Why does my 2004 Acura TSX consume fuel so quickly?

I'm wondering as to why my 2004 Acura TSX consumes gas at a quick rate. I drove just this afternoon, distances not that far and already about an 8th of the tank was gone. I at first made the mistake to fill with regular gas but then just recently switched to premium, which is the recommended. There was an improvement, but the gas still seems to be burned very quickly. To answer any possible questions I do not use the AC/seat warmers much at all.





What could my problem possibly be?|||The only way to really know if you're consuming excessive amounts of fuel is to completely fill the tank, reset the trip odometer, drive the car until the tank is mostly empty, refill it, and note the gallons used for the refill. Then divide the gallons used for the refill into the miles driven (read from your trip odometer). This will give you a miles per gallon figure. You might be surprised by the results...that it's not as bad as you had thought.





Fuel economy can vary substantially. Example: I get from 15-22+ mpg around town in my '06 TL AT, and up to 32 mpg on the freeway if I don't 'goose' the throttle on a long trip (car has performance mods to open up the intake/exhaust).





Numerous things can account for diminished fuel economy:





- underinflated tires


- cheap gas


- 'riding the brake'


- jackrabbit starts %26amp; lots of driving under extremen loads (e.g., driving uphill)


- poor tuning (e.g., valves out of adjustment)


- fouled spark plugs


- a weak spark


- a fuel leak


- dirty air filter


- excessive exhaust restriction of some form (e.g., a large dent to the exhaust pipe)


- failing ECM (engine control module)


- carbon buildup


- etc.





If after verifying fuel economy, you find that you're out of spec with the Acura's published numbers, you might take the car to the dealer or a competent mechanic for some diagnostics. Best of success.|||Premium does not affect the gas mileage. It affects the engine's power.





You might be driving fast or accelerating fast.


Or you might be in a stop/go area with lots of traffic lights.


Make sure your tire pressure is correct. Tire pressure affects it by 1-3mpg.


Make sure you air filter is clean. It should be replaced every 6000 miles. And costs anywhere from $10-25.





Keep the car light. Keep trunk empty if you are not using it.





A/C uses so little gas that it is not noticable, so that should not be the case.|||My Acura (an 01 TL) consumes gas more quickly at the top half of the tank. I think the gage is just skewed that way. It seems I get much more mileage out of the bottom half than the top half.|||You can't always rely on the needle or the computer to give you accurate information because there is an emergency reserve that these meters don't account for.