things than you know, everything from traffic congestion(even on the highway at the speed limit) to cross winds, grade of gas you buy(not what octane but the quality of the gas as far as which station you get it at), to how much stuff you cary in your car, the material the road is made out of, tire make/pressure/an condition. The amount of accesories you run, how much you weigh, so on and so forth. All are small thing but alot of small things add up.

Are you trying to tell me my car is fine? :)

Oh no it's me again!

Ha ha. Seriously. Maybe I should make a new thread for THIS, but maybe you fine folks already subscribed can help. Let me thank you for all your help with my milage woes. I'm finally realizing my car is fine. Today I got to do a estimate and with my last tank of gas, I got about 30 MPG. Much better to whatI was aiming for.

Now here is the weird part. Nothing I am really concerned about, just curious more than anything.

According to my manual, my Ex Sedan Auto has a 13 gallon Tank. It also says the low fuel light comes on when I have about 1.9 gallons left, or basically when I have used up 11 Gallons. Right? So driving back from a family function today the light came on, but I drove a little more. I was trying to get low (But not TOO low) so I could use up most of the Arco and switch to a better brand gas. I went till ALL the indicator bars on the digital readout were gone and still a few miles past that. I was starting to get worried I had went down too low. So it was quite surprising when I filled my tank up and the thing cut off at 10.5 gallons! I even did the no no of starting up the pump again but it stopped immediately.

I'm just curious why the low fuel light came on early, when (Best I can tell) I still had 3 gallons left. It's a good thing really, it's nice to know I still have that much when the light comes on, but maybe my gauge is offa little? Like I said, I drove it down to NO dots on the fuel guage.

Curious. (But hey...my Gas Mileage is good!)

Yep, that's the way the gauge works. I wish it was more accurate at the bottom as well, but I can live with it. When all the LEDs are out on mine I can add about 11.3 gallons. As a rule of thumb when I have two lights left I can divide the trip odo by 10 to get my approximate mileage.

I understand that if you run the tank out of gas it messes up the catalytic converter, Honda apparently wants to make sure that never happens.

Thanks Gene. Yeah I have read too that running out of gas is BAD BAD and have never did it thankfully. Came a little too close for comfort on my last car once. It sounds like it varies from car to car how much one will have left. And weather and stuff affects gas too right? Yesterday happened to be hot here. So when all your lights are down you're have about 2 gallons left? Seems I still have about 3. But I am guessing these figures vary, and I should always becare how low I get it to go. I kind of wish the guage was a bit more accurate. Going down to 12 gallons before refuel would be about ideal for me. I bet I could break 400 miles on a tank doing that.

Recently purchased a 2007 civic ex, my first two tank fulls are averaging 29.1 mpg (85-90% city). Not as good as the Jetta tdi I just sold, however, I'm hoping once the break-in progresses the mileage will increase.

Hmm ---> great discussion. I would appreciate any feedback on my dilemma:

:(I drive an '06 with about 60k miles on it, all periodic maintenance done& the miles are almost all highway... So, aboutthree months ago my check engine light comes onsolid, I have the dealer pull the codes & they tell me that it was just a loose gas cap, reset the codes, and send me on my merry way. All fine & dandy, EXCEPT that ever since then I'd be lucky to get 35mpg on the highway, with no change in driving habits, overall weather patterns,average speed or route, type of gasoline, etc ...whereas before I had been getting 42mpg+ easy! This is really driving me insane, because that's like 10mpg gone, evaporated into this air! I had another dealer check things out & also an independent shop, and neither could find anything in terms of filters, codes, etc .... The only thing that I am noticing is that I seem to get the "check gas cap" message more and more frequently, even though I crank the damn thinguntil it's clicking forlike 20-30 seconds ... So, I am at a huge loss to explain what could be causing this significant drop in fuel economy, and I am really bummed out ...[X(]

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions? Thank you much!

I believe the new formula for computing EPA estimated mileage went into effect with the 2008 models.

I just purchased an 08 civic lx and got 30 mpg on my first tank of gas.

By the way.....how many miles is recommended for break-in?

Break in mileage is in the manual (pg 176 for an 07).

600 miles
Avoid hard stops for 200 miles (not sure how you do that if you get cut off)
No towing during break in.
Wait till the service light comes on to change the oil.

I have heard that this is important for Hondas as they have some kind of "break in" oil added. I have no idea if thats true.

I average around 33.12mpg (in 3 months) best mpg on one tank being 35.16 mpg. My '07 civic ex is broken in but is still usuing the same oil that it came with... my oil change light/rotate tires light turned on and I'm going to see if the mpg goes up after that. I'm hoping it does.

ive had the same issues, as well as an obscene amount of others with my '06. when i first bought it, i drove it as was for some time and always felt as if the ar was lacking power. i bought a k-n filter, cause it was cheaper than a factory replacement, which were the only 2 available. after the install i noticed howmuch of a diff it had made and started thimking, the car couldnt breathe. i have a heavy foot as well as a few additions to the stereo, any added weight will decrease mpg, but i also had the resonator taken out. that amaingly smoothed out the jerkiness i had when i first bought the car. my folks purchased the same car, theirs an ex, mine an lx, both 5 spds, and my mom says mine drives so much smoother than hers.has everyone gotten all the tsb's taken care of?mines rapidly approachin 50k miles

Well, the weather is finally starting to warm up here, if you call 40 degrees warm. I just filled today and got 36.5 MPG on the last tank. This after three tanks down about 30.5 MPG. Since gas around her costs $3.20/gallon, I'm glad to see a break in the cold snowy weather. I hope the rest of you see an increase in your mileage also.

Here are the results of the last two tanks since my last post:

407 miles using 10.231 gals for 39.8 MPG with about 70% highway
413 miles using 10.563 gals for 39.1 MPG with about 60% highway

I have figured out how to use the reverse i-VTEC feature and that seems to be upping the mileage a bit. Here is a link if you would like to know how to help your mileage. The secret is not low RPMs, but light gas pedal pressure to keep it in VTEC mode.

http://asia.vtec.net/Engines/RiVTEC/index.html

last tank i got was 403miles 10.211 gallons = 39.7 all highway on a trip running at 70-75 mph no a/c