Cold weather really kills mileage

[peterson1604]

I don't think anyplace below the 49th Parallel counts as "Great White North" !
As for lost fuel economy - its a normal fact of life for us about 6 months of the year.
had a few morning at -40 or colder last week. Wind Chill dropped that down to the low 50's and -60 range.

Me thinks you have no idea how much snow those Great Lakes create. ?

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[VAMike]

Nobody drives like the EPA test cycle. It is extremely artificial, performed on a stationary dyno with calculated adjustments for terrain and aerodynamics. Honda has long been known for actual efficiency that beats the EPA estimates. It makes costumers happy and brand-loyal.

I've had hondas, I've actually been less impressed with mileage on them than a lot of my other vehicles. YMMV. And again, what data I can find from third parties suggest that's unusually high for a ridgeline. Given how bad MPG displays can be, Occam suggests looking at that first.

 

[slowmachine]

I've had hondas, I've actually been less impressed with mileage on them than a lot of my other vehicles. YMMV. And again, what data I can find from third parties suggest that's unusually high for a ridgeline. Given how bad MPG displays can be, Occam suggests looking at that first.

I've had a bunch of Hondas too, and still have a 2012 CR-V. Most of them, all the way back to my first, a 1979 Accord, have beaten the EPA rating pretty consistently when driven with high MPG as a goal. I honestly think that most people don't understand all of the variables in measuring fuel economy in real-world operation. The claimed numbers are all over the map, and it simply isn't worth the effort to create very precise fuel consumption numbers. I used to keep logs for all of my cars, but now I just check the obviously imprecise dash gauge at each fill-up. I'm looking for significant changes that indicate potential problems with the cars, without any real interest in actual MPG numbers. I had a 2017 Honda Pilot, which is very close to a Ridgeline. 25 MPG was about the best I ever saw, so I would also say that Occam leans toward inaccurate results due to poor methodology.

 

[Arly]

The EPA rating is just for vehicle comparison. Not what you or I get. I'm still happy with the Ranger's fuel mileage.

 

[D Fresh]

Cold weather mileage decline might have simething to do with tire pressures.

 

[VAMike]

I've had a bunch of Hondas too, and still have a 2012 CR-V. Most of them, all the way back to my first, a 1979 Accord, have beaten the EPA rating pretty consistently when driven with high MPG as a goal.

It was a lot easier in the old days. When they redid the standard sometime in the early 2000s(?) the numbers got more realistic in my experience.

 

[FiveSeven]

Couple thoughts on MPG during the cold. First off, I agree, cold gets you terrible gas mileage. I live in the snow belt of western NY.

My truck before the Ranger was a 2nd gen Toyota Tacoma 4x4 running the 2.7 i4. For those that aren't familiar with Toyota's 2.7L i4, its a 159HP dog, but gets the job done and is super dependable. Surprisingly, however, I'm getting the SAME EXACT gas mileage which is quite odd. But looking at it from a performance perspective, Ford's 2.3 Ecoboost can produce alot more power with almost the same efficiency driving both of these vehicles the same way daily. This alone should be a huge win for many of you once you think about it from that perspective, at least it is for me.

My gauge cluster MPG is about 1.8-2 MPG off on the upper end, so I've been doing all of my calculations by the standard MPG formula: "miles driven/# of gallons filled on the first click at the pump". Here are my numbers, if I drive conservatively (defined by not letting the RPM rev above 2500 during accelerations):

*I'm also running snow tires, Continental VikingContact 7, I forgot the size, but they were slightly taller and thinner than stock tires that come on the XL STX.

Weekly Average (93 Octane): 16.5-17MPG (Consists of 50/50 city/highway driving) My highway travel also has a ton of hills on the state rt I'm often driving on at 65-75mph.

Somewhat flat Highway (93 Octane): 19.5-20 mpg (2 hour travel; these numbers maybe better if going on a longer trip)

The LOWEST I ever calculated since December, was about 15.5mpg, and that was because I was home for quite a bit doing TONS of short drives around town.

These numbers are all during cold. I have yet to test my Ranger out during the summer time, since I bought it in September 2020, but I am speculating highway numbers to get up to 23-25+. When I did frequent trips with my Tacoma during the summer time, I was hitting a solid 22MPG on the highway getting me damn near 400 miles to the tank (no towing). I am speculating the Ranger will do just as good, if not, better.

So based on my research here are some variables of what's killing your MPG in the cold (listed most likely to least likely):

1.) Long starts in the cold to warm up engine add up weekly. I suspect a loss of about .5MPG/week just from the idling.
2.) Winter blend gasoline
3.) Frequent short drives with absolutely no highway travel.
4.) Roads with lots of hills
5.) (optional) Having a heavy foot.

1 and 2 are probably the single most likely variable most of us are seeing during the cold weather. This is merely nature of the beast and unfortunately we just need to deal with it.

Should you be upset? No, wait until summer. You will see a huge improvement. Additionally, Ford's 2.3 Ecoboost is producing more power than Toyota's i4 and v6 with better or similar MPGs, making it the most efficient in its class (in my opinion, of course).

 

[THLONE]

There are more variables to MPG that most people dont take into account. The design and size of the tire can change the speedometer reading. As you go faster the size of the tire grows from centrifugal force again changing the speedo reading. I think that the driving style of the driver also has big effects on MPG. Do you watch ahead to see cars stopping and lift or wait till the last minute and brake harder? Are you a tailgater matching the speed of the guy in front? Even if you calculate by hand you will notice that the mileage is never the same from one fill to the next. The list goes on. Over time you will get a reading for you. Others results will vary.

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