Guys I am stuck at mid forties with my HCH. I've been seeing people get in the mid 50's regularly here and am wondering how to improve.

Commute - mostly highway with some idling where two highways merge. About 12 miles

Lunch - Often loading 3-4 people in to go out to lunch. This is usually a few miles and A/C is usually on.

Some city driving.

Often travel to LA and those highway miles help raise it, but for the sake of this discussion let's assume I don't make those trips....

Tell your co-workers if they're driving with you to lunch, everyone's eating a salad w/o dressing! Reduce that vehicle weight!

BlueSkies, sounds to me like you are doing really well.

I'll check for sure later, but I guess that carrying four people will increase fuel consumption at least 10%. AC will knock add another 15 - 25% to your fuel bill. OTOH, you are taking two or three other cars off the road, so NET, figure you are getting 100 mpg, *easy* :-))

Your commute to work, unless it is in slowish traffic, is too short to not have the warm-up phase of the first 5 minutes or so make a big difference.

A/C is a kicker, but then you don't want you and your coworkers sweating like pigs and going back to the office.Kevin

2004 silverblue 5 sp.

I'm stuck at 45 mpg too. I don't ever have passengers, don't use the AC, and drive like a grandma. My trips are usually short (5-10 miles), and I live in TX so the temp is in the 80-90s. Anyone using additives or snake oils? I am missing the panel that covers the oil drain bolt and oil filter. Would that make that big of a difference?

BBB, There are numerous tips which might can help you. I would make sure you are using Synthetic oil, and that your tires are inflated above the pitiful 30/32 PSI that Honda recommends. I don't have a clue as to how much the bottom engine cover panel affects MPG, but I DO think Honda put it there as an aid to higher fuel efficiency. Good Luck. ( It took me 11,000 miles to go from 38.4 average mpg to 48.5 average mpg, so hang in there !! )

Jeff I don't know why your getting that low. I live near the coast and the roads are flatter but then I drive the beltway and the overpasses are like hills. I didn't notice that big of a difference when I switched to syn. oil. actually I would say no difference as I had many in the mid 50's and one tank at 58 before changing to syn. As in the post above check your tires!!. I drive at or below the speed limit most of the time. My drives are almost all hwy. so that is probably why I am getting the milage that I do. If I didn't use cruise control most of the time my milage would be higher.Kevin

2004 silverblue 5 sp.

inflate your tires to 40 psi

when you merge on the highway and idle, try to maximize the time you use auto-stop. brake enough so that auto-stop engages, and then back off the brake just enough that auto-stop remains engaged, but your car creeps forward. if the car ahead of you creeps forward a little bit after you've come to a complete stop, don't release brake pressure and follow him because you'll restart the engine again.

you can also choose to reboot your car after auto-stop by shifting to neutral, turning the key one click back, and controlling your speed with the brake and handbrake if necessary. then restart the engine once you have to go forward again.

if you're going under 35 mph on your lunch route, open the windows instead - i think the air drag at low speed uses less gas than straight a/c.

watch your speed on the highway - try to keep between 50-60 mph where mileage is best (compromised with practicality and traffic flow) don't use the cruise control, because it tends to over-assist when you could simply back off the speed on a slight incline and gain it back coming back down it, losing negligible time - maybe 1-2 minutes for a 12 mile trip.

it's taken me 10,000 miles until i finally got 46.x mpg consistently on average - started out around 40.x mpg. continually improving it with time, but hills make it tough to break 50, and i'm not comfortable with too much psi in my tires - ride's too harsh

That's some great info. Thanks. I'll try it out and see what happens. What oil do you guys recommend? Are you not using the oil that Honda sells for their hybrids?

I have had my HCH with CVT, a California AT-PZEV (which gets the worst MPG of all 4 of the HCHs) for 12 months.
My lifetime average is 58.7 MPG.
My worst tank was 52 MPG, my first.
My best tank was 62.4 MPG last summer.
My last tank was my first over 60 this year now that the weather is more dry and warm.

99% of the time I drive alone with no air conditioner.
I always use cruise control.
I don't worrry about lean burn or driving with the load and still get superb MPGs.
All that other stuff is too much hassle for me and I am happy with my MPG.

There are two reasons I don't like to drive with passengers.
They weigh something, lowers my MPG.
I drive a bit more like a normal driver, which lowers my MPG.
See if one of your friends can drive at lunch.
It will be worse for the planet, but better for your MPG.

I bought several cases of Mobile1 synthetic 0w20 before it went out of production.
If you look in an auto parts store in a poor neighborhood they may still have some.
That is where I found mine.
Not many hybrids in poor neighborhoods, perhaps.
I heard Penzoil has a hybrid oil, but I know nothing about it.

I do my own oil changes so it never overfills, which hurts MPG.
When I do a service interval at the dealer I give them *exactly* enough oil so they can't overfill.
Tires at 40 psi, checked every other week, and after visits to the dealer.
They set it back down to 32 psi.

I leave early so I never have to rush.

The panel under the engine is to give the air a smoother surface to flow over.
This lowers drag, increasing MPG.
Keep it on.
Replace it if damaged.

I read somewhere if you are going over 45 MPH close the windows and turn the AC on if it is hot.
Under 45 MPH open the windows and turn the AC off.
This is for the best MPG.
Also try wearing less and lighter clothes.


My commute is 17.2 miles on the freeway.
I think 12 miles is too short to drive much after the car is warmed up.
Move further from work.

YMMV