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midnightMDX said:
I did a 100 mile trip. I was able to do 22mpg. 90% highway going 75, 4 adults and a trunk full of stuff.
Not bad considering the weight of these things, plus all the added weight you were hauling.
 
New generation more efficient? Seems to be a subjective call. I'm getting close to 20mpg around town on my 02. When I dfo a long highway run I'll report my Highway numbers. From what I have seen on these posts it depends where you are and how you drive. The benefit of the 02 is I burn regular gas and still get great MPG.
 
polyian said:
New generation more efficient? Seems to be a subjective call. I'm getting close to 20mpg around town on my 02. When I dfo a long highway run I'll report my Highway numbers. From what I have seen on these posts it depends where you are and how you drive. The benefit of the 02 is I burn regular gas and still get great MPG.
Interesting comment. I also have an '02 and the owner's manual, the gas door and the Service Dept. all say "Premium Fuel Required." Even though the MDX's sister car, the Honda Pilot, both have the same motor and the Pilot uses Regular grade fuel. :3:
 
There is a whole thread on the regular fuel versus premium issue. Computer Test results were posted for the 1st gen by Mogar showing absolutely no difference in engine performance except at WOT. I rarely have my foot to the floor. With premium costing an extra $.20 a gallon in Canada I'll stick to regular...Other poster are driving newer models with regular as well but I can't speak to their performance results.
 
polyian said:
There is a whole thread on the regular fuel versus premium issue. Computer Test results were posted for the 1st gen by Mogar showing absolutely no difference in engine performance except at WOT. I rarely have my foot to the floor. With premium costing an extra $.20 a gallon in Canada I'll stick to regular...Other poster are driving newer models with regular as well but I can't speak to their performance results.
Roger that. The onboard computer will "detune" the timing advance to compensate for the lower octane fuel to prevent "knock", in theory, reducing performance as well as efficiency <read: less gas mileage>. When taking overall cost difference in a tankful, the cost difference between premium and regular comes out to $3.00-$4.00 / tank.
 
On a recent trip with 2000 miles of hwy driving, I got 24 mpg with hills (sea level to 5000 ft) and a full load (+ full cargo box). That's pretty impressive for my 04. I kept the speed at 65-75 max.

I did noticed that you really take a big hit when you go 80+mph. I'd say I could've done 1 mpg better without the Thule cargo box.

That's pretty impressive IMO.
 
HwyRogue said:
...at most I get 17 mpg...generally hover around 16 ( have 4400 miles on the odo)
You should do better as the motor "loosens up." Check those tire pressures as well - you'd be amazed at the difference only 2 psi underinflation will make. Manufacturers will notoriously inflate tires on their new vehicles on the low side to give the supple ride.
 
vetdude said:


You should do better as the motor "loosens up." Check those tire pressures as well - you'd be amazed at the difference only 2 psi underinflation will make. Manufacturers will notoriously inflate tires on their new vehicles on the low side to give the supple ride.
Good thought - I haven't checked the pressure in a little while... and since I just picked up a new Kärcher pressure washer, I'll have something to do this weekend :D - clean the wheels and check the boots.
 
vetdude said:


You should do better as the motor "loosens up." Check those tire pressures as well - you'd be amazed at the difference only 2 psi underinflation will make. Manufacturers will notoriously inflate tires on their new vehicles on the low side to give the supple ride.
On the contrary. My '07 MDX was inflated 41 PSI at the pickup day. My '08 MDX was no better, 40 PSI on the delivery.
 
LionSpeed said:


On the contrary. My '07 MDX was inflated 41 PSI at the pickup day. My '08 MDX was no better, 40 PSI on the delivery.
There's always exceptions. Good thing you checked. Pressure that high would wear the center portion of the treads out quicker than a duck on a June bug! And at $200 apiece for Michelins, you don't want that.
 
Re: Ideal Octane?

Russr said:
Hi again, folks

I'm still testing this observation, but:

I was getting an average of about 12 MPG (!) in my X. Very short trips, all inner city stuff - pretty ugly, no matter what.

I decided to try the intermediate octane (Chevron calls it Super, I think). From the same gas station. Same pump, ectually.

