Lets REALLY talk gas mileage

I filled mine tonight and I made 13.8 on this tank. My Ridge has 14,000 miles on it. Tell me it has to get better! I have only got over 20 a handful of times.

I spoke with a lady at the pump next to me and she had an '06. She said she ALWAYS gets 18-22 no matter the time of year or how she drives. She was shocked when I told her my mileage.

According to the Official Honda website I should be getting 15 / 20.

I'm not a troll and I love my truck. I'm just getting sick of the shi!!y mileage. When gas is at 3.09 and only going I have to hope it will get better.

What can I do? Anybody have ideas.....help me. Can you reset something or have a computer hooked up to it to slap it up a little????

Please don't rub it in by telling me how good you mileage is.

Thanks!

What type of driving do you normally do -- highway, city, or mixed? Do you have to spend a lot of time idling in traffic? What is your driving style -- easy-does-it or aggressive?

Also, the usual maintenance things -- air filter, tire pressure, etc. -- apply. In real cold weather, your tires may be running lower than when you filled 'em.

A few folks here have reported lower-than-average MPGs. It does make me wonder if they have some sort of "parasitic drag" issues like tight brake calipers, wheel bearing or CV joint issues. That gets a lot more involved than I have expertise as far as suggesting how to check.

I also wonder if disconnecting the battery (re-entering radio code & window programming, of course) might reset the "learning mode" in the ECU computer & give you a chance to start it over. I've read in Accord forums about doing this, but I've never had reason to try it... Others like Honda Tech might provide some "real world" insight into possibly letting the ECU re-learn your driving style...

My Ridgeline has 662 miles on it and my last tank (city and highway driving) I averaged 18.2 mpg.
Going on a roadtrip tomorrow and I hope I can break 20 mpg.

Oops,,,,, I didn't real your last line.... Sorry (just delete my first message.

This topic has been absolutely beat to death on this forum. There are pages and pages of documentation on this subject. All you have to do is search.

By the way, you bought a truck, not a Civic. It will not get 30 mpg even if you add a sail or make the entire world downhill. :rolleyes:

I have long-term detailed MPG postings on My Homepage. (Actually need to go back and fill in some gaps but I've been consistent for 6 months or more.)

One thing about filling up the Ridgeline is that after the pump at the gas station cuts off, I can usually pack another 3 gallons into the tank. The Ridgeline is the most annoying vehicle to fill with fuel I have ever encountered. That would definitely effect your gas mileage if you don't pack it in.

This topic has been absolutely beat to death on this forum.

That has to be the biggest understatement in the history of the ROC.

This topic has been absolutely beat to death on this forum. There are pages and pages of documentation on this subject. All you have to do is search.

By the way, you bought a truck, not a Civic. It will not get 30 mpg even if you add a sail or make the entire world downhill. :rolleyes:

Yes, Chris, I understand that all mighty one. I have searched and searched. I know I did not by a Civic and I never mentioned in my QUESTION that I thought it would do as good.

So, I think there has to be an answer as to why the mileage sucks when Honda says 15/20 and I get 13.8. That is a pretty reliable average. I, too, have a detailed log of all but 6 fill ups and the "norm" is not the "norm".

Unlike most people, I have a budget I try to live by and when I got the truck I was told it would do better than the Chevy I sold. I guess I was mislead so I most be a sucker.

All I'm saying is that I'm VERY disappointed that the truck does not do better. At least out '04 Honda van pulls in high 20s low 30s and the truck is used less than the van.

So, once again, thanks Chris for your worthless comment. It was enlightening.

One thing about filling up the Ridgeline is that after the pump at the gas station cuts off, I can usually pack another 3 gallons into the tank. The Ridgeline is the most annoying vehicle to fill with fuel I have ever encountered. That would definitely effect your gas mileage if you don't pack it in.I think hes talking about miles per gallon not how far you can go on a tank thats been over filled. I'm getting 20-23mpg early spring thru late fall. Might want to try and NOT pack it in. I watched a guy PACK it in last summer. Only his eyes were so glued to the pump that he pumped about half a gallon on the ground :D . Click, click,click,click,click,click.:rolleyes:

I have long-term detailed MPG postings on My Homepage. (Actually need to go back and fill in some gaps but I've been consistent for 6 months or more.)

One thing about filling up the Ridgeline is that after the pump at the gas station cuts off, I can usually pack another 3 gallons into the tank. The Ridgeline is the most annoying vehicle to fill with fuel I have ever encountered. That would definitely effect your gas mileage if you don't pack it in.

I have seen your data and I wish I could pull that. At one time I thought it was the cold northern parts of MN that had gas pumped full of ethanol and that was killing my mileage. After talking with others in MN, I see I was wrong.

Honda did check once to see if any of the brake rotors where causing some friction and making the truck work harder.

It has been in to Honda and they too admit that the mileage is off but were not sure where to go with it. I do have a detailed log of every fill but about 6.

One thing I keep hearing is "the truck learns how you drive". If this is true and it learns quickly, I wonder if it learned when it was brought up from WI and delivered to me. I did not put on the first 275 miles. A dealer did when it was driven to MN.

It just seems to me, that based on Honda's own recommendations, it should do better than it does.

I do not click, click, click when filling. This would skew the mileage from time to time. I try to be consistent when filling to keep it true.

In your normal everyday driving, what rpm does it shift into 2nd gear? Third gear? Fourth gear? Fifth gear?
What kind of traffic and speeds?

In your normal everyday driving, what rpm does it shift into 2nd gear? Third gear? Fourth gear? Fifth gear?
What kind of traffic and speeds?

I'm not sure on the shifting gears. I would have to watch and see next time I drive it.

I drive 2 miles to work five days a week and on the weekends I drive to the lake about 10 miles away to ice fish. That is about it.

Other than that, it sits in the garage.

Don't bother checking the shift points. You answered your own question. This truck is a thoroughbred. It needs to run more than 2 miles a day. It's using fuel just to try and warm up and it never gets to that point.

Maybe this isn't the right truck for you.

I'm not sure on the shifting gears. I would have to watch and see next time I drive it.

I drive 2 miles to work five days a week and on the weekends I drive to the lake about 10 miles away to ice fish. That is about it.

Other than that, it sits in the garage.

Your short trips definitely work against your MPG numbers. Thus, the gods of RidgelineOwnersClub command you to go fishing more! :D

Don't bother checking the shift points. You answered your own question. This truck is a thoroughbred. It needs to run more than 2 miles a day. It's using fuel just to try and warm up and it never gets to that point.

Maybe this isn't the right truck for you.

Funny. I wish it was a thoroughbred.

It is a fantastic truck and I love driving it. We took it hunting in ND last December and it did great in the new snowfall we had. It handled great running through the tilled fields chasing those birds.

We have had it one year and put in 14,000 miles on it. It handles the pop up camper well. We are going to putting a Leer on it with a a Thule rack this spring so can take the two canoes and do some Boundary Water trips.

Funny this was, when pulling the pop up this Summer along the North Shore it did about 18 with all the gear and camper.

I agree with the short runs in the Winter to and from work. Do you think it uses more fuel when running the short 2 miles to work? I do not let it warm up in the morning. We just start it up and drive.

Thanks for the POSITIVE comments. They are appreciated!

Don't bother checking the shift points. You answered your own question. This truck is a thoroughbred. It needs to run more than 2 miles a day. It's using fuel just to try and warm up and it never gets to that point.


shovelhd's right at driving only 2miles to work. Thats how far I drive to work also and only get 13-15 per fill up with the winter blends. But going to the cabin (200mi. one way) I'm getting 17- 19 in the winter and 19-23 in the spring thru fall. You need to get that thing out on the hwy.

Funny. I wish it was a thoroughbred.

It is a fantastic truck and I love driving it. We took it hunting in ND last December and it did great in the new snowfall we had. It handled great running through the tilled fields chasing those birds.

