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Hi, I just bought an 04 accord 4 banger to save some cash on gas. But, it is just as bad as my 02 accord v6 with a rotten transmission! What things should I check/change? The records say that it had a major tune up exactly 1 year ago in which they changed the spark plugs, air filter, transmission fluid (Honda), and the oil of course. I’m going to pull out the plugs to take a look if they are the proper NGK plugs as a start. I’m also going to flush the whole system with seafoam before I do my oil change this week as well. What do you guys think it could be?
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Winter blend gas can give you 3-5 mpg worse gas mileage… Viscosity of oil effects MPG.. How much city/highway driving effects MPG… Warming up the car in the morning effects MPG… Lastly, how heavy your foot is also effects gas mileage..
This is a link to what the manufacturer ‘claims’ your cars gas mileage to be… Several companies have been called onto the carpet to account for what may be exaggerated claims… Still, it should be reasonably close…
http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/19747.shtml
Have a look at the air filter and plugs if you want… I would guess winter blend gas and possibly a thicker oil may be the most likely causes….Especially if you are one of those people who watch MPG closely, drive the same routes everyday and are not a leadfoot…and also, if there are no check engine lights on…
You may find your mileage improving come springtime with the new blend of gas….
JMHO
-Karl
I just calculated that I am averaging 17 mpg in mostly city driving. Which is extremely disappointing coming out of a 4cyl car. I drive very consciously and always feather the throttle. I also drive an 06′ Honda Odyssey that gets 20 mpg in the same style and type of driving. What the heck? The car doesn’t have any check engine lights and just last week I seafoamed the engine and switched to synthetic, changed the air filter and spark plugs as well as clean the throttle body! The car purrs like a kitten but drinks gas like a friggen SUV. Errrghhhh
Couple other things, like alignment, checking wheels for brake binding and bearing issues, transmission/transaxle fluid changed recently, clean the MAF to make sure it’s seeing all the air it should be and an easy one to do to see if it makes any difference:
Kill the current LTFT tables. These are stored in volatile memory storing load vs corrections over time, sometimes with speed stored as well. Just yank the negative battery terminal for a few minutes in most cases. This will zero them out and force the STFT to make all the corrections until they’re learned again for LTFTs. You may wish to check these (LTFT and STFT) anyhow, as there might be some small leak present, either vacuum or exhaust. Assuming this is abnormal, and not just the current gas being used along with climate as Karl already stated.
Cracked hose, small valve cover leak, or exhaust clamp not quite tight enough(for exhaust leak) might not cause an obvious issue, but it would be chewing up more gas should the o2 sensor be compensating for any of these, or similar. Checking out the trims with a scanner capable of viewing them is the way to verify in this case.
Worn o2 sensor can also dip the MPG a bit due to build up and/or age. But again, this should be shown viewing trims.
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