While on my trip up north I dropped the tailgate abt midway in Iowa and put It back up at the first rest stop in Minn. No difference in mileage shown on the trip computer, And it has been fairly accurate. Just one little experiment I wanted to try, as this is the first vehicle I have owned with a trip computer.

Don't rub it in, because everyone with pre-2009 Ridgelines got the shaft on the trip computer. But seriously, we have a MPG computer on our new Pilot & it really helps. You watch that bar graph, adjust your right foot & things get better ... automagically!

(I believe "Mythbusters" has taken on the tailgate up or down question, too...)

Don't rub it in, because everyone with pre-2009 Ridgelines got the shaft on the trip computer. But seriously, we have a MPG computer on our new Pilot & it really helps. You watch that bar graph, adjust your right foot & things get better ... automagically!

(I believe "Mythbusters" has taken on the tailgate up or down question, too...)
It is not rocket science, MPG= miles divided by gallons. Trip computer not required. Be nice to have!! It usually boils down to what the sticker says; 15/20 although I have had better and worse!!:confused:

ScanGauge II rocks for this. It takes a bit of setup (yse a factory trip computer would be easier for this fx) but once it's done, the realtime stats are awesome.