If you look at the article referenced, the suit is about the EPA ratings being much higher than actual mileage not about the MID reading.
Honda Settles Civic Hybrid Mileage Suit
From the article:
"The suit's lead plaintiffs, John True and Gonzalo Delgado, brought the suit in 2007 after trying in vain to achieve the car's advertised mileage -- 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 49 in the city. Despite his best efforts over 6,000 miles of road, True averaged a mere 31 miles per gallon in mixed highway/city driving. The suit was brought as a class action on behalf of owners of 2003-2008 Civic Hybrids, totaling nearly 120,000"
For Model year 2007 the seven vehicles on fuelly are getting 35-47, or an average of 41.1 so 49-51 is an over estimation of 20-21%, its as if we were getting and average of 33-34 with the Insight rated at 40-43. The article says this is one of the reasons they revised the EPA estimates in 2008 to be more realistic. I am happier with my 45.5 MPG than I would be if I was told the Insight mileage was 54-55. I suspect the lawsuit was motivated by disappointment and a feeling of being ripped off than by greed.
My MID is about 4% optimistic, it seems from what I am hearing here that this is prevalent. Perhaps there is something in the manufacturing process that makes this happen. I suspect if it were 4% pessimistic on average, they would have fixed it. Causal users are likely to just report the MID readings when asked, and observers will see the MID and believe. Most proud owners are not going to tell their passengers - "Oh don't believe that, its 2 MPG over". Thus an optimistic reading is a source of good press and happy owners who do not measure their MPG at the pump. No way is Honda going to take the publicity hit and fix this as it is not a safety issue.
Automotive Disappointment of the Year
Garbage!
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