Is that normal?? i drive city and highway. I've changed the oil, air filter,spark plugs/spark plug wires, thermostat ,fuel filter, head gasket.Any ideas why? Any tips to get more MPG because gas here is $3.35-$3.50

 

It's an 18 year old vehicle, even with tune-up's you won't be getting the same mileage.




The best you can do next with what you have on the vehicle now would be a suspension/steering alignment, and balancing tires.

No need to look into changing your octane (that'll cost more in the long run)


If you want to be achieving 35-50mpg, then get another vehicle.

 

Monthly air checks in your tires help. Most doors say 32psi inside but run at 35psi. Hope this helps.

 

Plain and simple the automatics get crap milage. My 97 auto ex gets 22-28 and gas is alittle higher here in wa

 

22mpg is horrible for this vehicle 18 years or 35 years! This guy has some work ahead of him! The only reason why an older vehicle would get worse fuel economy purely due to age and not lack of maintenance is from weak valve springs and piston rings but even if the car were burning oil badly and was on its last legs, assuming EVERYTHING ELSE is working properly, it shouldn't be getting 22mpg. I.e. perfect fuel mixtures, idle control, etc. etc which I doubt this car has that problem. A bad transmission would cause this issue but I don't think OP has that problem either as I'd think it'd be noticeable. what kind of spark plugs are you using op? clean up your electrical grounds and report back. there are a ton of grounds to clean up on a car of this vintage.

 

Also replace the cap and rotor and check/adjust the ignition timing.

 

Older or not, the 22mpg truly is horrible. My friend must have been getting at least 27-28mpg and his is the same car (maybe it was an ex even?).

Definitely check the pressure in the tires, alignment is good, check if your exhaust isn't clogged either.

 

As far as your tune up, if you didn't use OEM parts that's also a reason for poor fuel economy.

Alignment, tire size, tire wear, and inflation play a big role in mileage. Fresh clean fluids help too. I've managed 38mpg on a 98EX with 200k automatic.

 

Well he doesn't have to use OEM parts but should use their equivalent... I.e if the car came with Bosch from the factory, use Bosch... In the case of Hondas, they use either Denso or NGK, likely NGK as Denso is more of a Toyota Thing.

Maybe we can get some confirmation here on who made the cap+rotors and wires for Honda Civics of this vintage...

 

the stuff ive replaced i used quality products , my tire pressure is on point

 

i just bought a 96 cx hatch thats an automatic hoping for good gas mileage but on my last tank I only got about 25. every thing is completely stock on mine except some ebay sri the previous owner put on. I bought a stock intake and going to put it on and see if it help any I would say 80% of my driving is highway.

 

Wires were normally made by Sumitomo. (some Accord wires IIRC were made by Prestolite) NGK wires are about the only aftermarket wires I'd used, they're very similar construction to OEM, but if you buy online or get a deal at your local dealership the price is about the same an NGK anyway. Caps are made by Tec.

 

I'd also suspect the ECU is not getting proper feedback from its sensors in regards to engine coolant temperature (not warmed up), exhaust emissions (o2 sensors), any number of other sensors that are malfunctioning/not responding or that it has a check engine light (CEL) on or the ECU has thrown some error code resulting in the ECU using a default basemap, any or all of which could result in the ECU providing too much fuel (a rich mixture) to the engine.

How do the spark plugs look?

Assuming none of the above, do a major tune up, including valve adjustment, plugs, wires, cap and rotor (I see you've already done some of this). A compression test will also reveal the condition of the combustion chambers (easily accomplished while changing the plugs).

 

I get 35-38 in my heavy *** 4 speed auto del sol. It cost me $40+ to fill up yesterday.