Hi People,

I just bought a 2003 honda civc hybrid, and it has 75,000 miles driven. I know its a lot of miles. and i am getting 35-37 mpg for the last month.

I usually drive 90% in the city (from school and back ) and 10% on the freeway. I dont use the A/C a lot , and i try to cruise as often as i can.

Does any have the same issue with the 2003 civic.?

Are their ways we can maxamize the mpg? I have seen people on this forum get 60mpg!! (thats like double of what i am getting.. )

Your input will be highly appreciated.

SuhailDesigns..

 

This may help:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/learn/ar...fficiency.html

 

Thanks Jason.

I'd like to add that city driving can vary alot- from light to light at every intersection- to very long stretches of clear suburban roads.

If you are in the light to light situation and doing things like attempting to time them for when they turn green & clear, etc you're likely doing good already.

Perhaps another driver with more light to light heavy traffic experience can chime in?

 

I have a 03 HCH as well, but I only have 22,000 miles on it and I'm getting around 45mpg. My concern with the car was as it got older the mpg would go down. It looks like that is the case with your hch. I'd like to hear from some other hch owners with that much mileage on it. I guess there could be a number of things affecting your mpg, like your battery being almost worn out. Do you noticed that you are getting any assist when you accelerate? I get almost half of my bars in my assist column to turn on when I accelerate onto the highway. Your battery could be dying. The warranty lasts until 80k and you are about to hit that. Could this be it?

 

I don't think you should automatically assume that, just because the car has 75,000 miles that the mileage it gets will be bad. we all went through an adjustment period when we got our cars and found out you have to work at it a little to get the really high (50s & better) mileage.
I started out at 37 off the dealers lot and now I'm up to low 50s in mpg.
read the learn section and all that's offered here on the site. first thing I did was pump my bridgestones up from the 35psi they were delivered at to 44psi they're rated for. my mileage went up about 7mpg instantly. yeah, the ride is harder- but I don't find any problem with handling. my car corners better than my old explorer for sure!
if you have 2 trip guages (like the newer HCH) use one for tank mileage and the other for individual trip mileage. I learned the most about how to drive efficiently with watching my instant mpg & trip meter and trying different things.
drive above your average: if you're getting 40mpg, try to drive with your consumption guage at 60mpg as much as possible- it works.
slow down & relax- hard to do sometimes, but leave a little earlier if you can and your mileage will improve. I find you can do really well at 35-45mph. depends on what kind of city driving you're doing. real stop and go is going to be impossible to get high mileage at because all the starting up from a stop sucks down the gas.
be patient and try some new techniques.

 

This makes a huge difference. Also, if most of your driving is city-- as in pretty slow driving, on nice roads, as opposed to quicker driving on bumpy mountain roads, the "rougher ride" won't be a problem at all. I live in southern california, where the weather is good and the roads are in excellent condition. Keeping my tires pumped up makes a big difference, I actually prefer to feel the road a bit compared to to driving on 'mush' (stock tire pressure)

When I first started driving the car "normally" -- a bit too heavy on the throttle, and with under-inflated tires, I was averaging 39mpg, now that I boosted the pressure a bit, and started changing some of my driving habits, I've been getting around 53mpg.

The methods I use:

• Driving with Load -- over rolling hills, pick up speed going down, coast a bit over the crest of the hill, keep close to a steady throttle. The same is also true for steady climbs -- pick up speed when the gradient is flatter and use it to "coast" up the steeper portions.
• Feathering the throttle when cruising -- Ever since I've paid attention to the fuel consumption display, I've begun very slightly easing and pushing down more on the gas. Now I've gotten to the point where I can do this without hardly looking at the FCD, just from practice.
• Drive a bit slower -- instead of driving a steady 70, I average 65, but fluctate more based on driving with load.
• If you need AC, run it as hard as possible when going downhill -- you're trying to control speed anyway, so you can use gravity to run the compressor. When you get back to the flats, either: A) just run the fan and take advantage of the cooled-off coils untill the next downgrade or B) set the thermostat to a higher temperature, then back as low as it goes on the next downgrade.

I also have some hybrid-specific "mileage tricks":

• When anticipating a stop, gently tap on the brakes just enough so that the IMA shows full "charge" bars, but not so much that you engage the regular friction brakes beyond that. Save the harder braking for when you actually get close to the light/stopsign/whatever. This way you will maximize electric charge, and minimize wear and tear on the brakes. For going down long steady grades, I downshift (CVT, shifted to "S" rather than "D") to engine brake so my brakes don't over heat, but also tap the brakes just enough that I show all the "charge" bars. There's some pressure on the brakes, but nothing compared to riding them to try and control my speed.

• When going uphill, feather the gas so that you get the highest MPG you can on the display, while still engaging the electric assist. This can be very sensitive, so the fuel display helps a lot.