We have had it one year and put in 14,000 miles on it. It handles the pop up camper well. We are going to putting a Leer on it with a a Thule rack this spring so can take the two canoes and do some Boundary Water trips.

Funny this was, when pulling the pop up this Summer along the North Shore it did about 18 with all the gear and camper.

I agree with the short runs in the Winter to and from work. Do you think it uses more fuel when running the short 2 miles to work? I do not let it warm up in the morning. We just start it up and drive.

Thanks for the POSITIVE comments. They are appreciated!

I have found that when I fill the tank with the tank already above the 1/2 mark, I get less milage (14 -15mpg). However, if I fill the tank from say the 1/8 level, my milage averages a little higher (16 - 17mpg). Now all of that is pure city milage with short highway (Less than 50 miles) trips. On the highway with trips between 50 to 100 miles I will average 18 - 19mpg. With pure highway miles (trips over 300 miles), I average 22 - 24 mpg. All of the milage figures are with the climate control set to auto and using cruise control where possible.

You will get the best mileage on summer fuel going 65mph steady on the highway on flat terrain. Your experience is almost exactly the opposite.

I concur that your 2 mile drives are killing your gas mileage. Here's why.
Your engine management computer is running the motor in open loop mode until it warms up. In open loop the oxygen sensor signals are not used and the computer defaults to a very rich mixture. this is normal and needed for warmup, but is he11 on fuel economy. And it's not getting a chance to ever warm up. In addition to that, all of the lubricants are thicker and it just takes more power to get those moving parts into motion. And Minnesota is usually pretty cold in winter.
With those driving conditions 13.8 is to be expected.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about getting 13 mpg if I was only doing 2-4 miles a day. Heck, that's 3 days on a gallon of gas & I burn that much (at 18.5 mpg) just getting to work every day! Look at your overall fuel costs rather than mpg!

It sounds like when you get out on the road (towing, no less), the truck gets the mpg figures it ought to be getting.

BTW, I sure wish OUR '05 Ody got high 20s/low 30s for mileage. It does good to get 25 mpg on the highway. My leadfoot daughter does well to get high 20s/low 30s in her 4-cyl Accord! (Of course, she's on a first name basis with the justice court judges in about six counties! :D)

Yes, Chris, I understand that all mighty one. I have searched and searched. I know I did not by a Civic and I never mentioned in my QUESTION that I thought it would do as good.

So, I think there has to be an answer as to why the mileage sucks when Honda says 15/20 and I get 13.8. That is a pretty reliable average. I, too, have a detailed log of all but 6 fill ups and the "norm" is not the "norm".

Unlike most people, I have a budget I try to live by and when I got the truck I was told it would do better than the Chevy I sold. I guess I was mislead so I most be a sucker.

All I'm saying is that I'm VERY disappointed that the truck does not do better. At least out '04 Honda van pulls in high 20s low 30s and the truck is used less than the van.

So, once again, thanks Chris for your worthless comment. It was enlightening.

I'm happy that you appreciate my answer. It was not directly aimed at you, I'm just sick of this topic. I have seen your question posed in 20 different ways but they all boil down to the same thing. My answer is unfortunately it is no better or worse than any other answer you are going to get on this forum because no one truly knows why some RL's get good gas mileage and some dont. I hope that it helps.

I'm going to try and do what no one has been able to do in one post... I'm going to solve the gas mileage mystery or demystify it somewhat. My educated speculation is as good as anyone else's so here it goes. This is going to take me some time to type so please read it completely. I'm not going to waste anyone's time including mine so please read on.

If you do a search for the words "gas" and "mileage" on this forum, you come up with roughly 215 seperate threads. Let me point you to the most important ones.. no I will direct you to the most relevant posts. Here they are in no particular order.

The first post is about aerodynamics and how it affects a vehicle

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186217&postcount=1

This post is about how temperature affects drag

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186272&postcount=3

This post is about how gas forumlation affects mileage

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186287&postcount=4

Now, with that said, here's the gist of it. The gas mileage you get with a Ridgeline is most directly affected by the way you drive the truck, how fast you accelerate, if you run the A/C all the time including in the winter, if you drive mostly in the city or on the highway, what sort of gas you run in your truck and the 3 prior posts.

I also strongly believe mileage has to do with whether your truck had the correct idle learn procedure done when it was prepped by the dealership. This is why I think that some of got 20 mpg pretty much "out of the box" and why some folks here have never seen the high side of 17 mpg. There is some contention as to whether this is relevant but I'm pretty sure that it is as I have undone the idle learn twice and driven the truck and got 12 mpg both times in the same driving environment that I had previously experienced 15 mpg just to see if my theory held any weight. (80/20% city/highway environment over a specific route using specific acceleration from point to point for this experiment.) I drive the same routes a lot. I'd bet my testing is as scientifically sound as anyone elses.

Moving on.....

What can you do to improve your gas mileage.

1. Keep the revs under 3k rpms at all times period.
2. Don't start like a jackrabbit. A jackrabbit start has a different definition in New York City than it does in Hemmingford Home, Nebraska. The definition of jackrabbit in the latter location is closer to what you want to achieve than the definition that stands true in New York City. Slower is better. If you live in Los Angeles, you are not going to get 20 mpg.
3. Turn off the flippin' A/C compressor if you don't need it. If you have a RTL, push the A/C button until you see the words "A/C OFF." This is good for 2 mpg.
4. Air up the tires to 35 psi. Eliminating rolling resistance is key. If the temperature drops 20 degrees, check your tires again. They won't be at 35 psi anymore.
5. Take all that crap out of your trunk. Weight is a big enemy. Keep your truck as light as possible. (Read Alexander's posts. He has the lightest RL around)
6. Buy a tonneau cover. It's good for 1/2 to 1 mpg all by itself.
7. Change your air filter. They clog up real fast.
8. Don't buy junk gas. Buy only top tier gasolines. I recommend Shell.
9. Don't drive at 45 mph until you have accelerated past 48 mph. Why? The truck doesn't shift into 5th until you hit 46-47 mph range. This will reek huge benefits in pseudo city driving. (No I am not kidding)
10. Draft of 18 wheelers on the freeway like you are Darryl Waltrip. (not that close but you get the idea.) The RL does much better on the highway when it does not have to be the lead or solo vehicle breaking all the wind. It is a brick and there is nothing in the world that will change this.
11. All exterior modifications except for tonneau covers detract from gas mileage. Stay away from brush guards, jacking the truck up, changing the tires, bug deflectors, and roof racks. All of them are like little fancy parachutes.
12. Use the cruise control as much as possible. The computer can outgun 99% of people on the freeway as it pertains to gas mileage.
13. Don't accelerate uphill.
14. Don't drive with the tailgate down. This hurts mileage.
15. Keep up with your regular maintenance. Follow the maintenance minder.
16. Keep your engine clean. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner every 15k miles helps.
17. Don't warm up the engine. The truck doesn't need it. It's a waste of gas.
18. Don't modify the stock intake. I haven't seen anyone proclaim any huge gas mileage increases from an aftermarket unit. The restrictive point in the intake system on the truck is not the air intake. It is the throttle body. I heard this directly from the mouth of the person who designed the Ridgeline. I have had more than several conversations with him about mileage.
19. Winter formulation gasoline is your enemy. It does not have as much power per measured unit as summer formulations.
20. Gas mileage wonder devices don't work. They actually hurt mileage. All of them including the Tornado have been proven to be snake oil. If they really worked, wouldn't the truck already come with them installed?

The bottom line is that the people who who live in the warmest flattest climates that don't run the A/C and drive like turtles will get will get the best mileage. When I first got my truck I drove it like I stole it and my gas mileage suffered. Now I drive very conservatively and get 17 mpg pretty much all of the time. I drive 65% in the city and 35% on the highway. If you follow these tips, I would very strongly believe that your mileage will increase. If it doesn't, there is something wrong with your truck.

I hope I have enlightened you. If I have not told you anything new, I apologize for wasting your time.

