Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
#1
Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
I have a 05 HAH that we bought in Oct. Since then, we've only averaged between 24-25 MPG in combo hwy/city driving. This seems awfully low. We've been very careful driving, but we still haven't seen any improvement. We took the vehicle in to the dealer, but they didn't find anything wrong with it. Has anyone else had similar issues?
#2
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
MPG, particularly in the HAH, is HIGHLY dependent upon the specifics of your personal driving routes, times, etc. In town, what would be a smallish hit in the HCH is magnified in the Accord because it is effectively a full-on V6 around town. Timing, congestion, parking lots, are all KILLERS to the HAH becasue of the V6...the IMA system does almost no good there.
So unfortunately, there is no pat answer, other than to say that you are not alone or even close to the bottom of the MPG distribution in this vehicle.
Take all the driving advice you can find here, and see what happens. Accelerate and keep the tach under 2000. Keep a very light foot, keep 'eco' light on as much as possible, keep tires over 32lbs (36 is a good spot), keep weight out of the trunk. Also don't forget that winter temps sap 10-20% off your MPG. I get 40+ normally on my commute; under 40deg, its 38-39, under 30 its 36-37, under 20 I stop looking. Wait until spring and see what happens.
Good luck!
So unfortunately, there is no pat answer, other than to say that you are not alone or even close to the bottom of the MPG distribution in this vehicle.
Take all the driving advice you can find here, and see what happens. Accelerate and keep the tach under 2000. Keep a very light foot, keep 'eco' light on as much as possible, keep tires over 32lbs (36 is a good spot), keep weight out of the trunk. Also don't forget that winter temps sap 10-20% off your MPG. I get 40+ normally on my commute; under 40deg, its 38-39, under 30 its 36-37, under 20 I stop looking. Wait until spring and see what happens.
Good luck!
#3
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
Wow, gonavy's comments not withstanding, I get almost what you get with my Ford Escape (non-hybrid). I would say there is something wrong but gonavy is right. It could be you have a lot of hills on your commute or a lot of lights. It all sort of depends. Maybe xcel can start giving private lessons.
#4
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
UW-
Do you happen to live in an area that uses E10 fuel? Subtract another 1-1.5 mpg. If you can tell us about where you are, what speed you drive, where/how far you drive daily, specifics about your commute routes and in-town trips, it may shed light on whether you've got an issue.
Do you happen to live in an area that uses E10 fuel? Subtract another 1-1.5 mpg. If you can tell us about where you are, what speed you drive, where/how far you drive daily, specifics about your commute routes and in-town trips, it may shed light on whether you've got an issue.
#5
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
Same here. We get about 22-23 city and 25 combined city/hwy. We took it on a road trip when it was new and could only get 30/31 at best even with very conservative driving. Now that it is broken in we can get 35/38 on slow hwy cruising.
We got ours in Sept. 2005 and we do like it but I'm a little disappointed with the mileage, especially city. We are in Orange County CA and have about 7500 miles.
We got ours in Sept. 2005 and we do like it but I'm a little disappointed with the mileage, especially city. We are in Orange County CA and have about 7500 miles.
#6
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
I'll chime in with another vote saying it's all how you drive it.
If I'm driving my HAH like a regular car, I get about 25-26 city. When I drive smoothly, I get 27-29 city. I've averaged about 29 mpg overall for the past 7500 miles. I've seen a consistent 48 mpg highway before. But I usually get 35-39 highway.
One more thing that Pawww pointed out, the mpg improves throughout break-in. As you get some miles on the car, your mileage will slightly improve. I think this is due not only to break-in, but you're also learning to drive the car more efficiently.
If I'm driving my HAH like a regular car, I get about 25-26 city. When I drive smoothly, I get 27-29 city. I've averaged about 29 mpg overall for the past 7500 miles. I've seen a consistent 48 mpg highway before. But I usually get 35-39 highway.
One more thing that Pawww pointed out, the mpg improves throughout break-in. As you get some miles on the car, your mileage will slightly improve. I think this is due not only to break-in, but you're also learning to drive the car more efficiently.
#7
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
I got my 05 HAH on 12/30/05 at a great price in order to not lose mpg savings on intital purchase price.
I have lurked here (Thank you Jason, bar10dah, gonavy, and other "ridiculously active enthusiasts") and studied hypermiling techniques, engine break-in, tire pressure, and oil viscosity effects on overall mpgs.
