[rude]

tell me if it sounds like there's something wrong with this car--

i recently moved to orlando, where its HOT all day. you can't drive without the AC on and expect to arrive anything but soaking wet with sweat.

anyway, in driving with the AC on during the day last week, i got a HORRENDOUS 37.1 MPG. so, i did a little experiment. i started driving at night so i could have the windows down, and it made such a dramatic difference that i think something must be wrong with the car. how could the AC cause me to go from 61 MPG to 37.1 mpg???

help??!?!?!?

 

[HafNHaf]

i see about a 10 mpg drop with a/c, so now, unless i need it on constantly, i manually cycle it off and on in recirculate mode.

andy g.

 

[joecvt]

Sounds like too much of a drop...Based on your 61MPG at night, it
should be mid 50's if you are driving the same route with the same
speed (approx) ... Is there a lot of stop and go during the day?...
Have you ever had a day cool enough to drive the same route
during the day with the A/C off?...

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

 

[kapps]

I've noticed a larger drop in mileage this summer than the past few years due to A/C. It has been a bit more hot and humid this year (I'm up in Jax) and I suspect it might just be the extra heat. My A/C really cycles on more often (even though it blows nice and cold). I read a post a week ago about someone in Ga is having a similar problem.

 

[every14peace]

I am also struggling with the A/C question, as it has been over 100 lately and one of the reasons I bought a new Honda is that my old one had no A/C (and 235K miles.)
I notice several "adjustments" I can make to the A/C in my 2002...the fan blows at 4 speeds, the dial goes from cool to hot, and the "econ" button seems also to blow slower. So I try to park in the shade or put my windshield reflector up, so my car doesn't GET too hot, run my A/C whenever I feel too warm, but on the lowest possible combination of settings. My mpg only seems to drop a few numbers.
I am also thinking about putting some tinting on the upper parts of the windshield and hatch window, if it's legal to do so, to cool the car naturally, and I drive with the windows down when that provides enough cooling (like the evenings.)

 

[Lawson Huntley]

Are you operating the A/C in the AUTO or ECON mode?

I usually get great city mileage (60-70 mpg depending on traffic) without A/C. However, when I'm stuck in rush hour traffic with lots of stopping and starting AND have the A/C on AUTO, I've had the mileage dip into the high 30's and low 40's.

You didn't mention where you set your thermostat, but you might try setting the thermostat on about 70 or 72 degrees rather than the lowest setting of 60.

 

[Wayne M]

Upper 70's

I run mine here in metro Atlanta at 75 - 77 in econ mode (fan set to 2 or 3 bars) with only about a 5 or 6 mpg hit. Car windows tinted to GA max, use windshield guard when parked longer than a few minutes. Going home at 10:30 PM most nights don't use the AC.

 

[Rick]

Durring the summers I usually average about 50 - 55 mpg over each tank with the air running. I usually set it to full auto for the first few minutes to get it to cool down fast then switch over to econ once it's tollerable and set the fan to 3. The last couple of days I've been doing a lot of horribly inefficient trips with the air going full bore about half the time and the mpg's have been hovering around 40 so it's possible to get that low.

It depends here, are we talking AC econ or AC Auto? Idling the engine to run the AC will consume a lot more fuel than you realize. I'd have it checked out, maybe the belt is not lined up right or perhaps the system is overcharged. Does your car have factory of dealer installed air? You can tell by the VIN number, it starts JHMZE13 then the next digit is 5 or 7, 5 means dealer installed AC, a 7 is factory installed AC. If dealer installed and you've never used it before it's possible they overcharged it.

 

[Dougie]

You're aware, also, that the A/C is not really "on" or "off," it's more like "enabled" and "disabled." When it's "enabled" the compressor is engaged as needed to keep the interior cool. If it's a really hot day the compressor runs more and you get worse mileage. If it's a cool day you can still have the A/C "enabled" and the compressor will hardly ever run.

So you have to take into account how hot it is (and how sunny)...

 

[joecvt]

I found that "rude" created a new post in the problems section at the
same time as this one about the battery meter gauge. Here is the link:
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3494
I believe that these two issues are very related and when the battery
problem gets fixed the mileage will go from 37.1 to at least mid 50's .

Force charging a problem battery (or controller) every time you get
in the car on hot days with the A/C on as well will bring your mileage
waaaay down.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

 

[bigtrouble77]

I just recently made a trip from Ocean City MD to South Jersey (200 miles) and got 61mpg in my CVT. 5 minutes into the trip I had to turn the ac on because my chihuahua looked like he died (laying on his back with his tongue out).

Anyway, the trick for me was to run it on econ mode, but turn it off every time I had to do a hard accelleration (like stop through a toll). It is extremely inefficient to accelerate hard with the Ac on.

When crusing on the highway I went between 55-65mph. It took quite a bit of effort, but I was shocked I made it the whole way over 60mpg. I don't recommend trying this with someone else in the car as they will think you're completely insane.

My summer MPG's this year are holding steady at 58mpg (virtually entirely city driving).

-BT

 

[BillClark]

mpg drop

Yeah, Rude, Here in AZ with A/c really cranked will get me about 39 mpg at freeway speeds. Winter should be better.

 

[every14peace]

Thanks for all the response on A/C use. If I use the A/C now, I always run it on Econ and lowest fan setting (don't know how to set the temp but I'll check my manual.) Try not to use it unless I've been sitting in the sun, and then just to cool the car off if it's less than 100 outside.

I have been driving it for a month, now, and my average mpg is 57.5.
I find I get a great advantage to start off with my 9 mile downhill....have gotten up to 150 mpg twice by the bottom of the hill, using the glide method......then if I do mostly country driving, my best day average mpg is 63.3. If I go into town, it drops to 56-58.

The ride on my bumpy 3 mile dirt road is hell, but otherwise - what a great car! Twice I've had to accelerate like crazy to get out of a dodgy situation and it's got it, but in general I've become a more sendentary driver: a benefit in itself.

 

[Joeatslo]

try twisting the knob next to your AC econ mode button. that'll set the temp.

Using A/C econ saves me quite a few mpg when I drive thru the desert. The auto A/C mode keeps the air conditioner engaged all the time while econ mode lets your a/c disengage when the dialed in temp is reached until some tolerance has been reached and turns on again. So you can lean-burn for a little (given the right driving conditions) while the a/c is disengaged.

I got 67.2mpg roundtrip from Tucson to San Diego (speeds varied from 60 to 80 - middle of the day driving) with moderate amounts of 'suffering'. Not completely wet but some sweat. But when I had the AC going I'd only get 45-60mpg.

 

[rude]

I found that "rude" created a new post in the problems section at the
same time as this one about the battery meter gauge. Here is the link:
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3494
I believe that these two issues are very related and when the battery
problem gets fixed the mileage will go from 37.1 to at least mid 50's .

Force charging a problem battery (or controller) every time you get
in the car on hot days with the A/C on as well will bring your mileage
waaaay down.

JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner

yes...however, the battery issue seems to have miraculously "fixed itself". it is now fully charged and has been since about a week after i made that post.

if i turn off AC completely, my mileage increases dramatically, but i have concluded that the unique nature of orlando traffic has a lot to do with my mpg drop. stoplights are 6 minutes long in some parts, and you can't sit with econ on in 94 degree heat for more than a minute or so without going into heat stroke.

thanks for all the responses.