I concur that your 2 mile drives are killing your gas mileage. Here's why.
Your engine management computer is running the motor in open loop mode until it warms up. In open loop the oxygen sensor signals are not used and the computer defaults to a very rich mixture. this is normal and needed for warmup, but is he11 on fuel economy. And it's not getting a chance to ever warm up. In addition to that, all of the lubricants are thicker and it just takes more power to get those moving parts into motion. And Minnesota is usually pretty cold in winter.
With those driving conditions 13.8 is to be expected.

BINGO!! If you are only driving 2 miles at a time, your O2 sensors are never getting fully warmed up and are never out of open loop like dk said. You can check this yourself by buying a scanning tool like the scangauge a lot of us have. It is one of the measurement parameters of the tool. Since your truck is only getting up to operating temperature by the end of your trip, you will not achieve the results you are trying to get.

How are you calculating your fuel mileage...maybe this sounds like a stupid question but many people are doing it wrong. If you are taking your TRIP divided by your gas tank size (22 gal) then you are doing it wrong and will get a low mileage reading.

How are you calculating your fuel mileage...maybe this sounds like a stupid question but many people are doing it wrong. If you are taking your TRIP divided by your gas tank size (22 gal) then you are doing it wrong and will get a low mileage reading.

How do you do it?

Seriously? really? you don't used 22 gal everytime you before you fill up. The only way to get a halfway decent MPG rating is to fill up you tank every time and take the trip miles in between trips divided by how many gals you put in.

How do you do it?

To add one item to ChrisM's summary list I just finished a 5K mile test to see if using Premium gas improves gas mileage as some here have claimed.

Using Shell Premium improved my mileage .5 MPG over Shell Regular. So it appears true that using Premium will boost gas mileage. That being said the MPG increase of only .5 MPG does not offset the increased cost of $.20 cents a gallon for Premium. My spreadsheet cost per mile figure goes up $.01 when using Premium... So using Premium may marginally increase MPG but does not save any money.

I currently have 15K miles on my RTL and it has averaged a cumulative 16.9 MPG since new on Regular. The last 5k miles were the Premium test and it went up to a cumulative 17.4 MPG during the test. I always use Shell gas in my Ridgeline.

I do have one comment on the tonneau cover suggestion. On my 40 mile daily suburban commute, mostly 45 MPH back roads and some divided highway at 65 MPH, my MPG did not change when I added my tonneau cover. On longer trips driving at highway speeds, 70 MPH with the cruise control on, my MPG did improve .5 MPG with the addition of the tonneau. So unless you are going to drive a significant amount of higher speed highway miles a tonneau will not necessarily improve your MPG.

If anyone wants to do a definitive MPG study I'll be glad to send my spreadsheet with all my info in it to them...:)

Assuming you filled your tank up last time you filled, and reset your trip odometer at that same time, you can refill your car with gas and divide your trip odometer by the gallons of gas you just pummped in.

For example:
I drove 225 miles since my last fill up. I divide the 225 miles by the 15.5
gallons I just pumped in and filled up with to get 14.5 mpg.

I appreciate your information. There were several items I had never heard of before. I'm happy that you appreciate my answer. It was not directly aimed at you, I'm just sick of this topic. I have seen your question posed in 20 different ways but they all boil down to the same thing. My answer is unfortunately it is no better or worse than any other answer you are going to get on this forum because no one truly knows why some RL's get good gas mileage and some dont. I hope that it helps.

I'm going to try and do what no one has been able to do in one post... I'm going to solve the gas mileage mystery or demystify it somewhat. My educated speculation is as good as anyone else's so here it goes. This is going to take me some time to type so please read it completely. I'm not going to waste anyone's time including mine so please read on.

If you do a search for the words "gas" and "mileage" on this forum, you come up with roughly 215 seperate threads. Let me point you to the most important ones.. no I will direct you to the most relevant posts. Here they are in no particular order.

The first post is about aerodynamics and how it affects a vehicle

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186217&postcount=1

This post is about how temperature affects drag

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186272&postcount=3

This post is about how gas forumlation affects mileage

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=186287&postcount=4

Now, with that said, here's the gist of it. The gas mileage you get with a Ridgeline is most directly affected by the way you drive the truck, how fast you accelerate, if you run the A/C all the time including in the winter, if you drive mostly in the city or on the highway, what sort of gas you run in your truck and the 3 prior posts.

I also strongly believe mileage has to do with whether your truck had the correct idle learn procedure done when it was prepped by the dealership. This is why I think that some of got 20 mpg pretty much "out of the box" and why some folks here have never seen the high side of 17 mpg. There is some contention as to whether this is relevant but I'm pretty sure that it is as I have undone the idle learn twice and driven the truck and got 12 mpg both times in the same driving environment that I had previously experienced 15 mpg just to see if my theory held any weight. (80/20% city/highway environment over a specific route using specific acceleration from point to point for this experiment.) I drive the same routes a lot. I'd bet my testing is as scientifically sound as anyone elses.

Moving on.....

What can you do to improve your gas mileage.

1. Keep the revs under 3k rpms at all times period.
2. Don't start like a jackrabbit. A jackrabbit start has a different definition in New York City than it does in Hemmingford Home, Nebraska. The definition of jackrabbit in the latter location is closer to what you want to achieve than the definition that stands true in New York City. Slower is better. If you live in Los Angeles, you are not going to get 20 mpg.
3. Turn off the flippin' A/C compressor if you don't need it. If you have a RTL, push the A/C button until you see the words "A/C OFF." This is good for 2 mpg.
4. Air up the tires to 35 psi. Eliminating rolling resistance is key. If the temperature drops 20 degrees, check your tires again. They won't be at 35 psi anymore.
5. Take all that crap out of your trunk. Weight is a big enemy. Keep your truck as light as possible. (Read Alexander's posts. He has the lightest RL around)
6. Buy a tonneau cover. It's good for 1/2 to 1 mpg all by itself.
7. Change your air filter. They clog up real fast.
8. Don't buy junk gas. Buy only top tier gasolines. I recommend Shell.
9. Don't drive at 45 mph until you have accelerated past 48 mph. Why? The truck doesn't shift into 5th until you hit 46-47 mph range. This will reek huge benefits in pseudo city driving. (No I am not kidding)
10. Draft of 18 wheelers on the freeway like you are Darryl Waltrip. (not that close but you get the idea.) The RL does much better on the highway when it does not have to be the lead or solo vehicle breaking all the wind. It is a brick and there is nothing in the world that will change this.
11. All exterior modifications except for tonneau covers detract from gas mileage. Stay away from brush guards, jacking the truck up, changing the tires, bug deflectors, and roof racks. All of them are like little fancy parachutes.
12. Use the cruise control as much as possible. The computer can outgun 99% of people on the freeway as it pertains to gas mileage.
13. Don't accelerate uphill.
14. Don't drive with the tailgate down. This hurts mileage.
15. Keep up with your regular maintenance. Follow the maintenance minder.
16. Keep your engine clean. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner every 15k miles helps.
17. Don't warm up the engine. The truck doesn't need it. It's a waste of gas.
18. Don't modify the stock intake. I haven't seen anyone proclaim any huge gas mileage increases from an aftermarket unit. The restrictive point in the intake system on the truck is not the air intake. It is the throttle body. I heard this directly from the mouth of the person who designed the Ridgeline. I have had more than several conversations with him about mileage.
19. Winter formulation gasoline is your enemy. It does not have as much power per measured unit as summer formulations.
20. Gas mileage wonder devices don't work. They actually hurt mileage. All of them including the Tornado have been proven to be snake oil. If they really worked, wouldn't the truck already come with them installed?

The bottom line is that the people who who live in the warmest flattest climates that don't run the A/C and drive like turtles will get will get the best mileage. When I first got my truck I drove it like I stole it and my gas mileage suffered. Now I drive very conservatively and get 17 mpg pretty much all of the time. I drive 65% in the city and 35% on the highway. If you follow these tips, I would very strongly believe that your mileage will increase. If it doesn't, there is something wrong with your truck.

