Howdy. new to honda's and of course new to this forum.

7-4-07 bought a 03 ex model. So far i have put over 600 miles on it, Been havin fun!

So, as I was out cruisin yesterday, I was on alot of back country dirt roads. I know this isnt an off highway car, but I was havin a blast.

As I pushed the limits of the car I wondered if there are any modifications, (suspension, power, tires, etc...) to get my car to handle and perform the way I drive.

I currently have a 68 ford bronco that I drive like im racing baja, cuz I can... a 98 Jeep wrangler, also built for off roading. And a 84 toyota ex cab pu. built for extreme rock racing xrra style.
All of my other vehicles are purpose built for all around off roading, with rock crawlin as a priority.

I got this CR-v for a fuel economy, daily driver, highway cruizer.
so... now that i am bit, what do I do???


By the way, How come i am only averaging 20mpg?? Do I need to get service done on this as I have read the older ones need?? Purchased with 33000 miles on odometer, and had been flat towed behind an RV

Thanks for comments and for the forum

I think your answer may be in the first highlighted sentence.

 

Whoa dude. Im not drivin it like its a racer. Finding its limits as far as braking threshold, handling, over/understeer, Those kinda limits.

I understand its no drag racer, and wouldnt expect it to get 26 mpg if I was drivin it around town,
The problem is that out of the miles I have put on it. 3 tanks worth, The majority is on the Highway, at 75-85 mph, And am only averaging 21.5

Is it that puttin my foot into it once or twice gonna KILL my mileage???
My jeep tj for instance has 33 in tall mud tires, stock gears, aftermarket accesories, .and is shaped like a brick. and at normal driving. I get 14-15, I can push the snot outta it, runnin 85 on highway, and only drop 1or2 mpg.

If I push the CR-v am i gonna drop 5=7? I understand that if I drive my car like a rental, My ecconomy is gonna drop. My question was on/aimed towards, that will gettin my car serviced every 30,000 miles bring the fuel economy back up? Is 25 mpg a dream?

 

I just tested the fuel mileage on my "04. We bought it in May & I checked the city mileage & got 24 mpg's. That is an average of 3 tanks of fuel. When I went on my Florida trip 2 weeks ago we drove 100% interstate miles & our average of 3 tanks was 26 mpg's. I was a little bummed out that it wasn't better than that but what can you do.

 

Your mileage is about right for the 03 CRV. MPG for 03 was 21/25 for MT and 22/26 for AT. At the speeds you say you were driving you are doing real well. Those mileage ratings are based on 55MPH

 

MPG blues

i have had up to 28 mpg on my wife's 07 driving around 55-65mph on 2 tanks........but that's driving at a steady pace with no major lane changes or high speed passes. 32 psi on all four tires, no A/C, steady pace, like grandma style. if i run it at 65-80mph i get about 25-26. on surface streets with A/C blasting i get an average of 22MPG........still not bad!

 

i have had up to 28 mpg on my wife's 07 driving around 55-65mph on 2 tanks........but that's driving at a steady pace with no major lane changes or high speed passes. 32 psi on all four tires, no A/C, steady pace, like grandma style. if i run it at 65-80mph i get about 25-26. on surface streets with A/C blasting i get an average of 22MPG........still not bad!

20 mpg is good for a larger car like the CR-V there is a lot of wind resistance my Mercury Villager gets around 14 mpg with soft driving and the AC kills the MPG by 3 or 4 mpg.

 

Wow, you must drive like ass. I averaged 80mph to and from Florida in my '05 AT and returned SEVERAL ticks over 28mpg. And that includes plenty of passing.

 

I get about 20 to 22 daily driving its not as though I put the hammer down all day I cruise at high speeds but I slowly rmp up the thingis there is a lot of stop and go also I use the A/C

 

1000 ex auto, I get 26 mpg average, driving average 55 mph only on big hills on paved twisty mountain roads, to work and back

 

I mean 1999 ex auto, ,cant get used to no keypad on my new laptop at work

 

Driving Conditions?

So many factors affect your mileage. One that bothers me (cause I can't control it) is the road conditions and where you are driving.

I used to do a ton of trips back and forth from Northern VA to VT (Go Hokies!) and I would get high 20s (even tip-toeing past 30 on occasion), but that's because the roads there are pretty straight and mountainous. Lots of hills and coasting helped with getting higher mileage. Also, tons of trucks (81's a truckin' route) to draft behind helped.

Since moving to MD for work, my mileage has steadily dropped to the low 20s (even creeping below 20 a few times); doing too much city driving and definately very different road and traffic conditions.

I haven't really changed my driving habits. "Lead Foot" or "Toggle Accelerator" is how my friends/coworkers usually describe my driving. Driving fast, however, does lead to worse mileage, but it sure is fun!

 

Sadly, the 2nd gen Cr-v will only get 20mpg in town, and about 25 on a long highway trip. That little fuel pump picture in the manual of a car is full of it. I also have a VW beetle that says it gets 30 mpg in town. IT gets about 18, and it's in perfect condition. Same with the CR-v. It's just a guess for sales. Also, if your town has hills, you may have noticed that the cr-v climbs a hill as well as you can walk up it. IT takes a hit on mileage there. Just watch the REVS. Everytime it jumps to 3000 or more, you're wasting fuel basically, 2500 is about where it works best for good mileage, because it's not a hard push, if you can run it at 5000 or up, you'd be able to save fuel as well, but you'll be doing 110 MPH, which is not impossible, but you may be causing attention from local law enforcement.