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Hyundai Accent Real World MPG

95 messages,  Last post on Dec 07, 2012 at 10:13 PM

You are in the Hyundai Accent Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Accent, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 5 of 10

#35 of 95 Re: Hyundai Accent: Real World MPG [backy] by trendmonger

Oct 17, 2007 (12:48 pm)

Replying to: backy (Oct 17, 2007 8:52 am)
The point of reference was Hyundai reporting 32 CTY & 36 HWY which now a year later has been changed to 28 CTY & 37 HWY.it's not that I ever expected to get 100% of the published estimates but 50 % below the published estimates for CTY millage from September 2006 is ridiculous.
 
As I had stated on real HWY millage while I should complain I won't for being in the 80% range of what had been published is not bad now is it. Wait I think I will change my mind I want to complain about 80%. Do I pay 100& of the total cost of ownership or 80% of it.
 
To be fair I was not traveling at 48 MPH I was traveling between 60 & 65. What the hell is this 48MPH testing. Who drives 48 MPH. Give us ratings based on 55 MPH so I am complaining. Hey 55 seems to be the median.
 
Even by what information I am seeing today the 15/16 MPG is only 55% of the estimate as currently published.
 
The 8 mile trip does involve stop idling time where the overall trip is done in 20 to 25 minutes averaging 30 MPH when not Stop Idling. I would estimate that there is 10 minutes of stop idling per trip.
 
Where you said is the car warmed up seems like rediculous 1970s hogwash. cars today idle at normal RPM within a minute during average temperatires in the spring, summer & fall so I do not see by what RPMs the engien is runnign at at idle time in some so called immaginary warm up operiod is the problem.
 
The HWY tests were all HWY miles at 65MPH so I am not complaining one bit on Real HWY MPG.
 
The car before this was a 1993 Nissan Altima where it optimally performed 22 MPG doing the same exact trip as this work trip is now going on for 20 plus years.
 
If our 10 minutes of Idle Time each way is some worst case scenario and this is where the real MPG is lost I view this as a Hyundai problem with Idling Fuel Millage.
 
Plain and simple there are 6 cylinder cars over the last 20 years that have performed better in the same scenario.
 
My 1990 MX6 Mazda that I owned for 10 years was better.
The 1993 Nissan Altima that my wife drove on this same daily CTY trip for 14 years was better.
 
The Hyundai is a good sticker value but the Real MPG may be one of not the least realistic I have ever owned.
 
Even the CR test at 19MPG CTY is less than 68 % of the estimated mileage. That within itself is a 32% error in published documentation. Manufacturers should be held accountable and be held liable for financially compensating each and every customer. Some strict formal US Government test should sternly regulate this but any half educated individual should generally know the US government shows little concern for it's own people.

#36 of 95 Re: Hyundai Accent: Real World MPG [trendmonger] by backy

Oct 17, 2007 (1:07 pm)

Replying to: trendmonger (Oct 17, 2007 12:48 pm)
First, realize these aren't Hyundai's numbers you are comparing to--they are from the U.S Government--the EPA. Hyundai is required by law to report them on the car's window sticker.
 
Second, let's suppose that while you are driving on your daily commute, you get 30 mpg while you are moving. That wouldn't be too bad, would it? But your trip takes 25 minutes, and 10 of that is stop/idle time. During those times, your mpg is zero. So your overall mpg for the entire trip is only 18 mpg, assuming you could get 30 mpg while the car is moving--including accelerating from the stops, during which your mpg will be far less than 30 mpg. Your actual numbers aren't too far from this estimate.
 
The odd part of this to me is the 32 mpg while driving 60-65 mph on the highway. That seems too low. For example, I can easily get mid 30s, even upper 30s, with a much larger Hyundai engine (2.0L, 138 hp Beta II) in a heavier car, when driving 60-65 mph without stops on the highway. That is with tire pressure between 32-35 psi (varies some with temperature), a light foot on the gas, and no other strange stuff e.g. bad weather, strong headwinds.
 
Here is something to try if you are so inclined. Some rental car companies have Accents (Hertz for one). You could rent one for a day or two and take it on a highway trip, and see what you get. That could tell you if the FE is typical of the Accent, or if there's something wrong with your car.
 