I hope I have enlightened you. If I have not told you anything new, I apologize for wasting your time.

Is there any other way? Using the other method is slightly better than throwing darts.Seriously? really? you don't used 22 gal everytime you before you fill up. The only way to get a halfway decent MPG rating is to fill up you tank every time and take the trip miles in between trips divided by how many gals you put in.

Seriously? really? you don't used 22 gal everytime you before you fill up. The only way to get a halfway decent MPG rating is to fill up you tank every time and take the trip miles in between trips divided by how many gals you put in.

Oh ok, yeah well pretty much I fill up when empty at 300miles, and put in 20gallons and that works out to 15mpg. I figured if you're using the full 22gal, you're travelling more than 300 miles.

My low-fuel light goes on at 280miles, has anyone ever milked it dry? How many miles did you get?

I filled mine tonight and I made 13.8 on this tank. My Ridge has 14,000 miles on it. Tell me it has to get better! I have only got over 20 a handful of times.

I spoke with a lady at the pump next to me and she had an '06. She said she ALWAYS gets 18-22 no matter the time of year or how she drives. She was shocked when I told her my mileage.

According to the Official Honda website I should be getting 15 / 20.

I'm not a troll and I love my truck. I'm just getting sick of the shi!!y mileage. When gas is at 3.09 and only going I have to hope it will get better.

What can I do? Anybody have ideas.....help me. Can you reset something or have a computer hooked up to it to slap it up a little????

Please don't rub it in by telling me how good you mileage is.

Thanks!

I am pretty much in the same boat as you are. I keep reading these posts of 18-20, but only a couple of times have I seen 20. I have over 14,000 now and I love this truck, but am with you on this one. Gas milage sucks.

:D i really pushed it once on a road trip from a full tank. i went about an extra 40 miles after the light came on. hehe.. man i thought for surei was going to get stranded. with a lead foot i went 340ish miles. and im talking lead foot.

:D i really pushed it once on a road trip from a full tank. i went about an extra 40 miles after the light came on. hehe.. man i thought for surei was going to get stranded. with a lead foot i went 340ish miles. and im talking lead foot.

I wonder how many miles you can travel with the light on? A couple of times I filled up right after the light went on and I put in around 17 gallons.

I guess, doing a rough calculation of a 22 gal. tank and using 17mpg as average, you can go another 85 or so miles, although I dont want to test that theory. :)

I am pretty much in the same boat as you are. I keep reading these posts of 18-20, but only a couple of times have I seen 20. I have over 14,000 now and I love this truck, but am with you on this one. Gas milage sucks.

I just don't get these complaints. I must be thick.

The window sticker says 15-21 mpg. If you are getting between 15-21 mpg, and drive normally (not 2mi at a clip, not towing), then why does that suck?

Even if you milk it dry you can't divide it by 22gal because i am sure it will take more than 22 to fill it up. Probably closer to 24 gal, just the tube alone from the tank to the fill cap can probably hold more than a gallon, and that's not included in the tank capacity.


Oh ok, yeah well pretty much I fill up when empty at 300miles, and put in 20gallons and that works out to 15mpg. I figured if you're using the full 22gal, you're travelling more than 300 miles.

My low-fuel light goes on at 280miles, has anyone ever milked it dry? How many miles did you get?

I just don't get these complaints. I must be thick.

The window sticker says 15-21 mpg. If you are getting between 15-21 mpg, and drive normally (not 2mi at a clip, not towing), then why does that suck?

I will admit that most of my driving is in town but even my wife complains that I drive too slow so I do not run it hard and the best I can do is 13. On the interstate on a trip where I can run with the cruise on, I have seen 20 but that is rare. Most of the time it is around 18 on the road.

I know, it is a truck and I have owned 4 wheel drive trucks all my life, but I and it seems others as well, think that it should do a little closer to sticker expecially when some seem to be doing much better. It would seem there is a difference somewhere other than the driver.

"it sucks" may have been a bit harsh, but it is a little disappointing.

Chris, on your post (#21) item # 10, DO NOT draft an 18 wheeler! Unless you are within 15 feet of the back of the truck, you'll be bucking the wind. The airflow off the back of the trailer swirls causing much disturbance. Ever see a truck driving in the snow? The snow will stick to the back of the truck and you can't see s**t. Also you won't have enough stopping distance in a panic stop, if he peels a recap guess who is first to know and that little bit of gas savings will go out the window when a rock comes up and cracks the windsheild :eek:

I was getting between 360 & 400 miles per tankfull, but since I added the mast & sail in the bed of the truck @ 100,000 miles I have been getting over 500 miles per tankfull. I should win mod of the year..

Seriously now, I am happy with the gas mileage(approx 19 mpg for 103,000 miles now), I guess it all comes down to what kind of vehicle you came from. My Jeep Liberty was lucky to get 15 mpg, and 210 miles per tank of gas. My RL, of course has a bigger tank, but almost twice the range, twice the room, a bed for acarrying stuff, and its a Honda not a Jeep, so I know it will last.

good luck with your dilemma

Hello everyone

Gas mileage

1200 miles on the RTX

152.4 miles

8.55 gallons of gas

17.824

2 line highway to work and back

not to bad..

Alot better than my 2004 taco Quad Cab 4X4

Here's my .02...07 RTX and get a consistant 20 mpg, (30/70 city/hwy) I've found the Scanguage to be an indispensable tool. Cheers Ya'll...:)

PS Still better mileage then my Dakota v-6 2wd.......

Chris, on your post (#21) item # 10, DO NOT draft an 18 wheeler! Unless you are within 15 feet of the back of the truck, you'll be bucking the wind.

Here's my .02...07 RTX and get a consistant 20 mpg, (30/70 city/hwy) I've found the Scanguage to be an indispensable tool. Cheers Ya'll...:)

PS Still better mileage then my Dakota v-6 2wd.......

I was surprised at how far you can be behind a truck and take advantage of it's wake. I too have a Scangauge as Geoff has. I have used it in a number of ways to improve my mileage. One of those ways is "drafting" behind trucks. I have found that even when you are being buffeted by the wake of truck, you are still getting better gas mileage than when running solo by yourself by breaking the wind.

One day in the near future I'm going to get out my digital camera in movie mode and make a decent video of how much of an advantage that buffeting zone gives you. You'd be surprised! :)

PS. I do have a video of what a scangauge looks like for those are curious. This was taken last winter on level ground on the freeway. I was trying to demonstrate the same thing that I am talking about here. The scangauge comes more into focus halfway thru the video. You can see the mpg drop when I pull out from behind the truck but you can't see the truck so this video because the camera is aimed too low. What it does show is that you can get 20 mpg on the freeway. I do not have a clue what is on the radio. It's one of my wife's CD's.

http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Misc%20Illinois%20Pics/?action=view&current=100_0034.flv

Drafting semis was the subject of a segment on mythbusters. They found that even at 100 feet, MPG increased by 11%. Here is a link:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/28/mythbusters-drafting-10-feet-behind-a-big-rig-will-improve-mile/

BTW, that scangauge is awesome!

Drafting semis was the subject of a segment on mythbusters. They found that even at 100 feet, MPG increased by 11%. Here is a link:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/28/mythbusters-drafting-10-feet-behind-a-big-rig-will-improve-mile/

BTW, that scangauge is awesome!

I think I remember that episode...this week I got 14.5 mpg on 7.6 gallons...I'd say the short trips all city killed me. My best was 19

Drafting semis was the subject of a segment on mythbusters. They found that even at 100 feet, MPG increased by 11%. Here is a link:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/28/mythbusters-drafting-10-feet-behind-a-big-rig-will-improve-mile/

BTW, that scangauge is awesome!


