I live in sunny southern California. The temerpature has been in the 40s to the mid-70s. Mostly City driving to work and then to check on my grandpa, then back home.
Your car being new is a definite factor. My wife and I probably averaged in the mid 30s when we first got our car. There is also a period during which you must learn how to drive the car. Do some forum searches on driving tips and hypermiling. You'll soon be swamped with tips on how to get better mileage. Employ as many as you wish, and you'll soon be seeing a difference in your mpg. Good luck!
I got my 2006 HCH in Mar 06, in the beginning my wife only drives in the city and the MPG is in the low 30s. Now 17K miles later, with the car pool stickers driving city/freeway the best MPG is about 38. We're not 100% happy with the MPG but more than 110% happy with the car pool sticker!!! If California do not have this HOV stickers program for Hybrid, I would never buy hybrid just for gas milesage.
Also, what speeds do you drive. If you are on the highway going 70 or 80mph your mileage will definitely suffer. 31 is very low. Sounds like you might be in the city going from stop light to stop light. If that is the case then do slower accelerations and start decelerating sooner or time the lights so they turn green by the time you get there.
Thanks all. There are a lot of signals and a few stop signs. Hence, I do a lot of acceleration. I haven't got used to the reduced power of the civic. After my corolla went ka-put, I borrowed my parents BMW which had power, but sucked all the cash from my pockets because of the fuel costs. So, I still have sort-of a lead foot.
Part of the new-hybrid owning experience is the exposure of one's poor driving habits. :-) Happened to me too. Most folks drive in a very inefficient manner - fast starts, quick stops, high speeds. Trick is that in a regular car most folks don't check MPG. Someone gets a hybrid, not only to they check MPG the car provides feedback. However, if you monitered the BMW, you'd probably be getting 20% below EPA as well under the same conditions.
So first stop is to do as suggested - take it easier when accelerating, coast longer when stopping. The regen braking will do a lot of stopping for you if you let it.
Also, I've felt all along new tires take about 1K miles to break in. When I replaced mine, I paid attention and they were VERY sticky for the first 1K, then things got better. All told I didn't start getting EPA until between 2-3K miles.
One thing bothers me here, though. You said you were getting better mileage from your corolla. Is that really true, or were you venting? If you truly were getting better than 31 mpg from your corolla, then it sounds like you don't drive aggressively. And, yes, 31 mpg is very low for an HCHII, as you can see from the Compare section of GreenHybrid.
As others have said here, try some hypermiling techniques. Watch the instantaneous mpg meter and see what it's telling you. If it's almost always below 50 mpg, obviously you're not going to get 50 mpg!
If none of the techniques raises your mileage, then there are two other things you can try. One would be to try to find someone in your area that has a hybrid that gets good mileage. Take them out for a drive and see what they think. There are hybrid gatherings that take place - watch for them in the Events and Gatherings forum at GH. The other thing would be to take it to the dealer and have them look for something obviously wrong, but they will likely tell you to let the car break in first.
And, of course, make sure that your climate control says "A/C off". If you're not sure how to do this, push the AUTO button, then the A/C button. You can still use the temp control to set the temperature where you want it.
Keep us posted. And read the Wiki section of GH under Civic Hybrid and others. Just remember that what works for a Prius may not necessarily work for a HCHII. Sort out what advice is car specific and what is general info.
New does mean wonky- especially if you have a lead foot. Most lead-footers seem to have a bit of trouble breaking in their battery. And it isn't the kind of thing that wears off right away- though since you've already put 650 miles on it, I tend to think your driving habits must have quite a bit to do with it. Though Bill is right- if you were doing better on the corolla, then maybe you aren't an agressive driver. So here's a list of don'ts:
If you idle a lot, if you keep your foot on the gas all the way up to a red light and then stomp on the brake at the last second, if you never let the car coast, if you constantly run the battery down past the half-charge mark without any regen and if you drive at really high speeds or with all the windows open, you could really be killing your mileage.
Learn how to auto-stop. Driving habits that encourage the car to autostop (like using Econ mode, braking evenly to a stop and not inching forward after the car turns off, etc.) are also habits that improve FE. Make the technology work for you.
Please report back to us on how you do- we're interested.
What the Heck!
The fan is off.