At 1425 miles I am getting 22.9 mpg regardless of hypermiling or degree of leadfootedness! I have a 25 mile commute that overall goes up hill maybe 50' in evlevation, there are a few rolling hills. I have three routes which I have tried, the first third of the routes is exactly the same;
a) a urban route with spaced out stopped lights, lasts 25-30 min. at 35-45 mph and I get 22.9 mpg, b) a urban route with more curves, slower speeds and still spaced out stop lights which still last 25-30 min at 30-40 mph and I get 22.9 mpg, c) on this final non-hypermiling variation I get on the highway and save 5-10 minutes because it seems to only take me 20-25 minutes at crazy speeds of 65-75 mph, at the driveways at the end of each segment I get 22.8 mpg. Any ideas?
My tire pressure is 36 psi. I did try hypermiling techniques. My wife and kids did yell at me on the one family trip while I was staring at the ECO light and lightly accelerating. Although, on the way home my gauge showed 28 mpg and odometer was around 300. The route home was all downhill.
From other postings I see people are concerned that Honda has downgraded the 06 HAH to 24/28 or something like that. Isn't that more in keeping with most drivers whose techniques can't match the hypermiling techniques of you ridiculously active enthusiasts?
As for me .... I really wanted a Mini Cooper S with the Works. But nobody else would fit in it with my 6'2" frame and there is no trunk space.
My conclusion - I got a great family sports car with 255HP, that gets decent mpgs for my commute, and has room for most luggage for longer trips. Albeit it is a plain brown bag kinds of sports car and because of the battery the seat doesn't fold down and there is no pass through for skis. So I got a Thule rack with ferring. With that on my car I look pretty rugged driving down the street! In a kind of middle class sort of way.
Perhaps when my engine breaks in more (at 4-5,000 miles) or my hypermiling techniques improves (when I am alone in the car) my mpgs will improve. In the meantime I am having fun.
In fact on yesterday's commute I beat out a SUVer with some road rage. They were upset with the pillow space I was allowing. After beeping several times (I couldn't tell where the beeps) were coming from, they tried to over take me and cut in front of me. Needless to say, V6 255HP won, and it's a HYBRID.
I have lurked here (Thank you Jason, bar10dah, gonavy, and other "ridiculously active enthusiasts") and studied hypermiling techniques, engine break-in, tire pressure, and oil viscosity effects on overall mpgs.
At 1425 miles I am getting 22.9 mpg regardless of hypermiling or degree of leadfootedness! I have a 25 mile commute that overall goes up hill maybe 50' in evlevation, there are a few rolling hills. I have three routes which I have tried, the first third of the routes is exactly the same;
a) a urban route with spaced out stopped lights, lasts 25-30 min. at 35-45 mph and I get 22.9 mpg, b) a urban route with more curves, slower speeds and still spaced out stop lights which still last 25-30 min at 30-40 mph and I get 22.9 mpg, c) on this final non-hypermiling variation I get on the highway and save 5-10 minutes because it seems to only take me 20-25 minutes at crazy speeds of 65-75 mph, at the driveways at the end of each segment I get 22.8 mpg. Any ideas?
My tire pressure is 36 psi. I did try hypermiling techniques. My wife and kids did yell at me on the one family trip while I was staring at the ECO light and lightly accelerating. Although, on the way home my gauge showed 28 mpg and odometer was around 300. The route home was all downhill.
From other postings I see people are concerned that Honda has downgraded the 06 HAH to 24/28 or something like that. Isn't that more in keeping with most drivers whose techniques can't match the hypermiling techniques of you ridiculously active enthusiasts?
As for me .... I really wanted a Mini Cooper S with the Works. But nobody else would fit in it with my 6'2" frame and there is no trunk space.
My conclusion - I got a great family sports car with 255HP, that gets decent mpgs for my commute, and has room for most luggage for longer trips. Albeit it is a plain brown bag kinds of sports car and because of the battery the seat doesn't fold down and there is no pass through for skis. So I got a Thule rack with ferring. With that on my car I look pretty rugged driving down the street! In a kind of middle class sort of way.
Perhaps when my engine breaks in more (at 4-5,000 miles) or my hypermiling techniques improves (when I am alone in the car) my mpgs will improve. In the meantime I am having fun.