I had never seen that before. I'm surprised at the 27% increase at 10 ft. I like great gas mileage like the next guy but WOW that's close. :eek:

i, too, am getting about 280 miles when the low fuel light comes on. this has been pretty consistent since about 10 or 11,000 miles on the odo. all freeway i can get about 330 -ish miles to the low fuel light. i've stopped trying to calculate the actual mileage because gas is too expensive no matter what.

I recently slapped on a home made tonneau cover for the winter and was curious as to how that would effect my gas mileage.

With an open bed I was consistently getting 19.5MPG. After putting on the tonneau (which is a heavy at about 70lbs as it's made out of 5/8" Plywood), I was amazed that my MPG (3 tanks in a row under same highway driving conditions... same gas... same gas station) has jumped to 21MPG.. That's a 7.7% Increase in efficiency even after adding that extra weight.

I'm curious if anyone else with tonneaus (homemade or not) have experienced anything similar as I always thought the claims on tonneau companies websites about improved gas mileage where bogus.

Can't tell ya until they stop selling winter gas.

this topic again huh?


I'm still getting terrible mileage, always have on both the 06 and 07. I'd say I average about 14/18 at best and I don't have a lead foot by any means

I've only had the truck for 2 months now, but I've got about 3.5k miles on it and my mileage has been pretty consistent. I usually get between 330 and 350 miles before the gas light comes on. I always fill up when the light comes on, and it always takes 17-18 gallons. This puts my average mileage somewhere around 19.4MPG. It was that way when I got the truck with 7 miles on it (aka, my test drive), and it's still that way at 3.5k miles. I've only driven it in the winter so far though, so I don't know how summer will affect it. I drive only 1 mile to and from work everyday, but to is down a very steep hill, and from is back up that very steep hill. Everything else (groceries, other stores, activities, friends, relatives) is ~20+ mile drive though, so I frequently drive 40+ miles a day even though my to and from work is only a mile. I'm very happy with this as it's better than the 17MPG I regularly got in my 98 C-RV under the exact same driving conditions.

Just FYI, the truck has no modifications. Also my mileage hasn't been much affected by how much I have in the truck. Usually it's just me, my wife, and our German Shepherd, but we've fully packed the cab, the trunk, and the bed and not seen much difference in the mileage over a several hundred mile trip.

I'm at just over 3k miles and my last tank averaged 16MPG on the nose. About half and half city/hwy driving, but while I don't drive it hard, I'm no grandma either. I don't really care what kind of milage I get, honestly, I just love the truck...

I have only been on the ROC for a few months. But during that time I have learned alot. That being said, most of what I have learned has come from reading Today's Posts under the Quick Links menu.

While I realize there are many that have been member since 2005, please try to be patient with the newer members when we ask a question about something like gas mileage. Yes, we can do a search, but as ChrisM noted, you can come up with 215+ threads. That's a bit much to search through for an answer to your problem. Yes, its been discussed alot. So much so that it makes it hard to search for information.

And as of the time I write this, there have been 49 replies and 1,269 views to this thread since it was posted 3 days ago. So obviously there is still an interest in discussing gas mileage on the ROC. (I wish my threads were this popular).

And if you are tired of seeing the topic, why did you click on the thread? Just ignore it!!! That's the beauty of an electronic forum. So some topics may be discussed 215+ times...how else are us noobs going to get our post numbers up to Senior Member? Everything else has been discussed!!!

OK, now its time for everyone to flame me!!! Who's got the match?:D

By the way, 15.5 MPG consistently, hwy, backroads and coasting down a mountain. Never changes!!!

While I realize there are many that have been member since 2005, please try to be patient with the newer members when we ask a question about something like gas mileage. Yes, we can do a search, but as ChrisM noted, you can come up with 215+ threads. That's a bit much to search through for an answer to your problem. Yes, its been discussed alot. So much so that it makes it hard to search for information.
<snip>
And if you are tired of seeing the topic, why did you click on the thread? Just ignore it!!! That's the beauty of an electronic forum. So some topics may be discussed 215+ times...how else are us noobs going to get our post numbers up to Senior Member? Everything else has been discussed!!!


I don't think it's asking too much to just try a search first. 99% of the time I can find exactly what someone is looking for within 30 seconds. It's not hard. It's not time consuming. It's not rocket science. If you can find toys on eBay, you can find info here. It's too often just plain laziness, and that bugs me.

As for ignoring it...most of us who have been around here a long time use New Posts. If I ignored all of the New Posts that were gas mileage related, I'd have 215+ New Posts sitting there every time I logged in. That's not a workable solution.

There's a lot of great, useful, meaningful, and often entertaining discussion on this forum amongst the noise.

Just filled up today at lunch time for the first time since I bought the 08 RTL w/Nav.

Got 17.5 mpg but not sure if the dealership actually filled the tank all the way up.

That was my first tank or should I say half tank almost ! Was only 1/2 full when I gassed up.

I wish my threads were this popular.

And if you are tired of seeing the topic, why did you click on the thread? Just ignore it!!! That's the beauty of an electronic forum. So some topics may be discussed 215+ times...how else are us noobs going to get our post numbers up to Senior Member? Everything else has been discussed!!!

OK, now its time for everyone to flame me!!! Who's got the match?:D

I click on them to see if theirs an argument going on. That will make your threads popular. Nothing like a good ol friday night fight :D .

I'm with VoLinGA 100%

The last time I checked... this is a "Forum".... A Place for open 'discussion'. Yes it can be treated like an encyclopedia (which I do frequently)

Sorry If we're clogging up all your 'New Posts' with old Thread data..... but quite frankly everything that can be discussed about our great vehicles has been discussed... many times over.

Don't get ticked off that there's nothing new to talk about.... you've got a keyboard... post a few new 'off topic' discussions if you have to!

Even as a 'newbie' I can still appreciate the benefits gained by direct communication with our RL bretherin.... so all just chill out.... get off your high horses... and remember that it's the constant supply of us 'Newbies' that keep this wonderful 'forum' going... chastizing us for posting old data (wether it's MPG Data or anything else) is only going to serve as a detriment to everyones goal which is to continue growing and reaching out to others (who might have something new to talk about)......so give us a break already!

High horses?

High horses?

Yes... that's what I said... If it appeases the gods why don't we break down the 'active' forum into segments... Newbies can be restricted to their own patch until they're deemed mature enough to eat at the adult table!

I mean no ill will towards you shovelhd personally (In fact when I joined - I think you where kind enough to welcome me on board)... but in my limited time on the forum I've viewed numerous instances of more 'seasoned' users being impatient (and sometimes downright obnoxious) to the new guys for not following protocols.... and frankly that kind of behaviour isn't going to 'pack them in'.

I guess I was the one who was initially grumpy. For that, I apologize. I do still stand by my initial comment that this subject has been beat to death.

Someone mentioned that it is hard to find relevant information because of the sheer number of threads on this issue. We are working on a way to get this problem solved so this won't be an issue in the future.

I think you have not gotten over the loss to LSU !! :D

... but in my limited time on the forum I've viewed numerous instances of more 'seasoned' users being impatient (and sometimes downright obnoxious) to the new guys for not following protocols.... and frankly that kind of behaviour isn't going to 'pack them in'.

You have to look on the other side of this as well. It's frustrating to have to have to answer the same questions over and over and over and over again but we do.

I guess we also take it for granted that what you or any other member may ask is common knowledge when it isnt common knowledge to anyone but us ROC geeks.

As for being obnoxious... This is one of the most tame internet forums I have ever been on. We don't aim to be obnoxious but I guess sometimes we come across like that.

I kinda look at the ROC like a playground. There are some of us who come here to play every day. There are rules to the playground that everyone has to abide by.

I guess I was the one who was initially grumpy. For that, I apologize. I do still stand by my initial comment that this subject has been beat to death.

Someone mentioned that it is hard to find relevant information because of the sheer number of threads on this issue. We are working on a way to get this problem solved so this won't be an issue in the future.

