I’ve got a 2015 Accord Coupe with a 4-cylinder engine. I mostly drive in a city with a lot of traffic, but it still feels like my fuel economy is worse than it should be. I rarely go above 60 mph, and my tires are inflated to the right pressure. What could be causing this?
Stop-and-go traffic really kills fuel economy.
Short trips and aggressive driving can make a big difference in fuel consumption.
If you’re stuck in traffic and not getting up to highway speeds, your mileage will suffer. A lot of idling and stoplights won’t help either. Try resetting the trip meter and checking your MPG on a highway drive. If it improves, then it’s just the city driving dragging it down.
@Chen
Yeah, seems like I just have to deal with it. I’ll try a highway run to see if it’s any better.
Flynn said:
@Chen
Yeah, seems like I just have to deal with it. I’ll try a highway run to see if it’s any better.
Make sure your tire pressure is right and check your air filter. City driving just isn’t great for MPG, but keeping everything in good shape might help a bit.
That seems really low for a 4-cylinder. I’ve got a V6 with a manual and still get around 22 MPG in mixed driving, though I don’t deal with much traffic. Thought mine was bad, but I guess it could be worse.
@River
Try driving an S2000. I barely get 14 MPG on the highway.
A few things could be causing this:
- Heavy stop-and-go traffic
- Short trips on a cold engine
- Idling too much
- Using A/C a lot or driving with windows down
- Hot weather (engines run less efficiently in extreme temps)
- High ethanol fuel (E10 generally gives worse MPG than E5)
- Hard acceleration and braking instead of maintaining speed
- If it’s a manual, shifting at lower RPM might help
- Tire type matters—grippy or wide tires reduce efficiency
- Sticking brakes (stuck calipers, bad handbrake, etc.)
- Engine or transmission issues (fuel leak, old oil, etc.)
- Your dashboard MPG reading might be inaccurate—check manually by tracking fuel used between fill-ups
- Carrying extra weight (heavy trunk, passengers, etc.)
- Mods or tuning that affected fuel economy
@Riley
Appreciate the list. Yeah, I do a lot of stop-and-go, use A/C all the time, and it’s really hot where I live. Windows are always up, it’s an automatic, and from tracking fuel use over time, it drops fast. Brakes are good, I don’t idle much, no leaks, oil is fine, and it’s just me in the car most of the time.
@Flynn
Yeah, sounds like city driving is the main issue. Try a highway test—fill up, drive at a steady speed for a good stretch, and check your real MPG when you refuel.
Your TPMS light is on—are your tires low?
Hartley said:
Your TPMS light is on—are your tires low?
Nope, I checked. Tire caps are on too, but the light still stays on.
Hartley said:
Your TPMS light is on—are your tires low?
Nope, I checked. Tire caps are on too, but the light still stays on.
Could just be the traffic. My commute is all highway—60 miles round trip—and I get 27 MPG with the same car. My 2019 Civic though? That one gets 43 MPG easy. Try resetting your trip gauge and doing a steady 70-75 MPH on the highway for 50-60 miles. If your MPG jumps up, then it’s definitely the city driving bringing it down.
Hartley said:
Your TPMS light is on—are your tires low?
Nope, I checked. Tire caps are on too, but the light still stays on.
Did you reset the TPMS after adjusting your tire pressure? Some cars don’t auto-reset—you have to do it manually through the infotainment system or dashboard settings.
@Sterling
Didn’t reset it. I’ll try that.
Hartley said:
Your TPMS light is on—are your tires low?
Nope, I checked. Tire caps are on too, but the light still stays on.
Try resetting the TPMS light. That might fix it.
Check your air filter.
Campbell said:
Check your air filter.
Air filter is clean, no issues there.