Gas Mileage

I love this truck, except for the gas mileage. I bought a 2007 RTS silver. I am currently at 866 miles. Hovewver I am on my 5th tank of gas. My worst was 12.8 and my best has been 14.5. I commute a meager 20 miles a day round trip, not going over 50 MPH. I don't understand this mileage from a V-6. I had a 2003 Tahoe getting much, much better than this. I am truly surprised. Will this mileage improve? or should I get used to an avg of 13.65 MPG. Please advise....

I'm amazed at some of low MPG being reported here, as well as the higher. From the get go, a year ago, I have had a low of 16 mpg around town, to a high of 21.7 on a mostly highway trip last summer. I don't get the the big swings on the same vehicle. :confused:

Think of the big picture not just mileage. Think of what you can do with this truck that you would have to pay for (truck rentals, deliveries, bothering friends and don't forget the inconveniences you avoid). This truck allows us to carry our kayaks, something not all that desirable with a car. We pick stuff up at Home Depot when we want it, not when our friend's truck is free. Keep the rpms at 2500 as often as you can and you'll do fine.

I understand the northern fuel blends are oxygenated and will negatively effect fuel mileage. My 07 RTX averages 21 mpg 60/40 hwy/city. Try to keep rpm s under 2k, I also have a ScantoolII, a handy little device which monitors fuel usage, trip info etc...may help

I buy about 1 rig every year.Honda is a great truck,my 06 RTS is fine except for the headlights not being auto,the mirrors on a tough all wheel drive truck not being heated.and the damn milage.What's worse is 10mpg pulling 3300#thru Texas at 70mph.That gets to me real bad.My wife says I should express myself and say how I really feel.

I understand the northern fuel blends are oxygenated and will negatively effect fuel mileage. My 07 RTX averages 21 mpg 60/40 hwy/city. Try to keep rpm s under 2k, I also have a ScantoolII, a handy little device which monitors fuel usage, trip info etc...may help


I try to keep the RPM's low, under 3000. However when I do keep them at 2000 RPM's this truck just does not move. Traffic passes me by honking, beeping, you name it. I try to get it to 50 MPH because at that speed the RPM's are about 1500, at 40-46 MPH they are at 2000. Is that normal?

I try to get it to 50 MPH because at that speed the RPM' are about 1500, at 40-46 MPH they are at 2000. Is that normal?

Yes, this is normal as the transmission shifts into 5th at around 47 or 48mph.

Yup, 47mph shift into 5th. gear is correct @ about 1500 rpm. 65-70 mph is still around 2k rpm. This truck is a ball to drive and it has spirited acceleration at the expense of mileage, if you drive like ya got an egg between your foot and the pedal mileage is quite good....if you're gona play you're gona pay.

I love this truck, except for the gas mileage. I bought a 2007 RTS silver. I am currently at 866 miles. Hovewver I am on my 5th tank of gas. My worst was 12.8 and my best has been 14.5. I commute a meager 20 miles a day round trip, not going over 50 MPH. I don't understand this mileage from a V-6. I had a 2003 Tahoe getting much, much better than this. I am truly surprised. Will this mileage improve? or should I get used to an avg of 13.65 MPG. Please advise....

My '06 RTL has averaged 15-16 MPG for the 16,000 miles I have on it since May, 2006. I drive 33 miles one way to work at 80 MPH. I usually get around 300 miles on a tank and fill the tank with around 18 gallons. If I drive very conservatively, I can inch over the 17 MPG mark, but I usually return to the 80 MPH mark. I was disappointed too, as I averaged 15MPG in my 4X4 '03Avalanche prior to the Ridgeline. I wasn't surprised, however, because I'd read the Consumer Reports review wherein they said to expect 15 MPG. I also put a K & N air filter but this had no effect on the MPG. Sorry my reply didn't give you anything to look forward to in the area of MPG. Good luck. The truck is still a great value considering the standard features you get for the money. The new Chevys boast of 21 or 22 MPG but a buddy has an '07 Tahoe LTZ and only gets 14-15, so bank on the lower of the EPA estimates of any vehicle.

i have 13500 miles and on a few trips of 90-100 % highway the mileage is always the same 17.9and it seems that i get the same when i do a 50/50 split so my city and highway is the same.also i keep my tires at 35 psi.and the cruise at 70.