In fact on yesterday's commute I beat out a SUVer with some road rage. They were upset with the pillow space I was allowing. After beeping several times (I couldn't tell where the beeps) were coming from, they tried to over take me and cut in front of me. Needless to say, V6 255HP won, and it's a HYBRID.
#8
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
How funny! Good story.
I'm sure a lot of HAH drivers will agree, at 1425 miles, you're still breaking-in. Maybe around 2K, you'll see an improvement. I'm not sure if I've ever seen 22 mpg, even when I was driving with a heavy foot. I know we have a guy in NY that drives through THAT mess and gets mpg in the teens. So, either way, even at 22 mpg you're getting better mileage than a comparable car. Maybe not as good as you would have gotten with the Mini, but better than another V6 family car at the same size.
I'm at 7.5K miles now, and I'm getting around 27-29 mpg on my mostly city commute. I've seen about a 2-3 mpg improvement from when the car was new. Like you've seen in other posts, I've seen the FCD go as high as 48 mpg on a stretch of highway once. I generally see about 35-39 mpg at 70 mph.
This past week, the HAH has been parked in the garage. It's been high 70s all week. Today, it's going to hit 80. I've been switching back and forth between driving my truck to work (need to keep the fluids running and want to burn through the old fuel in the tank and refill it with fresh stuff), and riding my motorcycle. With the decreased mileage of the truck and the increased mileage of the bike, I'm probably burning about the same amount of fuel as if I was driving the HAH!
I'm sure a lot of HAH drivers will agree, at 1425 miles, you're still breaking-in. Maybe around 2K, you'll see an improvement. I'm not sure if I've ever seen 22 mpg, even when I was driving with a heavy foot. I know we have a guy in NY that drives through THAT mess and gets mpg in the teens. So, either way, even at 22 mpg you're getting better mileage than a comparable car. Maybe not as good as you would have gotten with the Mini, but better than another V6 family car at the same size.
I'm at 7.5K miles now, and I'm getting around 27-29 mpg on my mostly city commute. I've seen about a 2-3 mpg improvement from when the car was new. Like you've seen in other posts, I've seen the FCD go as high as 48 mpg on a stretch of highway once. I generally see about 35-39 mpg at 70 mph.
This past week, the HAH has been parked in the garage. It's been high 70s all week. Today, it's going to hit 80. I've been switching back and forth between driving my truck to work (need to keep the fluids running and want to burn through the old fuel in the tank and refill it with fresh stuff), and riding my motorcycle. With the decreased mileage of the truck and the increased mileage of the bike, I'm probably burning about the same amount of fuel as if I was driving the HAH!
#9
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
Originally Posted by UWbrad
I have a 05 HAH that we bought in Oct. Since then, we've only averaged between 24-25 MPG in combo hwy/city driving. This seems awfully low. We've been very careful driving, but we still haven't seen any improvement. We took the vehicle in to the dealer, but they didn't find anything wrong with it. Has anyone else had similar issues?
Read this Link Below:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...&highlight=HAH
Before I forget, Welcome to GreenHybrid the friendly Forum.
HTH;
Terry
#10
Re: Problems with 2005 HAH MPG???
I'm really really starting to believe that the ability to reach and maintain 5th gear is absolutely CRITICAL. This car will only give you decent #s with lots and lots of steady hwy miles to cancel the efeect of lower speed 6-cylinder operation, unfortunately.
I wish I could think of a good way to get >30mpg when most of the drive is under 40mph/4th gear, with more than 1 or 2 stops/restarts on the route.
When I am in weekend-errand mode, I also get mid-hi 20s. Nature of the best.
The only reason I (and many of the hypermilers) can post the tanks that we do is because we are fortunate enough to be able to drive long enough distances at off-peak hours, giving us the ability to choose our speed, coast when we want, etc.
I wish I could think of a good way to get >30mpg when most of the drive is under 40mph/4th gear, with more than 1 or 2 stops/restarts on the route.
When I am in weekend-errand mode, I also get mid-hi 20s. Nature of the best.
The only reason I (and many of the hypermilers) can post the tanks that we do is because we are fortunate enough to be able to drive long enough distances at off-peak hours, giving us the ability to choose our speed, coast when we want, etc.