[Christopher Stone]

I have a 2006 Ridgeline that I have had for a while. Massively disappointed with the totally pathetic fuel mileage. I started attending college 46.5 miles away/93 miles round trip 4 days a week. I am filling up over 6 times per month now. I am only getting about 17 mpg on the highway at 75 mph to and from school. Honestly, I really wish that I had done better research before I bought this truck. There are full sized V-8's that are supposed to be getting close to 30 mpg. The Ridgeline isn't even a real truck as it is front wheel drive. I regret buying it because it is costing me so much money at the pump. There is no excuse for getting this bad of fuel mileage from a Honda.
Does anyone know of any REAL answers to improving the fuel mileage? I am not talking about keeping the tires at full psi or other stuff like that. I am looking for something concrete. I installed a K&N air filter thinking that might help. Made absolutely no difference at all. I tried an experiment. For one tank of gas, I absolutely babied it when I accelerated. I drove like a 90 year old man. The next tank, I drove like normal - meaning - I accelerated rapidly. Only about 1-2 mpg difference driving like normal. Very, very disappointed in Honda and their poor engineering.

 

[MtMan]

There is no magic pill. Fuelly shows avg mpg around 17mpg for other owners. 2006 Honda Ridgeline MPG - Actual MPG from 285 2006 Honda Ridgeline owners

I know tires pressure mentioned, but is important. Maybe increase over factory suggestion 1 to 2 psi. Will make your ride more bumpy.

75 mph: try slowing to 70. Faster speeds guzzle more gas. I know everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere.

Aero: try a tonno cover on the bed to lessen air turbulence.

All together you might squeak out another 1-2 mpg. Good luck.

 

[F6Hawk]

You knew what the mileage was when you bought it. It’s a truck. Put on some low-rolling-resistance tires, slow down to more efficient speeds (60 mph works well for the Gen 1).

The real answer is... if you want a fuel efficient car, you should have bought one. It’s not Honda’s poor engineering, it’s your lack of research. FWIW, best I ever got out of the Gen 1 was about 21 mpg on a very sedate trip. But 17 mpg is truly average for that truck. But of course you knew that before you bought, right?

And why would ANYONE buy a “not a real truck”?

 

[donuteater306]

i feel your frustration. Previously if I babied my 07 I could squeeze 19-21 out of it. That ended when I installed the Michelin LTX AT2 tires. Now I'm lucky to get 15-17.. 19 if I'm only on the freeway, use mid-grade or premium fuel (no cost savings there) and set the cruise to the speed limit. Not sure how a higher octane has anything to do with MPG..but it's consistent. Anyway, other than making sure your engine is tuned properly. I don't know of anything that will improve your fuel mileage. The sad thing about the K&N is that even if it DID improve your mileage, how long would it take to save enough money to off-set the cost of the filter?

There are some newer full size V8 trucks getting better mileage than our 11 and 12 year old RL's. But I know for a fact that my friend's 07 Silverado with a 5.3 and cylinder deactivation is NOT getting 20mpg on the freeway, even when he babies it. This is something that he points out because when his truck was 7 years old and had just over 80k miles on it, he had to have BOTH cylinder heads replaced due to some lifter and valve issues. Luckily GM covered all but $2k of that repair but again...the system that was advertised to save money in fuel costs ended up costing him more than what he saved to keep it working.
Sometimes you cant win.

If your spark plugs are original and you have 100k on em. Now's the time to replace em. Make sure you buy the factory style Denso or NGK..whatever your truck came with. Don't waste money on anything fancy...it will NOT make a difference.

 

[Heli ATP]

Hi Chris,
What type of terrain are you driving on?
I drive the hills of NE PA and average 16mpg. When I spend a week in the flatlands of NJ I average 21 mpg.
Do one tank driving 55-60mph, keeping the rpm's under 2000 and let us know how that works for you.

See this...
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/...pg-ultimate-resource.html?191137=#post2737657

 

[NSIDER]

I think you're right on par for the vehicle & driving style. Not a whole lot you can do to improve it.

Lucky for you however, the G1 RL's have decent demand & resale value. Your best bet is to sell it, and get something more in line with the mileage you are looking for.

 

[oarnold]

Just remember you are driving a 12 year old vehicle also when comparing it to V8s getting 30 mpg. I would ask if there any accessories that might impeded air flow, i.e. a lift, cargo rack or other, and what sort of tires. As mentioned above, the tires Honda supplied are no longer available. I installed Michelin Defenders and saw my average mileage go down 1-2mpg.