I'm certainly not dissagreeing that this subject hasn't been beaten to death, but it takes new users to the forum time to learn the best way to get (and give) information.... sometimes resulting in duplicated threads etc.

It's a 'cool new tool' for us freshman and sometimes you want to just dive right in and play with it without reading the instruction book first... know what I mean!

Just asking for a bit of patience that's all.

I think you have not gotten over the loss to LSU !! :D

I am a diehard OSU fan but I am a realist. (Ask anyone here who has met me face to face.) I never thought that OSU had a shot against LSU. Heck, I didn't even pick OSU to finish in the top 10 in the country this year at the beginning of the season. I'm almost glad that they didn't win in a way. No one would have considered OSU a legitimate BCS champion if they did. I don't consider LSU the best team in the country either. My pick would be USC as it was when I wrote this post.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=228384&postcount=5

Just asking for a bit of patience that's all.

Fair enough. You got it.

Fair enough. You got it.


Thank you sir... and in return I'll make sure in the future I make better utilization of the existing information before posting a new thread!

The guys with the 2000+ posts are the true knowledge base in the forum. You keep coming back so you must enjoy sharing that knowledge freely with others like myself.... thanks for that.

The guys with the 2000+ posts are the true knowledge base in the forum. You keep coming back so you must enjoy sharing that knowledge freely with others like myself.... thanks for that.


I'll vow to have more patience myself.

PS. The only reason we have over 2k posts is because of the random organized chaos thread. If that one thead was deleted, you would have more posts than me. :eek:

my gas mileage is not so good but it is a truck and it is heavy. i dont see it getting anymore gas mileage as say a tacoma or frontier but it's worth it because you have all that comfort and a truck to go with it. i got the same mileage in my jeep wrangler but that's just basically a two seater built like a box and not very aerodynamic.

one ques., can you get any better gas mileage if you put a better grade of fuel in the truck? i also do mainly city driving so that's not a good thing.

I think it's the typical "peril of the written word" I've gotten emails before that seemed(and written) to have a tone...but when I spoke to the person, they would usually express a completely different tone than the one interpreted :o


I guess I was the one who was initially grumpy. For that, I apologize. I do still stand by my initial comment that this subject has been beat to death.

Someone mentioned that it is hard to find relevant information because of the sheer number of threads on this issue. We are working on a way to get this problem solved so this won't be an issue in the future.

I agree with you that there are too many posts regarding gas mileage. I don't agree with you about LSU, but then I thought OSU did have a chance. It would be nice, for those interested, if there were one Thread with gas mileage info.

I certainly hope they don't do away with the random organized chaos thread, as I truely enjoy it. I'll vow to have more patience myself.

PS. The only reason we have over 2k posts is because of the random organized chaos thread. If that one thead was deleted, you would have more posts than me. :eek:

I am a diehard OSU fan but I am a realist. (Ask anyone here who has met me face to face.) I never thought that OSU had a shot against LSU. Heck, I didn't even pick OSU to finish in the top 10 in the country this year at the beginning of the season. I'm almost glad that they didn't win in a way. No one would have considered OSU a legitimate BCS champion if they did. I don't consider LSU the best team in the country either. My pick would be USC as it was when I wrote this post.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=228384&postcount=5

:D Just bustin your chops, as I am a diehard Miami Hurricane Fan ! My parents were season tickets holders for 52 years here in the Orange bowl.
My dad passed away 6 years ago and so I continued to take Mom to the games and took her to LA for the Rose Bowl victory against Nebraska but skipped the following year at the Feista Bowl against OSU !! What a lousy game that was and glad I missed being there. That was the start of national Championship contension for OSU and the beginning of the end fo Miami. :(

Chris, on your post (#21) item # 10, DO NOT draft an 18 wheeler! Unless you are within 15 feet of the back of the truck, you'll be bucking the wind. The airflow off the back of the trailer swirls causing much disturbance. Ever see a truck driving in the snow? The snow will stick to the back of the truck and you can't see s**t. Also you won't have enough stopping distance in a panic stop, if he peels a recap guess who is first to know and that little bit of gas savings will go out the window when a rock comes up and cracks the windsheild :eek:

I believe that Mythbusters dispelled this. They got consistantly improved mileage when drafting a semi up until they got to like 2 feet behind him when their mileage dropped by about 40% or so. I think it was at 100 feet that they started and got about 20 to 28% mileage increase, with the best increase of 40% or there abouts. So it would seem even if you draft back at 100 feet you will probably still see a noticible increase in mileage, assuming you can do it long enough to notice the difference.

PS. The only reason we have over 2k posts is because of the random organized chaos thread. If that one thead was deleted, you would have more posts than me. :eek:

I don't think I've ever posted in that thread. I guess that makes me....sick.

:)

I have long-term detailed MPG postings on My Homepage. (Actually need to go back and fill in some gaps but I've been consistent for 6 months or more.)

One thing about filling up the Ridgeline is that after the pump at the gas station cuts off, I can usually pack another 3 gallons into the tank. The Ridgeline is the most annoying vehicle to fill with fuel I have ever encountered. That would definitely effect your gas mileage if you don't pack it in.
I agree with you ,if I dont pack it all the way I get about 280 miles for the whole tank, but if i do top it off then i get about 330 to 360mp tnk.
that sucks!!

That would definitely effect your gas mileage if you don't pack it in.

Minor point of semantics here. "packing it in" won't affect your gas mileage at all. It will only affect your maximum miles to empty.:D And it might saturate your vapor recovery cannister triggering a fault code.:eek:

I was getting approx. 400 miles on a tank of gas or 18,19,20 MPG (consistantly) until I hit 15,000 mile on the odometer... Then, suddenly my MPG dropped to 15 MPG. Not sure what went wrong ... Now I've reached 20,000 miles and the mileage seems to be getting better, although its winter ...

This is all I have to say about it .., Gas Mileage has been beaten to death.

I work 13 miles away 26 miles round trip, i get about 320 miles full tank, i'm getting about 14.5 miles/gallon, it sucks cause i'm in California gas price never goes down :( , i hope it'll get better.

I was getting approx. 400 miles on a tank of gas or 18,19,20 MPG (consistantly) until I hit 15,000 mile on the odometer... Then, suddenly my MPG dropped to 15 MPG. Not sure what went wrong ... Now I've reached 20,000 miles and the mileage seems to be getting better, although its winter ...

This is all I have to say about it .., Gas Mileage has been beaten to death.

Ditto, I got much better gas mileage in the beginning. I am going on 3 yrs next month and 45k miles. I am getting about 14.5 - 15.5 mpg and it doesn't matter if city, highway or a mix. Octane means nothing, as does summer to winter gas. It all took a dump around 20k miles were I got 17-18mpg . I have checked plugs, filters, sensors, tires, brakes, etc... and nothing found or made a difference.

I also was not happy with the gas millage. I was getting about 13.2 mpg. I keep a record of my mpg with each fill up. My 06 had about 12,000 miles when I decided to have the transmission upgrade done. When I got the truck back I noticed that 5 or 6 upgrades were done. The first thing that was noticeable was that it shifted smother. Prior to the upgrade it ran about 2k rpm untill you hit 46 mph (a tough thing to do on local streets). Now I can keep it at 1,500 from 30 mph to 40 mph and at 46 mph it drops back to 1,500 rpm. I also noticed that at 75 mph on the highway the rpm is just passing 2k mark. My local mpg has increased to 15.1 mpg in my last 5 fillups.

I also was not happy with the gas millage. I was getting about 13.2 mpg on local driveing, I don't about highway yet. I keep a record of my mpg with each fill up. My 06 had about 12,000 miles when I decided to have the transmission upgrade done. When I got the truck back I noticed that 5 or 6 upgrades were done. The first thing that was noticeable was that it shifted smother. Prior to the upgrade it ran about 2k rpm untill you hit 46 mph (a tough thing to do on local streets). Now I can keep it at 1,500 from 30 mph to 40 mph and at 46 mph it drops back to 1,500 rpm. I also noticed that at 75 mph on the highway the rpm is just passing 2k mark. My local mpg has increased to 15.1 mpg in my last 5 fillups.

