MPG problem

[taylorw_1834]

I just bought a 2001 Insight 5spd and drove it home 472mi and when I filled it up at home (it still had 2 bars of fuel on the meter) it took 10.001gal which gave me 47.2 MPG but the trip meter said it was averaging 62.7 MPG? Is it normal to be off this much? Thanks

[Willie Williford]

Did you start with a full tank?
Usually a fill up of 10 gallons is realized when the check fuel light comes on.
With it averaging around 62 mpg, it might show 2 bars left and would normally take around 7 gallons. Has the vehicle ever been in a wreck, such as a rear ender?
Your FCD gauge sounds close, I think you have a bad float assy. in the gas tank. Any accident from the rear will damage the float assy. There have been several reports of the damage.
HTH
Willie
Please put your location in your "Details".

[Eli]

No, it's not normal for it to be off that much. The FCD is quite accurate overall, much more so than most cars' economy meters. Mine is within 1% on average, but does swing as much as 5% or so.

Two possibilities that I see:

1) The one that Willie mentioned; the fuel level sending unit is very sensitive and can become damaged even in minor accidents.

2) You accidentally put fuel into the charcoal canister.

Was the pump pumping slow? Did you top off? If so, this is likely what happened.

[taylorw_1834]

I think it might have been down a bar or two when I drove it off the lot. How can I check the float or have it checked? The dealer told me it was never in an accident and the car fax showed the same thing, there is no damage to the rear of the car that I can see aswell?
The pump I was using to top it off was pumping normally, I did however pump a few clicks after it had stopped just to make sure it was topped, should I not do that? when should the check fuel light come on? Thanks.

[AClewell]

I'm with Eli, it sounds like you filled the charcoal canister when you topped it off.

[taylorw_1834]

So I guess when I fill it up again I will only let it click once and check the numbers again, if it is off again then I will take it in and have the float checked. This is my first Honda and I am new to the MPG world so I was unsure if I was simply just driving it wrong, any way I look forward to learning everything I can from this forum and getting the most out of my new car (which is alot of fun to drive!). its a 2001 Blue 5spd with 83k mi, the IMA batts were replaced at 60k and the life mi is 55.3. If my float is bad would that have affected the life mi?

[Willie Williford]

No!

Willie

[Eli]

Nope.. MPG is MPG.

I drove Insight #1 with a completely broken sending unit for 3 years. It's not a big deal.

Since the Insight has a 10 gallon tank(10.6 gallons), just take your current tank MPG and add a zero.

IE: If you're getting 60MPG, you can go 600 miles. This method never failed me.

I top off, but not very much.. ie: $30.76 to $31.00.

[Willie Williford]

I like using the "slow fill" stop on most nozzles. It gives me a chance to clean the windscreen and check out the ladies filling up with gas.
After it clicks off add gas to round off the last cents cost to "0".
Makes it easier to balance the old debit card/check book. I deduct to the next $ in the check book, it adds up in the long run in my favor.

Willie