I am kinda upset that the gas mileage on my 520 mile trip from the Bay Area to San Diego resulted in a 20mpg average. I had to fill up three times to get there!

I can't even recall what the window sitcker said (EPA estimates for gas mileage), but I know it didn't say 20 freeway!

I sure hope it's because of the the car needing an oil change...and I do make sure that I have the proper inflation in the tires as well.

Anyone else experience this?

This horse died LONG ago, please stop beating it.

It's been discussed (and also my personal observation) that the E's fuel economy goes into the dumper above 65-70 mph. If you were doing the I-5 thing and sailing along with traffic at around 80-85, then I'd expect not much better than what you got.

That it was due for an oil change would not be measurable with casual fillups.

It's also helpful for the discussion to know what transmission you have. I noted the 4WD from your tagline code.

I was averaging about 80mph, but I still can't believe the gas mileage. My parent's Tundra gets about the same gas mileage, but that thing has a V8! I guess the aerodynamics of my box on wheels doesn't help much either though.

BTW, its an automatic.

I've got 1100 miles on my E and am getting 23+ around town.
The guage seems to move slowly until it's half full, then it goes
fast. The light comes on with about 3 gallons left.

[quote:302927a1a9=" "]I am kinda upset that the gas mileage on my 520 mile trip from the Bay Area to San Diego resulted in a 20mpg average. I had to fill up three times to get there![/quote:302927a1a9]

Can you explain your method of computation, exactly, that leads to computing 20mpg average?

-brendan

Since I bought the car, what I do is fill up the tank (until it stops, no topping off) and reset the tripometer. Then I run the car until the 'nearly empty' light comes on, and then I fill it up again (until it stops, without topping off), and note the mileage on the tripometer. Then I divide the number of miles by the number of gallons I put in the tank. Then I averaged the six fillups going down and coming back.

[quote:83e3aa1449=" "]This horse died LONG ago, please stop beating it.[/quote:83e3aa1449]

:lol:

80mph and why'd I get 20mpg?! Sheesh...Did you happen to notice what the Tachometer read at 80mph? What's it read in your Mom's Tacoma? Now go the comparable speed in your E to make the tachometer reading approximately the same. Viola...That's where your gas went.

I'm sure aerodynamics has a play in it just as much as rpms though-

For example, at 80mph average speed in my CRX I'll still get nearly 40mpg, even if the motor is spinning at ~4000 rpm...but then again the CRX is rated at 0.29 Cd while my Element is much higher.

Whats sucks even more is that my city driving mpg average is in the 17mpg range :(

[quote:4ca6e15e80=" "]Whats sucks even more is that my city driving mpg average is in the 17mpg range :([/quote:4ca6e15e80]
That sucks for you, really. I'm getting 23-25 mixed mostly country roads, very little hwy. Lots of people are bitching about the mileage, but I'm not seeing it. I have a fwd DX 5spd and have gotten almost 25 since day one.

[quote:3bb7eb1ac1=" "]Lots of people areabout the mileage, but I'm not seeing it. I have a fwd DX 5spd and have gotten almost 25 since day one.[/quote:3bb7eb1ac1]

I have yet to see anyone with 2wd OR 5spd complain about mileage. Seems like it's always the folks with 4wd autos.

Bill
2wd 5spd, 24.7 mpg lifetime

I have yet to see anyone with 2wd OR 5spd complain about mileage. Seems like it's always the folks with 4wd autos.
I don't know if that's because there's more of auto/4wd than anything else, or if you're really on to something. I did try tabulating the mileage comments over the past few months and couldn't immediately discern a pattern, but there really wasn't enough consistency in reporting to draw a pattern from. :?

But pouring gasoline on this discussion [nyuk nyuk], I'm getting a pretty consistent 21 around town, and the last couple of tankfuls are showing a gradual improvement as we near the 5000-mile point. Whether that's characteristic or indicating that my intake mods are helping remains to be seen.

Two datapoints on a 4WD EXS Auto:

All very short trips around town: 17mpg
500 Hwy miles @ ~68mph (DC->Pgh->DC): 26mpg

Notable, the hwy miles were me, my guitar, my laptop and two bags only. Though, I was quite a bit heavier on the way back after thanksgiving... :)

-brendan

[quote]Whether that's characteristic or indicating that my intake mods are helping remains to be seen.

