Car using more fuel than i could imagine..

Hedge

Hedge

Hedge

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Im convinced my car is using too much fuel.

I know its a guzzler anyway. Its a Honda Accord 2.0i SE.

Now its pre vtec so i know it isnt particularly refined. And its just hit 100k recently. However Im sure its using way too much petrol.

I had a full tank the other day, im now down to 1/2 a tank, and ive done 100 miles.

Surely half a tank of fuel should get me a lot further than that!.

This is my first car, can someone shed some light on good methods to calculate my consumption, and also causes for excess fuel use.. other than revving hard and driving too fast for example.

Would really appreciate any info.

Thanks guys
 
Calculating MPG:

1. Fill your car full with petrol, reset trip counter.
2. Drive around in your usual way.
3. Next fill up, record how many litres to fill up again. Record mileage on trip.

Convert litres to gallons, and using mileage calculate MPG.
 
thats a whopping 15mpg! (i think it has a 60L tank anyway)

Have you noticed it driving differentley? If not, id get the fuel gauge itself checked first
 
Ahhh that makes sense ill have to do that this week. Thanks.

Any opinions on whether it sounds excessive or not anyone?

I dont drive that far so its not a huge problem, but if there is something i can do to keep consumption down, or if there is a possible leak or anything i should hunt for , id like to know!

Oh, and occasionally i actually smell petrol when im in my car, or getting outta my car, cant remember which but i know its from my own motor!
 
Defcon5 said:
thats a whopping 15mpg! (i think it has a 60L tank anyway)

Have you noticed it driving differentley? If not, id get the fuel gauge itself checked first
Click to expand...

Holy crap.

Drive differently, hmm, i dunno. Its been like this since ive got it. It drives pretty much fine it seems!.

It judders a bit at times but im sure thats just my crappy clutch control from first to second. Reckon my noobiness could be a problem? lol
 
My rev range is between 1.5 and 3.5 i guess. Never anywhere near redline or anything. Always just steady, infact i make sure i never rev too high. Although occasionally when i have music blasting i find that i rev slightly harder. lol
 
Does the car get upto temperature ok? Does the temperature needle move at all once upto running temperature?

You could always take the car for a nice long hard drive. If you've never driven it with anger, all kinds of crap could have built up within the engine... definintely a good idea to give it a good rag every so often to help the engine breathe better.
 
Possible. Hedge, crouch down under the back of the car and have a good sniff around... you'll instantly be able to tell if it's leaking or not. Also, park it up on the curb at an angle, and the other way too... just to make sure all tank seals aren't leaking.
 
Is your typical daily driving in stop/start city traffic or on open A roads/ motorways etc?

You can't assume that half a tank on the guage is actualy half the fuel gone, fuel gauages are inacurate at best and very non-linear. Did you brim it to start with?
 
Would a leak in the tank leave fuel on the road or anything? because ive never noticed that.

As for Gearing, i get up to 4th as fast as possible really. Every now and then i like to horse it about a bit faster, but its been a few weeks since its had a good motorway run.

A lot of the driving recently has indeed been stop start, which was why i kinda expect it to guzzle a lot, but this seems excessive.

The temperature gauge goes up within a pretty short space of time I guess ( i dunno how long they normally take ) , but it only goes up to just under half of its range i think. Its never anywhere near over heating etc.

The car has Airconditioning but i never have it on, (Its supposedly not working anyway according to previous owner)

I use cruise control when i can to avoid erratic rev changes.

When almost empty the gauge sits happily on the bottom without making effort to rise, but the fuel light seems faulty, (or Its maybe not as empty as i think its getting). The light has come on once or twice, but the gauge has been rock bottom numerous times.

I know letting the fuel get that low is bad for cars anyway i think, but ill try to rectify that habit
 
Petrol evaporates pretty quickly. If it was a big leak, you'd notice not just by a mark on the road, but with a smell while actually in the car.

That sounds pretty healthy about the temp gauge. Sounds like the thermostat isn't stuck open (would take a long time to warm up and then it would fluctuate depending on your driving).
 
To add, i think my tyres might need inflating a bit more actually, ill do that tomorrow on my break at work.

Is that a factor in fuel consumption too?
 
Thanks for the replies AGW.

A couple of people noted a smell of petrol once or twice in my car, I dont think its been smelt whilst driving, but ive had the smell a few times when i pull up at my destination and get out.

Maybe somewhere in the engine end is leaking.
 
The smell might not even be a leak. Do you know if your car has a charcoal cannister?

Basically a unit which helps with the fuel tank venting. It's not really required but from what I've read, helps with emissions. Mine was smelling quite a bit and I narrowed it down to the charcoal cannister. Replaced that and it's been ok since.
 
Right since you are here mate, gimme a quick few bulletpoints for what i should do/look for tomorrow.

Some have already been said of course, but id appreciate it if ya could just do a mini check list and ill get onto it!

appreciate the help mate.
 
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