Foo - Bad Gas?

My mpg on my Honda CRV is really bad this tank of gas. I do alot of highway driving, and usually get between 24mpg and 26mpg on a tank of gas. This time, I noticed my numbers quickly plummeted to the 23s then 22s...and now is hovering in the 21s. I haven't really changed my habits on this tank, and I bought from one of the usual places. I've got about 6k on the OD.

Is it possible to get a "bad" tank of gas?

Did you put E85 in it? E85 has a lower energy density than plain old gas. This will result in lower mileage.
Or the gas may have water in it, which could result in similar mileage decreases.

Did they add ethanol to this latest tank? That cuts gas mileage by about 10%.

I'd have to check. I kinda thought all gas around her had the same ethanol or E85 (same thing?). I have bought from this place before and have never done worse than 24mpg on a tank, so unless they changed something...

I'd have to check. I kinda thought all gas around her had the same ethanol or E85 (same thing?). I have bought from this place before and have never done worse than 24mpg on a tank, so unless they changed something...

E is for Ethanol. There are lots of different blends available. E15 is 15% Ethanol, E85 is 85% Ethanol. Of course it may be that you just need a new air filter or something like that.

I don't think a CRV would run on e85. It could be as simple as "This gasoline contains up to 10% Ethanol" showing up on the pump.

You could need a tune up.

when was your last oil change?
By the end of my oil's life cycle, i see a 2ish mpg decrease.

Open the hood. Last time I had mileage this bad, one of my cylinders was leaking gas. I was complaining of only getting 25 mpg. Hyundai Accent - 29 highway 35 highway. My average about 30 unless all highway driving then I get about 36.

A brand new Honda with 6k probably does not need a tune-up.

I do have 6k on the oil, though the service indicator says oil life is like 50% and Honda sources back up relying on the indicator. I agree though, I do want to change oil soon and will probably do synthetic and change it every 5-6k in the future.

Weather temp spiked lately? Could be heavy a/c usage, although I think my mpg's go down if the temp rises, even w/o a/c. But it sounds like a higher percentage of ethanol in there. Or a half-flat tire.

As for oil changes, what is your CRV recommendations? Should be like 7.5k on regular oil. If it were me, I'd probably buy a good brand of oil, synthetic, and aim for 1year/10kmiles, give or take, depending upon the warrenties, and anything else I can find out. I stretched out my oil changes from 10k to 12k; one of these days I might give in and actually test the stuff to see if I can go further--but it costs like $40 to do that.

bobistheoilguy.com is a decent place to read up on for oil. Surf into the forums and see if anyone is talking about your particular vehicle, Honda's in general, and/or about the oil type you want to run.

When I lived in Seattle they would switch seasonally from gas gas to E10 (for Clean Air Act requirements). My car would always choke choke choke through the 1st tank or 2 of E10 (that was for everybody by the way there was no choice).

Check your tyre-pressure.

Never buy gas at a place where the tanker is pulled up. When they drop gas into the tanks it stirs up the water that's sitting at the bottom of the tank and it mixes up with the gas. If you do this during winter your gas line will freeze.