P.S. The revised EPA FE estimates for the Accent AT are 24/33. So at 32 mpg you are very close to the EPA rating for the car. But with careful driving, I've found it's possible to exceed the EPA ratings, especially the re-formulated 2008 ratings.

#37 of 95 Re: Hyundai Accent: Real World MPG [backy] by trendmonger

Oct 17, 2007 (1:36 pm)

Replying to: backy (Oct 17, 2007 1:07 pm)
The revised EPA FE estimates for the Accent AT are 24/33.
 
Yeah I guess this is all governmental stuff already which juts further. Plain and simple you can't trust Big Business or Goverment.
 
Yes my wife's trip has some idle time but whose CTY trip does not have idle time. As far as I know every CTY I have ever visited has lights and stop signs where vehicles stop. Maybe the EPA have some imaginary city where cars can travel at 25 MPH without ever stopping.
 
The funny thing is the 1993 Nissan Altima making the same trip with the same general traffic situation over the last 20 years obtained 22 MPG CTY during optimal performance. My wife drives Off Peak Hours with less traffic than most in the NYC area. The last year where a tuneup was necessary the Altima dropped to 17 MPG so I am not too happy that 14 year old car that needed a tune up had better gas millage than the new Accent.
 
It is my opinion that all these escalated estimates over the last few years is nothing more than BS to sell more cars. Governments lie to their people. We garage our vehicles. Funny thing is that 1993 Nissan Altima may very well have lasted another 10 years with the way we maintained it. We let the necessary tuneup go because we thought why spend the money when we planned on buying that Accent that should have performed close to 50% better than the old Nissan. So what did we get a new car taht gets less than a 19934 Nissan that needed a tune up. Another thing about the Hyundai Accent. At the 2005 Auto Show they had an Accent with HYBRID. We were eager to purchase that but Hyundai has failed to deliver a HYBRID. My guess is they don't want to warantee a HYBRID fro 5 Years so they scrapped as being cost prohibitive for their current consumer market. He they fooled me into beleiving 32 MPG CTY. You better believe I am not happy with 15 and 1/2 MPG CTY regardless of the 10 minute idle
 
 Fortunately we keep our cars a long time and maintain them where they have depreciated to Zero by the time the next new car purchase comes along

#38 of 95 Re: Hyundai Accent: Real World MPG [trendmonger] by trendmonger

Oct 18, 2007 (7:07 am)

Replying to: trendmonger (Oct 17, 2007 1:36 pm)
Here is adding some more data regarding what I call EPA Santa Clause Syndrome.
 
The city test is approximately 11 miles long and simulates a stop and go trip with an average speed of about 20 miles per hour (mph). The trip lasts 31 minutes and has 23 stops. About 18 percent of the time is spent idling (as in waiting for traffic lights). A short freeway driving segment is included in the test. The engine is initially started after being parked overnight.

 
So 18% of the driving is idle time. Sounds close enough to what my wifes idle time is not to get a 50% differential between EPA and between our Real World EPA.
 
My wife drives at most 20 to 25 minutes driving 8 miles where typically 8 to 10 minutes is idle time. She similarly has a short HWY stretch where for her it is 1 mile. She is not Mario Andretti in a Hyundai Tuscon. One day soon I will get exact numbers of idle time and start/stops and compare to this EPA.
 
With my wifes driving numbers being fairly close to EPA I wonder why she is 50& below last years EPA 42& below this years EPA for the same vehicle with similar driving conditions.
 
So in a general observation the EPA supposedly takes in account for 18% idle time. Even if my wife has a 25 % Idle Time would that make for a 50% or 42% difference in EPA and Real CTY MPG for this car.
 
As I said the car is maintained 100% to Hyundai recommendations. WE are getting oil/filter changes every 3 months. The RPM seems normal. There does not seem to be brake drag. Tire pressure is at the suggested 30PSI cold.
 
The only problem I see is government and auto manufacturers lying to the public. Wake up people Big Business and Governments lie to the people all the time.

