Still only 22.5 MPG!

I just tanked up my '04 Civic, and I'm still only getting ca. 22.5 MPG,
city driving. The landscape here is very flat, I shift into neutral at
red lights, and I swear I have been driving feather-light on the
accelerator.

What am I doing wrong? The car now has about 630 miles on it.

 

Have you changed the oil & filter yet? There's a lot of inital
friction of newly machined parts. Brakes dragging, improper tire
inflation, bad gas, etc, etc. I recommend Casterol oil, but whatever
you initially use keep using that same brand.

 

I'll check the tire inflation when the rain stops. I'm sure brakes
could be dragging a bit, new car, all tightly adjusted.

I use 87 octane for gas. I'll not change the oil until the car reaches
5000 miles as per the Honda recommendations. When I do change, I'll
take it to the dealer. They offer a $14.95 oil change. What's in it
for them, I guess, is their assurance that the car is being maintained
with Honda parts, thus overall I'm less likely to need to take advantage
of the warranty.

 

Phisherman's right; if you look at any Car & Driver/Consumers Reports road
tests where they've tested a car for a year or more, the mpg is always less
when the car has under 10 000 miles, and after 30 000 miles the engine
performs much more efficiently.
Fear not!
-chris

 

I friend of mine bought a '03 Civic early this year and he didn't
start realizing the fuel efficiency numbers until shortly before his
third oil change. Before that, it wasn't even close to what he was
supposed to get. Around here, the recommended oil change is at
6,000KM (approx 3,500miles).

Wait until about the 10K mile mark and see what happens. In the
meantime, next time you go in for a service, mention it to the service
advisor so at least it's on record.

 

If you are accelerating through the gears with a feather-light touch, you
might be babying it too much. If you accelerate to cruising speed more
briskly, you should get better mileage because it ultimately spends more
time in the higher gear and less in the lower ones.

You don't want to be redlining it every time you start out from a stop, but
somewhere in between feather-light and drag strip should get you better
mileage.

Also, at 630 miles, you haven't filled it very many times (once, maybe
twice?). The free tank of gas that comes with the car is usually not
completely full. This will give an erroneous low MPG reading at the first
fill up.

 

I believe that if you went on a long trip (over 100 miles) and most of
your driving was done on the freeway--your gas mileage would be a much
better. The problem with city driving is that your car is burning gas even
when you are at lots of red lights. This brings up the numbers when you
mesure your miles per gallon. I never even bother measuring my miles per
gallon unless I am going on a long trip. I usually gas up after I leave my
city and gas up again shortly before I enter the last city. You don't have
to wait for the tank to be near empty before you fill up the tank.

 

No, no no!! There is SUPPOSED to be friction between newly machined parts in
the engine when it is being broken in. That's why they use special engine
oil for the break-in period. Do not change the oil until the manual
specifies it is to be changed.

 

Scott's right. You don't wanna be changing your oil too soon with a
new car. Should wait the full mileage before getting your first oil
change. Actually, I've been told for the first three oil changes,
shouldn't do it sooner than necessary.

 

But 22.5? I was getting over 32 hwy in my '03 accord with the 2.4L after 1K
mi.......

 

Well, there you go. It's payback. I've never gotten 32 mpg highway in
my 4 cyl 03 Accord. It all evens out in the end.

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

For what it's worth, I traveled a 500 mile mix of freeway and state
highways in July in my '03 EX-L 4 cyl and got about 34 mpg. Highest
single tank was just over 35 mpg; the lowest was about 32. I assume
that is variation in driving and how full the tank is after refueling.
The car had about 2,000 miles on it at the time.

 

Well, I certainly learned a lot. I never even knew that the
manufacturers put a special oil in new cars. That certainly was news to me.

I'll relax a bit, confident that I'm still driving one of the best.

 

Hmm, I guess so! Long periods of highway use yield almost 34 MPG (Odometer
is currently ar 5.6K)

 

Let me say that I almost never travel below 85mph on the interstate. My
mileage, averaged over 33000 miles (10 months) has been 28.8, I think.
I have the exact figures, but they're in the car, and I'm not!

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

85? Can't remember the last time I went that slow ;-)

 

Let me know when your in my area --I want to be off the roads.
I hope you have a good radar detector or a fat wallet.
The Artful Codger