Civic Hybrid: Your Gas Mileage

[chugiboi]

Strange, now that my civic hybrid is at 30,000 miles, I average around 41 city and 56+ for the hwy. But at least I'm happy with the number.

[dgh1981]

I have an '07 HCH and have a lifetime average of about 47 MPG, but recently after getting a new job and driving around 100 miles a day, I have been averaging around 55 MPG and sometimes higher. This morning on my commute to work I got 62 MPG.

[whtdvl]

^good stuff. That's a pretty good jump in mpg

[dgh1981]

Yea I think so too. IMA isn't as advanced as HCD, but it does an awesome job as long as you're not a lead foot.

[ScottyK]

Has anyone done any experimenting with their Civic Hybrid and solar panels? I just bought my 2007 Civic Hybrid, and I am getting about 34.9mpg on average. Granted, I have only driven it about 220 miles so far and the majority is city driving. Plus, where I live in Duluth MN is cold climate and lots of steep hills. Is 34.9mpg the best I can get with a civic hybrid? My parents have the 2010 pries and live in the same city...they never get below 40mpg.

I find myself constantly watching the gauges and trying to stay above 50mpg and in the green on charge. But, whenever I climb a hill, My batt level goes down to zero. I am working hard to keep the rpms low and the mpgs high...but am only getting 34.9mpg.

The reason I question solar paneling is for the batt levels. Would a small solar panel somewhere on the car, or in the front window inside the cabin...connected to the hybrid batt improve batt life and overall mileage? Just a though...I wouldn't know where to even begin on making that happen.

Can someone pleas give me some solid tips on how to improve my daily mpg to make this car worth the money? Id like to be at 40 - 50 mpg instead of 34.9. I am thinking about installing a KN Drop in filter. I read somewhere on here that, that alone will increase my mpg by 5+mpg.

HELP ME MAKE MY CIVIC HYBRID MORE EFFICIENT! PLEASE!

[chugiboi]

The solar panel your talking will not improve your mpg by much, maybe about 1-2 mpg more if you're lucky.

If you live in an area that snow and have lots of hill, 34 mpg for the Civic Hybrid is about normal I believe, it's very hard to get good mpg in those type of areas. A Toyota Prius will work better in those type of areas by the way because it's a full Hybrid vehicle.

Your battery drop down to zero faster if the temperatures outside get to like 60 degrees or below.

Also the solar panel will only charge you 12v battery, not the 158v IMA battery.

As for the tips I would say ask someone like Gohuskies would live in those type of areas.

[ScottyK]

Originally Posted by chugiboi

The solar panel your talking will not improve your mpg by much, maybe about 1-2 mpg more if you're lucky.

If you live in an area that snow and have lots of hill, 34 mpg for the Civic Hybrid is about normal I believe, it's very hard to get good mpg in those type of areas. A Toyota Prius will work better in those type of areas by the way because it's a full Hybrid vehicle.

Your battery drop down to zero faster if the temperatures outside get to like 60 degrees or below.

Also the solar panel will only charge you 12v battery, not the 158v IMA battery.

As for the tips I would say ask someone like Gohuskies would live in those type of areas.

Well, I noticed yesterday that the dealer I bought the Civic Hybrid from put 5W 30 oil in at the most recent change. Would that have anything to do with the poor gas mileage? On the cap it says to put in 0W 30. If that has any effect, I will get it changed and buy the KN drop in filter and see how that goes.

My wife and I are planning on keeping the civic hybrid for her and saving for another hybrid for me. We will either get the 2010 Prius or the 2011 CRZ. I'd prefer the 2011 CRZ b/c of the reported mileage #'s from the CRZForums and due to the sporty 2-seater nature of the car. I drove one yesterday and really enjoyed it. We'll see. Time will tell.

[whtdvl]

ScottyK- the oil will effect mpg but I wouldn't bother changing it early for the sake of getting better mpg, I would just wait until the Maint. Minder (Oil Life Meter) suggests changing it and go with the correct weight oil.

