16 MPG Honda Civic 2010 39K miles.
Hi Scotty. I recently bought a 2010 Honda Civic 1800cc motor and I've noticed the gas mileage has been terrible, a full tank doesn't even last 215 miles (30% has been highway driving), I calculated the mpg and it's around 16-17. My mechanic checked and it has no trouble codes and everything is in good shape, the car only has 39K miles so it shouldn't be such a gas hog. The filter isn't that dirty and the spark plugs are in good shape, the tires are a bit worn but I doubt that's what's causing the bad mpg, the motor oil and transmission fluid were changed recently. What could be the problems from the most simple things to more complex issues? Thanks!
(I'd like to add it has an automatic tranny and I bought it from a private individual, no salvage title)
OK, you're getting half the gas mileage you should, so there are definitely major problems here, but I would think there are ohter symptoms if you looked for them.
Does your exhaust smell of gasoline? After a drive, if you put your hand on your wheels, are they hot from dragging brakes? Does your trans behave normally? No gas leaks from the fuel system? No codes?
My exhaust doesn't smell of gasoline, this week I'm going to change the brake pads so I'll find out if they're dragging, but that could be a possibility that hasn't bern checked yet. My transmission shifts at the right rpms, with a minimal jerk but I would think it's normal, it's not bad. Not sure if it has gas leaks and it has not one code. Thank you, I'll be asking my mechanic to check more in depth to see if we could a problem
according to carcomplaints.com that model year is notorious for dragging brakes. check it out. good luck.
Thank you, I'll be checking for that!
… a full tank doesn't even last 215 miles (30% has been highway driving), …
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Well, … I would have a deeper look - first - into that other 70% of your daily journeys. Seriously, … idling, creeping along, waiting for tragic lights to change, … intersections to clear, makes a profound difference to your ratio of miles driven versus an amount of fuel burnt. Yes!
Your car gets as good of the milage per gallon, standing still - say, in a traffic jam - as a V-12 engined red Ferrari. That is, zero miles per gallon! You have to factor in this reality into calculating your average fuel consumption.
F.S.
You're right, that does affect fuel consumption but I don't let it idle much, I'd say it's been average city driving but at the same time I live in a more rural place so actually It's way less congested, and I still don't drive aggressively for the same reason, the gas mileage is terrible 🙁
I understand. I didn’t mean to sound like all this is perhaps hunky-dory, but just a heads up, … let’s figure out - reconsider - how bad the reported milage is really bad?
And so, … just perhaps, the car needs a good shake up by a good mechanic? Just because there is no codes, that does not mean the car should be at nearly top shape. Codes are generally thrown when things reach limits of service, … and there is a very wide canyon between perfectly good and whoops! Denver, we have a problem, we just hit a limit: … Code(s)!
So, just perhaps, things are just prior to limit? Air flow sensor, spark plugs, coils, ,VVT mechanism, or whatever else your car is equipped with.
All those things now have to be now checked. And I believe, you just may need a good and honest mechanic to have a very thorough look at the car that, … like you earlier said, you "recently bought".
Anyway, … there probably is a very good reason why, that someone 'recently sold' the car that you "recently bought". Let’s hope not, …
F.S.
You're completely right, the mechanics have only checked for codes but yeah, I understand there are certain problems that don't show up in codes and will have to be checked, thank you. The air flor sensor hasn't been checked, coils or the VVT system so appreciate mentioning them. I would like to think it was sold because of the gas mileage issue and they were to lazy to fix it, hopefully, that's the case. Thank you and happy easter