Yikes!! That's pretty bad mileage for sure. There is certainly a lot of variance in mileage for this vehicle but your report is one of the worst I've heard.
I've found that this truck doesn't get good mileage when pushed hard in hilly areas and particularly using the cruise control or towing.
My mileage average runs from 18-19.5 depending on terrain and traffic. I run the speed limit usually.
I've tried to drive by the tach but that is tedious. I've also found that the worst mileage speed for me seems to be right at 60-65 mph. Tach tends to run about the same or higher at 60 as compared to 70 mph. It is like the truck is not getting into 5th gear when running at 60-65. That's just been my experience with about 6000 miles on my truck.
My mileage has still been better than my previous '04 F150 which I thought was getting better mileage than most of my friends trucks.
Though I have not done much long hauls while towing or hauling heavy loads, I expect the mileage to suffer when I use this truck for this type service. I think the truck would be better served with more horsepower and low end torque for those loads. My experience with the F150 was that the mileage did not reduce appreciably (~1 mpg) when towing or hauling 1500# in the bed. I doubt that the RL will fare as well.
I have had other trucks with V6's and none of them did well with heavy loads and mileage. Just my experience.
Looking forward to when Honda puts the Diesel in this truck.

Brand new 07' RTL....using the dealer supplied tank of gas went 239 miles and filled up with 14.04 gallons (gauge was reading about 1/4 tank left but we are expecting snow so I filled up) so that works to 17.07 MPG and I drive in about 80% city driving.

Any ideas on how much fuel is left when the low fuel light comes on?

When the indicator comes on, there
is about 3.30 U.S. gal of fuel
remaining in the tank before the
needle reaches E. There is a small
reserve of fuel remaining in the tank
when the needle does reach E.
But Honda won't ruin the surprise
by saying how much is left at E.;)

After 22000 miles, I can say I get a consistent 20 mpg.

I am stumped by the wide variety of mpg reported here.

I average 20 mpg with mixed freeway and city driving. On a recent snowboarding trip, I averaged 16 mpg mountain driving with a bed full of gear and 5 people in the cab. I'm not a light-foot either. I push my truck hard and she handles well.

Being in the military I drive back and forth between Nebraska and Pittsburgh PA. at least 2-3 times per year. It depends on what type of gas I use.
Regular unleaded I get about 390-400 per tank. When I get SUper unleaded I tend to get a bit more, 410-420 per tank. Is it worth it ? Cruise control also helps.
Around town with a full tan I only get about 250-300.

Tonight, I filled up with Shell 87octane. I drove 177.5 miles and used 9.5 gallons of gas.
That is 18.68mpg. That is the best to date with in town driving.
I have almost 23,000 miles and have owned the Ridge since April 27, 2005

I keep the tires inflated to 32psi and use Castrol Syntex motor oil.

Have not been on a long hwy trip since December 2006 where I made a little over 23 mpg on the hwy.

It appears that the milage is increasing with age and more milage on the Ridge.:D

After 22000 miles, I can say I get a consistent 20 mpg.

I am stumped by the wide variety of mpg reported here.

I have relatives who live at The Villages, and that is not so far from you.

Perhaps warm weather, flat terrain, and a broken-in engine help?

I have about 1,000 miles, hilly but not steep terrain, cold weather, and about 17 mpg.

I would love to get a consistent 20mpg; most of my driving is about 50 mph on winding country roads..

Anyone compare mileage of regular (87 octane) and ethenol (89 octane)?

Anyone compare mileage of regular (87 octane) and ethenol (89 octane)?

The "octane" rating should only be a factor if you are hearing clatering noise from the engine during acceleration. If it sounds OK then there is no advantage to using a higher octane rating. Octane rating is a relative measurements of the fuel's resistance to spontaneously ignite upon compression, also known as "pre-ignition". It comes from an observation that a fuel that is composed of 100% octane (8 carbons chain molecule) could be compressed to a certain ratio before it would ignite by itself. An 87 octane rating implies it can be compressed 87% as much as pure octane gasoline before pre-ignition occurs. Pre-ignition is very audible and reduces the efficiency of the motor. If you are not hearing pre-ignition then it does no good to increase the octane rating.

Ethanol content of the gas does have an effect on gas mileage. There is less "power" in a gallon of gas containing ethanol therefore it burns more gasoline to achieve the same motor power output as gasoline with no ethanol.

Rate of acceleration is huge factor in gas mileage.

Speed is another major factor. The amount of force needed to overcome wind resistance increases as the square of the velocity. For example, if you double your speed from 30 mph to 60 mph you dont double the force due to wind resistance you increase by a factor of 4.

A MPG meter on this vehicle would do wonders to educate us on just how much our driving technique effects MPG.

A MPG meter on this vehicle would do wonders to educate us on just how much our driving technique effects MPG.

I have the scan gauge II. I have already learned a lot. The first thing I immediately noticed is that the cruise control gets much better gas mileage on the freeway than my right foot.

I have a few hypotheses as to why some of you guys are getting such bad gas mileage, I just cannot prove them..... yet.

Did anyone read the fine print on the sticker mileage?. It says 16-21 in big letters but a low of 13 avg and 26 highway. It shows how inaccurate the EPA is in testing, which is no fault of Honda or any other car manufacturer since they don't conduct the test or have a say in the results.

