A handful of Honda Civic owners are suing the automaker in California over claims that the gas-electric hybrid's mileage reaches 49 miles per gallon in the city and 51 mpg on the highway.
The lawsuit claims that after almost 6,000 miles of driving, the Honda Civic Hybrid averaged 32 mpg in city and highway driving, far from the advertised claims.
It's the first major legal challenge to the mileage claims of hybrid vehicles and is a sign of the times as gasoline prices linger near the $3 mark.
The legal action also reflects growing concerns among hybrid owners with the actual mileage of their hybrids when compared to the advertised mileage claims.
The lawsuit claims American Honda Motor Co. misled consumers in its advertisements and on its Web site.
Mileage Varies
The suit points out that while the Environmental Protection Agency and automobile window stickers say "mileage will vary," some Honda advertisements read "mileage may vary" suggesting the advertised mileage claims are achievable.
At least one Honda advertisement said owners could get up to 650 miles on a single tank of gas and the Honda Web site also carries a fuel-savings calculator that assumes hybrid Civic drivers will average 51 mpg.
The mileage figures however come from the EPA and Honda notes that those tests have overstated average fuel economy for all vehicles.
Last year, the EPA announced it was revising its testing procedures to better reflect real world driving conditions, beginning with the 2008 model year.
"I can tell you that the 49/51 figures are EPA numbers, not Honda numbers," Honda spokesman Sage Marie said. "Some customers achieve the EPA mpg figures and some don't, as fuel economy performance is a function of conditions, traffic, driving style, load, etc."
Honda insists that the "vast majority of Civic Hybrid customers are satisfied with the performance since it delivers consistently and substantially higher numbers than comparable non-hybrid vehicles in the real world. It is possible to attain the EPA estimates, and customers do all the time."
Last month, Honda announced it would discontinue the hybrid version of the Honda Accord later this year because of lackluster sales.
Honda has sold 17,141 Civic hybrids which is up 7.4 percent over last year.
Consumer Reports found in October 2005 that the Civic Hybrid averaged 26 mpg in city driving, or 46 percent below the EPA estimate. Other hybrids also averaged below estimates.
The new EPA tests that were announced in December will drop city fuel economy for all vehicles by an average of 12 percent and 8 percent for highways.
