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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
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Replying to: car5608 (Nov 29, 2008 7:14 am) Keep doing that and you will be looking at replacing the "charcoal canister" that is used to capture fuel vapors from the tank and directs them into the engine on start up. Keep flooding the canister with 4 gallons of fuel, and you will be paying $400 for the new canister pretty soon. Your CR-V is not unique, Honda has been using evaporative emissions control system (charcoal canister) since the 80's if not earlier than that. Bit, it will be unique at the dealer waiting for the new canister to arrive. Read the Owner's Manual, it should tell you specifically not to fill past the "click off" at the pump. |
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I bought a 2009 CR-V LX 4WD 3 weeks ago, and I think it's an amazing piece of engineering. I have managed to get fuel economy that's well above the EPA mileage of 20/26. My commute to work is all surface streets, but with fairly light traffic. I usually get 25-26 mpg according to the dashboard, and when I measure it at the pump it's usually about 2-3% below that (there's some debate as to which reading is the more accurate one - I think that gas pumps tend to err in favor of the gas station). I just took my first highway trip, roughly 30 miles each way. In one direction I got 38.8 mpg, and in the other direction I got 37.2 mpg (cargo consisted of 2 adults and 2 kids in car seats along with a stroller and some bottles of water, so maybe about 400 pounds). Again, the fillup was within 2-3% of this value. In both cases I had the cruise set at 55 and the AC off, and starting and ending elevations were almost the same, so I have to conclude that headwinds and tailwinds can impact your fuel economy. Yes, everyone else zooms by me on the highway, yes, the trip takes a whopping 5 minutes longer than it would at 65, and yes, my wife and kids were begging for air conditioning - but the sacrifices were worth it to get nearly 40 miles per gallon in a CR-V! We could all cut our fuel consumption immensely if they lowered the national speed limit to 55 again. Locally I've been driving at the speed limit or less, and I try to watch the timing of traffic lights so that I'm not doing much braking at intersections. I try to keep as little in the trunk as possible. AC is a real mileage killer, so that stays off unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't idle in fast food drive-thrus (frankly it takes less time to park and go inside), and I don't idle at ATMs or leave the car running in parking lots. Honestly, I think that car manufacturers should take a cue from hybrids and shut all cars off when they're standing still. Think about how much gas people waste idling, esp. in high traffic areas. I suppose I'm a hypermiler of sorts, but I don't take turns at 40 mph or shut off the car when I'm coasting or at a light (maybe if it was a light that I knew would last several minutes I'd shut it off). Let me know if you're able to beat these mpg values, and if so, tell me how you did it! I think the CR-V is the best car Honda has ever made. I've also got an Odyssey, and we'll typically get 20-21 around town and 27-28 on the highway in that car. I used to have a Pilot, which had way too much inertia, and got a paltry 16-17 mpg around town, and if I was lucky - 22 on the highway.
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Replying to: klanger (Jun 23, 2009 10:47 am) Nice report! The "local" driving seems very do-able with careful driving and no AC. I can get near that with my wifes 03 CR-V. My wife gets 21-22 under same conditions. Your highway part "SEEMS" real high. However, since you threw in the mileage you get with the Odyssey and got with the Pilot, believable. Not unusual for our 03 4WD Pilot to get 29-31 mpg at 58 MPH with Cruise on and AC off on rolling hills and 2 people on an Expressway portion of a trip. But turn on the AC and increase the speed to 65 and the mileage will drop to 24+/- in a heart beat. I'm using a Scan Gauge II and have learned to trust it to be accurate. The 03 CR-V will get 31 mpg, with AC on, at 60-65 and 2 people. Probably won't get a chance to try 55 mph, and no AC. Those conditions would bring on comments like, "Is there something wrong with the car? Why is everybody passing us. And why is it so hot in here."  The wife doesn't like to be passed or to be hot! There have been many reports that Honda's dash gauge can be optimistic as much as 10%. But even at that, your mileage would still be very good. Please keep us informed as the the mileage at say 60 mph with AC on. Thanks, Kip
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Replying to: kipk (Jun 24, 2009 2:44 am) I was a bit surprised by the numbers myself. I was hoping for 32 mpg, and when it went to almost 39 I was completely amazed. I filled up the tank after that trip just to confirm those numbers. It might be a few weeks before I can test at different speeds and with AC on. I know at some point I turned on the compressor for a few seconds, and the mpg instantly dropped from around 38 to 36 (this was shortly after resetting the trip odometer). To be fair about the Pilot, I always had the climate controls set to "Auto", which basically gives it license to turn on the AC even when it's 65 out. The "auto" setting is just awful. I think if I had a scangauge hooked up, I might have realized just where the fuel economy was going. I've read that operating AC at a 50% duty cycle can reduce fuel economy as much as 10% in a conventional car (and more like 15-20% in a hybrid). As far as the impact of speed on fuel economy, since wind resistance is proportional to the square of your velocity, your going to have twice as much