15%. They don't want you changing the factory oil early. The service department said that there's something in it that helps break the engine in and it should stay in until the maintenance minder light comes on.

Honda makes a good engine so they must know what they're doing.

I had my tires rotated at the same time. The bill would have been $43.?? but the first service for free was part of my purchase agreement since they had to trade to get my car and it had 495 miles on it when I got it.

If I get 6000 miles between oil each oil change I'll rotate the tire each time I change the oil.

I have 10,102 miles on it now and it's at 60%.

By the way nice find on the map light.

 

I was told if you change the oil before the break in period your warranty will be voided. So my sales person told me.
I changed my oil at 300miles. Im around 800 now and at 90% since I didnt reset anything.

Im now at half tank and just hit 180miles. Im sure I can keep going till it moves from the half mark. Ohh, BTW all my driving is city. 45-55mph.

 

I think you mean if you change it before you're supposed to, since the break in mileage is 10,000 miles and the oil isn't going to last that long anyway that statement doesn't make any sense.

Personally I think you should ask the service department instead of the sales person since that's their field of expertise not the sales departments. It's a moved subject anyway since they told you that and you changed it early anyway. Bet it didn't void your warranty either.

The discussion on the factory oil and when to have the first oil change, other oil, and filter options has already been covered in depth in another thread elsewhere in this forum so there's no point in starting it again in this one.

Honda makes their engines to last for more than 250,000 miles so other than considering another brand of synthetic blend oil, and another brand of filter if I find one that is better constructed I'll stick with their recommendations.

As for the 180 miles at 1/2 tank that's where I am right now too. This tank was purchased at a Pure station so it's not doing too good. I'm used to hitting 200 miles at 1/2 tank. I'll be back at Exxon to fill up the day after tomorrow.

City driving is widely variable. N.Y. City driving doesn't compare to Lincoln, Nebraska city driving any more than Chicago daytime rush hour does to Chicago night driving with little traffic.

I can drive the same city and get completely different mpg results all I have to do is change a few variables and/or my driving style.

The only fair comparison is driving the same road using the same fuel at the same speeds and under the same conditions with the same driving style i.e. 2 cars side by side traveling the same road together for the same distance at the same speed with the same fuel.

45-55mph seems to be a sweet spot for the Fit getting good mpg. The scanguage shows 45+mpg pretty consistant at those speeds as long as it's relatively flat.

 

2hot6ft2,

Thanks for your posting about 45-55mph being the sweet spot for mileage. I have a M/T too and have been curious about that. Is there a particular RPM range that you have noticed that seems to offer the best MPG?

Unfortunately, I live in the city and rarely would have a chance to go those speeds. It is either stop and go through town, or stop-80mph-stop on the highway.

 

You're welcome. I haven't been paying much attention to the rpm's. I'll try to pay more attention to them and get back to you. I usually only watch the rpm's when I'm accelerating and getting close to 6000 rpm's.

Since you have a M/T you may want to try a little hypermiling especially in stop & go city driving. When you take off from a light speed up then slip it into neutral and let it coast to the next light or traffic backup. The more distance you travel with the engine just idling the better your mpg will be.

I think I remeber it uses 1 gallon about every 5 hours of idling or 0.2 galons per hour at idle.

Hypermiling takes a little getting used to but you'll notice a difference. You have to use your head and plan ahead whenever possable. You don't have to let it coast to a complete stop and you can always put it back in gear to speed back up if you need to. It takes a little getting used to.

It can coast pretty good when out of gear. It's something you may or may not want to consider anyway.

My 2 cents.

 

Thanks for the info. I got a certificate for my first oil change to be free from my dealer also. They do it for all customers. They also wash your car with each oil change.

And yes, I was really happy with the map light find. Got notice today that it shipped. Unfortunately, UPS Ground from Idaho to Ohio will be forever and a day during the holidays.

 

You're welcome. I think all the Honda dealerships wash the cars whever they do any service. Might be a requirement for having a Honda dealership or something.

