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SUVs Honda Pilot Honda Pilot Real World MPG
970 messages, Last post on Jun 09, 2009 at 7:56 AM
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My 2008 Pilot AWD EX-L is up to 5500 miles and has provided poor fuel economy (13-14 city only, 15-17 freeway only) since new. That's with babying it on the road, and turning off the FULL-AUTO A/C. Others are getting 16-18 and 18-20+. I'm thinking it might not be reaching proper operating temperature. Of course the local dealer says that if there's no trouble light on, there's no trouble. They recommended using better gas, but to no avail. My temperature guage never makes it to straight up like my previous Honda products. It's always to the left of center. I put the climate control system into diagnostic mode and it reports that the coolant temp is only making it to 71 degrees Celcius. That's only about 158F. Seems kind of low. Can anyone else post their dash indications on the temp guage? I'd really appreciate it if you could also tell me what you read from your climate control system. I need climate control information for sensor #4. Instructions to access the diagnostic mode are: 1. Turn the ignition switch off. 2. Press and hold BOTH the AUTO and RECIRC buttons, then start the engine. 3. After the engine starts, release the buttoms. The climate control display will flash the sensor number and then the value for that sensor. 4. To advance to the next sensor reading, press the rear window defogger button. I need data for sensor #4 - it reads out data in degress C. Let me know how high it goes under normal driving. You can hit off to get out of diagnostic mode, or turn off the ignition switch.
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Replying to: badmpg1 (Nov 16, 2008 10:34 pm) I installed a Scan Gauge yeaterday. One of the functions is the water temperature. Didn't pay much attention to that, but will get back to you. Have you done the ILP? See page 11 of this forum. Kip
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Replying to: kipk (Nov 17, 2008 5:50 am)
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Replying to: badmpg1 (Nov 17, 2008 11:15 pm) Sooner or later the battery will run down, be disconnected for some reason, or need replacement. And something similar will need to be done. A few years back my local mileage dropped from 18+/- to 14+/- and the road mileage from 25+/- to 21+/-. After reading about the ILP it occurred to me that I had disconnected the battery while looking for a short/blown fuse just before the mileage got bad. The idle was fine, But I did it anyway. After doing the ILP, the good mileage returned. I had asked my Honda dealer service writer about the ILP and he said it was only for a smooth idle and would not affect mileage. The service manager said the same. That isn't the first time they have been wrong. If it was done correctly by the dealer, before you took delivery,and the battery has not been disconnected or died, doing it again will not do a thing for you. However It can't hurt either. If you should decide to do it, follow directions. It is an IDLE Learn Procedure. With this colder weather, I would turn off all accessories, disconnect the battery for 5 minutes. re connect the battery, crank the car and go back in the house for a half hour or so. Then go out and watch for the cooling fans to cycle twice. Go back in the house for 10 more minutes. Then go out and turn the engine off. Turn the switch to the run position for 2-5 seconds, then start the car. let it idle for a few seconds and you are done. If you missed a few fan cycles in that first half hour, that is ok. The key is that it needs to cycle those fans at least twice and idle 10 additional minutes. FWIW: My normal local driving usually involves round trips of 6-15 miles. My average MPG for local is 18+/-. Yesterday I got to try out the Scan Gauge. Air temp was 44 degrees. Water temp was 46 degrees. Within 3 miles of driving, water reached 182. The short trip was only 4.1 miles. I drove as normal and the mileage for the trip was 15.2 mpg. I was at the destination about 1/2 hour and the engine had a small amount of time to cool. Water was about 140 degrees or so when I started back home. I drove as usual and the engine reached 182 degrees within a mile or so. The return trip netted 18+ mpg. Same amount of hills in both directions. 1 stop sign and 2 traffic lights in both directions and 4 road changes. Most of the trip involved 45 mph limits. The fastest I drove was 49 and the average speed was 29 according to the Scan Gauge. I'm thinking it calculates distance and total run time for the "average" speed. It was a bit disheartening to be sitting still and watching the "Average" mileage dropping. Getting up to speed from a complete stop showed 2-3 mpg in low gear with moderate acceleration. With a light foot it jumped to 3-5 mpg. Just for drill, while the engine was at operating temp, I went back to the same destination. That trip netted 21+ mpg. When returning, watched the Scan Gauge closely and really tried to optimize mileage. That trip showed my top speed to be 45 mph, and average speed of 28 mph, and netted 23.9 MPG. So the tranny never shifted into 5th gear. This thing really brings home how every little thing we do affects our mileage. I don't know how accurate it is. But it definitely indicates mileage fluctuations due to terrain and throttle. It also showed a 3+ to 5 mpg difference between cold, warm and hot engine. Going to be interesting to get out on the open road and find the sweet spot for the engine in 5th gear. 
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Replying to: scottgbwi (Oct 31, 2008 1:03 pm)
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| Traveling from Virginia to Florida, aprox. 800 miles, I got 21.5 MPG. The trip included 2 adults, 2 children, and a full load of luggage and gifts. My Pilot had less than 1,000 miles and I did not use cruse control. I noticed that I had better fuel economy in the mountains. I suspect I would have even better mileage in the flatter areas if I were using cruse control. | |
bought 09 pilot ex 4wd end of sept getting around 16.5 mpg city,20 21highway all the sudden dropped to13mpg overall took to dealer ran codes told me nothing was wrong could be due to the additives added to gas in winter NEVER herd of that also said same problem with mini van I thoght VCM is supposed t give better gas mileage
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Replying to: dschnit (Jan 18, 2009 6:16 am) Joking aside, winter fuel does typically cause a drop in fuel economy due to the additives in it; the dealer isn't yanking your chain. VCM does help fuel mileage, and I suspect yours would be worse without it. Where do you live? Do you warm up your car in the morning before driving it during the winter? |
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I have a 2004 Pilot and I was getting 23-24 on the highway. My mileage suddenly dropped to under 20 on the highway. The only known change was that I put on a set of Wrangler MS tires. I had the dealer put the vehicle on the computer and they said there was no problem. Has anyone experienced a similar problem? I can't believe that it is just the tires.
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Replying to: peteinny (Jan 22, 2009 1:22 pm)  Serously. If you just had them installed, tire-stores are notorius under-inflators. Cushy/quiet ride for you, faster wearing tires for them. Win/win!
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