There is a whole forum section devoted to fuel efficiency. The most common factors are: short trips, stop-and-go, style of driving, aggressive tires and accessories.

17mpg is not uncommon for a vehicle ("truck" or not) with the RL's capabilities.

 

[GhostYK1]

I have a 2006 Ridgeline that I have had for a while. Massively disappointed with the totally pathetic fuel mileage. I started attending college 46.5 miles away/93 miles round trip 4 days a week. I am filling up over 6 times per month now. I am only getting about 17 mpg on the highway at 75 mph to and from school. Honestly, I really wish that I had done better research before I bought this truck. There are full sized V-8's that are supposed to be getting close to 30 mpg. The Ridgeline isn't even a real truck as it is front wheel drive. I regret buying it because it is costing me so much money at the pump. There is no excuse for getting this bad of fuel mileage from a Honda.
Does anyone know of any REAL answers to improving the fuel mileage? I am not talking about keeping the tires at full psi or other stuff like that. I am looking for something concrete. I installed a K&N air filter thinking that might help. Made absolutely no difference at all. I tried an experiment. For one tank of gas, I absolutely babied it when I accelerated. I drove like a 90 year old man. The next tank, I drove like normal - meaning - I accelerated rapidly. Only about 1-2 mpg difference driving like normal. Very, very disappointed in Honda and their poor engineering.

My Gen 1 is camed with a CAI intake, ported intake manifold and complete exhaust with pre-cat delete pipes and I get 17MPG mixed driving and 21MPG highway. I have even seen 25MPG running back roads with cruise control set to 80-90km/h. If you aren't getting that, I would say it's time to look at some routine maintenance and maybe take your foot off the gas a little bit. If you are getting that and are not happy. Best bet is to sell your "not real truck" and buy what you perceive as a "real truck" complete with RWD/4x4 and a V8 and see what you get. I don't know any of my friends driving "real trucks" boasting about their amazing MPG. :wink:

Or buy a Honda Fit and get all the MPG you desire!

 

[Danke]

75mph?

Really?

 

[Pster]

Just drove from Charlotte to Atlanta via I85....Gen 2 mileage 28.02.

 

[McChizzle]

The only thing not said by the others is a valve adjustment. Although you've not stated how many miles are on your 2006 Ridgeline, I'll assume by the model year you have over 100,000 miles if not double that amount. That means you need a valve adjustment, a new timing belt, change your transmission and transfer case fluids, and you probably need new tires if your not rolling on new rubber already. If you do need new tires, get ones designed for fuel efficiency and lightness.

Also, a lot of Ridgeline owners have roof racks; if you have one, take it off along with any other accessories you have hanging off your vehicle (it's all added drag). Also, I would not add a tonno cover. It's an urban myth that bed covers help improve MPG; they've actually been proven to decrease your MPG by a tiny bit because they restrict the formation of a good air bubble over the bed that allows other air to more smoothly flow around it (Thank you Mythbusters!).

Reduce your weight in the vehicle; if you're carrying a lot of stuff around with you all the time that increases the amount of mass your vehicle had to push down the road. Lastly, and to echo the others, reduce your speed and acceleration rates.

I would assume there was something about the first generation Ridgeline (Gen1) that you liked or you would not have purchased it. If that's true and you desire better Gen1 MPG, I would sell your 2006 and look for a 2012 model year and up. The 2012 Gen1 got some aerodynamic improvements added to the underbody and friction reduction measures were made to the engine which improved highway fuel economy, according to EPA testing.

 

[Garland]

I had an 06 RTL for 13 years and 170,000 miles. I got the same mileage as you in my normal commute, and 20 mpg on long trips at 70 mph.
It is what it is. It’s a great truck but gas mileage is not a strong point.

 

[Griz]

I have a 2006 Ridgeline that I have had for a while. Massively disappointed with the totally pathetic fuel mileage. I started attending college 46.5 miles away/93 miles round trip 4 days a week. I am filling up over 6 times per month now. I am only getting about 17 mpg on the highway at 75 mph to and from school. Honestly, I really wish that I had done better research before I bought this truck. There are full sized V-8's that are supposed to be getting close to 30 mpg. The Ridgeline isn't even a real truck as it is front wheel drive. I regret buying it because it is costing me so much money at the pump. There is no excuse for getting this bad of fuel mileage from a Honda.
Does anyone know of any REAL answers to improving the fuel mileage? I am not talking about keeping the tires at full psi or other stuff like that. I am looking for something concrete. I installed a K&N air filter thinking that might help. Made absolutely no difference at all. I tried an experiment. For one tank of gas, I absolutely babied it when I accelerated. I drove like a 90 year old man. The next tank, I drove like normal - meaning - I accelerated rapidly. Only about 1-2 mpg difference driving like normal. Very, very disappointed in Honda and their poor engineering.

