A California man shocked that his Honda Civic Hybrid’s gas efficiency didn’t match EPA estimates has decided to file a class action suit against Honda for false advertising. John True spent an extra $7,000 on the hybrid model after seeing advertisements that claimed average city fuel efficiency of 49 mpg. True was horrified to discover that after 6,000 miles of driving, he only averaged 32 mpg.
The lawsuit claims American Honda Motor Co. has misled consumers in its advertisements and on its Web site. The suit notes that while the Environmental Protection Agency and automobile window stickers say “mileage will vary,” some Honda advertisements read “mileage may vary.” That implies that it’s possible to get the mileage advertised, said William H. Anderson, a Washington, D.C., attorney for True.
If John True did any research before plopping down the extra $7,000, he would have known that the EPA estimates are rarely accurate; Consumer Reports found that the actual performance of the Honda Civic Hybrid was 26 mpg, 46% below the EPA estimates. The EPA tests are based on outdated standards that always present overly optimistic estimates. The test will be tweaked to simulate realistic driving conditions starting with the 2008 model year.
Hybrid owner sues Honda over mileage claims [The Detroit News]
(Photo: billselak)
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All of these people who go hybrid with an automatic transmission are noodle heads who could save money by driving a stick shift standard fuel auto without a/c.
I have a 1995 Dodge Neon 4door standard shift 5 speed with no air conditioning- (a/c died and I put on a non-a/c drive belt). It has 225,000 miles!!! It gets between 36-39 mpg average highway/local on 89 octane gas for driving from city stop-n-go to 80mph highway.
I also keep my tires pumped up to the max psi specification versus the mush level most tire/auto tune up places adjust tire pressure to. I’ll take the slightly rougher ride for using less gas or wearing out tires early…
i love how the epa can endorse the whole concept of a hybrid vehicle and completely overlook the environmental impact of manufacturing the batteries for them.
49 MPG average for city driving, key word there is average. Audi claims my car gets 20 MPG city, but I get a 45 MPG average on city streets. MPG is dependent on a lot of things. How you drive the car, air temp, how you accelerate, how you brake, up hill/down hill. I rented a hybrid car on my last trip, and i was getting 80-90 MPG in San Fransisco and San Jose.
If he’s getting a discrepancy that bad in a Hybrid Civic, he’d probably get about 15 mpg in a regular Civic. He must have some pretty bad driving habits.
1: Hybrids have 2 motors, not 2 engines. A motor is a component of an engine. They also take out components out of the engine, such as the transmission….
2: “Batteries, two engines, shorter expected lifetime, and toxic chemicals used in hybrids all play a role”
Toxic Chemicals? Do you mean the 100% recyclable batteries that people pay you $250 to take off your hands for those self-same heavy metal compounds? I’m oh-so-worried someone is going to throw those away. Its like decrying gold pollution: it is a solved problem that the economy will keep solved.
3: You do need to replace batteries, eventually, to keep it going, but the replacement battery my Prius will need only cost $2500 in 2005. Battery prices are always going down, and that’s cheaper than the new transmission that most automatics would need around the same time period (@150k Miles), if it is even still that expensive.
–Michael
What the prius uses instead of a transmission: [www.cleangreencar.co.nz]
I’ve always gotten better then the EPA rating. It’s how one drives. Lawsuit is just silly. More lawyers who should be unemployed.
I just came back here to note that I went on vacation and my 1998 Ford Escort got 41 MPG on highway. SUCK IT, HIPPIES.
I don’t know if anyone else notices but when the EPA estimates are displayed it states to be used for COMPARISON PURPOSES ONLY. That’s right the EPA performs the MPG test so you can compare one vehicle to the next since the test they perform are consistent across the board. Even after they changed the MPG test for 08, it’s still in laboratory conditions.
“A California man shocked that his Honda Civic Hybrid’s gas efficiency didn’t match EPA estimates”
It says **estimates** !!!! I’m shocked that such a lawsuit doesn’t get immediately thrown out. We all know that mpg is very much related to where and how one drives.
It is like spending money. “Hey, my $1,000 didn’t last as long as Jimmy’s $1,000! I’m gonna sue somebody!!!”