wind resistance at 78 mph than at 55. According to some charts I've seen such as mpg vs. speed an increase from 55 to 65 would result in another 10% drop. So, at 65 with AC on I'd expect maybe 31-32 mpg. Another tip is to make sure your tires are always fully inflated. I've found that my economy increases if I go a few psi over Honda's recommendations, but still stay below the max psi for the tire (remember to account for the fact that the pressure will increase as the ambient temperature increases - pV=nRT). If you fill up your tires with nitrogen, then it is less likely to leak out and you won't need to get your tires very often. My dad bought a V6 Accord because he felt that his 4 cylinder didn't give him enough power to accelerate onto the freeway. I get better economy in my CR-V than he does with his Accord. The problem here is speed limits used to be 55, and a small fuel-sipping engine used to be enough. People have demanded bigger engines over the last 25 years to keep up with the new speed limits. People want bigger cars because they feel unsafe next to all of the huge SUVs on the road. Now everyone's in a rush to get somewhere. So, you've got a whole bunch of lemmings going 70 (and with the AC at full blast) just because the signs say they're allowed to do it. You don't need a hybrid to get high fuel economy - just drive slower and crack open your windows instead of using AC (well, unless you're driving through Newark or Coalinga, CA - then make sure you close off your outside vents!). Check out the Drive 55 conservation project: If you're doing mostly highway driving, you don't need a hybrid. Because of the extra weight from the batteries, a conventional car can actually get better mileage if you're not doing a lot of breaking. With cruise control on, you're not going to get a lot of heavy acceleration unless you're going uphill. I'll get off my soapbox now. Hopefully someone will find this info useful! Keith
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Replying to: klanger (Jun 24, 2009 5:29 am) |
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I just got a 09 CRV FWD LX and couldn't be happier. It's getting 27-28 in light city use, short trips, 45-65 mph with several traffic lights, stop signs and a bridge. For comparison, my 08 Kia Spectra5 2.0  compact car got the same 27-28 for the exact same commute and much worse on the highway. The CRV has a 5 speed transmission. It is a very solid ride and handles amazingly well. The bottom line is the CRV beats many 4 speed compact cars mpg and is an SUV. More traffic lights and fast acceleration will lower mpg. I'll post a follow up later but for now the CRV is awesome. I'm 6'3'' and have lots of room in front or back. Also good cargo space, only a tiny bit less than a 4 runner or Jeep, but just about double the mpg. I took a big loss on dumping the Kia after a year but should made up for the loss with the CRV.
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Help...I just got an 09 CR-V 4WD EX-L w/NAV. The posted MPG on the sticker is 20 City, 27 Hwy, combined 22. Now, I've only driven about 100 miles so far, of which probably 60 were city and 40 hwy, but on the screen I'm getting 14.1 mpg. I don't floor it when the light turns green, it hasn't been ungodly hot (requiring lots of A/C), and I don't have a ton of cargo. I just don't get it. I know that the 20/27 is from "ideal conditions" but I wasn't expecting the combined number to be off by a whopping 8mpg. Any thoughts? I was getting 10-12 mpg combined on my Ford Explorer and was really excited for the upgrade.
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Replying to: pfloydman (Aug 27, 2009 8:37 pm) I have never reset the "B" trip meter on my 2007 CR-V, so I have a complete mileage reading for the car. It's 26.1 mpg. The meter, and you won't like this, probably reads high--1/2 to 3/4 mpg in my experience. Check the tire pressure, although dealers usually over inflate tires. Be assured, a well-running CR-V under normal driving conditions will deliver 20+ mpg. Good luck. |
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Never, never count on the onboard mpg screen for a reading. Always off by a few mpg. Use the try and true method by filling up to the first click at a gas station you use on a regular basis. Then after at least 3/4 tank left fill up again at the very same station and the very same pump to the first click only. This will give you a better reading. Driving any car a short distance without giving the engine a chance to warm up is a mpg killer. Example... My former 2006 Civic ( 25mpg city sticker ) got about 24/25 miles per gallon on a 10/12 mile city round drive per day. When I only drove 1/2 mile up and then later 1/2 mile back from a store or bank, my mpg was 16 to 17 miles per gallon. See the big difference when you only drive a short distance. Long traffic lights, many traffic lights over few lights will also give you a less mpg reading.
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Replying to: sr146260211 (Aug 28, 2009 5:26 am) First, though, driving conditions. Suburban and rural 35 - 45 mph limits, rolling hills, stops typically 1/2 to 1 mile, 85 percent.Short interstate 65 - 70 mph 15 percent. A/C on auto, 2 occupants mostly. Tires inflated to recommended 30psi. Temps, Oklahoma typical 85 - 95. Calculated mpg using miles/gallons fuel = 23.53mpg. Best tank was 24.72mpg (last tank), worst was 22.87mpg. Onboard mpg reading for the three tanks of fuel is 24.2mpg. Whats that, 1 percent or so off? I'll take it. So far, I'm a happy camper. The "Cute Little Car", as my grandkids call it, is tight and responsive, fairly quiet and very handy. Lotsa stuff goes in the cargo area, which along with being a Honda is the main reason for this purchase. |
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