Poor gas mileage - 2012 V6 Accord

[Schfifty Five]

Hi all,

I bought a brand new 2012 V6 Accord almost 1 year ago. It's rated at 271hp and its mpg is 20 city / 30 hwy.

I have noticed over the past year that unless I drive exclusively highway for a long stretch (eg. drive 3-4 hours straight between two cities), I will only get 20 MPG, maybe 21 or 22 if I'm lucky.

If I drive all highway and throw in a couple days of normal city driving, the mileage ends up dropping close to 20mpg, even though majority of driving was highway.

Most of the time I am driving highway at speeds anywhere between 70-80mph. I guess slowing down to 65-70 will help improve my gas mileage, but does my situation sound normal? I feel like no matter how much highway driving I do, I always end up with 20mpg still (or really close to it).

 

[blipblop]

How many miles have you put on the car? I have noticed that my gas mileage vastly improves after the initial 5-10k.

Also you might want to check your air pressure in your tires.

 

[sontakke]

Doesn't your car have the electronic multifunction indicator on the dash? If so, keep the display on the instantaneous mileage graph and drive to keep it as high has you can.

 

[foghorn67]

Elevation changes? Passing slower traffic? My V6 mid-sized car gets around 33 mpg on level highways at 70mph. About 29-31 from 75-78 ish.

 

[phucheneh]

I would be fairly doubtful that there is anything wrong with a 2012 car that would have a significant effect on gas mileage. At least, not without an actual part failure that would result in driveability problems or a check engine light.

Are you using the recommended octane? No reason to go higher; if you go lower, you may get 'pinging' (detonation) which is definitely something you want to avoid. Ideally, a knock sensor will pick this up, but it has to be fairly severe to set a CEL.

Checked tire pressures?

Not a whole lot else I can think of...as stated above, mileage can gradually improve as the engine 'breaks in' and gets a reduction in internal friction. Otherwise, it may just be down to speed, driving style, accessory usage (A/C on all the time? Remember on new cars 'defrost' typically automatically turns the compressor on)...and the mentioned elevation.

Do you use cruise control? If so, is it 'standard' or radar/adaptive?

 

[postmortemIA]

I'm getting around 26mpg on 70% hwy driving on the same car and engine, 2009 year. First 5,000 miles it was not like that, but after that it was.

 

[LTC8K6]

Highway mileage at 80 is going to be lower.

(It's amazing that the 2013 Accord 2.4L is now just as fast to 60 as the old V6)

 

[NutBucket]

This is true. Drive at 65ish on the highway and watch that number shoot above 30. Also, you're probably accelerating too fast from a stop. Slow down!

 

[Schfifty Five]

How many miles have you put on the car? I have noticed that my gas mileage vastly improves after the initial 5-10k.

Also you might want to check your air pressure in your tires.

I'm at 12.5k miles (drove it a bit more than I expected due to work).

Air pressure should be ok. I just filled up some air about a month ago to the appropriate levels.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Doesn't your car have the electronic multifunction indicator on the dash? If so, keep the display on the instantaneous mileage graph and drive to keep it as high has you can.

Unfortunately it does not have that multifunction indicator you are talking about. You would think a 2012 car would have one right?

 

[Schfifty Five]

Elevation changes? Passing slower traffic? My V6 mid-sized car gets around 33 mpg on level highways at 70mph. About 29-31 from 75-78 ish.

I'm in TX, so pretty flat/no elevation. I am semi aggressive in that I will pass vehicles slower than me.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I would be fairly doubtful that there is anything wrong with a 2012 car that would have a significant effect on gas mileage. At least, not without an actual part failure that would result in driveability problems or a check engine light.

Are you using the recommended octane? No reason to go higher; if you go lower, you may get 'pinging' (detonation) which is definitely something you want to avoid. Ideally, a knock sensor will pick this up, but it has to be fairly severe to set a CEL.

Checked tire pressures?

Not a whole lot else I can think of...as stated above, mileage can gradually improve as the engine 'breaks in' and gets a reduction in internal friction. Otherwise, it may just be down to speed, driving style, accessory usage (A/C on all the time? Remember on new cars 'defrost' typically automatically turns the compressor on)...and the mentioned elevation.

Do you use cruise control? If so, is it 'standard' or radar/adaptive?

