Quote:
Originally Posted by jayliu1984
I have a short youtube clip showing how "hard" it is to turn my front wheel.
The car is jacked up one side and is in neutrual.
As you can see, the wheel is stiff, but I checked the brakes, they are not hot at all when I drove around.
And to the person above, yeah I like the short commutes, it only takes me 10 minutes to get to work. However, I still can't stop thinking how much money I would have saved if I have gotten a different car. I had no idea this accord uses this much fuel. The EPA rating is 21MPG city, and I am only getting 18.6, while being laughed at by my coworkers the way I drive (too granny).
I just like rule out any possible causes for bad fuel comsumption. If I can be SURE that this car is all good and this IS how much gas Honda Accord drinks, it helps me to make decision if I want to sell the car when the lease is up or keep it. There is nothing I would complaint about the car except the fuel comsuption.
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Is this car old enough to have had any tranny work done on it, or has the tranny fluid been changed? At the risk of comparing apples to oranges (manual to auto), your symptoms really remind me of the overly thick gear oil I previously had in my old manual Corolla. I believe the viscosity of the fluid in the differential is critical to rolling resistance. I upgraded to Honda MTF and was cured. The problem was noticeable in cold weather (<40F), although the car coasted a lot easier after about 5-7 miles even in cold weather, presumably because the transmission oil warmed up. I'm no expert on ATF, but if the wrong fluid is in there... (Maybe someone can correct me if ATF is not in the differential, or if this is moot on an auto for some reason...)
Others have given you great advice as well:
- Grille blocking would be a definite win. (Parking under cover / Block heater too, if practical.)
- A gauge is worth the money, look at trip averages to hone your brisk acceleration and P&G and make sure braking isn't a problem.
- (I didn't notice whether this applies to you) key off, no idling at stop lights.
I think life is easier with even smaller cars with even smaller engines, but the Accord can do more. Cheers.
