Hey thanks
I never thought of filling up only half way.
Of course then I could only fill up 1/4 if the way.
But then I could only get a gallon at a time.
But then. . . . .

 

Hehe... that is too obsessive even for a guy like me (who does N-coasts on gradual declines, and FAS in large parking lots...) Filling the tank half way vs all the way is such a small difference, it could be more than negated by having someone else ride in the car with me. I like the convenience of only needing to stop for gas once every 650-700 miles, especially on long trips.

Another suggestion that might help if you don't feel like going at a slower average speed woudl be to try driving with load a few times. You can save several MPG by directly controlling the pedal rather than using the cruise control most of the time, especially if you have hills. I woudl suggest driving with the pedal as if it were an egg shell, using the lightest touch on the pedal necessary to hold your speed. Going uphill, don't be afraid to drift from 75 down to 70mph (or even lower on a longer hill) If you pick your speed back up on the way down the other side, you will use a lot less gas at the same average speed than you would trying to keep the speed pegged at exactly 75.

Another suggestion would be to bump up the tire pressure. I believe honda recommends 30, while the tire sidewalls are rated at 51psi. I prefer 45psi for a balance of better fuel economy, and worse road noise (that will be your main tradeoff).

However, that mileage still sounds pretty rough. Even when I was runnig fairly underinflated tires, driving 75-80, driving about 11 mile commute with a couple mile long hill to deal with, I was still getting 39mpg. These days, by driving a bit slower and changing technique (and adding a few miles to my trip length) I average about 53mpg.

 

Hi Josh,

First, don't go shopping for a Prius just yet. I think what may help you greatly is a controlled experiment to determine if the issue is really driving style, driving conditions or the car. Here is what I'd recommend:

First, double check to make sure your car is set up right: tires at proper pressure (or run them high - I run at 42 psi), oil is fresh and 0-20W. What I'd do is get the car warmed up, go top off a new tank (with the correct gas - right octaine and nothing with corn in it ), find a stretch of flat highway where you have 10-20 uninterrupted miles (I know that will be tough in Lincoln I used to live in Omaha BTW...). Go the speed limit (better yet, try 50-55 MPH). You may be able to do this easy enough on a side road. I know winter is brutal there, so you do have to consider road conditions. If you can manage a clear day and clear roads with very little wind (particularly no headwind), that's best.

Now this is based on my experience in my 03, but on a flat, clear road going 50 MPH you should at least get into the low 40's even if it's cold outside. Drive at least 15-20 miles - feather the gas petal so your FCD reads out between the 60 and 80 MPG mark (don't hold the gas down farther than absolutely necessary to maintain speed). For comparison, in my 03 this morning (after filling the tank), I managed a 23 mile trip with some uphill and downhill, about 35 degrees out, and arrived at work with 61 on the display.

If under these conditions you're still in the low 30's, I'd take it into the dealer for a check up. Could be your batteries are not working like they should - Honda can run the necessary diagnostics. You may hear from folks up around Chicago or similar cold conditions that may be able to help to.

 

Josh, I have a couple comments regarding your predicament:

1. Regarding your short commute: You're doomed. Really. And especially if you must run A/C in summer. And because of the extremely cold winters. Sorry to be gloomy, but that's just the situation. You can mitigate it somewhat by finding a different (probably longer) route that has fewer lights, but then you'd be using more gas, so that means that you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

2. If you travel at 75mph, you will get around 40mpg. If you can stifle the urge, and go only 65mph, you will get nearly 50mpg. That's just what the HCH seems to get, based on empirical data from here and elsewhere.

3. Okay, here is some good news: if you did indeed get a non-hybrid Civic, you can be assured that you would be getting 20-25% worse mileage than you are getting with the hybrid. The EPA numbers are fantasies for hybrid and non-hybrid alike, and all cars would suffer in your current situation. So be pleased that you are indeed getting better mileage than you might have with a different non-hybrid car.

And one last thing, about the Prius: if you read this or other forums, you will see a significant number of complaints about the real-world mileage of that car also. Both Prius and HCH suffer in sub-optimal conditions such as yours. It is *possible* that certain characteristics of one car may favor it in your situation, but you should get some hard evidence before booting out one hybrid for the other. E.g., as suggested, rent one and see what you get.

Lastly, good luck. Even though you are disappointed in your current mileage, you *are* doing a good thing by having a hybrid, and by getting better mileage than with a non-hybrid.

 

Are you getting the mpg off the display or hand calculating it. If you are getting it off the display make sure you reset it every tank . If you never reset it your milage display will never change because its averaging your mileage from day one.

One person complained that they tried all the techniques but never improved their milage and it turned out it was because they were going by the mileage on the trip odometer that was never reset.

 

I do reset it every tank. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm not giving up on it just yet. Tim, I'll try your suggestion and take it out in a very controlled environment. The 100 mile commute was a rare occurence and not something that happens every day (or at all, any more). I was just throwing that in there for comparison.

This, I think, is a problem, as the guage never gets up to 60 MPG mark unless I'm coasting or stopping. When I drove it in to work tonight I couldn't get it to read over 40 while I was stepping on the gas. I guess this, more than anything, is what makes me thing something is wrong with it. However, I will give it some serious tests this weekend to see if I can get any better.

For the record, I've tried most all the driving style recommendations already. Accelerating slowly, using as little gas as possible, and using the FCD to control my speed/gas. It doesn't seem to help .

Josh

 

Hi Josh; I have read all the Post concerning your FE situation and really cannot offer any more (Help) than has already been Posted.

However I can give you (Very-Factual) information on FE in a Non-Hybrid 2005 Honda Civic Special Edition Sedan with Auto Trans. So this is the flip side of what you have.

I am looking at my FE slips over the past 6,600 Miles and I drive very much like yourself only my commute to work is a little longer. I think from my house to the office is like 8-10 miles one way. The following is a list of what it has gotten for FE in this situation, small trip to work; lunch; work; home; weekends same area for errands. This is just a sample of them but i think you will get the idea. See-Below:

28.48; 24.94; 26.43; 28.57; 26.55; 27.82; 28.98; 28.86; 27.69; 28.64 MPG

These Figures are as explained above:

I hope this helps you some with the question you had about a 2005 Non-Hybrid Civic With Auto-Trans. purchased new and driven by me only.

BTW; I just traded this in on the New 2006 HCH ll so I am not satisfied with these figures that I am sharing with you and I think the new HCH ll will be alot better than what I have been getting with the Non-Hybrid Civic.

As you can see from these figures here you are better off with your 05 HCH (IMO).

HTH;

Terry

 

leave 10 minutes earlier and set CC to 60 MPH. I bet you'll get mid 40' s easily

 

Terry, your results look like they are 85-95% of the EPA city figure, which means you're still doing OK given the conditions. Like you said, they're not optimal conditions, but if you can get 85% of the EPA city in the '06 hybrid, that should put you around 41-42mpg or so, which is a nice improvement over 25-29, plus the HCH is a MUCH nicer car than the Civic VP.

 

I always say when a (Man) is right and on Target there is not but one more thing to say (AMEN)

Terry