I experimented with using low grade (87 octane) vs premium (93) and found no differences. I believe my manual says 87 or higher so I'm usually just buying regular. Tire pressure should be fine.

It very well could be my driving habits.

What about A/C usage? Is there an ideal setting that will help increase gas mileage? I usually keep A/C on, recirculate on, and control the temp/speed depending on how hot / cold the weather is.

 

[phucheneh]

Have you tried looking at the big Honda forum and seeing if anyone else is having similar experiences? In particular, there might be some insight into speed/mileage relations.

Some cars do damned well at 80mph. Some see pretty dismal decreases. In a car as popular as the Accord, I'm sure some people have tested a bit and compared notes with each other.

edit: A/C compressor just adds load to the engine. I'm not sure what the EPA does in regards to that...I've always just assumed they tested with it off.

Personally, unless I need it for defrosting, I go max cold or nothing. If you're running it all the time and just adjusting the blend door, that could have a pretty decent impact.

 

[Schfifty Five]

This is true. Drive at 65ish on the highway and watch that number shoot above 30. Also, you're probably accelerating too fast from a stop. Slow down!

Hmm...good point. I bet this is a factor in my low mileage. I'm definitely not zooming out from a green light, but I know I am usually a faster accelerator than most cars.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Have you tried looking at the big Honda forum and seeing if anyone else is having similar experiences? In particular, there might be some insight into speed/mileage relations.

Some cars do damned well at 80mph. Some see pretty dismal decreases. In a car as popular as the Accord, I'm sure some people have tested a bit and compared notes with each other.

Have not looked at those forums. Do you have a link to them or is it easily searchable via google?

 

[Schfifty Five]

Appreciate all the responses so far!

 

[phucheneh]

http://honda-tech.com

It may be a bit...quantity over quality. But you may find a little bit of insight (hey I accidentally made a pun).

 

[Schfifty Five]

http://honda-tech.com

It may be a bit...quantity over quality. But you may find a little bit of insight (hey I accidentally made a pun).

heh, thanks man.

 

[Meghan54]

I experimented with using low grade (87 octane) vs premium (93) and found no differences. I believe my manual says 87 or higher so I'm usually just buying regular. Tire pressure should be fine.

It very well could be my driving habits.

What about A/C usage? Is there an ideal setting that will help increase gas mileage? I usually keep A/C on, recirculate on, and control the temp/speed depending on how hot / cold the weather is.

First, don't use premium in your car, just a waste of money. If you've got bucket loads of spare cash, go ahead and use premium, but you won't see any difference in mileage or performance from your car.


Second, drive hard and/or fast and you pay for it. Simple as that. No way around it.


Third, turn off your A/C when you can. The A/C just sucks gas, so keeping it on all the time is just emptying your tank faster. You'll never achieve the EPA numbers if you keep your A/C on all the time. But, if you value your comfort over your gas mileage, keep it on. Having grown up in the South, we used A/C a lot, like y'all in TX. Was almost a blessing when winter hit and we could finally turn off the A/C for a few months.....mileage went up noticeably.

 

[LTC8K6]

In town it's cheaper to open your windows. On the highway it's cheaper to run the AC.

The EPA now uses the AC in the mileage tests, so using AC shouldn't prevent you from getting the EPA numbers.

 

[SearchMaster]

That does seem very low. In my wife's Odyssey with essentially the same engine but block-shaped and heavy, I get 22-24 at a steady 75mph. I would think the Accord should get closer to 30.

 

[sontakke]

I believe driveaccord.net is one of the best resource for that car.

 

[CraigRT]

At that speeds, poor MPG sounds normal.
My Civic will only get good MPG on secondary highways. Any speeds above posted limit at all on the interstate, like even 65-70, and I will not be able to hit 40MPG. Going 50MPH on back roads though, 40MPG is easy.

 

[disappoint]

What about A/C usage? Is there an ideal setting that will help increase gas mileage? I usually keep A/C on, recirculate on, and control the temp/speed depending on how hot / cold the weather is.

You're not serious are you? You have the A/C on all the time even if it's cold out? And you run the A/C and heat at the same time by turning the temp selector up?

 

[olds]

With a 6 cylinder and your driving habits, 20 mpg sounds right.