I have never seen such discusion as this for a car.... It is weird. All I can say is I have a manual base fit with 4300 miles that has done as poorly as 28 mpg but just recently I acheived 46.4 mpg on a 260 mile hwy drive. The final statement I have is that in the last three tanks of gas my mpg has increased. read my threads.... you can count on my information. I am a sceptic that would have been just as thankfull to acheive 40.1 miles per gallon. there is a guy on this site that has many miles on the fit and has states he has been getting 41 mpg. I read this while I was strugling with 33.5 The best I had on the hwy before 46.4 mpg was 38.5mpg
Do you think the wide range of mpg reports is alien? I own an rx7 convertable witch is 18 years old with 133000 miles. This car gets as low as 12 mpg but averages 18mpg. Just recntly I got 27 mpg on a road trip. thats unheard of for this car. My previous best was 25 mpg which is what the invoice window sticker says is possible. I dont understand it but you guys dont get too diapointed. It is kinda funny because I dont think a toyota would have these kind of veried reports of mpg.

 

The ECU is the engine control unit. It's the computer that controls spark, fuel injection, timing advance/retard, monitors the air intake, and your air/fuel ratio.

 

It isn't about "go away", it is about the idea that you were driving a civic and only getting 20mpg with that car, and now you have a Fit and only get 20mpg with that car. There have been many reply posts to your problem and others like it. They have been positive and address the specifics of the Fit. I have a long history driving Hondas and IMO the Fit is very unique in the way it responds to throttle input and driving it has been a learning experience for me. By adapting to the car I brought my mileage from the high 20's to the mid 30's. I, for one, tried to share that. So far it seems like the only solution you are interested in is some kind of "magic spell" where the car suddenly gets good mileage.

So, either your car has a serious problem and everyone is lying to you about it, or you could be doing something differently behind the wheel but refuse to consider it. I'm not saying one is more likely than another, just that this isn't rocket science.

I understand your frustration but what I don't get is how monopolizing thread after thread is going to help if you dismiss every piece of advice.

 

leoniine
No the scanguage does not show the air/fuel mixture ratio. I refer you to their website for just what it does display. http://www.scangauge.com/features/

roenyc
If you can't get a scanguage I would at least want to ride with them to see for myself how they come up with their mpg. And I would make them fill it up the same way both times (lowest lock position on the pump handle and when it stops that's it) and at the same pump facing the same direction so there would be no way for them to screw up the results. Write them down yourself and make sure theirs matches.

I hope you get it straightned out.

 

I['ll be glad to hook up with you but just how do you plan to "check out" my car? If you're a Honda mechanic/technician and have some specialized tools I'm up for it, but if it's just to look at the gas needle drop I think I'll pass.

I'll definately be talking to Honda this coming week; at the end of the month I'll be talking to AutoTrader and put this aggravation behind me.

 

Please tell me how you "adapated" to the Fit to bring up the gas mileage. I"ve read about poeple that beat on it and get great mileage as well as people who get lousy mileage if they just let it idle.

Personally, if I had been told that if I didn't drive it in such a manner that I could get 30+ miles to the gallon I would be sent to death row I'd have to tell people what flowers to send to my funeral. I've been driving since the early 60's and this is the *only* car that has not met or exceeded my expectations as far as fuel efficiency is concerned. I absolutely can not treat this thing more gently and attempt to obtain a decent gas mileage figure.

Myself and others who have this problem aren't just doing something wrong, as you suggest. There are more than enough claims of not just poor mileage, but mileage that is absolutely ridiculous for a car like this, in the low 20's. If you've been able to better that, good for you, but don't try to shut up those of us who have spent good money for something that doesn't work as advertised. Even suggesting that some of us are looking for a "magic spell" is insulting, and there's no call for statements like that.

So, what's your advice? I'm listening.

bob

 

Bob, you can go read my previous posts in this thread. I'm not getting drawn into your hostility.

 

BTW, I got 200 miles to half a tank, with the needle right in the middle. Since I drove down to Petco Park for a ballgame, I was stuck in traffic for the past 20 miles and the needle dropped a bit. That same 20 miles on the highway would have not moved the needle as much at all, from my expierience. Thank god I don't have to drop my car in an Autotrader.

