Gas Milage question?

Question

I own a used 2003 Honda Civic lx... with about 66,000 miles. I can get 11.5 gallons of gas in my car and was getting 350 on a full tank which. ='s 30 mpg city/hwy average. I went to jiffy lube and got the fuel system cleaned ( for what I'm sure was the first time ever). How many more miles per gallon more will i get based on of course if all other factors stay constant (i.e. same rout to work, same speed average.. etc.. etc.. etc...) I'm just looking for a best educated guess? I think btwn 34 mpg and 38 mpg. I'm shooting for 400 - 450 miles on a full tank of gas. Anyone who answers my question will get a follow up answer from me so that if it ever come's up again we'll all know how to advise questioner's.

Answer 1

It's possible that it didn't need cleaning.  It's possible that the low MPG was due to your driving habits.  In that case, you'll see no improvement.  Otherwise, I wouldn't expect more than 1 or 2 mpg, unless you were having serious problems beforehand.  Like black smoke out the tailpipe serious.

Answer 2

Well, let me ask you this first, how do you measure the mileage you're getting on this car ? Do you look at the gas gauge like most people do ? That's not anywhere near accurate. The only way to do it is by filling up the tank until the nozle clicks, then you reset the trip meter, drive say about 100 miles, then go fill it up again (until the nozle clicks). Then you divide the distance driven by how many gallons the car consumed. That's the way to get the exact mileage. I think your car should get more than 30 miles a gallon. I have a '90 civic station wagon (auto) and I get 30 or more.  And I don't think that fuel system cleaning will do much to improve the mileage. You could've done it yourself with a fuel injector cleaner from wal-mart or any auto store.

Answer 3

I hate to tell you this, but those cleaning programs are a crock of S**t.  I really hate to tell you that, because I work for one of the major players in the field, which happens to also own Jiffy Lube.

Although the clerk may tell you can expect to see a big jump in mpg, unless your car's fuel system was in terrible condition, you're not likely to see more than a 1 or 2 mpg increase.  The cleaner will extend the life of your engine parts more than it will increase mileage.  

Buying a Top Tier gasoline will do as much or more than buying the cleaning program.  (Hint, the cleaner mfr is on the Top Tier list).  The detergent packages in the top tier fuels are proven to keep your engine clean and prevent sludge buildup on critical parts.  Sound familiar??

Buy good gasoline and save your money for other stuff.  A combined mpg number of 30 isn't bad, especially since you don't say what type of driving style you have, how much is city vs. highway...

Answer 4

A 30MPG city/hwy AVERAGE is not too bad at all.

I'm with Ian and the others on this one.