hi all,

i hope someone can help,
we own a uk spec Treg 1999 honda accord with 2.0 ls and aircon.

it was my car before collecting a company car so now used by my wife.

the trouble is we both love the car but feel we may have to let it go unless we fix 2 issues.

1.; the suspension (front shocks are well past their best) on 89K miles,
2. more importantly the mpg is so bad you would think petrol must be leaking out, - currenlty we fill her up at £50 and drive no more than 150 -180 miles before its all gone, and my wife drives slow enough to drive miss daisy.

i can't work out what it could be,
the car always starts on the button, never lets me down, runs and drives think a dream...
the fumes dont smell over petrol'ly, and i joke above but it doesnt have a leak, yet the mpg is so poor... can anyone help?

ps: i need to change the front shocks, looking for some standard no oringal parts to replace any good suggestions where to shop online?

thanks all.

 

for the shocks, search for "Suspension 2.0"

for the petrol issue, do they put a large amount of ethanol in the fuel where you live? this hurts efficiency.

IDK what "aircon" is.

 

aircon is probably air conditioning

 

Is the check engine light on?
Are you sure it's not a faulty fuel gauge? How many gallons does it take to fill up the tank?
150-180 miles to a tank is awful! I got more than that in my 5.0 V8 Mustangs!

 

I would look at the following two possibilities:

Afuel leak, perhaps fuel injector/fuel injector rail oring. These can leak badly, particularly if someone removed an injector and failed to install a new oring w/ lubricant. Car might run OK despite substantial fuel leak. Fuel leak should cause a noticeable gas smell under the hood. You may not see any liquid as gas will evaporate quickly on a warm engine. Less likely but possible is a fuel leak at one of the fuel fittings

Fuel Pressure Regulator leak - Fuel can be pulled through the vacuum line connected to a ruptured diaphragm on the fuel pressure regulator. This pulls fuel into the engine, but might not set a code. However, Engine Control Unit (ECU) should show a substantial long term negative fuel trim to compensate for the regulator fuel leak. You will need an OBD2 scanner (does UK use Obd2?) to get the long term fuel trim value.

good luck

 

Have you done any actual tests to see what your MPG is or are you basing the amount you can go on a tank from the fuel guage?

 

That's why I asked how many gallons it takes to fill up

 

Put a camera mounted somewhere and video-record your vehicle overnight. You may find that your poor km/L results are due to a problem of the human variety (someone stealing your petrol straight from the tank.) Also, a "smoke test" is a good idea, where you can have a garage inject "smoke" into your gas tank (looks kinda like theatre stage "fog") and an ultraviolet light source, and this will let you detect pinhole leaks in the tank and fuel lines that may be causing your problem.

If the maintenance on the vehicle is up to snuff and there are no drivability concerns (engine light, poor performance) I'd bet it's either leaking or being stolen. Make sure your air filter element is clean!

 

hmm...i guess if you're payin 5$ a gallon...

 

There's been a rash of it in the northeast US too -- people come by with small tools, poke a hole in a gas tank, drain out the gas into a container. Faster and (sorta) safer than siphoning it. The customer never notices, only that their MPG sucks, or that there is an occasional fuel odor, or a CEL on for evap leak.