And the claim of a K&N air filter boosting mpg +5 would be if you had an air filter that hadn't been changed for YEARS and/or you had an extremely restrictive air filter set up. Most of the time you would only see an measurable increase if you went one of their full cold air intake systems.

that's just my .02

[ScottyK]

I'll take any .02 cents I can get!! Thanks for the advice! I'll skip the kn filter then. And as long as the different oil won't have any adverse affects on the car, I'll leave it alone for now...

How much does a full CAI cost? Where would I be able to get something like that installed? Is there a special one people get for the civic hybrid?

[Homa]

I have '07 HCH and about 42 MPG

[nsxrtd]

47-48. Depending on the hills and traffic. I live in Hawaii cool in the mornings and warm during the day. My commute to work is 24 mi each way. Stuck in traffic half way and I avoid the long up hill on the freeway so I take the regular street with traffic lights. I try to drive under 3k rpm most of the time.

[Atlanta Road Warrior]

I recently purchased 2008 HCH due to my 124 mile daily commute. If I stay off the cruise control and keep it under 74 mph I can average around 52 mpg, but if I get aggressive and a heavy foot I get 38-42 mpg with cruise control set at 78.

[MadGooseXP]

I typically average between 43 and 45, but because there's not an option for that, I voted 42-44. I've seen better on long trips (49.3 from Chicago to Nashville), and worse during the winter (sometimes dips below 30). From what I've read I'm going to take a hit when I switch to non-LRR tires in the near future, though.

[fatboyslim]

Have 2008 hch I bought new in Nevada when price in west was about 4.00$ gallon. mpg averaged 44 for first 40k miles. The past 35 k miles it's dropped to 36 mpg. Anybody else have same mpg loss or any other info regarding mpg that may aide in increase mpg? Thanks

[fatboyslim]

Not sure if k&n will add 5 mpg +. Where did that info come from?

[OrdnanceMarine]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim

Have 2008 hch I bought new in Nevada when price in west was about 4.00$ gallon. mpg averaged 44 for first 40k miles. The past 35 k miles it's dropped to 36 mpg. Anybody else have same mpg loss or any other info regarding mpg that may aide in increase mpg? Thanks

What kind of driving are you doing? This variable has a HUGE effect on what "good" mileage is.

Offhand I'd think that 36 MPG in the HCHII would represent lots of the kind of city driving where you go from 0-55 MPH rather quickly and then stop for the next light, 0-55 then stop, and so on. No way this car should turn out 36 MPG at a steady speed unless you're talking about a 90 MPH cruise.

[SoldMySRT8ForAHybrid]

i bought a 07 hybrid about a month ago and i average high 30s but when my wife drives it she takes it down to high 20s!!!! i guess shes still use to driving the SRT9 magnum. i just dont understand how you guys get 60s MPG!!! what flat land do you live? i live in san francisco and some of these hills arent no joke.
im thinking of getting the Fujita intake but dont know if its smog legal. and i was checking out the Aero Turbine 2540i Muffler direct to OEM Cat but without the resonator seems that cars make too much noise. thats not so sexy. sounds like a hybrid with a cherry bomb!

[fastcash124]

Damn you guys make me envious. I have an 07 and i get about 37-38 driving alone and with good technique, but as soon as i load a couple friends in there i get about 33. My car doesn't even turn off at lights half the time and those estimates were highway. My overall of about 4,000 mi was 33 mpg's. Plus I got fuel saving tires and I keep my car clean and the trunk empty. (Up until I put one 10" sub a couple weeks ago) In the city with ppl in it i wouldn't be surprised if i got like 25

[RMKH]

I have an 08 hybrid. just recently i hit 41 mpg. I average 39.

[SoldMySRT8ForAHybrid]

okay so now i average out to 39-41MPG. anyone that lives in the bayarea and has more then 45MPG needs to send me a message. i need to learn the skills. i cant bealive people doing 60MPG they probably live in the country!!!