alxz310

Hello All, I just got a brand new 2015 civic EX with 7 miles on the odometer last month. I've since driven about 500 miles in the car and have been getting much lower than the advertised fuel economy. Most of my driving has been in the city with some traffic (occasionally highway), and I've only averaged about 23.5 MPG (based on manual calculation; iMid has similar numbers). I was wondering if this is normal to get such a low number, or if I should get the car checked at the dealer. I've been running the car with the ECON button on, driving extremely smooth, coasting where possible, accelerating smoothly, with the A/C off. I've checked Fuelly and this kind of number seems to pretty much be non-existent with most people getting at least 27MPG! I am in California if that matters, driving around the Los Angeles area. Thanks!

ezone

Stop and go and slow traffic just ruins gas mileage. Period.

Any time the engine is running and you are not moving, your gas mileage is ZERO....and that big ZERO is added into the average mileage calculations.

Plus, it takes a lot of gas to get that hunk of tin moving after each stop.

I've read posts from others in SoCal that get in the high teens to low 20s on 9th gen cars.

Get it out where you can go a steady 45-55-65 for loooong distances and you will watch the number climb.

Watching the little instant mileage display can help you adjust your driving habits, but it may take a while.

Also, go into the IMID settings using the steering wheel buttons and set the trip meter options to

reset with refuel for trip A
and
reset with ignition off for trip B
(If you want)

Then you can check your mileage values after each trip and/or each time you get a tank of fuel.

jordan1794

I imagine you have a CVT transmission. It takes some time to get used to it, you will be tempted to hit the gas a little harder from a stop, as the pull from a dead stop feels VERY sluggish (Is made up though, as the power is constant without shift points)

When you are accelerating in normal traffic (NOT stop and go) you should actually press the gas until the fuel thing turns from dark green to the turquoise.(If it turns blue, let off a tad bit)

Just tweak the little things, they add up. My first fill up in my 2014 I had under 33 mpg, and for the first month or two I could rarely get above 35.But I already had experience driving for fuel efficiency in my 2006. Look up hypermiling.

Now my RUNNING average is 37, and I've had quite a few tanks above 40 mpg (with most exceeding 400 miles, One tank I got 484.....so close to 500 haha)
http://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/civi...dan1794/281863

At one point on a road trip where there are only 4 or 5 stop lights for 150 miles I was averaging about 50 mpg, until I got back home where it slowly dropped to 43 (That was the tank with almost 500 miles)

alxz310

I have my iMID settings on that so I see the stats each time! So it sounds like this could be normal then if I spend most of my time driving 35-40mph, mixed with idling at a couple of traffic lights for about a minute or more? I was just concerned since I haven't come across any posts with that MPG nor seen anyone on fuelly with numbers like mine (especially considering that there must be at least a handful of people on that site who have similar commutes in major metropolitan regions).


And it is the CVT transmission - it's definitely different, but I was already used to something similar having driven priuses before; I already try to keep the bars in the green/turquoise range most of the time, and am always monitoring the instant MPG readout. I definitely do not have a heavy foot and have been trying to drive as smoothy and efficiently as possible - I've also ready up on hypermiling .

I'm just hoping that either it improves, or I can definitely know that this is normal, since it's nowhere near the EPA estimate for city driving.

jordan1794

Just to be sure;
Accelerating while keeping the color green (assuming you won't have to stop a shot time after getting to speed) will get you WORSE mileage than accelerating with it torquoise.
Engines are more efficient at higher rpm, to a certain extent. When you are maintaining speed the car uses very little gas, if you use a little more but get to speed faster, you can start using less fuel more quickly as well. It's a balance. In my 2014 I recorded the best mileage when accelerating at 1,750 rpm.
Again, assuming you have open road in front of you.

Another thing, fuelly.com is mostly filled with people (like myself) who are specifically trying to get good mileage, so the numbers there are usually higher than the normal driver. Adding to this, the 2015 (and even the 2014) is still new enough that the number of records if fairly low, adding to the "guesswork"

Make sure you use top tier gasoline! In my 2006 I switched at around 40k miles and, after around 2-3 weeks, my mpg increased by around 2-3 mpg.
(google top tier gasoline)

ezone

Check tire pressures (and do the TPMS reset, its in the IMID menus)
Burn the good gas (google 'top tier gas' for more info)
Avoid ethanol if possible

Cali fuel requirements may cause mileage reduction, and it gets worse in the winter months due to the fuel blend change (nationwide).

The rest is up to you.
Some people say the cars get better after they get the engine broke in, but IDK.



EPA mileage figures aren't for everyone. They drive a very specific course and conditions to come up with numbers, very few actually drive under those same conditions. Same for highway mileage. Real world figures may not be anywhere near what's printed on the sticker.
It even says 'Your mileage may vary'.

ezone

Post #5 has a good answer LOL http://www.9thgencivic.com/forum/fue...w-2015-ex.html

mikey1

yup that does matter.....seems normal for LA traffic

alxz310

I'm beginning to think that's it ; I managed to hit about 29mpg using a different route than I usually do, at a different time; traffic was much lighter, with less frequent stopping. This was also after having driven around a lot earlier in the day. How long does it usually take for an engine to warm up to peak efficiency after a cold start?

Going back with about 65-70% freeway driving and A/C on lowest setting, I was able to get 31mpg for the first time (going about 70mph). I was just surprised to not find any other low average MPGs on fuelly, but perhaps it is just a problem of most "non-average"/MPG-conscious users, and not enough data.

My overall average is still atrocious (23.5MPG) since most days are not like today. Guess I'll just have to get used to this, or drive around at odd times where there aren't that many people on the road (almost never)

jordan1794

70 MPH is tough on the car(in terms of economy)
Optimal fuel efficiency is somewhere in the 40-55 mph range (Don't know where it falls with the CVT, I know traditional automatics are right at 40 or so)

In my 2014 CVT on a perfectly flat stretch of highway going 70 I only get around 30-35 mpg. Add even the slightest of incline to that and it drops to around 20-25. Even if you get a downhill section right after, it's hard to reclaim the extra fuel lost by going uphill.It's one of the points that hypermilers really focus on.

Also, rather than be sad about the mileage, be happy you have a Civic, imagine the gas bill if you were to be driving a truck or SUV!

dlayman

Yep, its definitely your driving conditions. I have a 15 LX stick-shift. Lifetime average over 8500 miles is just over 42. But when I do stop and go 5 mile trips, I get in the mid-twenties, and I doubt its as congested as your route. Highway I get between 45-50 mpg, driving 60-65 mph.

This will happen with any car , except hybrids that run off auxiliary battery in city conditions.