We recently purchased a 2002 CRV LX 2wd auto. EPA is 23/28.
We only have 3500 miles on it but it is getting 18/23. We've checked every tank. Dealer says it is not "broken in" until 5000 miles . We've had new cars in the past that got a couple of miles under the epa, but not this far off. Any one else with this experience?

 

You can never get mileage like the EPA unless you drive like a grandma. NOONE gets EPA mileage. And BTW, you won't get optimum gas mileage until 7500+ miles.

 

We are having a similar problem with our CR-V. Even after our K&N, we're still only getting 18mpg in the city, and that's with VERY easy throttle. After becoming very frustrated, I went out and cranked up the air pressure up on all four tires.

Right now, it's at 28psi all around. It rides a LITTLE harsher, but corners MUCH better. I suspect this will improve milage significantly. If so, I may try 30psi just to see, or mess with a little higher front pressures until the ride/handling becomes a problem.

I have kept the CRV at 26psi (recommended) since August (5k mi ago) and I am seeing signes of wear sooner on the outside than on the center of the tire. This indicated underinflation, so I am pretty confident that 26psi isn't right - at least on the front. My CL-S uses 32 and my GTI used 28-30, so the heavier CRV shouldn't be 26. I'll let you guys know after a tank or two what I find out.

 

Wait until after break-in before you start concerning yourself with mileage. My Accord was getting 19 mpg during break-in. That figure rose to about 27mpg after that period.

Someone else commented that the EPA estimates are conservative. Honestly, that hasn't been my experience in any of my cars. I've always gotten between the two numbers... usually better.

Modifications will bring down your mileage, but generally yours should fall between the city and highway numbers.


Also, if you let your car idle for long periods of time (for example, a lot of people let their cars warm up for 10-20 minutes), you're getting zero MPG during that time. Your car shouldn't need any more than 30 seconds to warm up. Just go easy on it for the first few miles after starting it cold.

 

Well, I don't this isn't really 'broken in' but we have 6k mi on our CRV. Past the official break in, but certainly not 'loosened up' yet. We've been monitoring the gas mileage all winter and it is usually around 18mpg city, I think it gets 23 or so on the highway. Far short of the advertised 22mpg city / 26mpg highway that Honda claims our EX model should get. That just isn't right no matter how you cut it. If we were flooring it, accelerating to 60mph for even 200yards of travel, and generally gunning it to get around traffic then I could understand this. But we’re driving it like grandparents (gas is near $2!) and it still isn’t returning 19mpg. If it doesn’t improve with better tire inflation, I will be returning to the dealer.

 

Ok, I ran a tank at 28psi all around and I have been very happy. The car rides corners much better although you can feel small bumps a bit more. But the real kick is that the gas milage has increased significantly! We were getting very close to 18mpg in the city (+/-0.2mpg) but with the increase we saw 20.8 this week!!! 28psi is above Honda's number on the drivers' door sill, but still well below the tire capacity. And as I said, the tires were showing premature wear on the edges. Combined with the low gas milage, my conclusion is that the 26psi Honda number just isn't correct. I'm giong to try 30psi this week and see how that does. I would highly recomend increasing your '02+ CRV tire pressure.

 

Glad to hear it, but 6K isn't fully broken in. I would expect your mileage might continue to increase gradually.

Still even 20 MPG seems low to me. I would have the dealer check it out. Even though it's new, you could have a defective air filter, plugs, fuel filter etc. Timing could be off, who knows. Either way, I feel you on the gas prices... sucks. Anyway, register the complaint so that you can act on the lemon law if need be.

 

Good idea. I've heard other problems regarding fuel filters and oxygen sensors, so you may be right. (I also have a K&N so I'm expecting higher than EPA) However I am fairly certain I can get there with higher PSI. I'll post my findings.

PS: I know this is a fairly dead topic, but I hope others can benefit by it in the future.

 

I've monitored a friends CRV for almost a year. Frequent tire rotations (3.5k-4k miles) and tire pressure @32-35psi have resulted in even tire wear and no complaints (except for ride maybe). 26psi is just way too low. In my wifes Civic I realized a 1.5-2mpg gain in mileage by switching to Mobil 1 5w30 full synthetic motor oil. No other changes were made and we documented this by recording mileage every fill up. Not saying you'll get the same results, but after your break-in you might try it.

 

Apparently, Honda likes to use as low of a tire pressure as possible when ride might be a concern. We've been running 30psi on our CRV now and are getting about 23mpg in the city - a huge improvement over 18mpg @ 26psi. I also cranked my Acura CL-S up 2psi (I think from 30 to 32?) and my mileage went from 20mpg city to 23. I shoudl write Honda and ask for my gas money back.