I don't think synthetic will help in this case. He's not fully warming it up so the moisture condensed from the products of combustion doesn't get cooked out of the oil. I think this is what Honda is basing their logic on.

Synthetic would still need to be changed as frequently to get rid of the contaminants. I don't think he'd get any benefit from it.

I'd be curious what the oil analysis looks like from this car before you get it changed. Almost enough to pay for it if you want to go to the trouble of sending a sample. $25 bucks. mmmm maybe not that curious.

 

i was getting gas mileages like that, and then i inflated my tires and got back up to 36-40 mpg.

it was so weird how my tires were so flat... because they looked normal... but the gas mileages sucked...

 

so I'd say this looks like a +1 for the MM!

 

That's pretty crazy... makes me not feel as bad about my car... had it since June 21st, 2010.... and based on the fact I've been 40% for most of the 3k mile (ie, it hit 40% at 3k-something miles, now at 4k)... I'm thinking I'll have to do my oil change at about 5.5-6k (at this rate).

I do deliveries from tues-sun (closed on mondays)... and I'll have anywhere between 5 or 6 to 15 deliveries a day. I have to fill the tank every 4-6 days (6 if it's really slow).

I wonder, while it hurt mpg, did it help that I left the car on while I walked the delivery up to the door? It was hot until recently, so I kept the car on to keep the AC on.

I deliver in a suburban-ish area, Winnetka/Glencoe.

 

I'm not suprised at all, now that you told us your driving profile. I can be doing just fine, with my mpg readout at 35 or more. A day of short hops around town, it drops like a stone. LIKE A STONE. You should have considered a hybrid car in the first place. My advise, get yourself into a hybrid car asap- one that'll go as long as possible on electric before using fuel. The prius comes to mind, although there may be even better options now. But friend, you need a hybrid, not a Fit. Not with that driving profile, anyway.

Dan

 

Very good point. In fact, ANY non-hybrid you buy given your typical driving driving schedule would return poor mpg figures because all automotive engines use (a lot) more fuel during warm-up than they do once normal operating temps are reached.

But there could still be a problem with your particular car, however unlikely. To be certain, completely ignore your "mileage indicator" and try this:

1. Bring the car up to operating temp. A good 1/2-hour cruise should be more than enough to do this.

2. Without allowing time for engine to cool back down again, fill the tank right up to the top of the filler neck so that you can see the fuel pooled there after the bubbles stop. (I know, not recommended normally. But for the purpose of this exercise...)

3. Take the car for a nice, long one-to-two-hour highway cruise at a steady 60 to 70 mph. Just pick a speed in that range and stick to it as closely as possible.

4. Go back to the SAME service station and same pump and fill the tank back up to the top of the neck again. Record the volume of fuel pumped to do this, as well as the number of miles driven since the previous fill-up.

5. Now simply do the math by dividing distance traveled by gallons used.

Also, immediately after filling your tank, go for another 10-minute drive to use up some of that excess fuel in your filler neck so that rising ambient temps can't vent it out of your filler neck vent and onto the ground.

If your mpg calculated using this method shows somewhere in the mid-to-upper 30s at 60mph, or at least 30 at 70mph your fuel economy is normal regardless of what information the mileage indicator spews. If less than 30 mpg at 60 mph I'd take it to the dealer with your findings and calculations because something is definitely wrong.

 

I agree with Shockwave; a hybrid is where you should be. A Prius Style Hybrid or maybe even an electric vehicle like the LEAF. A Honda hybrid will do little to improve your economy.

We have 2 security cruisers that do stop & go around campus 365 days/year. We used to average 9-10mpg in a V8 & 10-11mpg in a V6. 4 years ago, we switched to an escape Hybrid and replaced that with a mariner Hybrid. Our economy jumped to about 18 or 19mpg which almost literally cut our fuel costs for that vehicle in half. (we do 30-35K/yr). our Average savings/year was over $3500 (at the current price - MUCH more when gas was $4/gal) which more than paid for the hybrid.

~SB

 

I think a hybrid is what the OP needs. I would suggest the Prius but I know that's pricey, but he really needs to consider other options. I don't think a Fit is going to do it.

I have almost 20k on my Fit but I mostly just drive thruways across NY and PA. I get great gas mileage too. When I take short trips (10-15 min trips in stop/go traffic) in town rarely, my mileage really suffers. Yours is probably much worse.

 

geez, I never hit 15% at all..... I changed it when I had about 10k miles, it still said 20%.
I thought it was time and I'm glad I did it was very dirty, all highway miles. Owned it since June.

Agree with the Prius as the best choice for the OP, I have a HCH and it does very good (50+ mpg) on my highway travels, but when my wife drives around town she only manages about 40 w/air.

 

my only suggestion is...

A. learn how to drive
B. you got a fatty lemon of a car
C. all of the above.

 

Did some driving this weekend. Two trips.
246.9+ miles...
Pics were taken the last part of the trip.

