Let's see if it's just a few E's getting poor gas mileage.

I'm not even going to try calculating my gas mileage until the car is properly broken in.

Then I'll keep track, and hope for the best.

Whatever gas mileage I get with Lucy will be better than I had with the Silver Surfer. When we move, we plan to have a home and job permitting use of public transportation, so I can contribute to cleaner air and less use of petroleum that way, too. I always keep my cars in excellent shape, so Lucy will never be spitting nasty smoke if I can help it.

Hi,took a 300 mile day cruise the first weekend ,it was combo driving with cruise control hiway for 190 miles and mountanous for about 100 and in town for aqbout 10 miles came out to 24.6...I was pleasantly surprised..ps it was costco-price club 87 octane regular gas.

Noticed as I passed the 600 mile mark that it is starting to creep up, about 21.5 mpg now...with 1600 miles on it now.

SOP EX AWD automatic, bought 6/16/03

On my 3rd full tank I drove from San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles) to Chula Vista (San Diego) and back last weekend. 90% on freeways (light traffic) with AC on all the way:

314.6 miles (low fuel light came on at 310, JUST before end of trip)
13.09 gallons (at end of trip, 0.1 from my house)
24.03 Mpg

s/b a different thread but... My E drives SO smoothly :D that I repeatedly found my speed had crept up to 80 mph. This was especially disconcerting since the top of the steering wheel blocks the speedometer between 40 & 80 & I'd had to contort myself to look around it. I'll have remember that the bottom of the needle (the only visible part at speed) when pointing straight up is 60 mph.

Getting about 30 mpg here altho no one seems to believe me,,, I guess I always drive downhill with a tail wind
scotty

Just completed a 2000+ mile trip on my E. Starting milage was 3187 and ending was 5268. First tank got 21.3 mpg, second 23.4, third 23.8, fourth and fifth (combined) averaged 25.1 and last tank got 28.35. The last tank was 95% interstate and without A/C. :)

*bump* I'm curious what people who have had their E for a year or two are getting

I've got less than 600 miles so far, so it's a bit early to know my mileage, but my last tank got 18mpg (new car, driving wildly :) )

*bump* I'm curious what people who have had their E for a year or two are getting

I've got less than 600 miles so far, so it's a bit early to know my mileage, but my last tank got 18mpg (new car, driving wildly :) )

Just over a year, 18500 miles, my last tank was about 23.5. I had been getting better, I think I may be driving more aggressively (no, I'm not proud of that). The idiots around here piss me off and when I get the chance I just pull away from them as fast as possible.

Remember "The Truman Show", when they orchestrated the traffic to block Jim Carey's way? That's what I feel like.

My E is starting to get broken in. I'm was at 3773 on the odometer this morning when I got to the office. I'm still getting right around 21 mpg in town, but on the highway (no A/C, 75-80 mph) I've been getting just under 26 mpg. If there's a good headwind (as there can be on the Snake River Plain in Idaho), it has been dropping down to 23-24ish.

My best tank of gas was on Highway 21, north of Boise, towards Idaho City and Lowman. It's a windy road, uphill, lots of ups and downs and curves, and top speed couldn't get much over 50, and I got 28 mpg. That was right after I got the E, and I haven't seen that mileage since...the stars must've been aligned just right, or I did more coasting down hills than I thought. :roll:

*bump* I'm curious what people who have had their E for a year or two are getting . . .

Averaging 22.3 mpg at 87,400 miles on the odometer

255/60-17 tires . . . (it was 23 mpg with 235/65's)

Auto, AWD.

70% freeway at 65-70 mph/30% around town.

Also have the K&N short ram on the intake/Magnaflow on the exhaust which could be helping and a Yak rack with two bike mounts that could be hurting . . . :)

Mines been slowly improving, I'd guess due to breakin and less AC in the winter. I started about 20 and have improved to the point where I finally broke 24 on my last tank. Pretty good considering my driving conditions-stop and go to and from work 5 days a week and 80 mph pulling a trailer on weekends.

I'm getting under 18mpg... :?

Tips?

I've just changed the air cleaner, and also just got new tires. Car runs great, Im mostly doing night driving, so lot's of headlights and heat. Would this effect it that much? It's cold here.

heat shouldn't affect it too much, since it should mostly be coming from the free heat of the engine anyways

maybe wind?
do you accelerate a lot, or quickly? like city driving

For you guys getting less than 20 MPG, how are you calculating your mileage? If you're dividing your distance between fillups by 15.9 gallons then you're going to be low. I usually go about 250 miles between fillups and put in 11 to 11.5 gallons, which is around the 22 MPG mark...