I really hope that the performance mods would help with the gas mileage in the Element, if so , I would definetly get an intake/header/exhaust for it. As you can see from my previous post, my CRX Si, which gets an average of nearly 40mpg, is much higher than the 32 mpg that the window sticker says. Since I added performance mods, the gas mileage got better!

I'm new to the group and to the Element. I have about 1000 miles on a 4WD EX automatic and have been seeing about 13 miles to the gallon in mixed freeway and city driving since I got it. The dealer has just checked the brakes, idle speed and 4WD and said that it is all OK. I live in Hawaii, so do run the a/c almost all of the time. My RAV 4 was good for about 18 mpg under similar conditions. Any thoughts about why my mileage is so poor?

My truck has approx. 7000 miles on it. I put thos miles on in the last three months traveling to from panama city to Ontario canada. 1200 miles on the dot. I filled up about five times and averaged about 29 miles to the gallon. Went to Philadelphia, gatlinburg tn and back to pc and so on. Still the mileage was good.
Keep in mind that I have an FWD not a 4WD which averages less mpg than the fwd ex.
I keep the tire pressures at 34 32 as recomemded and use the CC. set to no greater than 70 -75 mph.
I preffer to take her on the back roads and cruise at 55-65.

Is there any correlation to the set of people with really poor gas mileage and the set of people hanging all sorts of wind catching add-ons, googaws and accessories all over the Element and loading up with power consuming lights and accessories? Maybe not, but its a variable I haven't heard discussed yet.

With 4WD, auto tranny, lead foot, winter gas and driving conditions, 2500 miles or so on the Element, aggressive long commute that splits between brake slamming, bumper to bumper and zinging up to from sea level to 1000ft in a 70mph zone, and a tad bit of round about town, and NO extraneous wind catchers on the outside of my box on wheels, I am currently averaging 22mpg. This compares to my former tuned for economy V6 Nissan 4WD truck that got 16-17mpg under the same conditions. And the Element is a LOT more FUN to drive. :) I never really go above 70-75mph though(65 in 60mph zone), since I commute through a number of very active speed traps.

I just tweaked my tire pressure up 4psi from the Honda generic door suggestion and I have a K&N air filter on order. If I can restrain from goosing this fun to rev and zip around Sport Light Utility Truck and added to those changes, I figure I can probably squeeze another 2-3 mpg under the same conditions, and maybe a mpg or so more in summer.

For a big ole storage box, this seems decent to me. And I leave that Hummer in the dust/road spray on the 70mph Big Grade. :D

Your Mileage May Vary

[quote:e82ba5d06c=" "]I'm new to the group and to the Element. I have about 1000 miles on a 4WD EX automatic and have been seeing about 13 miles to the gallon in mixed freeway and city driving since I got it. The dealer has just checked the brakes, idle speed and 4WD and said that it is all OK. I live in Hawaii, so do run the a/c almost all of the time. My RAV 4 was good for about 18 mpg under similar conditions. Any thoughts about why my mileage is so poor?[/quote:e82ba5d06c]

You must have a fuel leak, or only take verrrrry short trips, or idle a lot.

[quote:c1b0130cd4=" "]I'm sure aerodynamics has a play in it just as much as rpms though-

For example, at 80mph average speed in my CRX I'll still get nearly 40mpg, even if the motor is spinning at ~4000 rpm...but then again the CRX is rated at 0.29 Cd while my Element is much higher.
[/quote:c1b0130cd4]

Yeah, going 80 in a vehicle with twice the frontal area and a much higher Cd is going to give you much higher fuel consumption. Also, any head- or cross- wind will drive it down more than you would think. And I'm guessing that out there you almost always have at least some crosswind.

I hope things get better. My mpg last tank was down, but I think it's from the cold weather (for us) that we are having.

Bill

I just purchased mine also (145 miles from 4 off of the lot). 1000 miles should have broken in the Element and you should be getting better mileage soon (hopefully).

My former Explorer got 13 around town and that annoyed me to no end, so I feel your pain.

Maybe get it checked out by the dealer, something could be off with the computer.