Suddenly my mileage seemed to "jump" to 14 MPG. Same daily use.

I live in Houston - pretty darn close to sea-level.

Is this just me being full of it, or is there something weird happening?

russ
I too am from Houston, and I'm experienceing the same problem. I work at a chemical plant and have access to some 120 octane MTBE (the chemical ethanaol replaced)that I sometimes use to boost my MPGs up considerable. (1qt per 5 gallons/full tank) If it wern't for my gasoline mixture, I would probably be back to the mid teens again. I was told by a experienced Mechanic that if I replaced my fuel filter every 10,000 it would help out, but it wasn't recommenced or needed so early. FYI Ethanol is actually bad for the enviorment. It causes our emissions to burn dirtier, and deliveres less MPG. It's been a pain in the ass from the beginning. We need to go back to MTBE for christ sake.
 
I'm at 4,600 miles now and MPG has trended up slightly.

I have a 40 minute commute each way, with 10 min suburban (some hills), 5 minute city and 25 minute highway (both fairly flat). Fuel is 93 octane 10% ethanol.

I can make the round trip at 22 MPG if all things are ideal. If I hit construction or a few rush hour bottlenecks, it really starts to drop. Best and worst recent weekly averages are: 21.4 and 18.5, 20.5 for this week.

So it comes down to about $5 to $10 per week difference for me depending on conditions, side trips and driving habits. If I choose better travel hours, drive with a feather foot, manually shift up if I'm "stuck in 4th" at ~40MPH and try not to blow off too many annoying tailgaters on I-95 it goes well. When all that seems like just too much work (or restraint), well it will cost me.

(It's always something. If I got an RDX I would have to be mothering the boost gauge, plus being kicked in the kidneys all the way to work and wondering if I should of added to the highway population of CR-Vs)

If I had only city driving to do I would have to make some decisions, but the crusing comfort combined with the ability of the vehicle to move out when it needs to has made it generally a joy to drive.
 
I found this forum because I am concerned about a sudden drop in my fuel efficiency. I have an 03 MDX with about 56000 miles on it. Most of my driving is short trip, in town driving, and I have been averaging about 15.5 mpg since I bought the car new. I decided to try regular gas about 6 months ago and noticed no difference in mpg until a week or so ago. Suddenly, my trip computer is telling me that my mpg is down to about 11mpg. I usually fill my tank at Costco, and a friend told me that they switched their formula and have added ethanol. Could this be causing my lousy gas mileage? I am also in the process of calculating my mpg the old fashioned way, to see if the issue is in the trip computer.
 
mileage over cross country trip

For the information of the board:

I took my 08 MDX from NY to Montana. The truck is broken in, and the mileage for the trip was 20 mpg.

Most of the driving was open highway, ranging between 50-80 in the East, and increasing to 70-100 in the West.

I tried to keep the engine in high gear, pulling between 2500-3000 rpm.

The truck drives really well. Low wind noise, and comfortable even on a 900 mile day. Acura studied BMW very well.

Top speed was an indicated 122 mph "somewhere in Montana". The truck pulls very slowly above 105-110, when the HP and brick like shape cancel out. Unlike my BMW, the speed limiter is "sharp".

So, yes, I did see 20 mpg even driven hard. My wife was averaging 24 mpg, with a 75 mph cruise control over flat land.
 
Our 2001 MDX gets about 15.7MPG mixed highway and city.
 
For a short 15 mile highway trip I was able to get the meter to say 27mpg. I was in a construction zone going between 45-50 some of it was downhill and a bit of coasting. But as soon as I got off my exit, it started retreating back down. I was amazed to get it that high, but I knew it was short lived. :p
 
I've got 24.8mpg with over 500+ miles in one tankfull.
This is with golf clubs, high end stereo system/subwoofer, towing package, and chrome side steps (=heavy).

The way I did it was by not going over 65mph on freeway/hwy, feathering the accelerator during start, no A/C (fan only), and timing my braking so that I don't have to accelerate again.

I used to only get 17 to 18mpg until I decided to change my driving style just for fun (and to save few $).
 
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