Cruising 75 mph hwy most of the time.

30% City driving
70% Hwy driving

87 octane
Full synthetic oil
tire pressure 36 psi
15+K miles

This is how it's done...





Yep...that's 37.6 mpg. Pretty typical for hwy. I usually avg 31 mpg city.
I too do short trips during the week (work 5 miles from home in city with 5 stop signs/lights) I never see my mpg go below 27 mpg. Some thing is up with your car.

 

The OP does 12-15 visits a day for 4 days. When starting a car up, whether already warm or cold, there is some delay before the fuel mixture is fully ignited and this causes fuel dilution. It may only be a few miliseconds of delay, but it's enough to cause dilution.

OP does a lot of super short trips every visit and assuming the OP does an 8 hr. work day, the car does not run for very long to burn off the fuel dilution after each start up. We have to remember that in 8 hrs., the car is restarted 12-15 times.

The MM has considered the amount of start up he does and the kind of driving pattern he does. I think the car is doing its job.

I work in Washington DC, and I battle the Northern Virginia to DC traffic Monday to Friday day in day out and sometimes I get about 25 calculated mpg on a tank full of gas (what you could consider a bad day at work in gas mileage terms). IDK if having 3 people in the morning when heading to work in the morning impacts my mileage as I do car pool, but I can totally see why the OP got a 15mpg average on his read out.

I got around 8k miles before my MM hit 15% but that's because I do pure highway driving almost every weekend. OP has a very different driving pattern than waht is considered normal. IMO, this is one step above on the "severe" driving designation.

I second what others have stated. With the kind of work you do, a Hybrid is deff. something you need to consider.

 

If I ever get a hybrid or electric... it will be next year. I'm keeping the FIT nonetheless.

@SoloDolo: did you even read the entire thread before posting??? If you did... then I would love to hear some advanced driving techniques in overcoming my FIT's driving situations. I wish I could hypermile but with the given situation... it's just next to impossible.
I've been driving for some 20 years now and I don't think I need more advice in driving... but I'll hear your suggestion.

 

two more choices I forgot to mention

Bicycle
Rickshaw

Personally I think the 2nd would work better as I think yoo have stuff that you carry around with you

In all honesty, if you have a place to "plug in", I think the Nissan LEAF would be your best bet. It's the closest in overall design to the FIT, The cheapest solution and maybe a great business write off - you could market yourself as a 0-emissions service provider

~SB

 

if you're taken what i said so poorly, you would prefer me not to answer.

but in your situation just take it to the dealer and have them peep it out. cause i doubt the constant start up and stop and go could have caused your car to be at this point. you probably just have a lemon.

 

Taking all response in account... I went on to find the farthest Honda service/dealership for it's first service.

Taking it on the highway with not much traffic yields...




At final destination....

I forgot to take final mpg... took this pic below the next day..




So there you go... the Fit doing it's best on highway and a little city.

Am I sitting on a lemon? I don't think so.
Is it the way I drive? I don't think so.
Is it the driving situation? YES.

The FIT will do wonders and surpass sticker mpg when driven highway with a few city. Pure city driving will yield -/+ sticker. Pure city driving with my driving situation (please refer to my first post) is where the FIT really hurts.

My FIT mpg summary:
Pure highway: Excellent
Highway + City: Good
City: Fair
City + same driving situation as mine: FAIL (this is not the FIT's forte)

 

when i have to drive short trips (like under 10min or less) i drive in 3rd gear and keep the rev's high (4K+) on purpose to get the moisture out of the system including the exhaust system. it also helps to floor the car and push moisture out of the exhaust too. also helps the alternator to charge the battery efficiently.

so if you were doing that, then i suppose 15% at 2500miles is possible as the meter is measuring engine revs from wat i hear.

 

Late to the thread. 1600 mi. 30% MM. Like the OP, short trips. Never over 27 mpg on the MM. Bought 12/15/09 with 224 on the odometer. Maybe I should learn how to drive, OR repaint it lemon yellow, or both.

 

I too get pretty low mpg mostly because of my commute. It SUCKS! Its almost bumper to bumper, idleing, stop and go, shitty Long Island traffic for 30-45min each way. I avg 25mpg in this traffic, around town and home cruising without being in a rush its slightly higher 29mpg avg and on the highway, which honestly isnt much, basically 45min to JFK airport on a highway that is usually backed up, the best i did was 35. However on a longer trip to NJ i avg 38.5 mpg. and that was my best so far. But for city driving if you have a lead foot, annoying commuter traffic, and are stuck behind morons who never learned how to drive you will probably yield low 20's like me even if your drive is longer than 5-15min.

When i take my time i get much higher averages but honestly. Why take your time if this little beast can go faster?

 

Go syn or change oil often and no need to sweat it :-)