ricecooker1280

Hey all.. I've got a bit of an issue w/ the s... The last two full tanks, I've only managed to get about 180 miles... I'm very modest as far as my driving habits, hittin' vtec every so often (meaning 10, at most per full tank)... Last night, I just filled up and after driving 20.2 miles, three bars have disappeard... Can anyone please suggest some things I could try before I bend over at the dealership?

Thanks in advance

Paul

BTW - for the heck of it, I did the map sensor wack and nothing changed

xviper

Let's analyze what you just posted:

Without knowing how many gallons it took to fill the tank, this is not necessarily alarming. All it means it that perhaps your fuel gauge is inaccurate. Once you figure out how many gallons you used to drive those 180 miles, then you can have a better idea of how good or bad your mileage is.

This too, means very little. How you lose "bars" on the gauge is dependent upon the accuracy of the gauge and most of us know that the "bars" on the dash is not an indicator of how many gallons are consumed. Again, without knowing the exact number of gallons you used in this 20.2 miles, you don't have any idea what-so-ever as to what your "mpg" may be.

ricecooker1280

xviper - I think I understand... Would you suggest I go fill up and see how many gallons it takes to actually "fill up" after 20.2 miles as opposed to using the gas gauge to tell me how much gas was consumed?

xviper

No. 20.2 miles is not far enough to get a good sampling of your average fuel consumption. This is the way you should do it:

1. Fill up the tank at your usual gas station and do it in the usual manner. When the tank is nearly full, at the first "pop" of the pump, STOP (ie, no topping up).
2. Reset one of the trip odometers to ZERO.
3. Drive according to your normal driving habits till the gauge reads near empty.
4. Go fuel up in the exact same manner that you did in step 1.
5. Note what the miles are on the trip odometer and note how many gallons it took to get to that first "pop".
6. Now do your calculations to get MILES/gallon.

Note that city driving will almost always return you less mpg than constant highway driving (like on a vacation trip). Compare what you come up with to the EPA listings for your model year of car. Now you will have a better idea of how your car stacks up against the "average" Also note that EPA numbers are only a guide based on very particular driving conditions.

ricecooker1280

Phat... thanks xviper... I always reset my trip to zero when I fill up so I'll note how many gallons it takes to fill up...

In the meantime, any other suggestions as to what I can check to see if something else is causing the issue?

Thanks again

Paul

xviper

Well, you don't know if you even have an "issue".
However, seeing how you have an '01 (correct?), you might do the usual check air filter, spark plug condition and gap. Have you been using injector cleaner at all? Dirty gas will clog up the fuel filter sock.

ricecooker1280

Never used injector cleaner... any suggestions?

Paul

xviper

I do a "maintenance" dose at the same interval as my oil changes. This seems to keep the injectors in all my cars trouble free. Maybe they would have been trouble free even if I didn't use any but I'm not about to try it out as an experiment. It's a lot easier to do "maintenance" than it is to do a "clean out".

Go to your autoparts store and look at fuel injector cleaners. You should find three kinds, each one in increasing cost and each for a slightly different purpose. The one I recommend as a "maintenance" product would be the cheapest (maybe 5 bucks a bottle). This goes into the gas tank and it cleans as you drive. The second kind is like the first but far more concentrated (about double the price) and is for injectors that appear to be just starting to cause problems. This also goes into the gas tank. The third kind is like what your dealer or shop would use. For you to buy it is about 4 times the cost (or more) of the first one. This hooks up to your fuel rail and is for injectors that are already nearly completely clogged.

ricecooker1280

Cool... I'll give that a shot as wel... I'll post results, if any...

Thanks again xviper

Paul

Black Sheep

I'm pretty much get the same thing too Rice, I do what Xviper suggests each time I fill.

I fill up till the pump stops and reset the trip meter at the station.

I can't get 100 miles without going past the half way mark on the fuel gauge. Car was serviced a few months back, injector cleaners once every 6 weeks or so. The route I take to work is the same each day and don't really get a chance to VTEC it, maybe once a week but that's just poor mileage, maybe if you VTEC it everyday thats fair but I'm just more concerned if there's something wrong with the car.

The car seems to go further with Injector Cleaner in the tank, I use Wynns in a purple bottle.

I got 289 miles on a Motorway/Freeway trip once on a full tank with injector cleaner.

It's just wierd now I drive slower without VTEC and the MPGs are worse.