Gas mileage and functionality were two reasons for me to buy my 2006 RT. It is a great truck, I drive a around trip to work of 35 miles, some highway some city. My best mileage 22.7, worst 19.5. Using COSTCO 87 octane gas. I have the Scan Gauge II installed this makes you aware of how much you have your foot in it. Have you taken it back to the dealer for a checkup? There may be something not right, getting that type of mileage w/o towing something........

Hey All!!!! I drove from Chicago to Canton, OH this weekend - all highway - and got over 437 mi before the gas light came on. When I filled up it took almost 19 gal. Sooo... what's that work out to... around 23 mpg highway... This doin 75 mph at 2200 rpm the whole way.. Don't know if it can get any better than that!:cool:

My mileage has gone downhill fast. Last couple of tanks have been 15.6 mpg.:( Been using Home Deport fuel. If I don't see improvement on the way to St Louis, I will have to trade for a Civic!:rolleyes:

I would agree with the others who mention 'conservative' driving. I have a 2006 RTL (bought used with 23K) and have consistently averaged 20-21 mpg with a 70/30 combination of city/highway travel for the past 25K. I've experimented with highway travel with the gate down (slight difference) and K&N air filter (slight difference). I also typically observe posted speed limits, avoid 'jackrabbit' starts, and check tire pressure regularly (inflated at 38 psi). My best highway tank yielded 25 mpg, so hang in there, my friend.

I have 49000 on my 2006 Ridgeline RTL. I get 17.7 mpg every tank. 20 mpg once but figured I didn't fiill it full. Change air filter every other oil change. I love this truck...Holds lot of feed for my animals and any cargo I want to carry. Best of both worlds..My husband works away from home and I drive 200 miles every weekend one way and I feel safe in it.Would like to get better mileage but I just can't keep my foot out of it.;)

Would like to get better mileage but I just can't keep my foot out of it.;)

+1 on that.:D

I drove back from the NC mountains yesterday (I live on the NC coast), and got 23.3 mpg. And that was with a fully loaded truck and two passengers. Had the A/C on for about 1/4 of the trip, and drove 65-70 mph for about 1/3 of the trip. I've been very satisfied so far with my '08 RL gas mileage. And I only have about 2,600 miles on the truck at this point. Hope the gas mileage will improve as I approach 10,000 miles. But even if it doesn't, it's still better than I expected.

I just filled it for the first time and calculated 17.85 mpg. Probably 90% highway at 75-80mph on cruise. I am gentle accelerating. I'll post more later when I get more data.
As far as real world MPG goes, I can tell you this:
My previous vehicle was a 2007 Civic LX and I averaged about 28mpg over 38000 miles with at least 75% highway at 75-80mph. I did get 31.5mpg one tank with the cruise set at 60, but I couldn't stand it. The sticker said 30 city 40 hwy. I saw they have updated it to 25 city 36 hwy.
I came into the Ridgeline expecting 16-19 mpg based on users posting on Fuel Economy (http://www.fueleconomy.gov). Pretty good site to find real world fuel milage for vehicles.

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Honda’s fuel-sipping Fit will turn an even deeper shade of green with new plans to launch a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the popular subcompact in the early 2010s. The following links to the article.


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Went to Ohio this past week-end and averaged just over 23MPG with 5 people in the truck and a trunk full of luggage. Since purchasing my RL just over a year ago I've been averaging around 17.5 gal with a 50/50 split between city and highway. My lowest mileage evr was 14.5MPG in 80% city driving and my best ever was 25MPG 100% highway with the cruise on. Question to 25Year Honda? What was your mileage on the first RL you had?

I just drove to Salt Lake City and back. It took close to 1,000 miles and I averaged 23.2 mpg. I went through Yellowstone Park and I thought going up to 6,000 feet above sea level would not help my mpg but it sure didn't hurt. Maybe cause my tires expanded and had less resistance.
;)

New 2008 Ridgeline RTL. My first fill-up after 210 miles. Took 12.1 gallons. 17.3 mpg for 50/50 highway/city miles. I'm satisfied. Of course I didn't perform the first fill-up so my next fill-up will be more accurate - though I doubt the dealership 'topped it off'.

17.27 on my last tank.. my overall average would be on the upswing, if I weren't pulling a trailer for a 1000 miles next week.. ;)

Went to Ohio this past week-end and averaged just over 23MPG with 5 people in the truck and a trunk full of luggage. Since purchasing my RL just over a year ago I've been averaging around 17.5 gal with a 50/50 split between city and highway. My lowest mileage evr was 14.5MPG in 80% city driving and my best ever was 25MPG 100% highway with the cruise on. Question to 25Year Honda? What was your mileage on the first RL you had?

Last night my mileage checked in at 26.8 MPG. What did I do to get that kind of mileage?

