naps1saps

This is the first car I've ever owned and have only had it a couple years. I don't consider myself a lead foot. I own the Station Wagon flavor of the 95 Accord. It's a 4 cyl 2.2 Vtech 4 gear auto. Right now I'm getting about 19-21 MPG avg mixed driving. The mechanic I go to has the same car except the 97 version and says he's getting about 26-27 avg. looking online I believe I should be getting at least 25 mpg. The most I've ever gotten was 23 mpg with mostly highway driving. Now that I work from home and drive the freeway less it has dropped dramatically.

History:
I have had the Head Gasket replaced and as a result of the leaking coolant rotting out the metal in the exhaust, I have also had the exhaust from the cat back (including cat) replaced. New plugs a year ago. Ran some fuel injector cleaner through my fuel a couple times. I was driving around for about 6 months with dropping coolant levels till it got bad enough (personal cloak in the parking lot) where I needed to splurge on a head gasket replacement.

My car does not respond instantly although I'm not sure how it responded when it was brand new and the mechanic guy said it was driving fine as far as he could tell. The acceleration in this car sucks (in a teenagers mind set) if that is any indication of problems.

I believe the only things left are the fuel filter and the O2 sensor. I'm thinking that maybe the coolant has clogged the o2 sensor causing poor mileage. I just had an emissions test and passed but I also passed with several large holes in my exhaust last year so I don't trust emissions tests anymore.

Looking for someone's opinion as to what I should do. Both are equally as expensive to replace as I'm not a mechanic. tried taking out the o2 sensor when changing my oil this summer but it wouldn't budge and it had to be in a part of the exhaust that wasn't replaced so I'm a little worried about the torqe forces making a hole in that part of the exhaust.

Also my revs are 2.5-3k @ 65-70mph if that is abnormal i've had some concerns about the transmission as well since its an auto.

GhostAccord

When you changed the spark plugs did you also change the distributor cap, rotor and plug wires?

The ignition system also requires freshening up every 10 or so years...lol The ignition control module, aka ICM or ignitor, and the ignition coil can also start to wear and cause lower MPG.

As for the acceleration, it's a 17 year old FWD station wagon with a 2.2L 4 cylinder automatic under the hood. it's not an S2000... However they should still have some get up and go. Check your trans fluid. Might need to be flushed.

dwllama

Curious because I'm having some mpg issues myself (although not this bad) in my 96. Is wear in the ICM or coil something that will show up in other ways, IE can it be tested for?


To the OP, if you have or can borrow a multimeter you can run some basic tests on your o2 sensor. I don't know about other manuals because I only have a Haynes, but it has directions on how to do it.

Edit: there's some information in this thread on how to: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/testing-oxygen-sensor-3009996/

oc9979

My wagon gets low mileage as well.

Swap to 5 speed. That's what I am going to do.

GhostAccord

Your Haynes manual has a couple resistance tests that you can do fairly quickly. Pages 5-2 to 5-5.

Roader

My '96 wagon's lowest was 22.5 mpg (stop-and-go in below freezing temps), highest was 30.2 (65 mph highway.) 80 mph highway-only driving drops it to 27.5 mpg.

If the car is in good tune and otherwise runs well you might want to replace that O2 sensor. Mine required a cold chisel and a BFH; it didn't come out easily.

Realize though that wagons have a lower final drive ratio (4.27) and will rev higher for a given speed than sedans or coupes (4.06) . Higher revs = more gas.

dwllama

If the coil tests within resistance spec (mine did) does that mean there is no reason to replace it and I should look elsewhere to spend money?

SQ is the SQUAD

i just picked up a 94 accord ex wagon. the auto tranny def does not help gas mileage. plus i got the blinking d4 light and it seems like it dosent start off in 1st gear. i am not going to bother to fix it because i have all the 5 spd components from my parts car.

you may also want to look into cleaning you egr system and replacing the pcv valce. there are alot of great how to's in the faq section.

naps1saps

true when i drive city 35-40 i always force it to shift 1 more time so my revs are lower around 2k. As far as I can tell it is tuned well. I had it tuned up last year at the dealer.

One other thing i've noticed if im on the freeway going down a hill not using the accelerator, when i level out and apply gas the engine kinda lurches like the transmission is catching. it even does it with the cruise control on. I grew up riding in a manual car and never felt that happen before. is this normal for autos or an indication for o2 replacement or other maintenance?

GhostAccord

Check your engine and transmission mounts. Something you could try is having your transmission flushed/filled if you are having harsh shifts. Also it could be an issue with your mainshaft speed sensor. Be it the sensor itself or dirty, corroded wires or a loose connector. Harsh shifts are not usually caused by a dirty O2 sensor.

naps1saps

If I was going to test my O2 sensor where would I hook up my meter? Are there connectors under the hood for this or do I need to hook into the connector above a hot exhaust under the car? My Chilton's guide is very vague when it says to "connect between the O2S and battery ground". It never mentions where lol.