I'll chime in here with what, at first, will seem contradictory advice. All normal FitFreak.net disclaimers apply to this advice and observations!!

The following are based on my observations using ScanGaugeII for over 10,000 miles now with my Fit Sport AT.

Rule #1. Use the highest gear possible. On the interstate, and I have my gear in S-mode, 5th, and encounter a grade, my instantaneous mileage will be reading in the low-mid 20's. Yes, the engine will be working hard. However, if I downshift to 4th (even though it WILL maintain the speed in 5th,) then the mileage will read below 20 mpg. When driving around town, I can watch the mileage jump as soon as I hit the next higher gear.

Rule #2. At a stop for more than a couple of seconds, and you have an automatic, move to neutral. Engine load in neutral run in the upper 20% in neutral with everything else off (lights, fan, A/C, etc.) With it in D or S, it will be in the mid to upper 30%. Being in gear causes additional load to be put on the engine. More load = more gas. If you have the opportunity, and you know that you just stopped at a light that is going to take a couple of minutes, turn the car off when possible.

Rule #3. Turn off everything that is not needed. This includes A/C, fan, rear window defroster, radio, fog lights (if equipped,) and any other accessories. Every time you add electrical load to the car, you increase the alternator output, which, in turn, increases the engine load. A/C is the biggest load hog in my observations. Naturally, you need to be safe and comfortable, but when you're running down the road and don't NEED it, turn the fan back from 3 to 1, or off if possible.

Rule #4. A light foot is not always the best. The engine has better efficiency at higher rpm's. Accelerate moderately to get to the speed that you need (freeway ramp, for example,) and then get into 5th gear. While it seems contradictory, getting to your speed, and getting into 5th saves more gas than slowly accelerating.

Rule #5. Coasting. When possible, coast in gear. Engine load will be around 20%. When coasting in gear will slow you down too much, coast in neutral, engine load in upper 20's%. This is helpful with driving around town as well as exiting.

Rule #6. Sport AT owners -
A) use S-mode, get it in 5th and leave it there.
B) using S-mode, start out in 2nd gear when possible.

Rule #7. Look at what is going on around you. Pay attention to traffic lights. If you are going to have to stop, get off the gas. If you know that you can make a light by speeding up slightly, do it. It will waste less gas than sitting through a light. Watch the cars in front of you that are about to make a turn, back off so that you don't have to slow down any more than necessary.

In summary, get to the speed that you need, using the highest gear possible, the fewest accessories possible, watch things around you, and try to maintain the steadiest speed possible.

While I'm still not sitting any records for gas mileage, using the above techniques, I've gone from getting around 28 mpg to where I'm now getting around 32-33 mpg on a consistent basis.

YMMV!!!

 

I don't think A/T shifting quickly is to blame. I get decent mileage -- not great, but above EPA -- and typically shift early, a habit I picked up in my previous car. I'll usually be in 5th by 35mph, unless I'm accelerating quickly or climbing a hill.


Wyy183's advice is good; I'll just add a few more.

#8. Check your tire pressure. Check the tires cold (before driving) with a digital or dial gauge. 'Stick' gauges are worthless, including the ones on service station pumps. Treat the pressures on the door sticker as a minimum; more pressure will improve mileage and handling (up to a point) by reducing sidewall flex, at the expense of comfort -- but hey, you didn't want a Versa, right? Obviously I don't recommend exceeding the maximum pressure on the tire sidewall. Half way between is probably a good place to start.

#9. Compare gas stations. I found that one, that I used to use because it was 1% to 2% cheaper, gave me 5% to 10% less mileage. Not worth it!

#10. Consider getting a Scangauge. Nobody else drives in exactly the same conditions as you. If you get wyy183's level of improvement, it'll pay for itself in an average driver's year. (If you decide it doesn't help, resale value is pretty good since so few are available used.)

 

Is there anything similar to the Scanguage that only reports the fuel consumption? I wouldn't begin to know what to do with all the other info it tracks.

 

In general I don't disagree with either of your inputs...my thing is that most drivers habits are going against the shifting patterns of the auto...I complete agree with getting to speed quickly, and when in cruise, going to 5th. But it seems that this AT will try hard to get to 5th, even though I'm not done w/ my accell run (based upon throttle position)...and then you push the pedal a bit harder, and it comes out of 5th, into 4th, and back. I don't think the extra shifting is necessary, and thus is why I use S mode. Again, I essentially pretend that I'm in a manual trans car, and don't put it into 'cruise 5th' until I'm ready to cruise (speed established). The peak torque supposedly comes in at about 4,800. I've found the sweet spot for moderate accell to be between 3,000-4,500 and I keep it here until I reach the desired speed. Gas pedel is usually between 1/4 and 1/2 down...can't really correllate this to throttle position anymore, but you get the idea.

