My 1999 Honda Accord with the Vtec-ULEV 4-cylinder 150 horsepower engine to have continual bad gas miliage?


(The oil was recently changed)

 

How's the tune-up stuff like sparkplugs?

Are the brakes dragging?
Suspension alignment?
Do you check tire pressures?

 

Poor mileage is attributed to a number of factors including things you can and cannot change. First the way an engine is built, it may just naturally consume lots of fuel to power it. We all know the dilemma of choosing a large truck or sports car VS an economical daily driver and that is a lot of just first time choice and preference you may have to compromise.
Other than that weight plays a factor that many do not consider. Many people now take out spare tires in favor of a tire repair kit like "Slime" or some tire hole repair kit to save gas. Seats that are not used in cars should be taken out, there is no point to having your engine pull more weight than it needs to and the gas consumption will go down. If you ever wonder if this really works, watch nascar. They drive around in a shell of a car, why?, because you get about 1/10 of a second on a QTR mile time for every 100 lbs you reduce from a stock or OEM car.
Tire pressure, I cannot stress enough the correct tire pressure to save gas. The lower the pressure from normal the more it takes to rotate the tire causing more gas to be used. Along with wheel alignment and equally rotated tires these can all help save you some.
Some tips besides the main categories above include using crusie control on the highways to give a constant even flow to the engine instead of up and down pedaling. It helps save the engine, gears (transmission parts wear), and gas.
Combine errands in one orchestrated trip, don't waste gas going to 14 places if it is all in one store. One thing I never get is people driving around for a good price on cigarettes, you waste the cost driving and time and wear on your car everytime you refuse to pay 50 cents more, a mute point.
Don't rev the engine, as fun as it is, it uses gas obviously
Try not to use air condtioning if at all possible, it uses gas
Tune ups and matinence keep the engine running at normal, neglect forces the engine to work harder and use more fuel to get the same work done.
Fill tank during cool hours, stops evaporation
drive throughs, bank teller windows, perscription drive thrus Skip them if it is going to take more than 2-3 minutes. After that shutting the car off would have been smarter and saved you more.