Averaging 21.5 in the winter and 23.2 in the summer and fall, spring coming up.

For you guys getting less than 20 MPG, how are you calculating your mileage? If you're dividing your distance between fillups by 15.9 gallons then you're going to be low. I usually go about 250 miles between fillups and put in 11 to 11.5 gallons, which is around the 22 MPG mark...

Im gray, not blonde. I divide the miles driven by the number of gallons I put in since the mileage reset.

Here's a shot of my last Baker's Dozen fill-ups:

I got my '06 EX-P 4WD Auto 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I have been commuting 150 miles daily in it. I do about 15 miles on winding mountain roads, 62 miles of interstate and 3 miles suburban business area roads each way. I try to use the cruise as much as possible when I'm on the interstate and maintain about 75MPH, though traffic does not permit such luxury most of the time. I have been measuring every tankfull and always stay between 24.6 and 25.2 using actual gallons pumped divided by miles driven since last refueling. I find this to be quite acceptable given the type, size, and shape vehicle the Element is.

I filled up this morning and got 14 mpg, which is horrible.

I drove extra careful this tank too. Is this because its a brand new car? What are you new car owners getting for mileage?

Does anyone have a record chart starting below or around 1000 on their odometer?

date odometer gallons mileage
1/5/2006 237 11.647 20.3
1/14/2006 460 12.009 18.6
1/28/2006 628 11.691 14.4

Mine has been getting 24-25 since the first tankfull. You should have yours checked. Especially since it is getting worse. You may have some easily remedied issue like a bad plug wire or an obstruction of your aircleaner. I once had a vehicle problem similar to yours and found a mouse nest in my aircleaner. Not that you have the same thing. It is just an example of something you would never normally expect.

I filled up this morning and got 14 mpg, which is horrible.

I drove extra careful this tank too. Is this because its a brand new car? What are you new car owners getting for mileage?

Does anyone have a record chart starting below or around 1000 on their odometer?

date odometer gallons mileage
1/5/2006 237 11.647 20.3
1/14/2006 460 12.009 18.6
1/28/2006 628 11.691 14.4


I just bought mine and on my first take of gas of 95% city driving I got 16 mpg. I just took a weekend trip of 450 miles and got 20 mpg on my first tank, and 20.25 on my second tank. 99% of the miles were interstate with the cruise set at 75 mph. Needless to say I am extremely dissapointed, I'm also really scared to see what happens to my gas mileage when I load the car down with four people plus gear.

I think you should complain to the dealer where you bought it and have them check it under warranty. It sure sounds to me like something is amiss. I just bought mine, too. We have pretty much the same vehicle, so there is no reason your mpg should be so dismal.

I now have about 1100 miles on the E. I filled up; 13.195 gal, 267 miles, or just over 20mpg. It was 100% city driving. I can live with that.

[Edit: from the first time the pump clicks "off," I can get at least one more gallon in the tank. I suggest to anybody checking theirs, be consistent. If you always pump in half a gallon more, keep doing just that...or whatever you do.]

[Edit: from the first time the pump clicks "off," I can get at least one more gallon in the tank. I suggest to anybody checking theirs, be consistent. If you always pump in half a gallon more, keep doing just that...or whatever you do.]

the best way is to take a running average of more than 3 fill ups. Keep a complete log so that variances (like where you topped off) can be averaged out.

If you just fill up once, and draw a conclusion, expect an error rate of +/- 30%

the best way is to take a running average of more than 3 fill ups. Keep a complete log so that variances (like where you topped off) can be averaged out.

True. Not always possible if you want a number for purely city driving or purely highway. In my head, Beaker, I tried to calculate from the chart quoted above. Looks like you averaged 18 or so for those three tanks.

true, good point about city/highway.

I have two new fill ups and the first one was from the dealer, and I don't know if they topped off the tank. My data is at home, but I think I remember it's currently at an overall average of 17.1

If I were the dealer, I'd stop wherever the tank would appear to be full.

