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SUVs Honda CR-V Honda CR-V Real World MPG
777 messages, Last post on Nov 03, 2009 at 2:32 PM
You are in the Honda CR-V Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
Your Community Leader is varmint.
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I have a 2003 CRV automatic front wheel drive with 84,000 miles. I have consistently got 23 mpg on about 50-50 driving. This last tankful, I got about 16 mpg and it seems I am on track for that mileage on this latest tankful. After reading some of the posts it seems the ethanol in the gas may affect it some. Also, someone mentioned a lazy O2 sensor and the fact that it did not register on a check engine light as being bad. Probably not a bad idea to have the injectors cleaned. Considering the mileage on the vehicle, would it be worthwhile to go ahead and change this out or have the diagnostics done? Also, it still bothers me that you cannot change the fuel filter on the 03 CRV. Supposedly it is permanent and built in to the fuel pump. I guess if the fuel filter gets clogged, you have to change the whole fuel pump. Any thoughts?
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Replying to: madams1 (Nov 19, 2008 10:24 am) I think its a great time to change the O2 sensor as it will probably start malfunctioning after 100K anyway. Besides the cost of diagnostics will just be more expenditure on the way to a new sensor. Just before an oil change, or after a suspected consumption of poor fuel, use a proper brand name fuel system cleaner (shell, valvoline, etc) to keep the injectors clean. It helps in the long run tremendously. Check the engine bay firewall for the fuel filter as on some 03 CRV's its located there. If it is in the fuel tank, then its not too much of a problem. When you open the fuel pump location under the rear seat in a well ventilated area, make sure you have the necessary gaskets to reseal the pump after you exchange the filter. Its fairly straight forward, but new gaskets and seals will help as the old ones will be less flexible or chemically weak for further exposure. But should your fixture be a permanent one, then its fairly easy and not prohibitively expensive to put in a new pump setup especially if its a comparable re-manufactured one. To reduce the occurrence of this chore, try to never let your tank of gas fall below half mark. That way the filter won't get clogged with sediments picked up from the very bottom of the tank - there is a lot of gunk there anyway at all times. Hope this helps. 
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Replying to: d07 (Nov 19, 2008 2:23 pm) re you stated ".... To reduce the occurrence of this chore, try to never let your tank of gas fall below half mark. That way the filter won't get clogged with sediments picked up from the very bottom of the tank - there is a lot of gunk there anyway at all times...." Does the fuel pump suck the gas from very bottom of gas tank always like the tube is fixed there no matter the tank is full or 1/4, empty OR the fuel pump suck the gas by floating at different level depending how much gas in the gas tank?
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Replying to: bigdadi118 (Nov 23, 2008 2:00 pm) I believe this to be true. But the chances are that when the tank is near empty or closer to it, the sediments and gunk are sloshed about more vigorously given the empty space, even though there are baffles inside the tank. The probability of dirt getting into the fuel lines is significantly increased when the fuel is at a lower level. Hence its better not to let the fuel level get low. The penalty you pay is that the mpg is lower with the added weight of fuel compared to a half tank that is. But this is the lesser of two evils as dirt in fuel lines is detrimental in the long run to the engine as well as economy. Now a large percentage of the impurities is water - due to condensation etc. So its actually a great idea to actually add some additive occasionally to hold onto the water and get rid of it through combustion in the engine. I think that most fuel system cleaners attempt to do this. Done as part of a regular regiment, the fuel system will be considerably clean and that results in longevity of the vehicles components.
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Replying to: d07 (Nov 24, 2008 6:03 pm) Would be very interesting to find out. I agree, If that is true, the cleaner fuel would definitely be higher in the tank, and keeping the tank more full would be beneficial. Down side would be WHEN the tank is eventually run low for whatever reason, the contaminate collection might overwhelm the filter/pump/injectors.  Kip |
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Replying to: bigdadi118 (Nov 23, 2008 2:00 pm) |
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Replying to: blueiedgod (Nov 25, 2008 1:31 pm) I think most people should just gas and go. Most cars have fuel filters that should take care of any gunk in the tank, and I'm not inclined to fill up twice as often. |
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 25, 2008 2:44 pm) I realize I'm not the one you asked, but thought I'd throw out some anecdotal evidence. I run a 1996 Accord with 185,000 on it, never had "fuel treatment" in it, just good ole Chevron 87.
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Replying to: thegraduate (Nov 25, 2008 4:20 pm)  I don't use them either and used to use Chevron quite a bit before switching over to grocery gas mostly. I had some injector problems a while back, but I have since fired that mechanic and I'm not convinced it wasn't a boat payment problem the mechanic had. |
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The only additives I'd ever use is a complete fuel system cleaner - nothing else at all. I have had poor quality fuel at times pumped into my car and I have seen a drop in performance and mpg. I know from my own experiences that not all fuels are the same. There is certainly a difference in octane and maybe some differences in the additive package. The company that produces the fuel may have standards to set and observe. But nothing stops the fuel retail outlet from tampering and sometimes even altering the percentage of ethanol or sometimes cases of kerosene in gasoline are not uncommon in some places. Even the best gasoline in the USA may or may not match the average quality of gasoline available in Germany, France or Britain. VW and Mercedes had issues with their fuel injectors getting gummed up or clogged and had to modify the designs to be more robust for use in the US. That may be why similar sized cars sold in the US and in Europe get varying mpg (also because of the difference in measuring units!) but also because of sulphur content and other factors. You can get away with no additives at all for the life of your car. But that largely depends on the design of the components and how much torture they have been through during their life cycle. If you happen to keep filling gas fortunately at a reliable location -then you probably wouldn't need additives ever to keep the engine clean. But how would you know this? - No one knows for sure. So to stack the odds in my cars favor, I'd rather add a fuel system cleaner which is NOT a snake oil but a necessity in some locations (very different from engine oil or coolant, transmission or gear box additives - these are not recommended by manufacturers) If fuel system cleaners were optional and all fuels were equal - then all used cars would have immaculate injectors/systems. Until that is proven to be the case, I'll stick to my theory.
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