 

I'm with you. I posted something earlier, but I deleted it. I'm not a Honda mechanic/technician. I don't get paid to help out, so if you need help from a "professional", you might as well log off www.fitfreak.net. I've been driving since the 90's and I can tell you Bob that you need to contact Honda North America ASAP. NOONE in this thread can do anything about it.

For those of you that are getting good gas mileage, GOOD FOR YOU! We obviously either drive like ****ing grandma's or have a perfect Fit. Either way, if I had the gas mileage you all are talking about, I wouldn't be on the forums, I'd be on the phone or sending out a professional hand written or emailed letter.

 

So sorry, I was under the impression that this was a *discussion* forum. I, like many others, was hoping that someone here was able to provide some useful information that we could use. If I just posted that "I love my Fit, it's awesome, I get great gas milage, etc." you would've clapped and agreed. If I had just said about the problems what I said with no substantiation, I would've then been asked what the problem could be. I've discussed with with Honda already, as I'd mentioned previously, and got no answer so other than discussion with the manufacturer (which others have done and had negative results) I've hope that someone with limited intelligence can provide an answer, not just a snide comment.

No, there's no answers from the people that are happy other than drive it like your granny, and ask Honda. As far as professional, I've *read* all the posts, including those from the employed Honda mechanics that will touch on other issues such as oil type and non-subjective issues that can easily be answered (either right or wrong) but they're quite silent when it comes to the gas mileage issues.

Yes, I'm quite happy for those of you that get what you do and are happy with it, but it's quite easy to say "go somewhere else, don't rain on our parade" if you're in that position. I wonder how you'd be reacting if you dropped close to $18K for an economy vehicle that isn't and were told to go away. By the way, I'm still having a problem with the statement about "people like us hijacking a thread"...unless I'm mistaken this thread is called "Gas Mileage".

Remember, whatever you may believe, this is a *discussion forum* and not a "let's praise Honda" forum. Based on the past few posts I've read you don't read carefully through mine and the other "losers" posts - you only read what you want to. Good luck with your Fits...I'm outa heah.

 

It appears I am in the "Lucky" group that is getting the expected gas milage, 33-38 MPG. There are lots of reasons the gas milage is poor, which range from how you drive, where you drive, and how you consistent you are in determining when you tank is truly full, etc....

If you are unhappy with your MPG, take it back to the dealer for a check up. It if is running rich, a tail pipe sniffer test will tell you. There are several things that the dealer can check.

If I was getting around 20 MPG, you can bet I would be at the dealer's door when the service department opens.

Take it back for adjustments, validate your method of measuring MPG, or sell it. These are your only real options.

I hope you all join us in the "Lucky" group of Happy Fit Owners.

 

My Fit's odometer topped 10K and after returning a disappointing 28 mpg over the last several fillups, I filled up the tank when it was nearly dry and found that I got over 31 mpg. My limited acquaintance with statistics in chemical ****yses tells me that the small gas tank may throw the calculations off quite a bit. I usually don't wait until the low fuel light comes on!

 

How are you calculating your gas mileage?

 

I'm keeping track from tank to tank on the trip meter (A). When I fill up the tank, I divide the trip meter miles by the number of gallons at the pump. As soon as I note the numbers on my receipt, I zero out the trip meter before driving off. When I got the 31+ mpg, I had put in over 8.8 gals. with 275.6 miles on the trip meter. That gave me 31.3 mpg.

 

First fill up today on my new Fit Sport and I got 31.3mpg...Not bad Id say...

 

just wondering, where are you?
I'm with those, that think our mileage reflects the type of gas we buy, formulated for that part of USA we are in and buy our gas.
I'm in so cal, and our summer formula, with ethenol, and who knows what else they put in or take out, may be the reason for our poor mpg figures.
not to mention, the canyons and hills. I cant imagine driving 80mph on flat ground going straight?

oops, just looked, virginia. somehow I think that matters.

 

For those of you getting poor mpg I just came accross something that may be of interest. Here is the pertinent portion of the discussion I found.