I actually like the drive-by-wire, once you get used to it. It just takes time. As mentioned before, I've been getting consisten 33 mpg. (except for today, only made 28 mpg...the ice storm that recently passed through meant letting it idle for 20 mintues w/ defrost on high...even this couldn't melt that thick ice!!)

 

#11. If you live where it gets cold, use a block heater (or park somewhere heated) if possible.

And of course Rule #0: Don't buy anything that promises increased mileage without checking first.

 

I've been driving the car for nearly 6 months and travelled nearly 10,000 kms (havn't even changed the factory oil yet) and have only gotten sub 30mpg mileages twice, once was 22mpg (still don't know why this is) and the other 28mpg (lots of on off throttle and city driving)

the rest of my tanks have been in the 31-36mpg ranges with the highest being 38mpg, most if not all of these tanks consist of around 80% highway 20% city and I'm driving an auto, i see no reason why others are getting such abysmal mileage readings expecially since i'm in the dead of winter right now with terrible road conditions varying speeds even on freeways and winter formulated gas ... in fact on my last trip 200km i'm barely past the 3/4 tank mark (eyeballing gives 3/10 on the guage gone but this is not the most accurate of measurements as the guage moves at different rates at different points on the guage)

from my experience right now even giving a conservative estimate would give this tank a 36+mpg rating, this is incredible considering that after the trip i found the entire front end encrusted in ice in such a way which would have severely increased the aerodynamic drag ( i was cruising at 60mph for once in my life ... not really my choice though as road conditions did not allow for anything faster)

try changing your driving habits, quick accelerations from standstill aside, the fit is very sensitive to acceleration and varying speeds, keeping a constant speed and accelerating slowly is really important to conserving fuel in a car with a small engine like the fit (i usually float within +-2km of my cruise speed, and if i need to accelerate i do it like a snail ... that is unless im tryin to play where i just floor the damn thing)

on an interesting note, if you are cruising at say 140kph and you floor the thing and reach 180kph (i havnt dared gone faster) then return the throttle back to the position it was at while cruising at 140kph ... the speed plateaus at 160 and doesnt go down ... anyone know why this is ?? ive only tried this once but i'm thinking that its got something to do with the vtec switchover at 3500 rpm

 

Here are my suggestions for driving techniques to save fuel. Bear in mind that I have the UK CVT-7 gearbox and 1.3l "superduper award winning design engine" so it's anyone's guess how many of these will apply to Fits. Where I remember I'll point out if I think it might be 'Jazz specific'

'Jazz specific'
1.Keep the revs around 2000rpm.
This is based on my observation that the CVT system does exactly that. The revs only drop below 2000rpm when under very light load. Gentle acceleration (not snail-like, but definitely not rubber burning) between stationary and 40mph will cause the engine to sit at 2000rpm. Given the nature of CVT and assuming that Honda engineers aren't total idiots this is surely significant

2.Learn to use engine braking.
'Jazz specific bit'
The CVT definitely recognises engine braking and maintains a shorter gear while you're doing it. For those used to a manual (as I was) the engine braking is pretty much always equivalent to that from a typical 5th gear in 'D' mode and '3.5th' gear in 'S'.

I can drive through and around a town in rush hour without using my brakes most of the time.

'Generic'
It's just good, m'kay? Every time you use your brakes you are wasting petrol. Or put more accurately every time you use your brakes some of the fuel that you have previously burnt didn't need to be burnt.

3.Look ahead
This is just all round good advice but you'd be amazed how far you can take this concept.

I am continually studying not just vehicles in my vicinity but any vehicle I can see. I try to maintain an assessment of the mood of the traffic on the road. This coupled with knowledge of the road layout allows me to choose to cruise toward a known junction at a reduced speed. This reduces fuel consumption not just because I'm slower but also because it reduces the time spent in a queue at the junction.

'UK comment'
This is particularly useful when approaching a roundabout (rotary) since you have a great deal of control over when you enter it (the big advantage of roundabouts).

'Generic comment'
This does still apply to traffic lights and (I suppose) 4 way stops. For lights the idea is just to judge when they might change and arrange to arrive just as the last of the waiting traffic is moving through. For a four way stop arrange to arrive when no-one else is waiting.

4.Calm down
When considering overtaking or driving 'fast' ask yourself how much time you will really save. On a 20 minute drive home you have to burn a lot of fuel to save enough time to make it worthwhile. If you think that getting home 5 minutes earlier is important then perhaps you should also look at improving your personal time keeping. 5 minutes rarely makes any real difference.

The above advice also applies when approaching a known junction of course.

 

I've seen this from a lot of modern cars. I think it's the EMU choosing to enter a peppy mode because it's seen you trying to do that. Several cars I've owned seem able to recognise a more aggressive driving style and adapt to it.

