Hi all I'm new to the Hybrid world and am very excited. I shared this message with another car forum that's not specifically for green cars but then I discovered this site so I'm repeating my request here...

Okay read all the posts and a large majority of you fellow HAH owners are doing pretty well on mpg. I've been driving a week or so with about 500 miles since purchase -- mostly NYC driving but also a few 80-100 mile round trip highway trips. I'm getting 18 mpg most of the time. Highway is 21 mpg tops. My last fill up confirmed the dashboard mpg. reading (don't have the nav sys.) I averaged 19.5 mpg. My wife will testify that I ain't a lead foot.

Couple these bizarre numbers with the rumble/shudder I get when the gas engine engages seems to indicate something is really wrong. It also seems to me I'm very rarely using the electric engine and the ECO light does not come on or stay on as often as I expected. Unfortunately, these observations are in vacumm since I have no additional experience to compare.

This is my fifth Honda and I really want this car to work out. I 'm just unsure of what's going on. Can anyone enlighten me? Is their something I'm not getting? Is there something really wrong?

 

First check the air in your tires. Some people have reported low tires comeing from the factory. If you feel comfortable you can boost the preasure up to max sidewall presure. This will increase FE. I can't realy talk about the rumble/shudder because I haven't driven an accord. Also, what gear to you drive in? I believe there is a drive and overdrive and a few others (again not 100% sure because of my lack of experience.)

 

Hi HondaHonda:

___Pressure in your tires? How many minutes between starting her up and when you arrive at work/destination in NYC? NYC is where the Escape HEV or Prius are kings and I have a feeling this is where you are getting killed as IMA based hybrid’s and all non-hybrid’s alike are at an extreme disadvantage in that mess? ECO mode will probably never appear in that kind of traffic because you may not traveling fast enough for it to be evoked?

___The shudder on ICE start up is always there. It doesn’t go away but Honda did try to cover it up as much as possible just as all manufacturers do for any ICE start up (Hybrid or not). ECO mode is covered up with all an array of cute tricks and I am glad to hear you have not noticed that transition. It is there but is very well muted in the NVH area.

___Finally, I cannot think of any AH owners near NYC but take a look at locations of the AH owners listed in the RHMDB. If any are from NY state for example, maybe you could get together with any of them for a comparison and FE driving tips and tricks clinic?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

I wouldn't call in the shock trops yet. You're on like your 2nd tank. Ignore the 1st tank unless you reset the odometer when you bought it. 18-20mpg in Manhattan with a new car is not surprising to me. The car is a full-on V6 in those conditions. It will go up at least 10% when you hit 1200-1500 miles, and some more at 3000 or so. And your driving technique will improve, compounding the increase in mpg. You are in probably the harshest possible environment for any car, nevermind a hybrid that is optimized for the open highway.

80-100 miles on hwy around NYC is not what I call flat or easy driving conditions, unless you headed out to LI. Even that isn't pretty.

A few things to check:

tire pressure, as mentioned.

oil level.

Are you resetting the trip odometers? I use tripA to keep a tank total, resetting when I fill up. TripB is reset daily, or per segment that I drive (commute each way, etc)

Are you driving in D or D3? Its easy to miss and happens all the time. Both 4th and 5th are overdrives, so you will really get killed if you're in 3rd on the hwy. 21mpg hwy sounds right, for 3rd gear. Make sure you are in D and the dash light confirms it. Then check your rpms at, say, 65mph. They should be around 2000-2100. Any higher and you are not in 5th gear and not locked up. That is a problem, and the source of your mpg problem. Look at where the tach drops as you accelerate, and count gears.

How much of a shudder do you feel? There is a bump and maybe some rumble when the engine kicks on after an autostop, but it should not feel worse than an older car shifting gears when cold.

At lower speed, you might also feel the eco mode go on/off as cylinders come on and offline. But a lot of rumbling here may mean the VCM portion of the VTEC system is not working correctly- which means bad mpg, too.

The eco mode only comes on when you are at constant speed, on flat or downhill. That is a hard cndition to meet in NYC. Lighten up on the pedal or take you foot off, and eco should immediately come on.

IMA not coming on much is probably not a problem- the HAH engine is so powerful it rarely uses IMA, and often not for more than a few seconds. This is in comaprison to the HCH which depends on the electric motor a lot more. How many bars are lit on the battery indicator? 3-4 is normal. If there are 5 or 6 you should see a lot of IMA assist. If you are not a leadfoot you won't see it often at all.

And, lastly, if your drives are mostly short (under 10miles) and/or on a cold engine, almost nothing in the world will help your mpg this side of a Prius/FEH, as Xcel mentioned.

Hope this helps- the HAH is a very nice piece of machinery.

 

Hey thanks for the terrific replies. I will follow all your suggestions.

I should have clarified i live in surburbia and commute into Manhattan and do a third of the drive on local roads, 1/3 on the FDR which is a coasting 45-55 mph when I commute, and the final third in traffic. I've driven out to PA and also to Southern NJ - highway 90% of the way.

Let's see if we can make adjustments and get the next tank at better mpg.

 

So about 15-20 miles? With only 6 or so highway you've got your work cut out for you! Try to get into 5th by popping over 43mph, and hold it in 5th. 4th will kill mpg. You should be able to hold 5th all the way down to 36-37mph.

Coast coast coast- use neutral a lot, or keep it in gear for a 'light braking.'

Good luck! I'd love to hear about a NYC driver who gets >30mpg on multiple tanks.

 

Didn't check pressure yet. Will do tomorrow. But I just reset the trip mpg and did some local suburban driving to the drug store, supermarket, ATM, etc. It's a Sunday so no traffic but no highways either just local roads with the lights sometimes with me. MY trip mpg is 14.5 mpg. Oh boy...I have some work ahead me indeed. I have a call in to the dealer (who is the best I ever met anywhere) and will follow through with him tomorrow.

 

Did you verify that you are in 5th gear above 43mph?

 

Thanks GoNavy. Yes, it seems to me that I'm getting to 5th and staying there.

This morning I spoke to the dealer and he was astounded that I was averaging so low. They haven't had any reports or complaints of mpg that low. Like the posts here, all are reporting solid mpg in NY/NJ area. I haven't taken the car into service yet...the dealership is not close to home and they recommend putting in a few more miles...but they bumped my concern to the Service Manager. Let's see...thanks again.

 

How much were you getting in your non-hybrid car? Same commute.