1) Maintained a steady 1800 RPM (approximately 63 mph) with cruise control.
2) Tires inflated to 35 psi.
3) Kept A/C turned off.
4) Started using a new synthetic oil - Royal Purple 5W20 - yea $7.29 per quart -- purported to reduce friction and increase mileage.
5) Added 16 FL ounces (1/2 quart bottle) of Slick 50 oil treatment after
the 4th quart of oil then topped off to the full make on the stick with 3/4 of the remaining quart -- not to overfill. I put over 150,000 on a Ford Escape engine using Slick 50 -- I never had to add oil between changes.


The best mileage that I ever received during previous tests with the A/C off was 21.5.

I honestly cannot believe my results. I would like to keep testing. I did notice a slight drop in engine temperature after I started using Royal Purple oil. Now the mileage has made such an improvement, I wish I had a labortory to run some serious controlled tests. My next test will be with the A/C running.

5) Added 16 FL ounces (1/2 quart bottle) of Slick 50 oil treatment after
the 4th quart of oil then topped off to the full make on the stick with 3/4 of the remaining quart -- not to overfill. I put over 150,000 on a Ford Escape engine using Slick 50 -- I never had to add oil between changes.

STOP! GET THAT STUFF OUT OF YOUR ENGINE RIGHT NOW!!!!

If I were you, I'd go out and drain my oil and flush the entire engine out several times. Oil additives like Slick 50 that contain PTFE will tear your engine up. PTFE is commonly known as Teflon. Dupont who developed and makes PTFE (Teflon) was so scared that they would be sued by consumers over the use of Teflon in products like Slick 50 that they threatened to sue these companies if they used the word Teflon. That is why they call it PTFE

In an oil suspension, PTFE has been known to cause a damming effect (as in Hoover Dam) inside of engines and cause oil starvation. The tolerances are very tight in the RL motor. You are risking serious damage by continued use of this product. It also voids your engine warranty.

In some cases, you might be able to get away running this stuff in older and looser iron block motors but not in a Ridgeline engine.

Slick 50 has been sued by the the Federal Trade Commission over false claims and had to pay $20 million in damages.

DOCKET NO. 9280 BLUE CORAL, INC. (http://www.ftc.gov/os/1997/12/bluecora.do.htm)

To add to ChrisM's comments, you may want to read the FTC Charges (http://www.abacus-ms.com/opa/1996/07/slick.shtm).

To add to ChrisM's comments, you may want to read the FTC Charges (http://www.abacus-ms.com/opa/1996/07/slick.shtm).

I remember my grandfather used to use slick 50 and marvel mystery oil in his old Ford F-250. It probably was fine for that truck...it had 200,000 miles on it

WOW. Thanks Chris and Web.
I guess my next test will be without Slick 50. Although, I was using only 1/2 of the recommended amount, that is an expense I would rather not incur. I guess they should call it snake oil. The synthetic motor OIL is expensive enough without adding another $10 to the cost.

Now that I bought the Ridgeline and and prefer to use synthetic oil, I decided to return to changing my own oil. So I bought some ramps, a filter removal tool, and went to work. I will say that I am quite impressed with the Ridge from the underside. It appears to be a very well constructed vehicle.

After I went back and looked at my gas bill for August 07, when I was driving a car that purportedly got 24 MPG on the highway, my fuel bill was $284 for that month. I looked at it like, oh well, it gets decent mileage, it is paid for, and it is not burning nearly as much as my friends who are driving around in their Suburbans, Tahoes, and Escalades. With the Ridge, I don't make wasteful trips like I did last year, so my monthly bill has been about $160 @ $3.85 a gallon.

I have only had my Ridge' for a couple months.
I drive 82 miles each way in my commute (carpooling helps,:-)). I am running 21-22 MPG avg.

It is mostly freeway and two-lane highway. Going in the early dawn hours the freeway is 65-80 MPH the two-lane is 60-70 MPH. Coming home the two-lane is the same but the freeway is a "rushhour" quagmire of 20-80 MPH. I am "fairly" reasonable about acceleration, and don't run the A/C/Defrost when it isn't needed.

I have added a K&N airfilter in the stock air box that was good for about 1+ MPG. I have used them for years in several vehicles with consistent results. Used them in both of my Tacomas ('89 with 315 k miles and the '96 with 198K miles). The new ARE topper on the Ridge' has been good for about 1+ MPG.
This just going off of calculation of miles/gallons put in.

This mileage was comparable with my Tacomas. I think it is reasonable for the size vehicle, 4WD, etc.

Our CR/V gets about 25 MPG typically on the same route.

I just filled up my RL for the first time (bought it used; has 6k miles on it). About half of the tank was around town/traffic driving and half was straight highway driving - I got 20.54 mpg. I'm actually happy with that.

My Isuzu Rodeo would do about the same and it's not half the vehicle the RL is!

Today's mileage run dropped down to 22.6

1) Maintained a steady 1800 RPM (approximately 63 mph) with cruise control.
2) Tires inflated to 35 psi.
3) A/C was turned ON.

