I've been lucky to get 25 if I BABY it around town/mixed highway driving. I figured these Accords would get high 20s if not 30 on the highway.

I changed the plugs, cap and rotor. It has 176,000 mi. on it. There are 2 O2s correct? WHich one has more to do with fuel economy, the one closest to the motor I suppose?

THanks a lot,

Jason

 

Actually 25 is about right for mixed driving with an auto, especially since it's getting cold where you're at right now. My dads SE-i is auto and it usually gets right around 25-26 in town, and on an 'all highway' trip it went up to 32.9 (that was with a/c off). My LX-i (with 328k miles) gets about 28-29 in town/highway mix, and all highway it goes up to 32-33.... all that is with the a/c ON. My highest was 34.5 with a/c off. If you're not going above 30 on an all highway trip though, then something probably isn't right.

There are 2 oxygen sensors, and both have to be working properly for everything to function smoothly like it should. Both are located right in the exhaust manifold, right next to each other. If you change them (which isn't a bad idea anyways), remember which sensor plugs into which plug, as the computer can tell the difference and will throw a CEL if they're plugged in backwards (both sensors have the same plug, so they 'can' be switched, but it won't work right if they are).

Of course there are other things that could cause low MPG as well, such as dirty air filter, fuel filter, leaking fuel injectors (not too uncommon on LX-i's... look on the intake manifold under each injector, if there's brown spots the injectors are leaking, needs fixed ASAP!), vacuum leak(s), ignition timing, brakes dragging (frozen caliper), or numerous other sensors. Start with the simple stuff though, check for vacuum leaks, filters, see if each wheel spins freely without drag, etc.

 

Thanks. I've never seen anything above 26 on the highway, going 78-82. I don't think I have any vacuum leaks. I couldn't find any spraying carb cleaner around where I thought most of the vacuum lines were. My idle does bounce up and down sometimes though.

THe wheels aren't dragging and I'll look into the fuel injectors. If it is the injectors, I probably won't fix them since I only paid $50 for the car and I'm sure it would cost more than that to fix. THe air filter is clean, not sure about the fuel filter.

 

There's a pretty good site on 3rd generation accords. http://www.3geez.com.

There's a how to in there on how to replace your fuel injectors. I haven't tried it yet, but it's my next project. It looked time consuming, but not super difficult.

 

I used to get up to 37 mpg on my 89 Lx (carbed, less powerful). The tanks would last forever.

There is a number of things you can do to get good mileages: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=553323

 

on a 94 accord with a 2.2l I get 25 CITY and about 34 HIGHWAY....It is time for me to clean the EGR passages (Spring Project)