Rep Power: 0

Hey all,

This question directly applies to those who drive a 2001 Honda Civic LX coupe, EM2. I bought this vehicle last December with 145-150K miles and I currently have 155K miles on it right now. Lately I haven't been panicking, but I realized that I may be getting low gas mileage. Those who have one, do you normally get more or less 25 mpg?

http://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/2...tyle=100001250

I know we have a 13.2 gallon tank but I normally put it either 4-5 gallons since I commute to school and to work. I do not know if I'm losing gas or maybe I'm just overreacting. My friend showed me a trick on how to track my gas mileage which I'll start doing that immediately.

 
Rep Power: 285

When's the last time it had a good tune-up?

Spark plugs, air filter, 02 sensor, egr valve, engine flush...

 
Rep Power: 812

25 mpg is pretty average in the city, esp in the winter.

 
Rep Power: 195

whats the trick???

 
Rep Power: 0

No trick.

Just wondering what everyone else is getting for their MPG, primarily in the town/city.

 
Rep Power: 812

ive gotten 15mpg before in the city. it all depends how you drive, the weather conditions (elevation, humidity, dewpoint, temp, etc), and how the car is maintained. weather and driver are the biggest factors. depending on location and driving, ive gotten anywhere between 15-34mpg in the city and 32-42mpg on the highway.

 
Rep Power: 195

?trick?

 
Rep Power: 0

You completely fill up your tank gas tank to what exact measurement you have (mines a 13.2gl) and once it hits the halfway point you take 13.2 and divide by 2. Also before fueling your car up, you want to make sure you change the number of miles to a "road trip" that way you don't use your current mileage. Once you have half of gas in your tank you take the number of miles driven (road trip) and divide by two. That should be an exact estimate of how much your car is getting a total MPG.

Hope that cleared it up!

p.s. - I meant to explain when you're dividing 13.2/2 you get 6.6 for a half tank of gas. So take the # of miles driven and divide by 6.6 once you reach the half way point marker.

 
Rep Power: 0

Also,

I have a different question and doesn't have to do with the MPG.

for those who have a '01 civic (lx), the dashborad has the "system maintenance" pop up appearing once I turn the car on. anybody know if it's serious?

 
Rep Power: 812

it comes on every 10k miles or so as a timer light. means nothing. just hold down the trip meter button on the gauges, put the car to ON position without starting the motor, continue holding the button for 20 secs, then turn the car off. next time you turn on, the light should be gone for another interval.

 
Rep Power: 210

Your friends "trick" of how to calculate gas mileage has a couple of problems.

First, there is no way to tell exactly how full a tank is. Depending on which way the ground slopes when you fill the car you can get an air pocket in the tank that prevents it from filling all the way or you may overfill it buy filling the filler tube as well. Gas pumps shut off at different times also so one pump may fill a tank to a different level than another pump. This is one of the reasons that people get strange one tank mileage numbers. There is no good way to be sure exactly how full your tank is.
Second, the fuel gauge is an estimate not an actual reading. The gauge probably is around the half way mark for a gallon so you don't really know when it is exactly half a tank.
In your "trick" you are taking one source of error and adding a second. The only good way to track mileage is over multiple tanks of gas. If you keep track of every tank the ones with very overly high mileage are offset by poor mileage on the next tank and you get more of a true average.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've also read that resetting the ECU could possibly do the trick. I stopped @ AutoZone today and the guy said there was no detected problem. Engine is good but I'm definitely going to see the mechanic for a quick tune up/maintenance.

 
Rep Power: 256

plugs
oil
air filter
trans fluid
gas brand
air temperature
tire pressure
altitude
driving style
alignment
clogged fuel injectors
oxygen sensors
plus many more things can effect gas mileage one major thing could be your primary oxygen sensor there only good for 90,000-100,000 miles and no it won't give you a check light if there old just if they break completely.