I need to run another test with the A/C turned off. The A/C seemed to make an unfavorable difference on this last test.

Hello everyone my father in law and I are new to this site but have been stalking it for the last 3 months lol (since he bought the ridgeline) all the posts were very helpful with the install of the tonneau and the wiring harness for the hitch. now we come to you with this question WHY IS THIS BRAND NEW RIDGELINE GETING 7.29PG HIGHWAY WHILE TOWING A 3500LB BOAT:mad: we were getting between 16-20 since it was bought and noticed that it was getting worse and worse as the time went on. before we left for our last trip this memorial day to lake havasu we noticed we were getting 7.5mpg but thought it must have been a wrong calculation or something:confused: (not towing anything) well we decided to take the truck on this trip any way. Let me tell you I really think there must be something wrong with the truck because we had to fill up 3.8 times at $4.20 average per gallon for a round trip of 612 miles from Los Angeles to Lake Havasu. It was costing us about $1.60 for every mile we drove. Can you guys think of anything that might be causing this HORIBLE GAS MILAGE? we tried using 91 on 1 fill up after reading in the owners manual that when towing you should put 91 octane (yes it said that) we opened the air box to see if something was restricting the airflow, tire pressure everything short of taking the engine apart lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? Please let us know thank you.

Thought I'd give my 2¢ worth on this. I just took a road trip from New Brunswick, Canada to Florida and back. It was mostly highway driving but not all and our total trip average was 21.5 mpg. I didn't think that was all that bad. I have an 06 with 181,000 klms... that over 112,000 miles and still running great. I use synth/blend oil, and haven't had a problem. I had a Ford Sport Trac, that half the size and never got this milage. I love the truck and for all the miles I rack up, ain't complaining about the milage. If I wanted better milage I'd have bought a VW !!:o

Hello everyone my father in law and I are new to this site but have been stalking it for the last 3 months lol (since he bought the ridgeline) all the posts were very helpful with the install of the tonneau and the wiring harness for the hitch. now we come to you with this question WHY IS THIS BRAND NEW RIDGELINE GETING 7.29PG HIGHWAY WHILE TOWING A 3500LB BOAT:mad: we were getting between 16-20 since it was bought and noticed that it was getting worse and worse as the time went on. before we left for our last trip this memorial day to lake havasu we noticed we were getting 7.5mpg but thought it must have been a wrong calculation or something:confused: (not towing anything) well we decided to take the truck on this trip any way. Let me tell you I really think there must be something wrong with the truck because we had to fill up 3.8 times at $4.20 average per gallon for a round trip of 612 miles from Los Angeles to Lake Havasu. It was costing us about $1.60 for every mile we drove. Can you guys think of anything that might be causing this HORIBLE GAS MILAGE? we tried using 91 on 1 fill up after reading in the owners manual that when towing you should put 91 octane (yes it said that) we opened the air box to see if something was restricting the airflow, tire pressure everything short of taking the engine apart lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? Please let us know thank you.

WOW thats bad! I had a Safari van once that I ran over something on the road and it dented my gas tank in. My milage dropped to 7mpg! I tried everything, finally decided to trace the line right back to the tank and found that the dent in the tank was blocking off the return gasline. It was forcing the gas through the engine without burning it. I there any black soot around your tailpipe? Mine was covered in soot. Its a wild guess but it was my problem, and I'd say you got something weird going on.

What gear did you drive in when you made your trip?

Today's mileage run dropped down to 22.6

1) Maintained a steady 1800 RPM (approximately 63 mph) with cruise control.
2) Tires inflated to 35 psi.
3) A/C was turned ON.

I need to run another test with the A/C turned off. The A/C seemed to make an unfavorable difference on this last test.

Today's mileage run yielded 29.6 MPG with the A/C off. I can't believe the mileage it has been delivering on these tests. I know the transmission update helped. During previous runs, the car would downshift and the engine would rev up to 2500 RPM while going up any interstate hill or incline. Now I can maintain approximately 1800 RPM throughout the test without a downshift.

1) Maintained a steady 1800 RPM (approximately 63 mph) with cruise control.
2) Tires inflated to 35 psi.
3) A/C was turned OFF.

I am a bit baffled at the mileage it delivered today. If anybody would like to participate in one of my runs, you are welcome.

In town my mileage drops down to 15 MPG or below.

