Okay i have just over 1500 miles on my 05 Civic hybrid and the best mileage i have gotten in the 5 tanks is 40.1. Here is my list.

30 Around town
40.1 Long trip of 500 miles
38.4 Lots of medium trips.
32.2 around town
29.9 Around town.

Either i am doing something very wrong or my vehicle is having issues. What would you recommend. I do not drive "sevire". I would be happy with a constant 40 mpg but this is very poor.

Please help.

jason Murphy

 

Best advice I can give is to look around at a few of the threads containing tips and tricks for MPG from the ultimate hypermilers. Mentally keep a count of how many strategies you're using and how many you're not. Do you speed? Have much uphill driving? Does it rain a lot where you drive? Those, I have noticed by my own experience, are the three greatest killers of a good tank average...and maybe winter...for those unfortunate enough to live where it actually drops below 50 degrees F for part of the year.

 

What kind of driving do you do around town. Is it a stop light every 50 feet? Are there long stretches of unobstructed driving? How long have you had your car? Have you had better mileage in the past? How often are you using A/C? Do you use the econ button?

 

What speed do you cruise on the long trips? Also, what part of the country are you in, and how much do you use the A/C? Based on your highway mileage, I would guess you cruise at 70-75mph with the A/C on. They're only rated at around 48mpg highway, and that's based more on about a 65mph speed with no A/C. Your figures actually sound like they're in the ballpark for someone with difficult conditions.

The best comparison would probably be to whatever your last vehicle was. What did you previously own, and what was your fuel economy in that vehicle? That would help us to benchmark what the change was when you got the Civic.

 

I would also ask, where do you live? It is possible that you live near some nice folks on this forum who would take your HCH out for a spin with you, and see if it performs similarly to their own. In about 10 miles they ought to be able to determine if your car is 'normal', or if it is behaving poorly.

 

I live in Hillsboro Oregon. The area is largely flat but it does have a number of lights. I live 3 miles from my work and there are about 4 stop lights between there. At this point in the year my a/c is on all the time but the econ is also on. Most of the time the trip to and back from work i hit maybe 2 of the 5 light, the rest is a constant 45 mile per hour cruse. When driving i normally get to speed and then try to back off the pedel until i start to decelerate.


I have had my vehicle for about a month and have just over 1500 miles on it.

When driving on long trips i set the cruse control at about 65 whenever possible. But for those of you who know hiway 26 in oregon, that is not always possible.

My previous vehicle of note was a 1999 Ford escort. I got about 24 mpg with that.

I will say that i am not suprised at the 400 mile trip. I went over 2 mountains with that trip so the figures would almost have to be lower. My main concern is that is is rated for 48 around town and i get less than 2/3 of that.

 

Jason,

I'm familiar with Hillsboro - I used to live in Beaverton so I know the area, and traffic can be difficult. I'll summarize some the tips you'll find on the site - try some of these out before going to the dealer.

FYI - my 03 Civic didn't really break in until after 3K, and it jumped again at 10K. Until then, I got mid 30's. I'm at 40K now, and get 48-50 mpg regularly.

1) Check your tire pressure. I run mine at 40psi - others run up to the limit of the tire (if you have the Dunlops, it's 51 I think). This has helped anyone who has tried it.
2) Drive like you have no brakes - use the regenerative braking to do as much of your speed management as you can (as safety will allow). Learn to look ahead at the traffic flow and coast when you can. Excellerate slowly, and take your time when stopping to get the most out of the recharge. Also, you'll learn how to maintain your speed and keep your mpg meter between 60-80 - that will maintain your speed over most flat terrain. I found that I used more of the accelerator than I needed to in order to maintain speed - turns out I can use much less and still maintain speed.
3) Use the econ button, and roll down the windows instead of A/C when practical.
4) Try to keep you speed constant up hills.

You'll find that your overall MPG will have as much to do with your driving technique as your car. Also, some environmental things:

- Obviously, A/C hurts your FE (you notice it more in this car)
- Rain, headwind, all work against FE (fuel efficiency)
- Temperature can hurt it at the extremes (hot and cold)

Lastly, my wife (who uses none of these techniques) will take my car out and it will return with 40 or 41 MPG on the meter. I drive it, and it's at 50. 10 MPG just on driving style alone, so it makes a difference. Good Luck!

 

If you car is ok it looks like Tim about has it covered. Of course there may be something wrong with the car, is it new or just new to you? Some drivers claim a break in period is needed. You might find someone else in the area and compare driving habits and MPGs.

 

Thanks Guys.

I think that maybe it is just the readjustment period. I actually work for a call center of a major American vehicle company and do not want to become one of the people i have to deal with on a daily basis. You know, the people who demand the vehicle be repurchased because the mileage is not good enough. I will try upping the tire presure and see what that does.

On another note i find that i sometimes dont get to the speed limit. In the beginning i was tring to keep my bar as high as possible and kept getting honked at. I look down and am doing 30 in a 45. Very embarasing.

Another reason for my pickyness is that this is the first NEW vehicle i have ever owned. Purchased it at 10 miles and paid cash for it. So it is a bit of a status symble in my mind

 

I find that brisk acceleration (around 2000rpm or so) is reasonable and doesn't get you honked at. If there is a stop light the next 50 feet though I don't accelerate as briskly because its pointless to use up all that gas just to get 50 feet and stop. I don't get honked at because generaly speaking I am accelerating faster than the car behind me due to the motor kicking in.