I get anywhere from 9.5 to 24.0. Probley get 10 after this weekend.Only going to be 0 for the high.:eek:

Well, I'm a relatively new member of the forum. Signed on several months back and have basically been lurking. One of the things that drew me to the Ridgeline in the first place was the fantastic mileage I'd heard about...........so this thread has been both interesting and disappointing. Thanks for beating it to death again or I'd have missed it! :D

The Honda Ridgeline is a truck. Wish it got better MPG? God yes, but this is a minor inconvenience when compared to other trucks versus car platform and MPG. I get good enough gas mileage. Wish it had a diesel motor though. Can I figure in the "gas" that I make after a meal of beans to increase my mileage?

As a former Honda Tech, I understood that the low fuel light came on when the vehicle had 2.6 gallons left. I haven't worked in that capacity since 2003. Is that the case with the RL?

I'm a recent 2008 RTL owner and have read most of the threads on gas mileage. I am getting around 15-16 mpg right now with 80% around town driving. I live in NH and yesterday morning it was 6 degrees. I expect to get better mileage when when it's warmer and I have more miles (1,250 now) on the truck. I have always been able to coax fuel mileage higher by driving conservatively by doing the basic stuff like accelerate like there's a egg between your foot and the pedal, keep the rpm's low when possible, good "energy management", etc. I realize the Ridgeline is about as aerdynamic as a dumpster, has some weight and is turning a propeller shaft. What I don't understand is the shift points for the tranny. I have to get up to 48 mph to get to into 5th gear. That isn't alsways possibe so it seems like when I'm driving in the low 40 mph range I should be in 5th on level roads, nor 4th. My Ridgeline also downshifts too early on de-acceleration creating an engine brake effect until you give it some pedal. I believe this contributes to lower fuel economy. Is this typical of other Ridgeline owners? I know when the downshift happens when I'm coasting DOWNHILL it is probably not a necessary downshift. If I shift to neutral on the decline the RPM's drop to around 800 and everything smoothes out. I wish the transmission would do that on it's own. Don't intepret this as a complaint about fuel mileage because I am getting the EPA 15 mpg. This post is related to mileage so I hope I posted it in the appropriate place.

The more I drive the Ridge, the more I've noticed these little quirks as well...shift points that don't always make sense, downshifting when it doesn't need to...ect...so I agree there seem to be a few things that would squeak out a bit more mileage ...overall...mileage seems very dependent on how you drive the truck...Right now I'm driving the truck without restriction...I want to compare it to mileage when I drive conservatively...I'd like to do two-three tanks each and then compare....:)

I'm a recent 2008 RTL owner and have read most of the threads on gas mileage. I am getting around 15-16 mpg right now with 80% around town driving. I live in NH and yesterday morning it was 6 degrees. I expect to get better mileage when when it's warmer and I have more miles (1,250 now) on the truck. I have always been able to coax fuel mileage higher by driving conservatively by doing the basic stuff like accelerate like there's a egg between your foot and the pedal, keep the rpm's low when possible, good "energy management", etc. I realize the Ridgeline is about as aerdynamic as a dumpster, has some weight and is turning a propeller shaft. What I don't understand is the shift points for the tranny. I have to get up to 48 mph to get to into 5th gear. That isn't alsways possibe so it seems like when I'm driving in the low 40 mph range I should be in 5th on level roads, nor 4th. My Ridgeline also downshifts too early on de-acceleration creating an engine brake effect until you give it some pedal. I believe this contributes to lower fuel economy. Is this typical of other Ridgeline owners? I know when the downshift happens when I'm coasting DOWNHILL it is probably not a necessary downshift. If I shift to neutral on the decline the RPM's drop to around 800 and everything smoothes out. I wish the transmission would do that on it's own. Don't intepret this as a complaint about fuel mileage because I am getting the EPA 15 mpg. This post is related to mileage so I hope I posted it in the appropriate place.

FineLine,

If you use the Cruise Control, keep in mind that it will automatically downshift any time the truck coasts more than 5mph higher than the set point (i.e. going downhill). If you know your daily route, you can cancel the CC as you start to go downhill and let it drift. Then, reengage the CC whenever you get near the set point.

The most noticeable downshift I feel is when it drops below 40mph and drops into 3rd gear. If you want to get it to stay in 5th gear at around 40-45mph, you need to accelerate to 48 (or more), then gently let it drift down to 45 or so. It may still downshift if you go up a (small:o ) hill, but it should go back into 5th on its own when it levels out again.

With my route to/from work, I travel a lot of back roads with rolling hills. There are portions of my 20 mile commute that I can crest a hill, put it in Neutral, and coast for a mile or more at a time. I don't know if this is actually increasing my mpg, but I make it a game to see how far I can make it before putting it back in gear. I, typically, average 19-20mpg during the week going to/from work. On the open road, I get 21-23mpg when I drive within 5-10mph of the speed limit:rolleyes: . Unfortunately, the "Winter Gas" we have right now tends to drop both averages about 1-2mpg...

Welcome to the ROC!!

Where in NH are you located?

Well after watching MNUser put the smack down on ChrisM on Page 1 (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19221) so bad that it forced Chris to change his motto under his name, I decided to pay close attention to ChrisM's suggestions on gas milage (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19221). Of all the ones that Chris posted there was one that I could give a try without too much effort. I increased my tire pressure from 28.5psi to 32.0psi on all of my tires. I know everyone says 35 psi, but I just didn't feel comfortable going that high.
Anyway, as I did my calculations at my next tank usage, my MPG jumped 1.8mpg.
No driving changes, no route changes, no gas brand changes just tire pressure.
ChrisM, you are not so useless afterall :D

I have about a thousand miles on my one-month-old purchase of a 2007 RTL-NAV and have noticed the same phenomena: downshifting on descents--particularly on two major freeway mountain grades (Gaviota and Conejo grades on Hwy 101 in coastal Southern California).

However, my reaction was different than yours--I was overjoyed to find that I didn't have to manually click out of overdrive (like my Toyota Highlander) in order to maintain control on the long downhill grades--the Ridgeline did it automatically. To me, this feeling of safety and control far outweighs any loss of mileage gains. I am VERY impressed with this feature.

My 3 fillups so far (not counting the free one from the dealer) have averaged 16 mpg.

It's no economy car, but then I bought a truck and for a $7K discount (which will buy a lot o' fuel). Besides, I'm retired and don't use the Ridgeline for daily commutes . . . just fun things.

BTW, I've just purchased and installed a Torza Soft Folding Truck Bed Tonneau Cover this past weekend and will be curious about its effect on fuel consumption. Also, one note on soft covers: Wow! is there ever a vacuum created by the air passing over the pickup's bed as indicated by the soft cover bulging upwards several inches. 'Bit of a noise coming from there when the back window's open on the freeway.

. . . My Ridgeline also downshifts too early on de-acceleration creating an engine brake effect until you give it some pedal. I believe this contributes to lower fuel economy. Is this typical of other Ridgeline owners? I know when the downshift happens when I'm coasting DOWNHILL it is probably not a necessary downshift. If I shift to neutral on the decline the RPM's drop to around 800 and everything smoothes out. I wish the transmission would do that on it's own. Don't intepret this as a complaint about fuel mileage because I am getting the EPA 15 mpg. This post is related to mileage so I hope I posted it in the appropriate place.

I also was not happy with the gas millage. I was getting about 13.2 mpg on local driveing, I don't about highway yet. I keep a record of my mpg with each fill up. My 06 had about 12,000 miles when I decided to have the transmission upgrade done. When I got the truck back I noticed that 5 or 6 upgrades were done. The first thing that was noticeable was that it shifted smother. Prior to the upgrade it ran about 2k rpm untill you hit 46 mph (a tough thing to do on local streets). Now I can keep it at 1,500 from 30 mph to 40 mph and at 46 mph it drops back to 1,500 rpm. I also noticed that at 75 mph on the highway the rpm is just passing 2k mark. My local mpg has increased to 15.1 mpg in my last 5 fillups.