#39 of 95 2005 Accent GLS Hatchback MPG by jannes

Nov 02, 2007 (12:42 pm)

I was surprised reading so many complaints about MPG. Although, I whine about mine but that's because my '94 Hyundai Excel got 42 IN TOWN, and that's just hard to beat. I bought my Accent with 25K on it & right off the bat I was getting 37 MPG in town - and I live in the mountains & have a brutal hill to climb going home. I have had trouble with the car - finally found out the speed sensors had gone out - and even then it never dipped lower than 30 MPG in town despite having all kinds of trouble shifting & sometimes not being able to get in top gears. I haven't had a chance to take a trip in it except for when it was having it's problems - and even then on the highway it got 39 MPG, despite winding through the Smokie Mtns with it's troubles. I imagine it'll crack 40 on the hwy now that it's fixed.

#40 of 95 Re: 1 year 10,000 miles on my 2007 Accent SE Auto [besmith] by hatchbackfreak

Nov 18, 2007 (9:00 pm)

Replying to: besmith (Aug 30, 2007 9:54 pm)
Same here...But I guess you're a better driver. My best was 35mpg. I got mine last March 07, I have 25,000 now! I do my change oil month. Using Mobil 1 fully synthetic on walmart, $22, Supertech Filter $3.If I got to Pepboys, just regular penzoil is about $30. I got 280 /35mpg on full tank. I usually do 85-87 mph on freeway. Yes, its 4,000 +rpm yet still get 280. Sorry to hear about your airbag. Mine has knocking sound every cold start. Dealer says, it was normal. Hmm..Do you have them? I got some e-news from my insurance about this model has rough idling on cold start. It just need ECU - reset.
and its not what I have.

#41 of 95 A full tank of gas and a drive from portland to the canadian border by accentuate

Dec 06, 2007 (10:47 am)

Replying to: hatchbackfreak (Nov 18, 2007 9:00 pm)
I took a trip up to the canadian border to find out how much gas I use on the freeway. I also found some interesting information as I went up:
 
According to mapquest the drive should take 268.35 miles, however my odometer told me 259.8. I used 8.182 gallons of gas. If I use the mapquest mileage I get 32.79 MPG, but if I calculate it with my odo mileage I get 31.8 MPG.
 
Those conditions were mostly driving 65-75 MPH and for a good portion of that journey I got to sit behind a ford F-150 with a camper on the back so that did help my mileage. That was fair weather, no rain.
 
On the trip back mapquest says 267.62 miles, where my odo said 257.9. I used 9.655 gallons of gas, and my miles to the gallon calculated by mapquest was 27.71, and my odo calculated 26.71.
 
Those conditions were bad, considering I was averaging 80 MPH and it was pooring down rain, windshield wipers on full blast. Lots of times when I just had to floor it and pass semi's and trucks.
 
So I found out that if I average 70 MPH instead of 80, I can achieve 5 MPG better, as well as my odometer is off by about 10 miles every tank of gas (which is 1 MPG better then calculated if filling up with 10 gallons of gas).

#42 of 95 Re: Hyundai Accent: Real World MPG [79customd] by radar1

Dec 11, 2007 (7:07 pm)

Replying to: 79customd (Aug 20, 2006 5:31 pm)
Mine is an 05 hatchback, stick shift.
I consistently get between 34-38 US MPG. I don't count the first tank which was only 29 because the dealer filled that one and probably not to the top. My daily commute used to be 5 miles each way in rural 45 MPH zones in OK, but now is 24 miles each way in high speed traffic in GA (normally cruise with traffic at 75-80 MPH).
Car runs great and I have had no quality issues at all in 30,000 miles.

#43 of 95 2008 Accent by litesong1

Jan 06, 2008 (1:47 am)

Three tanks have turned in 32, 32 & 30.7 MPG in mixed backroad, highway & city driving for my wife's 2 door 5 speed Accent.

#44 of 95 further gas tanks by litesong1

Jan 26, 2008 (8:33 pm)

Further gas tanks following my 1/6/2008 post are 30.2, 30.9, & 29.7MPG.
Sure hope these lowering gas MPG numbers are due to no trips other than work & temperatures getting colder. Also hopefully, ALL these low MPG numbers are due to lower energy winter mix gasoline. The MPG better not get any lower.

Messages Page 5 of 10

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