Truck definition:

Definition of truck

1 : a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: such as
a : a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (such as a pickup) for hauling
b : an automotive vehicle with a short chassis equipped with a swivel for attaching a trailer and used especially for the highway hauling of freight; also : a truck with attached trailer
c : a small barrow consisting of a rectangular frame having at one end a pair of handles and at the other end a pair of small heavy wheels and a projecting edge to slide under a load — called also hand truck
d : a small heavy rectangular frame supported on four wheels for moving heavy objects
e : a small flat-topped car pushed or pulled by hand
f : a shelved stand mounted on casters
2 a British : an open railroad freight car
b : a swiveling carriage consisting of a frame with one or more pairs of wheels and springs to carry and guide one end (as of a railroad car) in turning sharp curves
3 : a small wheel; specifically : a small strong wheel for a gun carriage
4 : a small wooden cap at the top of a flagstaff or masthead usually having holes for reeving flag or signal halyards


I don’t see drive wheels as a criteria

 

[eurban]

Just drove from Charlotte to Atlanta via I85....Gen 2 mileage 28.02.

Not to be beating a dead horse but the GenII's trip computer is significantly optimistic. If you want to know your real world gas mileage you need to hand calculate. . . .

 

[haar]

Disconnect your battery for like 5 minutes so it resets your fuel mapping (I think it's the right term). Air your tires up to 38-40. Take all of your extra crap out of the truck. This may get you 1-3 mph. When you get new tires don't get heavy AT tires get low rolling resistance road tires. I had an 06 until this year and never got over 22 at 70-75. It is what it is.

 

[feelmuhpino]

I just had my oil changed, rear diff flush, and tire rotation. With my tires at 35 psi I’ve seen a 3 mpg increase. I was blown away.

I’m not sure which was the biggest contributor, but I’ve gone thru several oil changes and rotations... so my guess is that I was badly overdue for a rear diff flush. I haven’t seen mid 15mpgs since before I installed my roof rack. Before the flush, I was getting around 12.5 mpgs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tmz]

Making sure your tires are properly inflated is concrete advise-do it. Slowing to 65 might get you almost 2 mpg better. Wash the truck--a clean truck might get you 1/2 mpg or so more, but maybe not.

Your mileage does sound low compared to what I got in my 2007. As someone else pointed out, if you haven't changed the plugs, do so. But I just sold my 2007 with 115k miles and had never changed the plugs, and didn't notice any significant drop in mileage.

Don't use higher than 87 octane, no reason to, engine isn't designed to need it and it will not give you better performance or mileage. At higher altitudes you might get away with 85 octane, but I got some engine knock when I tried that.

In my 2007 I got about 19 mpg driving 72-77 mph, and climbing up & over the Sierras (over 8500 feet), with 4-6 hundred extra pounds or so in it (besides me). Coming back, with more downhill, I got 20-21. Cruising two-lane country roads without traffic at 45-60 mph I could get 22-22.5.

If you do a lot of passing requiring quick acceleration that can eat into mileage.

 

[robertyb]

What is considered properly inflated tires? I am in a brand new 2018 Sport with the factory tires and they were inflated to 41 PSI from the dealer. The door tag tells me that for these tires I should inflate them tom 35 PSI cold which I have done. Should I actually be running higher PSI?

 

[McChizzle]

What is considered properly inflated tires? I am in a brand new 2018 Sport with the factory tires and they were inflated to 41 PSI from the dealer. The door tag tells me that for these tires I should inflate them tom 35 PSI cold which I have done. Should I actually be running higher PSI?

No, a lot of car manufacturers over-inflate the tires for some strange reason. Follow what is listed on your door sticker.

 

[FTM1]

What is considered properly inflated tires? I am in a brand new 2018 Sport with the factory tires and they were inflated to 41 PSI from the dealer. The door tag tells me that for these tires I should inflate them tom 35 PSI cold which I have done. Should I actually be running higher PSI?

You could inflate to 37-38PSI just saw something the other day said you can inflate 2-3 pounds over recommended. So if 2018 says 35PSI 37 would be good. Always use good quality tire gauge to confirm pressure.