kimberly9199

I recently purchased a brandnew 2010 civic lx 8 weeks ago. The gas
Is killing me financially I understand there I a break in period. My mileage is at 2444 the Honda service dept checked it out and said there is nothing wrong with the car. Any ideas? I am litteraly filing my tank every 4 days. HELP thanks.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

How much do you fill up? and how many miles do you get with that fill up?

Your driving habits also effect your MPG

MindBomber

Driving habits and the station you go to are factors, but neither of those things would cause anything near 16mpg. There is something seriously wrong. The only way driving habits could explain it is if you are routinely traveling at 100mph..

Does your car have cruise control?

I suspect something is holding the throttle body open constantly.

lazlong

I would think the TPS would throw a code then. More likely one or more injectors are stuck open, fuel pressure is to high, EGR is stuck, or a bad EVAP.

Go to Autozone and have them scan for codes, maybe we'll get lucky.

edit: Autozone will scan it for free.

rocksinger45

Your advice is good but don't you think that the dealer did a scan when he brought the car in.

lazlong

I can hear it now: service adviser-" This guy says that he's getting shitty gas mileage." tech-"This guy's an idiot, it's a new car!" Tech takes the car and puts it in the back lot, goes and does another job or two, comes back with the car in a couple of hours and says,"Nothing wrong with it." adviser says- "Sounds good."

Believe it or not, this stuff really happens. I think he's lucky and they didn't charge him for a needless repair. I know, it's warranty work you say but, if they can charge you they will.

johng35

Maybe you drive like me.... with heavy foot ?

lazlong

Or me, I drive 75-100 miles a day in the city and fill up every 4-5 days.

MindBomber

I should have been more explicit in my response, a faulty cruise control unit could remain constantly engaged holding the throttle open whenever the car is running. I don't think the cc unit is capable of throwing a code if it is faulty, and none of the other sensors would either since they're obeying the ECU commands.

I know that sounds crazy, but I know someone who had the exact same symptoms and it took the dealer five years to figure out it was the cc unit since it can't be mechanically inspected and it didn't throw codes.

lazlong

Ah, I see.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

make sure idle rpm is around 700. dont drive like you stole it, and full breakin doesnt happen until 10-20k miles. check all the usual culprits like alignment, tire pressure, fluids, etc.

GregG

Frozen brake caliper? Do any of your wheels have more brake dust than the opposite one from the other side?

lazlong

Look at the highlighted area:


To the OP: Pull the spark plugs, take pics and post them. I'm suspecting preignition or detonation.

*BTW: They call spark plugs the window to the health of your engine.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

im sure thats possible, i never said it wasnt. you can get deposits in less than 5k miles too depending how it was driven.

rocksinger45

Your correct, most dealers are a-holes but I'm the kind of guy that doesn't take no for an answer and would call Honda's corporate office and complain till the vain came out in my neck...this guy just dropped some 20 + G's on a new car and is getting the run around..I don't take that kind of crap from no one he shouldn't either.

kimberly9199

Omg I was laughing hysterically, reading this. Thank you very much you guys I have been so great. I have a meeting with Honda in 1/8/11. I am really tired of this problem, I just want a car that does not suck the life out of me.

MindBomber

Please give us an update after you have the meeting with Honda. I've put a lot of thought into this trying to figure out what might cause the problem, but I can't seem to think of any potential reasons without actually seeing the car.

Good luck.

kimberly9199

I have a meeting with Honda on the 8th, I will send another post and advise of the status, thank you all for replying and helping me with some possible, solutions.I really hope the issue is resolved, this is not a joke, I am now into my savings for gas, and thats not why i purchased a new car. Thanks to all....stay tuned

kimberly9199

1/8/11 UPDATE

Here is the update regarding my 2010 Civic LX. I drove the vehicle to the scheduled service appointment, to make this easier I will detail the work order exactly how it reads.
Honda Service Dept is in Caps LITTERALY.

CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE IS ONLY GETTING 15-18 MPH PER TANK OF FUEL.
CUSTOMER STATES THAT THAT (yes 2) THIS HAS BEEN SINCE VEHICLE IS NEW PER D.T (service manager initials). PERFORM 5 GAS TEST , PERFORM SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND FUEL MILEAGE TEST-THEN REPORT TO D.T
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………….
PERFORMED ALL DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES SCAN-NO HISTORY CODES, NO PENDING CODES AND NO TRANSMISSION CODES FOUND. CHECKED ALL TIRE PRESSURES-GOOD AT 32PSI CHECKED DATA STREAM SHORT AND LONG FUEL TRIM FOUND GOOD, AT 1.01 (.98-1.02) IS WITHIN HONDA SPECIFICATIONS CHECKED FOR ANY SOFTWARE UPDATES – ALL SOFTWARE IS CURRENT CHECKED ALL MONITORS HAVE RUN AND PASSED AS DESIGNED. ROAD TESTED VEHICLE IN COMBINATION DRIVING AND CHECKED FUEL TRIM
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………….
UPON 42 MILE ROAD TEST, WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE 32-33 MPH WHICH IS NORMAL RANGE VEHICLE IS OPERATING TO DESIGN INTENT.
……………………..
What I am finding interesting about this, the 1st time a road test was performed, the gas mileage is the best I have had yet, I was able to achieve 230 to a full tank, and I noticed the obvious the cells took a LONG while to drop/disappear. On my way home I purposely drove 18 miles on a scenic route home and so far, I drove a total of 70.5 miles, and the fuel gauge is down two maybe three cells, not to the norm of ½ or almost ½ tank. I am hoping I am able to achieve 250 total miles, for this tank of gas, I would be estatic. I do not purchased cheap gasoline, I always purchase from Shell, Chevron, or 76, no not always the same service stations I have driven out of my way in hope that perhaps the 3 service stations nearest to my home or work “sell bad gas and that’s what is causing the excessive fuel consumption” regarding the work order can anyone reading this W/O see if this is right or wrong?? In reality, I would be delighted if from today moving forward the gas issue is resolved with this car, I love this car!!
Any ideas help or suggestions are always helpful. Thank you very much for all of the feedback/postings and concern, this has helped a lot!! Cheers!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

try to buy from chevron only. its possible that they did a software update while checking but from that description it sounds like all they did was gently drive it around to get the best possible mileage. on such a new car i still think some of it has to do with driving style. for example, did you know that when you take your foot off the gas pedal, the ecu cuts all fuel consumption? it can make a big difference if you are one of those drivers who always keeps her foot on the gas even when there is a downhill or no need for more speed. there are alot of tricks to improve gas mileage and with such a new car, i dont think it can be a mechanical issue as the techs demonstrated.

kimberly9199

I have under 4k miles on the car and i looked at my oil life it says 40% what does this mean???

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

it starts at 100% when the oil is good (new), then drops as it gets old. im not exactly sure how the oil life works on the new cars, i think its a combination of mileage and time to determine how good it is. im also not sure when is a good time to change it. you can go at least 5k miles no problem on regular oil, or longer with synthetic. if you have an owners manual it will prolly tell you at what % you should change it.

lazlong

Mileage. It's just a fancy trip odometer. It's set up on 3K miles.

MindBomber

This.

and the same applies to all the maintenance reminders in 8g civics, just fancy trip odometers reminding you to do your maintenance.

kimberly9199

Actually when the car was delivered it said 90 percent

MindBomber

That makes complete sense, the oil hadn't been changed right before you picked it up the car had already been driven around a bit. Out the factory, around rail yards, to the dealership..