"Hey guys, was wondering if you all could help me out here. Not too familiar w/ honda, will the O2 sensor on a 92 civic 1.5 liter (D15B7 engine) cause less than average gas mileage? checked mine for proper voltage (service mnl test) and it was bad (02 sensor heater was ok) BUT car is reading a code 43 which is related to EITHER the 02 sensor OR the fuel supply system. car does not sputter or anything so I am assuming the fuel pump is OK. I have replaced the main relay, checked the IAC (idle air control valve) and adjusted to as low as I can get it but the idle is still at about 1100 rpm when VECI under hood says it should be 670 +- 50 the car is a stick shift. NEway would the 02 sensor cause this or would it be something like the fuel pressure regulator?"

"yes, the o2 sensor tells the ecm how much oxygen content there is in the air flow. the ecm reads this information then determines the optimum air/fuel ratio, so a bad o2 sensor would cause you to either run lean or rich. for your idle being too high, your car is probably stuck in open loop mode. this mode is the programmed default value for fuel delivery. when you first start up a cold engine, the car operates in open loop mode (which is usually a fuel rich mixture) this is why cold engines idle at such high rpm (usually around 1500rpm). with a bad o2 sensor, your car is not reaching closed loop mode (mode where the amount of fuel is dependant on the reading of the o2 sensor). the o2 sensor only operates once it reaches a certain temperature. once this temp. is reached the ecm switches to closed loop mode. now if your o2 is broken then you'd never reach this temp., causing your car to be stuck in open mode.
so yes, an o2 sensor would likely be your problem."

I don't know if this will be helpful to anyone with a FIT but thought it may warrant some thought considering the MPG issues some are having.

 

Mine droped too right after doing the ILP so you're not alone there. It will come back up. I think of it like having a dead battery in the newer cars some times it will run poorly after replacing or recharging it, the vehicle seems to forget how to run so it has to relearn what to do.

 

I drove almost 700 miles round trip this weekend through the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. I topped off the tank before I left, filled up close to my destination and refilled when I returned. To smooth out inconsistencies due to the gas pump at my destination, I also calculated the weighted average for the entire trip at 41.774 MPG. Pretty darn good.

• This entire trip was 90% highway with the rest 2-lane country roads.

• A/C use: 50% - switched off during steep inclines

• Highway speeds: varied by area 65-70 MPH. Using Scangauge I kept rpms just under VTEC level.

• Non-highway speeds: usually 35-50 MPH

• Other: ~4,000 ft change in elevation each way with some LONG climbs near Asheville. I got stuck in 2 traffic jams. On the first leg of the trip I encountered 1/2 hour of stop-n-go traffic due to road construction in Knoxville. On the return trip I had ~20 minutes of stop-n-go traffic due to an accident near Asheville.

Observations: On a long trip, I find that the Fit is VERY comfortable. The engine just purrs the whole time without a complaint. Wind noise is so much less than my Altima was. I only had to downshift once the entire trip to 4th gear to make the steep 6% grade into Asheville. While maintaining the speed limit or only 10 MPH over, I passed most other vehicles in the twisty mountain passes. I noticed that the only vehicles taking these parts at top speed were sports cars, motorcycles, and . . . . my Honda Fit! I've driven that route in many other vehicles (Honda Civic, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Altima) and the Fit felt the most stable and secure on the road. It seems like it's on rails and won't slip out of control no matter what you do. It's one of the little pluses about it that I didn't realize until this trip. It's really fun. Give your Fit a try in the mountains!

One other thing - my Oil Life warning came on. Down to 15% and then down to 10% on the way home. I'll have to change it soon.

 

I read Roenyc's post. I live in Phoenix, and have to drive surface street to and from work, in heavy traffic that drives me nuts. So, I understand your frustration that you get low mileage. In that situation, I think it's kind of unavoidable. If you get a chance, maybe you can take your car out of the city and take a long drive. I do that with my little truck and it seems to help "blow out the carbon" out of the motor. I always have the A/C on cuz it's so hot, so that doesn't help mileage either. Anyhoo, just wanted to let you know that we're in the same boat.