Just bought a used 05 Accord Hybrid and I get around 35 -37 maybe more if I stick to 65mph or less. Mine has almost 90000 miles on it and am getting much better than any other car I had. Im just wondering when or it that battery will last more than that 100000 mile mark. I wish I could do something to add performance and squeeze out 15% more mileage, know of anything?

One other thing does your 05 drive really crappy in town? Im not talking about mileage but the way the transmission handles it is really weird.

 

From what others are saying, the hybrid components (to include the batteries) are the same no matter if the car was sold in California or anywhere else in the country. But, California has a 10yr/150K miles warranty, whereas the rest of the country has an 8yr/80K mile warranty. (someone might want to check my numbers, I'm just doing this from memory) So in that sense, if Honda put a 10yr/150K mile warranty on the hybrid parts, the vehicle SHOULD be able to last AT LEAST that long. I'm sure hoping so. I really do plan on putting at least 200K on my car. It would be nice if I never needed a battery replacement, but do understand that I might.

You want to increase performance and increase economy? Usually, they're inversely proportional. At least, in most cases. At 35-37 MPG, your fuel economy is pretty good as it is now. However, you've already answered part of your own question. Slowing down will net you more MPG. Since you're sticking to 65 MPH, you're pretty much maxing the MPG you'll get, speedwise. The next step would be to be smoother on the accelerations and anticipate braking. You don't have to be abnormally slow when accelerating up to speed, but rather just make smooth and slow throttle advancements up to your desired speed. And for anticipating stops, if you see a slowdown up ahead or a stoplight, start slowing down early in hopes that the slowdown will speed back up or the stoplight will turn green so you don't have to come to a complete stop. That'll help you with a few more MPGs.

There are other tips in these threads. Just start reading and try what you want and develop your own style. You'll find things that'll work for you and get you what you want.

 

Does yours drive sort of really strange like the transmission doesnt change gears smoothly? Mine does and I was used to a US made car which the only thing bad about it was the gas mileage. Sometimes I regret the trade but then I look at my fuel bill and notice a decrease in spending.

 

No, I've never had a problem with the transmission. The only roughness I ever notice is if I had my cruise set at say 50 miles per hour, but I had to slow down to 30 MPH. When I hit the resume button, the car starts accelerating, and when it gets to 50 MPH, the car jerks just a bit as the transmission upshifts to 5th gear and releases the throttle at the same time. 50 MPH seems to be a touchy speed when it comes to the cruise control. I try not to set/use the cruise control at any of the shift points to avoid this.

I doubt you'd have any problem with it, but have you checked your transmission fluid level?

 

I feel this when I'm driving in town at much slower speeds. Its probably just me because I was use to a smoother transmission, I had a 04 Regal. I just wished I knew more about this car because I have talked to mechanics who really talk up this vehicle. I got this car mainly for the gas mileage becuse I drive over 100 miles total to and from work.

 

Hello lebloom
I have a problem with transmission and you are not alone here. Every Honda dealer refuses to see the problem but problem persists. It shows worst in winter time. When I drive in stop and go traffic with speed 0-30 mph ten of 20 times HAH chatters on acceleration resulting in retarded acceleration and sometimes noticeable slow shifting gears. Another feature is a little jerks in steady highway driving when I just a bit move my foot on a throttle sometimes even without foot move. I bought 2007 HAH brand new and it was a fine car first 10k or 4 month. But above mentioned problem started and progressed afterwards. It is resulted in FE drop (about 5%), I'm getting about 31 mpg on my average commute in a summer and 27 mpg in a winter. 80% - highway. I regret that I bought a car w/o NAVY and now can't monitor my instant FE. I think to buy some data logger or inexpensive OBD-II scanner for my car. Any recommendations? I'm not a spirited driver but rather light footer. I keep my tire pressire 33 psi because I think about safety rather than FE.

 

So, you have actually been to the dealer and had a mechanic look at your car and they told you there is not a thing wrong? Maybe I should have this dealer here look at mine.

Is it true that Honda gave out a life time warranty on the drive train in these vehicles? I bought this car used from a Saturn dealer and they would try to screw over there grand mother if they could.

I knew I wasn't imagining this but I didn't know it was a problem. I don't notice my problem because the majority of my driving is highway. Thanks

 

Literally they don't see the problem. When I told them let's take a test drive and I recreate the problem driving myself. They told me if there is no codes then there is no problem.
And there is no lifetime warranty on powertrain in these cars.
BTW majority of my driving is on highway also.

 

Original poster, I had this problem verbatim to your description with 37.5K mi. I changed two important factors to my car and driving that added 4 to 5 MPGs to my current:

1. Get a High efficiency air filter. K&N or Fram will set you back about $40 but it's worth it.

2. (this goes in tandem with the 1st) When having to stop and go (city), accelerate the vehicle just enough to get the ASST to meter up until around 3K RPMs. Let the car upshift into the next gear and, depending on if you've got adequate room ahead, depress the gas enough to conjure the ASST again and accelerate to at least 40-45 MPH. [This is the 4th gear sweat spot that the minimized torque allows the car to run in ECO, drastically reducing fuel consumption]. If you need to accelerate futher, give the car just enough gas to keep it in ECO and you will gradually accelerate to your desired speed.

The Strategy: By shortening the length of time the engine has to work hard and utilizing the electrical motors to assist engine power, you acheive what the car is designed to accel in...constant velocity. Minimal power is required to maintain velocity thus you want to get to your cruse speed ASAP. And with better engine breathing (air filter), hard acceleration drains less fuel.
As you practice this technique, you will aquire the added benefit of higher driving awareness. This is used to evaluate the best charging and accelerating techniques by sizing up the best time to start braking and vice versa. When you break, you minimize break pad wear and maximize charge time by keeping the CHARGE meter right at the max and no more. You will not stop as fast but your pushing loads of amps to the batteries. Practice till you intuitively know how far you need stop so you can judge when to start breaking. The same goes for accelerating. With 255 HP you can really go. So at a light, wait a moment til the car ahead moves to allow for room, then juice it.

The Battery: The more you use the batt (CHARGE & ASST), the better you car's brain can evaluate how much juice it can store and thus optimize it's use to save fuel.

I hope this helps, I share your initial frustration but keep at it and you will see improvements.

 

Hi there folks,
I posted in another thread about my 05 HAH. I have had it now for a month with 20,000 miles and am absolutely thrilled with it. I am new to hybrids and am still learning the techniques required to pull in good mpg's. On that note, on the drive home from the dealer (50 miles half hwy half city) I pulled in 39 mpg. On the drive to work, same distance and hwy/city I pulled in 34 due to local winds. This was with no more than going easy on the pedal.

What I have learned thus far is like others have said, get it into 5th gear as soon as possible and then I hit cruise control and let the cruise do the work for me. Even in the city I use cruise as much as possible. I'm also timing lights/traffic as much as I can. On the hwy, 65mph period...I am consistently pulling 39-42 on way home and 34-37 on the way to work. I have a friend who pointed me to research on tire psi and I went to max sidewall of 44psi and I scored 45 mpg last night on the way home with pretty heavy traffic and my A/C is "always" on. I initially went to 35psi with a good improvement, but the 44psi is the sweet spot. The tires @ 44psi give you another 4-5 mpg and from the research makes your tires wear more evenly with "no loss of safety" i.e. blowouts etc...the studies say it was more dangerous with underinflation. Anyhoo the point is not to make an argument about tire psi safety, just more of what has worked for me for maximizing mpg's.

I think this car is perfect because it fits both roles...Performance/luxury and economy.
I'm still looking for the bumper sticker..."Sips Gas, Hauls A##