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diminished gas mileage

3K views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  Lastnewcarbob 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
2008 crvEX we have since new avg 17-20 locally and 30's on hwy..locally is now 10-11 and 20's hwy 2008 CR-V since new, we have always averaged 17-20 locally and 30's on hwy we now avg 10-11 locally and mid 20's hwy any suggestions
 
#5 ·
Ours has always got 23-24, with 75% urban, so your is low. Obvious things are tire inflation and dragging brakes. Doubt it's tire inflation, the TPMS works pretty good on these. For dragging brakes check for excess heat at the wheels. From there it's a bunch of stuff like general engine condition, worn secondary ignition bits (plugs, wires), worn injectors, that sort of thing.
 
#6 ·
The 3rd gen is not the best for gas mileage. If I'm only doing local driving, I am lucky to get 21 MPG. On longer road trips and with good quality gasoline, I can hit the 26 MPG figure.

Tires--have you changed the brand or type of tire? Some tires are more fuel efficient than others; "Eco" tires have a lower rolling resistance, whereas an all-terrain tire probably has worse mileage than standard road/highway all season tires. Also, check the air pressure. The TPMS system will alert you if the pressure drops below a certain point, but does not ensure your tires are optimally filled. (I think the 3rd gen's pressure warning is triggered at 24 PSI, which is below the recommended 30 PSI.) I run mine at 30-32 PSI.

Gasoline quality makes a big difference as well. Fuel with little to no ethanol content will get you better gas mileage than gasoline with, say 5% or 10% ethanol. Ethanol has higher octane, but it also stores less energy, so the higher your ethanol level, the lower your gas mileage will be. The gasoline pumps are no help--the fuel can have up to 10% ethanol, for instance; it will never specify exactly how much ethanol is at the pump that particular day. And since the fuel companies started messing around with different winter and summer blends, it throws mileage off even more. Higher octane may or may not make a difference, and I won't get pulled into that pissing contest here again. But different octane numbers can have an effect on the ignition advance, and whether or not that translates into fuel savings is an unknown. (I've had Honda's J30 V6 get better mileage with higher octane fuels, but haven't noticed it as much in my K24 I4 in the CR-V. And it's entirely possible the higher octane fuels at the pump might also have a lower ethanol content.)

Just to put it into perspective, my youngest has noticed on her Accord that gas from the BP station gets worse mileage than other stations she lives near. And I have found the same at BP myself--I lose maybe 3-4 freeway MPG using their gasoline.

Your plugs are hopefully in good condition--have they been checked? The 3rd gen does not use a distributor or spark plug wires, but have coils directly on the plugs. The coils I guess can weaken over time, but I've usually had them just fail on me without warning. (And you couldn't ask for a simpler repair!)

Fuel injectors also might be a culprit--running a bottle or two of Techron through your system certainly can't hurt, although any time I have used it, I've never noticed a change in how it runs or the gas mileage (which could mean my injectors aren't dirty).

Aside from that, getting into the mechanicals of the engine is about the only thing left. And don't be tempted to start throwing parts at the problem. Start with what you can do (like changing brands of gasoline, checking tire pressure, etc.) and see if there is any improvement.
 
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