Helle and help!
 

Hey, everyone! Well, I am new to this site, and I have no clue to where I need to post any problems I have with my car. Well, I have a 1992 honda accord V4, and for some reason this car is wasting too much gas. I can say I spend at least 100 bucks a week for gas for this car, which I find odd. I only drive 7 exits away from my town to work every day. Well, let's say I have a full tank and the drive from home to work which is only 7 exits and back to my house when i get out, my tank is already half a tank. I am new to cars and I don't know much about it. Can anyone possibly tell me why my car is wasting so much gas. I don't smell gas when I am driving the car or anything, but my car was parked for at least 7 months without being turned on or anything. Another thing is, when i turn on the car, it idles to 1.5 and then a few mins later it goes down to normal. Is this normal or it isn't? Please help me out if anyone might know what the problem can be or maybe some suggestions. Thanks a bunch all

Here's where you might get some help, I moved you to this forum..

Thank You for joining the HAF...

WheelBrokerAng :)

If you want help, you gotta provide more information for us to go on. There's some places in this country where 7 exits is 100 miles or more. Also places where gas costs almost $3. So 1000 miles on 33 gallons is about 30 mpg.

Oh yeah, the idle thing is sorta normal. Maybe a bit high, but that depends on the temperature.

More info.
 

Ok, let me provide more information here and be more specific. My car is a 1992 honda accord, coupe, with 130k miles, and the engine is 4 CYL. Seven exits is 7 miles where I live. So, I basically drive 14 miles a day with no traffic at all. The car is wasting a huge amount of gas which I feel that it isn't normal at all. The gas cost is $2.71 depending on the gas station I stop at. The most the gas goes up to is $2.89 for regular. If you guys have an answer or any suggestions, thanks a bunch right now. Hope to hear some suggestions or get some help, and again, thanks a lot. :)

Figure half a tank is around 6-7 gallons and it consumes that in 14 miles? If you are not leaking the car should be leaving clouds of black smoke from all the unburnt fuel going out your tailpipe and your cat convertor should be glowing from all the fuel burning in it.

More likely it is leaking fuel somewhere and the car is a very dangerous fire hazard to you and everyone around you.

How does it run? If you can spend $100 a week on fuel you should spend some money to have someone figure out where all your fuel is going. It will be worth it in the long run.

hey mcnoople
 

The car runs perfectly fine, but I know I need to get the spark plugs replace which I'll do this weekend. I am at work right now at the momment, but I will have my cousin turn on my car and leave it on for a good 15 minutes. He will then call me and let me know if he sees any black clouds of smoke or if the cat convertor is glowing. From what i know, I have not notice any black clouds of smoke nor do i smell gas burning. The car runs good and i cant even feel the car when it is on. Thanks for the reply, mcnoople and i will get back to you shortly.

1/2-tank in 14 miles??? I'd be looking for puddles of fuel collecting under the car. I assume you're not the guy who drives with one foot on the brake & one on the gas.

If it were dragging brakes, they should be red-hot & smoking in order to make the MPG that bad. But still, find a level driveway or parking lot. Get the car moving, way slower than walking speed. Shift to neutral or disengage the clutch. Feel it coast to a complete stop. That's the easiest way to FEEL dragging brakes, as they don't allow free coasting at very slow speeds.

New sparkplugs. Also check this with a cold engine in a completely dark garage. Open the hood, start the engine & look for arcing from the sparkplug wires. It might be a dull blue glow. Anything like that means the wires (or distributor cap) are bad.

Check for fuel leaking - it'll smell like raw fuel, not the same as exhaust from a over-rich mixture. I had a 95 that had corrosion in the fuel lines under the car. Didn't leak enough to make a puddle, but enough to smell.

hey jimblake
 

I forgot to mention that my car is automatic. How would i do it with an automatic transmission? I will definitely try to see if i see any arcing from the sparkplug wires.

Sounds like a compression problem, or an ignition problem. Check the spark plugs to see if theyre fouled. Also, make sure they're getting a spark, I believe you'd see the engine light come on if a spark plug wasn't getting power but check just to be sure. If you've got a compression testing gauge you could try that too. My friend had an Acura Legend that had a crack in the tank, it was leaking gas like crazy, do you see any gas leaking anywhere? My sisters 91 accord 2.2 I4 gets 31mpg on the freeway, and my 94 accord gets 32-34mpg on the freeway (depending on how aggressively I drive). Speaking of, youre driving economically right? Like speed limit and avoiding full throttle acceleration right? To get the best fuel economy, make sure you change your oil every 3000miles or so, make sure your air filter is clean, spark plugs are in proper condition, and drive economically.

Shift into neutral to let it coast.