I believe my car is breaking in, but the change in season is negating any real improvement. Avg'ing ~42 for awhile now with about 2500 miles.

 

As many have stated, to get really good mileages from the start the driver must break-in before the engine does. It is definitely a change in driving habits as it is a change in driving attitude.

Personally, the "changes" do not necessarily amount to driving below the speed limit. It just means drving smart and paying particularly good attention to the instrumentation, the car's FE features, and taking advantage of FE maximizing techniques and opportunities whenever possible.

Have a look at Tarabell's article whenever you have a moment or two. Some things will become very clear after that.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Mazinga - I am in LA County (Pasadena area). I commute from Sierra Madre to Riverside (48 miles one way). My mileage has been great (48-50 mpg on the way in; over 52 mpg on the way home) .... until today. Today the a.m. temperature was 47 degrees. The wind was whipping (probably over 30mph) and hitting me sideways. My mpg going to work was 43 - my lowest yet. Nothing else was diff't - I go against traffic so very little stop & go; practice pulse & glide techniques, etc. Yesterday, without the wind & slightly warmer temps I hit 52 mpg on the way to work. So, even in sunny So Cal a drop in temp & wind can have significant effect!

 

Ok...10mpg with A/C? I call bunk. I drive with the car set on Auto at all times, and I've noticed MAYBE a 1-2mpg difference when A/C is kicking. Maybe. 10mpg? No way.

As one who drives 68mph on the highway and uses A/C whenever the car chooses to turn it on based on my temp of 70-73 in the car, I am averaging 49, with a lowest tank of 44.5mpg over the life of the car. (This was the second to last tank, which was into a 20mph headwind the ENTIRE tank (two long trips...wind shifted to the opposite direction for the return trip).

Wind will cause huge variations, as will rain. Also, sometimes gas is different. I seem to get my best milage with the gas from Giant Eagle GetGo, believe it or not.

 

If you're replying to my post - I made no mention of A/C - only wind & cold. I wasn't running the A/C either day. Maybe I was shivering too much to effectively pulse & glide! If you're not replying to my post, never mind.

 

Also keep in mind that in many parts of the country, during winter months the fuel gets oxygenated (in the past with MTBE, now with a new agent) which always makes FE go down.

Bill

 

Just my humble observation.

I've had my Civic II since August. I purchased it in July because I was commuting 90+ miles a day. Then I got laid off.

I got another job...in town, so instead of 2 hours of commuting a day, I'm down to 2-15 minutes commutes a day; not enough to warm up the batteries. I never got more than 41mpg. And now with our cold Wisconsin weather (it's 15 F. today), my mileage is in the low 30's.

I like the car...love the look, but low mileage drives just aren't this hybrid's forte.

Still I needed a new car and am happy with the Civic overall. But I'll never be a hypermiler.

 

First off, at those temperatures (15F) it is not really the batteries that need to be warmed up. Battery warmup is only important when the temperature dips below 10.4F.

The major disadvantage you now got is that your commute times have shrunk. The gas engine has very little chance to warmup properly and that is the primary reason for the low mileage.

This is not the car's fault. You should actually be happy because any other car would leave you with worse mileage - How that to add insult to injury?

Low mileage drives aren't ANY car's forte. Its just that your car is better than most even under those unfavorable conditions! Cheer up, you have plenty to be happy for.


Hypermiling is only for folks in warmer climates. Not for people like us.

Cheers;

MSantos