I am kinda upset that the gas mileage on my 520 mile trip from the Bay Area to San Diego resulted in a 20mpg average. I had to fill up three times to get there!

I can't even recall what the window sitcker said (EPA estimates for gas mileage), but I know it didn't say 20 freeway!

I sure hope it's because of the the car needing an oil change...and I do make sure that I have the proper inflation in the tires as well.

Anyone else experience this?




My daughter has an '05 LX, she loves the car. She doesn't have far to drive to work so the bad mileage is acceptable to her. I've driven her E many times and really love the utility of the vehicle ... and if they can find a way to get some decent gas mileage out of the things would gladly buy one for my next vehicle. Honda always taunts the high mileage of their vehicles but it's obvious the Element is a severe drag of the curve.

One thing you have to admit right off, they're about as aerodynamic as a brick. That's just the way it is ... plus that little 4 banger is working hard to move all the air. The faster you go the worse it gets ... it's simple physics. I'm convinced a V-6 would get better mileage than the I-4 because it wouldn't have to work as hard nor turn as many RPM's.

One vehicle I own is a '06 Buick Lucerne with a 3.8L V-6 that gets (checked both with the DIC and long hand in a notebook) 31-33mpg at a steady 65mph "cruise" on the interstate. Overall city/highway/summer/winter it still gets an average of 25-26. Not bad for 4000 lbs. One reason is that the engine has enough power that it's only turning about 1500-1600 RPM's at 65 (about 2000 at 75mph) .... how many does the E turn? Offhand I don't remember what it was the last time I drove my daughters car but I'm betting it was in the 3000 range. It may be smaller and burn less fuel per rotation ... but it's spinning twice as fast!

All things considered ... I'd rank the need for an oil change waaaaaay low as a cause for your poor mileage. Try slowing down.

Okay, I've said this before ( and yes, I feel it needs to be said again). We are getting GREAT gas mileage on our 08. Could there be that big of a difference between the years? we are getting the same, if not better, than our previous CRV.

But then again, I can't remember the last time I drove 80 mph. I am a conservative driver. I drive only when necessary and stay under 70 mph (been shown to make a big difference above 70). With gas prices the way they are, why would I want to waste the gas :shock::?:shock:

I wouldn't trade my E. for anything. The gas mileage is FANTASTIC!!

Talk about diggin up an old thread.......

Talk about diggin up an old thread.......

We should offer the "Grave digger of the month" award for such things.:D

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dig we must! This is more Element relevant than ever. Getting the highest MPG is our American Duty! (Whistling patriotic theme...):rolleyes:

I own a 2006 Element EX-P. I bought it new. I commute 500 miles/week
My ride to work consists of a 20mile country road with lots of turns. Average speed 45mph, 11 mile stretch of Highway, if no traffic 85mpg, if traffic sometimes 40mph, then 19 miles on a county road .. average speed 45mph
with a 5 mile stretch 0f the 19 mile road at 60mph. I average 24MPG. I bought a scangauge and it displays realtime and average MPG. Plus I confirmed my mpg by topping off, running dry, and topping off and dividing miles/gallons consumed. If you are at 20mpg you need to check the air pressure in your tires. Switch to synthetic motor oil, I use Mobil 1 and change every 12k miles,
change your oil filter. Do not use cheap gas like Gulf, Citgo, and the Cheapest
Sunoco grade. If I use fuel from Citgo my mpg drops to 22MPG. If I run Mobil, Exxon, Shell, Hess I average 24MPG consistantly.

I honestly can't believe all the poor mileage reports I read on this forum.

In suburban driving (city and freeway mixed, no stop and go) I average 25 to 27 miles to the gallon. Yes, I've double checked my math. I can't say that the highway mileage is spectacular as I get about the same mileage in mixed suburban driving as I do straight highway but it's perfectly acceptable and I've even managed 29.67 MPG as a record.

I understand the 4wd models need a bit more grunt, but drag is the enemy in a giant rolling box. That said, I still pull down 25MPG or so cruising at 80.

I putter around town at around 43 MPH and the tach showing around 1400 RPM, and I'm very happy with my mileage. The K24's low end torque is stellar.

Perhaps I'm just blessed.