I need to do more highway testing.

robri---Somebody must be siphoning gas from your tank, or you have a hole in the tank. Something is way wrong here.:confused:

OwnerCS, I'm baffled by your mileage also!!!!!:eek:

Since buying my new Ridge two months ago, the very best mileage I've gotten is 19.68 mpg. I leave a stop and don't get above 2,000 rpm. I drive at 15/1800 rpm...........60 to 65 mph max. No jackrabbit starts..........or stops. I've got close to 5,000 miles on the vehicle and have yet to see anything like you are claiming. Of course, my mileage is a mix of intown and highway driving. I live 10 miles out in the country, so there's 40 and 50 mpg driving into town. Then, in town it's 25/40 mph speed limits. when I hit the highway, I don't get above 65. I just can't figure out your mileage claims.:confused:

Hello everyone my father in law and I are new to this site but have been stalking it for the last 3 months lol (since he bought the ridgeline) all the posts were very helpful with the install of the tonneau and the wiring harness for the hitch. now we come to you with this question WHY IS THIS BRAND NEW RIDGELINE GETING 7.29PG HIGHWAY WHILE TOWING A 3500LB BOAT:mad: we were getting between 16-20 since it was bought and noticed that it was getting worse and worse as the time went on. before we left for our last trip this memorial day to lake havasu we noticed we were getting 7.5mpg but thought it must have been a wrong calculation or something:confused: (not towing anything) well we decided to take the truck on this trip any way. Let me tell you I really think there must be something wrong with the truck because we had to fill up 3.8 times at $4.20 average per gallon for a round trip of 612 miles from Los Angeles to Lake Havasu. It was costing us about $1.60 for every mile we drove. Can you guys think of anything that might be causing this HORIBLE GAS MILAGE? we tried using 91 on 1 fill up after reading in the owners manual that when towing you should put 91 octane (yes it said that) we opened the air box to see if something was restricting the airflow, tire pressure everything short of taking the engine apart lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? Please let us know thank you.

Since your RL is not a V8, the engine will be somewhat underpowered while towing. I had a Toyota T-100 with V6 and it routinely got around 17 mpg, but when towing a UHaul trailer it only got 9 mpg. Ouch.

IMO probably not anything out of the ordinary. Sorry:D

Brad

Hey Chris -

The way I am doing this testing is to figure out the absolute maximum mileage that I can get with the Ridge on a non-stop trip. This is 100% interstate driving. I don't drive like this normally in my daily commute. But I am learning to drive like this on trips because of the mileage benefit. It is hard to hold the Ridge back. I think it is like trotting a race horse around the race track when it wants to run.

If I were in your area, here is how I would be doing my tests.

1) Inflate tire pressure to 35 psi.
2) Turn off the Air Conditioner -- do your test a night when it is cooler.
3) Get on I-35 from OKC and go south till you find an exit off I-35 with a gas station before you get out of the OKC city limits.
4) Fill up the Ridgeline with 87 Octane. Let autoshut off click once. Wait a minute for the gas to settle down and the fill to another click, then another. I do not try to fill the fuel up to the rim. Just 2 clicks after the first shut off. Fill up near the interstate. I don't do any stop and go driving in the test.
5) Get on I-35 from OKC and go south to Ardmore. I try to do my testing on a north-south or balanced east-west route to avoid benefit or loss due to the normal east-west winds.
6) Set the cruise control on 63 mph or 1800 RPM. Maintain that speed till you get to Ardmore. When you get off the interstate, try to coast and make a slow take off as to conserve RPMs.
7) Once at Ardmore and turn around and go back to the same gas station and pump you used in step #4 in OKC. It should be about a 200 mile round trip. Check your mileage. I try to do a straight through drive with no engine starts or stops and no allowing the Ridge to set at idle.

When I do these drives I have a bra on mine to avoid getting covered with bugs. I can't see that a bra would make a mileage difference.. But hey -- you never know..

I am not purporting this to be any type of scientific test. I wish I had access to some real monitoring equipment and tools where an exactly measured amount of gasoline. Going back to the same pump that I used to fill up on departure is about the best I can do to maintain some form of accuracy.

My mileage runs are basically trips to nowhere that are specificlly for the purpose of checking mileage. Next week I will make the run with the AC turned on and report back here again. I can say with much confidence that the 06 model transmission update help mileage as the truck is no longer prematurely downshifting on slight interstate inclines.

As far as it goes for my in town driving back and forth to work, I might get 15 on a good week -- it has been as bad as 12.

All that I am learning about this exercise is the Ridge is not as bad as I originally thought on gas mileage and that I need to keep the tires inflated and maintain a constant speed when traveling.

You are welcome to c'mon down and participate in one of these runs.
So far I haven't had a rider or any additional weight in the Ridge.

Meanwhile, I will run some more test to see if I can continually replicate the results and calculate an overall non-stop interstate average.

I went through this same exercise in 1976 right after I bought a new Pontiac Grand Prix SJ with a 400 V-8 to prove to myself that the car would get the 21 hwy mpg that was on the window sticker. A friend did the same thing with his 1976 Olds Cutlass 350 V-8 that would at best get the 20 mpg on the sticker. That was back when the speed limit was 55 mph.

After it is all over, I will figure out some combination of efficient driving habbits that I can live with, then forget about checking mileage and just enjoy crusing around in the Ridge.

