Hello All,

I know this is a tired topic, just bare with me. And yes, I know this rambles a bit but I have had a glass of wine so I don't really care.

New to the Honda Accord Hybrid. I bought my '05 HAH this past weekend on ebay. Yes, I know it is 2006 but the price was just too good. I drove it down from Jersey to NC just in time to miss the storm. I got some good feedback on the fuel economy during the trip. I had planned out the trip with the intent to drive the first (snowy) half at the posted speed and the second half at my favorite 7 miles per hour over.

The good news was that at 65 more or less, the computer said the HAH got 34.6 mpg. Unfortunately at ~72 the mileage dropped to 31.1. I stated "the computer said" for a reason. I checked the computer calcs vs. the old fashioned way of calculating mpg and found the computer thus far UNDERestimating the milage. This could be for multiple reasons, the car is under estimating the miles driven (need to check computer vs. road miles) or perhaps I didn't fully top off (hey, I tried to be consistent). Whatever, the latter will work itself out over time and the former I can check tomorrow. Either way I am pleased as the car is fun to drive. The 34.6 mpg can be my ace in the hole for when the price of petrol rises (take that W). Meanwhile I have 255 ponies under the hood.

Anyone with experience showing a decrease in milage over time (age)? Most of my 35 commute miles are lightly congested hiway miles so I feel blessed. More good news - after a bit of show-boating with he wife and kids this weekend (hey, the ponies need exercise), the milage is back up to 26mpg. Thoughts?

David

Yeah David;

Have another Glass of Wine:

Terry

Gee, Terry, that was really helpful. Hey, try this on. Vandy sucks, Gators rule. And if you like UT, hey, they suck too.

Okay now, let's talk mpg shall we!

David

lol or have something better but question. Can you accelerate on 3 cylinders instead of 6? What mpg would you achieve if you only restricted yourself to that configuration.

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.

HI -

Is it new, or used? Mileage will increase after 1500 miles, and steady out after 3500 or so, in addition to you re-learning how to drive and getting to know the car's personality. What's your tire pressure? You can run at 40lbs and still be pretty comfortable.

I have found that the dash display will understate MPG if there have been a lot of stop/go or large speed changes, but will generally be pretty close (+/- 0.3, about 1%) on tanks that have been mostly constant highway. Better to be pessimistic, then pleasantly surprised at the pump. It looks like you already understand the concept that each fillup is not to the same level, but that it will average out over time.

Yes it is possible to accelerate on 3, but not from a stop, and it takes a very very very very very long time to get to speed. For instance- in eco mode, it can take ~10 secs on level road to go from 40mph(4th) to 43mph(5th). The gearshift complicates things there, but you get the idea. I've found it better overall to accelerate without regard to eco, keep it under 2000rpm, and let off the gas as soon as you approach the speed you want to hasten the onset of eco mode (~>30 instantaneous mpg). And get into 5th at all costs- pop over 42, and it will hold down to 35 or so.

David,

Congrats on the HAH! Actually I have read that the '05 gets better EPA fuel economy than the '06.

Like gonavy said...your FE will improve...you're still in the "break-in" period.

Retired: 2/11/06

The 06 is rated with lower mpg...higher curb weight bumped it to a new category, changing the test setup (dyno resistance).

The 06 is also PZEV- the HCH took a 1mpg hit between the PZEV and non-PZEV version.

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/2...site.5733.html

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/h...erns.5669.html

Real-world change will probably be almost nil.

Thanks for the replies. I have learned at least two things. One is the break in period. I really wasn't aware of this but it makes sense, the car needs to learn about me. I noticed some subtle differences today in how the car reacted to certain situations. The IMA kicked in more and at times I didn't really expect it to. I managed to get the batteries up to 5 bars today somehow so perhaps that had something to do with it. Part of the learning process.

The second was about tire pressure. I knew this already but for some reason neglected to check the tire pressure after taking possession of the car. I am going to check the pressure tonight on the way home. Thanks for the prod.

Everyone at work is impressed, not that it matters much. I like my car and I hope the honeymoon never ends.

IMA gets used more with higher battery charge state. 3-4 bars is normal; 5-6 after long or lots of coasting and braking. IMA and autostop will be cutoff when it gets below 2, until it regererates some. Many of us tend to more or less ignore IMA and concentrate on keeping the eco light on- that is the key to good mileage in this vehicle. We are unique in that we have the only hybrid with a traditional automatic tranny.

Some targets-
right now you should be able to crack over 40mpg on flat terrain at 60-65mph after about 30 miles of driving. By the time the car is broken in and summer is here 43 can become routine. 45 is about the best the engine will do without using some tricks like lots of close drafting and rolling with the engine off and whatnot.

If you're running errands or in town, don't get upset with mid-20s. Hitting 30 can be a frustrating challenge there. The car is effectively a plain old V6 while starting and crawling through a parking lot.

When you get some time take an hour and read through the old threads here and in the HCH forum, as well as the generic tutorials. Lots of tricks and observations in there.

Actually, the break in period refers to the car "loosening up" after manufacturing. All the bolts and other mechanical parts are all very tight from the factory. The seals are new. It needs a few thousand miles to really get comfortable. You will probably notice some changes after 500 miles and then again after 2,000 or 3,000 miles.

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