I've seen a similar behaviour on my CVT. Normally at 60mph I'm doing 2100rpm. If I accelerate hard to overtake then drop back to 60mph I'll be doing 2400rpm. After a short while it will drop back to 2100. It's one of the few times when you become aware of the nature of the gearbox since it does it without any change in speed or accelerator position

 

Fit Base Auto Milano Red

I filled up a second time and got 37 mpg on the first eighth of a tank. All city driving.

I changed my driving habits according to other's recommendations, and got the mileage I was hoping for.

To put it simply:

Drive the speed limit. If it says 30 mph, then do 30 mph.

Decellerate long before you break, so that breaking is smooth and easy.

That's really about it. Nothing drastic.

 

I have to agree, although I have only had this car for a couple of weeks. Its very, very sensitive in the gas pedal. Seems to know exactly when to shift itself and, if I am not a motorhead, I do pretty well.

 

actionimpulse: you are right! but heck... just the other day I was turning right onto a busy thouroughfare at dusk... the light was red... and I almost got hit in the rear because I was following the law... sometimes you have to step on it a bit around here!!

 

the only way you can get a REAL idea of what kind of milage you can get is what they do on one of my favourite programs: Mythbusters
bypass the tank and use a one gallon setup directly into the engine and run the car until it stops... who has the time?!

 

I took my new Fit (600 miles on it) to Santa Fe, NM and was VERY happy with the mileage. I got 43.2 mpg (all on Interstate 20, US 287, and I40). I drove mostly with the cruise control on at 78mph, with the exception of the major cities and slight traffic in Dallas and Amarillo. One hour after I arrived in Santa Fe, the BIG snow storm of the year hit and buried my Fit in 3 feet of snow where it remained for 3 days before I could get it out. Once the driveway was cleared for the most part, the car started right up and had no problem driving around in the snow. As the week progressed, the snow remained for the most part and now we had ice as well. The temps were down around 6 degrees with a wind chill factor of -12. The car still started up and ran perfectly. I was surprised how well the car handled in the ice and snow but it was a true champ. On the trip back to Georgia, I hit the snow, ice, slush and anything you can think of going through Fort Worth and Dallas...it was a hellish drive, with trucks spraying sand, ice, slush all over the car for probably 50+ miles. That night the car was a frozen block of thick brown ice stuck to the entire car.....my rear wiper ran constantly as well as the front wipers. It was so cold the windshield would freeze over as the wipers passed over it. I turned the defrost to high and that eliminated that problem. I figured my paint for sure would be ruined after that night. I arrived home 2 days later with a car that in no way resembled a Honda Fit! My boyfriend got out the bucket, some Maguires wash n wax cleaner and in 2 hours, the car looked NEW again! Absolutely no damage to the paint! I have the sport model (black, AT) and the lower body molding on the passenger side was deeply scratched from the ice, but the rest of the car was perfect! What a test for a new car.....I can honestly say the Honda Fit is RELIABLE in every aspect....I feel absolutely safe taking that car anywhere now.......

 

Congratulations on a good outcome to what could have been a nightmare trip. Great story and well written! Now the fitfreaks who are disappointed in their gas mileage will feel even worse.
Dave

 

After getting into a fairly major accident with my Sport Auto Fit, I've been driving a Auto Corolla (2006) for the last month or so. I've been fairly unhappy with my mileage since the start, as I was getting 24-26 MPG consistently. Well, it looks like there's nothing really wrong with the Fit, as the Corolla is getting 23-24 MPG over the last month...

100% City, stop and go the entire way, 13 mile commute. Probably stop/go 20-30 times a trip. O well.

 

Hey, on my last tank, i got 389.9KM before the light went on. I drive about 40KM to adn from work to home, all rush hour traffic in downtown vancouver. I do drive aggressively when i need to but usually, i drive like a grandma. (altho my grandma has more speeding tickets then i do this year)

 

This is an important point often overlooked -- and safey and confidence in the car is a priority for me. I recall years back when a lady I worked with had a serious accident involving a trailer truck and a van on the Trans Canada highway, and she was convinced that here Chrysler "K" car was one of the reasons she survived. It suffered major damage, but the occupents (her and her husband), came out of it with only minor injuries. She said she would buy another Chrysler after, and feel confident.

Sounds like your trip was a bit hairy and was without incident -- those are the best kind! Drive smart, and drive safe -- right?!

Later,
Bill

 

I go about 80-85 highway and i get 35-36 mpg for the tank

 

HOLY CRAP!!! 80 PAGES!!!! WOW!!! I'm not sure how it works out in MPG, but i'm getting 400KM per tank. I drivemainly rush hour traffic in downtown vancouver.

 

Are you guys finding this consistently since you first purchased your car, and since breaking it in a little?

I'm just wondering cause my friend figured it out for me, and apparently i'm only getting 28 mpg, mostly city driving. Hoping that can improve as the Km's build up.