After it is all over, I will figure out some combination of efficient driving habbits that I can live with, then forget about checking mileage and just enjoy crusing around in the Ridge.

Sounds like 200 miles of BS. Everyone should do this and we can waste all the fuel on worthless experiments that don't apply to daily driving.

Here's a link to a thread where the first post is from a member getting 25.8 on highway mileage with no reference to the AC being off or on. It was posted on 05-22-2008, 07:15 AM. I have also seen Tcape post a test at 25 MPG.

On an earlier run, turning on the climate control (AC compressor) cost me 4 MPG. I would like to check the difference in 32 vs 35 psi in the tires and the difference from 63 to 70 mph. I can venture a guess that when running the AC, tires at 32, driving 70, and not using cruise, I'll be getting back to the 20 epa rating.

Link is here -> http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/fuel-economy-gas-related-discussion/22064-good-gas-mileage.html

Hello everyone my father in law and I are new to this site but have been stalking it for the last 3 months lol (since he bought the ridgeline) all the posts were very helpful with the install of the tonneau and the wiring harness for the hitch. now we come to you with this question WHY IS THIS BRAND NEW RIDGELINE GETING 7.29PG HIGHWAY WHILE TOWING A 3500LB BOAT:mad: we were getting between 16-20 since it was bought and noticed that it was getting worse and worse as the time went on. before we left for our last trip this memorial day to lake havasu we noticed we were getting 7.5mpg but thought it must have been a wrong calculation or something:confused: (not towing anything) well we decided to take the truck on this trip any way. Let me tell you I really think there must be something wrong with the truck because we had to fill up 3.8 times at $4.20 average per gallon for a round trip of 612 miles from Los Angeles to Lake Havasu. It was costing us about $1.60 for every mile we drove. Can you guys think of anything that might be causing this HORIBLE GAS MILAGE? we tried using 91 on 1 fill up after reading in the owners manual that when towing you should put 91 octane (yes it said that) we opened the air box to see if something was restricting the airflow, tire pressure everything short of taking the engine apart lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? Please let us know thank you.


Sounds to me like you should be checking the wheels on your boat trailer.

I got around 17 mpg on a trip this past Saturday from N. Phoenix to Yuma. I had 3 additional passengers (they all need to loose weight :D ) and set the cruise control on 80. Yes the AC was on. One the way back that same afternoon, I left the cruise at 70. We got around 19 mpg.

my '08 RTL has about 1000 miles on it now. it seems that most of my mileage is coming out to 14 to 15 mpg. i know that it is supposed to get better once you reach around 10,000 miles, but the time until then stinks. i drive about 50% highway, 50% city, and i dont think i have gone over 70 mph in my new truck.

gas is finally getting high enough that my job is giving us Fridays to work from home.

How long is your commute each way? What is it like?

Hello everyone my father in law and I are new to this site but have been stalking it for the last 3 months lol (since he bought the ridgeline) all the posts were very helpful with the install of the tonneau and the wiring harness for the hitch. now we come to you with this question WHY IS THIS BRAND NEW RIDGELINE GETING 7.29PG HIGHWAY WHILE TOWING A 3500LB BOAT:mad: we were getting between 16-20 since it was bought and noticed that it was getting worse and worse as the time went on. before we left for our last trip this memorial day to lake havasu we noticed we were getting 7.5mpg but thought it must have been a wrong calculation or something:confused: (not towing anything) well we decided to take the truck on this trip any way. Let me tell you I really think there must be something wrong with the truck because we had to fill up 3.8 times at $4.20 average per gallon for a round trip of 612 miles from Los Angeles to Lake Havasu. It was costing us about $1.60 for every mile we drove. Can you guys think of anything that might be causing this HORIBLE GAS MILAGE? we tried using 91 on 1 fill up after reading in the owners manual that when towing you should put 91 octane (yes it said that) we opened the air box to see if something was restricting the airflow, tire pressure everything short of taking the engine apart lol. Has anyone ever experienced this? Please let us know thank you.

Wow, I thought I had it bad. I have an '06 RTS with about 28k miles on it and have never gotten better than 15mpg. My average is about 13mpg and only get 15mpg when its straight highway miles. I drive 50/50 highway and city and have tried every trick in the book. I never drive over 2500 rpm, never use my AC, keep the tire pressure at 35psi, use synthetic oil and get it service religiously at the dealer. Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong here??? Prices here in Los Angeles are up to about $4.50/gallon and I'm really starting to feel the strain. Does anyone out there have any advice? I feel for you robrl!!!

Describe your commute. Are you in stop and go traffic daily? How much idling?

Get to report my new lowest milage to date.. Coming in at a stout 9.98 miles per gallon, while towing my samurai on a dolly to Texas.