If you're not refilling to the same level, it would skew the results. 250 miles/12 gallons is 20.8 mpg. 250 miles/13 gallons is 19.2 mpg. So there's 1.6 mpg difference. But over many tanks, those differences should disappear.

Hmm, you'd expect a 4wd to get lower mpg, ditto for the AT (though Honda says not). Add some headwind, some jackrabbit starts...

Still seems low.

just to follow up:date odommeter gal miles mpg
14-Jan-06 460 12.009 223 18.6
28-Jan-06 628 11.691 168 14.4
28-Jan-06 706 3.686 78 21.2
06-Feb-06 862 9.399 156 16.6
------
average MPG total 17.0

Trying to think of possible culprits...

Idling while the wife runs in to pick up a loaf of bread?
Warming the car up in the morning for 15 minutes before leaving?
Towing?
Loose gas cap?
Wider than OEM tires?
Spinning wheels in snow/rain/etc.?

Does the electric fan on yours run after you've shut the E off, even though it's a cool/cold day etc.?

Although your vehicle is new, do you suppose it would be worth trying a bottle of fuel injector cleaner?

GOT 25.5 mpg @ 65 mph highway. then did 80 mph home and got 21 mpg. this was a trip last week, about 600 miles round trip.

I put in for the 22-23, since that's probably my overall average. Generally it's low 20s w/ city/mixed driving, but, for instance, I got 25 on my freeway ride last night.

Be patient (you have no choice) with your new engines. These guys take awhile to really seat in. Let the moving parts become friends. Modern engines are assembled with very small clearences using very close tolerance parts. Part dimensional variations are very small. Statistically there will be occurrances of (as an example) "large size" pistons coming together with "small size" cylinder bores. These groupings of parts will result in a tighter fit, initially, requiring a longer break in period. The tighter fit means more friction and less gas mileage. The upside is that once broken in this engine may well have a bit longer life that one that was "born" with looser fitting components.

The above applies not only to engine components but to ALL moving parts in the driveline. (Any idea how many friction points are in your driveline ?)

Checking gas mileage from the first tank is fine to establish a baseline from which to gage progress of the break in process. Don't pass judgement on the first few tanks. They may just be telling you that you have a "tight" engine that with proper care (and break in), is going to last a very long time.

Honda's knowledge of thier product is one of the reasons for the specific instructions relating to the time interval for the first oil change. They want to insure complete sealing of the piston rings, etc. Keep in mind that Honda has to present a set of instructions that will apply in a "broad stroke" manner. In my own case I am monitoring gas mileage, oil consumption, RPM at given speed (A/T), etc during break in. I'll decide when MY set of parts has "become friends" and it's time to slow the wearing process with synthetic oil.

In the mean time enjoy your new vehicle and learn about it as it "grows".

Tank # mpg

1 20.5
2 20.4
3 21.8
4 21.7
5 23.5(YES!)


Normal driving. 72-77 mph on the highway, lots of stop-and-go city driving. An equal mix of each.

At this point I am really upset. It seems like the baby hummer moniker goes beyond appearance. With 17 mpg in city driving it is a killer. I used to get 21 or more and up to 30 on freeways. No more. Dealer just gives the standard 'uhhh, that is pretty normal to me' look.

I am consistently getting about 22 mpg on my 2WD automatic element. This is with mostly miserable L.A. stop and go freeway traffic. My driving style is keep up with the flow. Sometimes this is hammer the throttle, most times it's easy going (getting older I guess). 22 mpg is decent for me considering my previous car was an acura tl type-s that got 20 mpg on the same commute on premium fuel.

For in town:

Date...Miles...Gallons...MPG
2/09...267.0..13.195...20.23
2/22...271.9..13.020...20.88
3/04...269.4..13.084...20.59
3/18...208.0..11.066...18.80

Took my first actual road trip today to meet with other E owners in Austin. The results: 25.3 mpg over 450 miles. I drove mostly 5 mph over the limit, although when I was in traffic I took the cruise off. Looking down, whoa, 80+. 90% of the miles were highway, with a few in-town (had to have our own little parade past the capitol bldg, you know).

Took a looong cross country road trip first part of this month. Mileage got steadily better as we drove, from around 19 mpg to start out, to a consistent 24 after a couple thousand miles. Even replicated those E owner claims of a 29 mpg tank. Did that twice in fact, though admittedly we either had the wind, the downhill grade, or an hour or more of 45 mph driving in our favor on those tanks.