You'll probably get the light on Monday if not Friday. It should go on the truck to leave Ohio tomorrow and the (OTR) Over The Road trucks will most likely still be running thru the Holidays. The only delay will be your local UPS office since the route drivers will take the Holidays off.

I know how you feel my hood struts were shipped today as well, but by USPS from Las Vegas, NV. Nevada to Alabama is farther so don't feel too bad.

 

It's probably for the better that I don't receive it until Monday. The wife would probably shoot me if I were to spend time installing it instead of spending quality family time during the holiday weekend.

 

I've thought about trying it out just to see comfortable it is. I backpack so I want to see if it can be use as an alternate shelter. Also, if I ever get booted out, it might be better than the dog house.

 

One of the previous posts suggested shifting into neutral when coasting in order to increase MPG. Contrary to intuition, this isn't the optimal strategy.

On almost all modern fuel injected cars, including the Fit, the engine management system shuts off the fuel injectors completely when coasting in gear. If you coast in neutral, engine is idling and using some fuel. If you coast with a gear engaged, you use ZERO fuel - the engine is just being used as an air compressor - with spark but no fuel. "Coast" is defined as no depression of the gas pedal.

 

Two points to make here:

1. It depends on your situation. There are instances where leaving it in gear will slow you down too much with the engine braking. For example, if you have a long, very gradual downhill, you can drop it in neutral and maintain your speed, where if it is in gear, you will have to apply throttle to maintain speed. For me, if I'm approaching a stop (sign, light, etc.) I leave it in gear. If I'm approaching a highway exit, I'll put it in neutral so that I can begin my coasting farther away.

2. Check your local laws. In some states it is illegal to coast. Although I'm not sure how you would be caught, but just thought that I would point this out.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I often try to plan my stops and either coast or use engine braking, depending on the situation. Sometimes, because the Fit is so fun to drive, I don't drive as efficiently as I should! My mileage figures are not with me now, but I have been averaging around 33mpg, which is very good considering most of my driving is in the city.

A trip to Target is a good example of the type of driving conditions I often experience. A round trip is just under 3 miles, and I have to stop at least 48 times!

Joe
Silver Sport Manual Transmission

 

I'm glad there are people out there with patiences to plan the starts and stops. I'm always anticipating the light to change so I can get the bead on the guy next to me to beat him to the next light. The Fit is definitely a blast to drive which makes it even more irresistible to be conservative.

Steve

 

I'll bet it's pretty comfortable (provided you have a sleeping bag). My brother takes naps in his Scion xB when traveling and it's about the same size. He's 6'4" tall.

I think I'll just leave it at wyy183's post since he said it so well.

You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the explanation.

As far as coasting being illegal goes what they are really referring to is people turning the ignition off and coasting. Which is obviously extremely dangerous since you don't have power steering and brakes with the engine off. Not to mention the steering wheel locks.

PhillyJoe
I know what you mean I've been to Philly and you're not exaggerating too much for the round trip being close to 48 potential stops in 3 miles.
My trip to Wal-Mart would consist of 15 miles each way. Going there it's 2 stop signs & 1 light. Coming back it's 3 lights. I'm in the sticks.
No comparison there.

33 mpg in Philly city driving is pretty good but I think you can bump it a few if you really want to. It's hard to be ultraconservative when the car is sooo much fun.

 

87oct, mixed driving, 50% A/C on, all city, and 808miles on the clock.

32.8mpg. I filled up with 89oct, I doubt its going to make a difference but it wouldnt hurt to see.

 

First fillup after taking possesion with just 5 miles on the odometer. 60%highway/40%city. 35 mpg. Not bad I'd say.

 

stupid question but did you tighten your fuel caps past the 1st click? makes a huge difference...
my last tank was 22.9 mpg but i didn't tighten hard enough i guess. current mileage is 35.8 mpg, 40/60 highway/city, sport AT.

 

How does that affect gas mileage?

 

loose cap = escaping vapors i would think.

 

If your cap were loose enough to let vapors escape, you would get a CEL light as the fuel system is a closed system and monitored by the ECU.