Woo woo.. Cruise control + towing + Ridgeline = $$$$.. My milage went up 2 mpg on the next tank, and an additional 1 mpg on the second, just by not using the cruise.. Going the same speed.. maybe slightly less hills.. hard to say, I was too busy chugging red bull...

Good news is, gas is still cheaper than red bull per gallon.

Describe your commute. Are you in stop and go traffic daily? How much idling?

My daily commute is about 20 miles to and from work and is straight through the streets of Hollywood so needless to say it is stop and go all the way to work and back. According to my GPS unit I spend about 20% of my commute idling. Knowing this, I know I'm not going to get 20+mpg but isn't 13mpg average and about 10mpg city really low? I've only gone past 300 miles on a full tank once and that was on a road trip that was straight highway. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

10 sounds very very low, even if you were drag racing between lights.

The price of fuel has caused me to rethink my driving habits. I was averaging 17.5-18 MPG combined city and highway and that includes some mountain driving every day. I used to cruise at 72 MPH on cruise control, I recently decided to back off below 65 and lighten up on the throttle and drive like the Geezer that I am. My milage went to 21.5 combined city/highway.

It used to be a pain to cruise at 65 or less as it took me out of the fast lane and you needed to constantly adjust your speed for other traffic. It looks like many people have changed their habits as 65 works pretty well now.

My daily commute is about 20 miles to and from work and is straight through the streets of Hollywood so needless to say it is stop and go all the way to work and back. According to my GPS unit I spend about 20% of my commute idling. Knowing this, I know I'm not going to get 20+mpg but isn't 13mpg average and about 10mpg city really low? I've only gone past 300 miles on a full tank once and that was on a road trip that was straight highway. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

That is low. The EPA rating under the new system is 15 city and 20 hwy. The new calculation method is generally very close. I get anywhere from 14.5 to 16.5 in town and 20 on the highway. I generally drive the speed limit and don't accelerate unreasonably from a standing start.

That is low. The EPA rating under the new system is 15 city and 20 hwy. The new calculation method is generally very close. I get anywhere from 14.5 to 16.5 in town and 20 on the highway. I generally drive the speed limit and don't accelerate unreasonably from a standing start.


Do you, or anybody out there, think there is something wrong with my Ridge? I'm basically doing everything right and still get lousy gas mileage. A few weeks ago I got a total of 239 miles on a full tank of gas, which is absolutely ridiculous!!! If it is my car, any ideas on what it could be??? Could it be the synthetic oil? Do I need a tune-up? Air filter? Help!!!

Do you, or anybody out there, think there is something wrong with my Ridge? I'm basically doing everything right and still get lousy gas mileage. A few weeks ago I got a total of 239 miles on a full tank of gas, which is absolutely ridiculous!!! If it is my car, any ideas on what it could be??? Could it be the synthetic oil? Do I need a tune-up? Air filter? Help!!!

My first tank was 14. I live in Santa Monica. Don't underestimate how much the ridiculous LA traffic will lower your mileage. But your 15mpg at 100% highway figure is strange. I get around 20, +/- 2 when cruising on the highway, depending on the grade of the road. That's according to my ScanGauge's instant mpg display which I've found to be fairly accurate over a whole tank. It currently says I'm at 19.2 for the whole tank, I'm at around 1/4 left, and it's been probably 85% highway with the rest being typical LA streets stop and go.

I'm thankful I only drive on the weekends as I walk to work. But I wouldn't wanna do your commute. Yes, change your air filter (which might be a minimal improvement) and simply follow the maintenance minder don't worry about extra maintenance. You really should be higher than 15 on the highway - how did you measure that?

Do you, or anybody out there, think there is something wrong with my Ridge? I'm basically doing everything right and still get lousy gas mileage. A few weeks ago I got a total of 239 miles on a full tank of gas, which is absolutely ridiculous!!! If it is my car, any ideas on what it could be??? Could it be the synthetic oil? Do I need a tune-up? Air filter? Help!!!
OK, here's what I think, like it or not. This vehicle produces huge variations in fuel economy. The experiences of those on this forum confirm this. The great number of fuel economy threads confirm this. As I have posted many times, IMHO, some win the mileage lottery, others lose. I happen to be one of the losers. And, yes I think that this issue is known to Honda engineers and I believe they have no intention of addressing this issue of fuel economy fluctuations between supposedly identical vehicles. Something is "wrong" but what? Rumors include too tight valves out of the factory (qc issue).

You also referred to the Ridge as a "car." Just because it has awd, low clearance, great handling and rides kinda like a car doesn't mean it isn't a truck and trucks have lousy aerodynamics and are heavy. I drive trucks when I need a truck and a car (accord) when I don't need a truck. If I was just commuting, the last thing I would drive as just a way to get to and from work would be a low mileage truck, even if it got "only" 20mpg. If I didn't need a truck (I do for work and rural living), I wouldn't have one. Sorry.

Great post.