People always talk about the tranny upgrade. Is this something that was done on the '07 right from the factory? I think the common thread is most that have had this done drive an '06.

On a side note:

My ten year old asked me the other day, "Dad, when I go to college, can I have the Ridgeline?" I asked why. He says, "Maybe they will have the gas mileage figured out and you can get a new one". I think he just wants my truck! Sneaky!

If you push it, you will get excellent gas mileage...., couldn't help it...

Seriously though, I hear that burtman is working on a rear spoiler wing that will net you about 1.5 mi. per gal, but ti will take up some of your cargo room and require you to forgo using the bed trunk. It may be worth a look.

I have 700 mi on my RL and I haven't figured in the mi per gal. It does get way, and I mean way better mileage than the VW toursomething that I borrowed from an inlaw before I got the RL. I can do about 7 days of 30 per 5 day commute + around house driving. Not bad.....

t

FineLine,

If you use the Cruise Control, keep in mind that it will automatically downshift any time the truck coasts more than 5mph higher than the set point (i.e. going downhill). If you know your daily route, you can cancel the CC as you start to go downhill and let it drift. Then, reengage the CC whenever you get near the set point.

The most noticeable downshift I feel is when it drops below 40mph and drops into 3rd gear. If you want to get it to stay in 5th gear at around 40-45mph, you need to accelerate to 48 (or more), then gently let it drift down to 45 or so. It may still downshift if you go up a (small:o ) hill, but it should go back into 5th on its own when it levels out again.

With my route to/from work, I travel a lot of back roads with rolling hills. There are portions of my 20 mile commute that I can crest a hill, put it in Neutral, and coast for a mile or more at a time. I don't know if this is actually increasing my mpg, but I make it a game to see how far I can make it before putting it back in gear. I, typically, average 19-20mpg during the week going to/from work. On the open road, I get 21-23mpg when I drive within 5-10mph of the speed limit:rolleyes: . Unfortunately, the "Winter Gas" we have right now tends to drop both averages about 1-2mpg...

Welcome to the ROC!!

Where in NH are you located?


Bobpres,

I live in Bedford, NH. I can't use cruise around town too often. Lots of stop and go and windt roads. Speed limit around town is 30 mph so criuising up to 48 mph to get to 5th could be costly. I have my tires inflated to 35 psi cold. My RTL does some serious downshifts on occasion. The other day I was getting off the highway and it downshifted and pushed me forward in the seat. When the downshift happens the engine rpm and tranny aren't synched and I get the braking effect. It doesn't do it all the time but when it does it feels weird. If I was driving a stick I wouldn't drop a gear like that without blipping the throttle to sync everything up.

Ridge is 14 months old, 12k miles, too a trip and got 350 miles on a tank which came out to 18.3 mpg. Avg speed 70-75 with a few hard accelerations. Not bad in my opinion. Tires at 30 psi, I need to fill them to 32-35psi.....

I'm a recent 2008 RTL owner and have read most of the threads on gas mileage. I am getting around 15-16 mpg right now with 80% around town driving. I live in NH and yesterday morning it was 6 degrees. I expect to get better mileage when when it's warmer and I have more miles (1,250 now) on the truck. I have always been able to coax fuel mileage higher by driving conservatively by doing the basic stuff like accelerate like there's a egg between your foot and the pedal, keep the rpm's low when possible, good "energy management", etc. I realize the Ridgeline is about as aerdynamic as a dumpster, has some weight and is turning a propeller shaft. What I don't understand is the shift points for the tranny. I have to get up to 48 mph to get to into 5th gear. That isn't alsways possibe so it seems like when I'm driving in the low 40 mph range I should be in 5th on level roads, nor 4th. My Ridgeline also downshifts too early on de-acceleration creating an engine brake effect until you give it some pedal. I believe this contributes to lower fuel economy. Is this typical of other Ridgeline owners? I know when the downshift happens when I'm coasting DOWNHILL it is probably not a necessary downshift. If I shift to neutral on the decline the RPM's drop to around 800 and everything smoothes out. I wish the transmission would do that on it's own. Don't intepret this as a complaint about fuel mileage because I am getting the EPA 15 mpg. This post is related to mileage so I hope I posted it in the appropriate place.

I think they optimized 5th gear for highway only driving. It's a compromise, yes, but I think it makes sense looking at the torque/weight/#of gears in trans. . the engine doesn't have the torque to hold a locked converter with the aerodynamics/weight of this vehicle at low speeds. even on the highway, going into a headwind, it's constantly going 5th to 4th, and back. I can see why the engineers nixed the cylinder deactivation system as useless for a vehicle with aero like this one.

I disagree. One of the best things about the transmission TSB is that it allows the vehicle to coast down to 40mph or so locked in 5th gear and stay there as long as there is not much load, i.e flat ground to slight grade, driver only, no excess weight. If it can do that, then it shouldn't have to wait to 47mph to upshift into 5th. There's no difference. Honda chose it to work this way. If there was one thing I could change on my Ridgeline, it's the 47mph 5th gear lock point. 44mph would be perfect.

I'd bet that this will change with the 3.7L for 2009.

on a fwy trip I get about 24 with mixed driving elevations and a couple of passing maneuvers thrown in

if it was 2am and I could cruise up the 101 to frisco I could probably get 26 with a ecu tune I could get very close if not too 30mpg

I just started monitoring mileage again on my '07 Ridge with about 14,000 miles on the odometer. The last tank with a mix of 60% highway and 40% in-town ran about 19.9 mpg. Very pleased with the results. One thing I did consciously do was to limit acceleration to under 3000 rpms.

Gas mileage . . . . hey, I traded in my 40+ mpg 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid for my 18 to 20 (maybe) mpg Ridgeline because I WANTED TO OWN A RIDGELINE! I love my truck! Have had it for a week and am happy as can be. If you bought a Ridgeline for the mileage, get a life.

If you bought a Ridgeline for the mileage, get a life.

OUCH....I think the main thing for many is just the concern that they are not getting the posted/rated mileage...I did the same(traded in a Civic SI) and bought a Ridgeline. For me, so much has to do with the way I drive the truck...(and that is new) I am holding off judgement until I see what my summer numbers are....as a point of reference, I NEVER got the rated mileage out of my SI :D

Last tank I got 17.2 mpg with temps during that time ranging from 10 to negative 20. Not to shabby.

My mileage averages 12mpg local miles at an avg 37mph, and 18mpg on the highway at 70-75MPH.

If I baby the truck I can get 13mpg local, and 11mpg if I drive it a bit hard.

RidgeLI

OUCH....I think the main thing for many is just the concern that they are not getting the posted/rated mileage...I did the same(traded in a Civic SI) and bought a Ridgeline. For me, so much has to do with the way I drive the truck...(and that is new) I am holding off judgement until I see what my summer numbers are....as a point of reference, I NEVER got the rated mileage out of my SI :D

I read somewhere that ALL posted numbers are for ideal conditions and unrealistic. The article suggested taking the posted numbers, subtract 15%, and that is what to expect (regardless of manufacturer). This works for me.

P.S. Subtract a little more for 'winter fuel blends'.

on a fwy trip I get about 24 with mixed driving elevations and a couple of passing maneuvers thrown in

if it was 2am and I could cruise up the 101 to frisco I could probably get 26 with a ecu tune I could get very close if not too 30mpg

Please spare us from your hallucinations.:D

I think the main thing for many is just the concern that they are not getting the posted/rated mileage. I NEVER got the rated mileage out of my SI :D

So the "gummit" lied to you again?:eek:

So the "gummit" lied to you again?:eek:

Main reason I never got my rated mileage on the SI is my fault....I couldn't keep my foot out of the accelerator..:D I wasn't complaining....