hi just joined the forum .bought a 05 civic ex with 45k my first honda. good handling vehicle. but am only getting low 30s mpg on the highway. auto trans. i see low 40s mpg is not unusual.any suggestions?

 

I drive a 2005 Civic LX which is now almost at 50K, and which I bought new. I get 30-33 mpg in combined city/highway driving, and always have. I can't recall that I've ever had as high as 35 mpg, even on trips. I can't imagine this car getting low 40s under any circumstances.

 

[long story short, I posted "test" 25 times to get around the rules but I failed because the mods aren't stupid.]

 

I had a 2001 civic LX with a manual tranny and 150k miles. With that I got 41 mpg from one tank of gas. On nice summer days I would get 36-38 highway/city mix pretty consistently. You won't get that in winter though... mpg drops drastically. The 41 mpg was also right after I replaced exhaust manifold/cat converter, new spark plugs, new air filter, oil change with synthetic, and old tires with little tread (less friction). The A/C was also broken, so I couldn't use it, and A/C takes a nice bite outta mpg.

B/c of other issues, I got rid of that and bought an 01 ex manual with 90k. I only had it for the end of last summer, and I didn't do a tune up or anything til winter, but before everything I got 39 as a high and 36 consistently.

You should be able to get at least 35 if you make sure your tires are at least 30 psi (up to like 35 psi for less rolling resistance) and you put in new spark plugs and air filter. Both are very easy to do, and should take someone with very little mechanical knowledge less than an hour.