frustrated hybrid owner with poor mpg

[Michelle Clayton Flanders]

I recently took my 2014 fusion hybrid for its 1st oil change (at approx. 10k miles) since I noticed that after the initial "break in" period of 3k I started keeping track of my gas receipts and recording gallons vs miles per tank to figure up my mpg. I have complained at the dealer several times that I feel like there is an issue with my car from the factory. while at my 1st service last week I took the data I collected and was totally blown off by the service tech. my average mpg according to my receipts is 32 mpg. my dash tell me 33.9. both are completely unacceptable even with new epa of 42. I would have bought the ecoboost had I known my hybrid would only average 32mpg. I drive in florida where the land is flat. I do approx. 60% city and 40% hwy. and I drive as hybrid friendly as I can. after reading some of the post by other owners I see that the issue is just with my particular car and not the fusion hybrid. any suggestions?

[hybridbear]

How do your coaching bars read? How long are your average trips? How many months have you had your car? Which rims/tires do you have? Have you been using the A/C constantly? How do you usually set your HVAC?

Edited September 23, 2014 by hybridbear

[jeff_h]

Whereabouts in Florida? Let sleddog take it for a drive, he can drive it as well as he drives his own FFH and compare the results.

[lolder]

If your trips are short and you set the AC to about 70º F. this summer, you might be seeing that number if you have the AC on all the time. Mileage takes a BIG hit if you start the AC as soon as you get into a heat soaked car. 70 mph highway speeds with 95º Temps will barely yield 40 mpg.

[Sleddog]

Ok... I volunteer. Michelle, I would be more than happy to help if I can.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Sleddog

[Michelle Clayton Flanders]

thanks guys...im in Jacksonville. and my mileage has been consistent since I bought my 2014 back in February. my daily drive to work is 50% highway 50% city miles, and approx. 10 mile each way. but even on longer trips it remains about the same. and also the only ev+ my car has stored is to home..not to work, or the gym or any other places I frequently go. my ac is usually on, with the fan on low. im not heavy footed. I bought the hybrid because I was looking to really improve my savings on gas. I had my dream truck, a 2006 f-150 flare side 4x4 that I lifted with 35s and really made it into a beauty. and I loved my baby. when I traded it in for my fusion I had only 80k miles on it, mostly because I couldn't afford to drive it at 10mpg. my husband really wanted the ecoboost fusion with the paddle shifters, but I knew that we would stay in the lower 20's with the temptation of the turbos. so being ocd and thrifty I went for the hybrid titanium edition. and my car is beautiful, and so nice, but im just disappointed with my mpg.

[Easy Rider]

Just some thoughts:

 

If your F150 really got only 10 MPG, there MUST be some "environmental" factors at work here.

At what speed do you travel those "highway" miles ?

And how many dead stops are involved with those ~5 miles of "city" in your commute ??

 

The change of vehicles, by your own figures, accomplished a 200% increase in your gas mileage.

I think that's pretty good.

 

In order to get the high mileage figures that some owners report, you likely need to completely re-learn what "normal" driving is like.

 

Just thoughts.

[Sleddog]

I'm a couple of hours south of you. The 10 mile trip is what's getting you. You have to warm up the engine during that cycle. So you are not getting the benefit of a longer drive after the motor warms up.

 

Try this. After your engine warms up and I f you can safely do it at a stop light, or pull over in a parking lot, and turn off your car. Start it again and drive the rest of your trip. I think you will see increased mileage. The restart after the warm up cycle eliminates the warm up calculation.

 

Here's an example of what I get. A normal drive cycle in the morning, no a/c, that includes warming up the engine is 55 to 59 mpg, depending on traffic. The trip is 28 miles. If I stop for coffee, about ten miles into my trip, the segment is only about 40 to 45 mpg. The last 18 miles, since there is no warm up cycle, yields any where from 65 to 69 mpg.

 

Driving with the a/c on is more challenging to get good mileage. I set the temperature to 80, after letting the car air out with the windows open for 30 minutes before driving home. I also take a different route, same mileage, lower speed, less stop lights in order to get good mileage.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Sleddog

[corncobs]

Good overview Sleddog that exactly how its works.

 

Just to add to the previous post.

 

My regular commute is 38 miles and returns between 50 and 55 MPG with nice weather.

 

I went to a customer this morning about 12 miles away and it returned 41 MPG.

Coming back we stopped for lunch about 3 miles away from the customer returned about 36 MPG.

 

Another quick stop at the hardware store before I went home for 8 miles. Because there was no warmup the last leg returned 60 MPG.

[djminfll]

Sleddog, I'm going to try your trick with shutting the engine off and restarting after warmup.

I consistently keep my A/C on Auto at 72F, have the A/C running from the time I start up. On a 36 mile commute which is 90% highway, speed kept to 65mph or less, I generally get between 44-50 mpg. I would love to increase that to 50-55mpg if it's possible. Plus, my short trips to the grocery store, dog park, etc, I sometimes only get 20mpg.

[Waldo]

Sleddog, I'm going to try your trick with shutting the engine off and restarting after warmup.

I consistently keep my A/C on Auto at 72F, have the A/C running from the time I start up. On a 36 mile commute which is 90% highway, speed kept to 65mph or less, I generally get between 44-50 mpg. I would love to increase that to 50-55mpg if it's possible. Plus, my short trips to the grocery store, dog park, etc, I sometimes only get 20mpg.

 

You do realize that this "trick" won't actually result in you burning any less fuel, right?

[acdii]

Its the feel good factor though! :)

 

Just like this is.

 

 

Just because it says 47.1, doesnt mean I actually GOT 47.1, but still feels good to see that.

[Easy Rider]

 

You do realize that this "trick" won't actually result in you burning any less fuel, right?

And you can accomplish the same thing by re-setting the trip MPG readouts too.

On my '14 there are 3: Trip A, Trip B and "current trip" which does NOT reset automatically so it really is "MPG since last reset".

Resetting any one of the 3 does not affect the other two.

[nv rick]

I'm a couple of hours south of you. The 10 mile trip is what's getting you. You have to warm up the engine during that cycle. So you are not getting the benefit of a longer drive after the motor warms up.

 

Try this. After your engine warms up and I f you can safely do it at a stop light, or pull over in a parking lot, and turn off your car. Start it again and drive the rest of your trip. I think you will see increased mileage. The restart after the warm up cycle eliminates the warm up calculation.

 

Here's an example of what I get. A normal drive cycle in the morning, no a/c, that includes warming up the engine is 55 to 59 mpg, depending on traffic. The trip is 28 miles. If I stop for coffee, about ten miles into my trip, the segment is only about 40 to 45 mpg. The last 18 miles, since there is no warm up cycle, yields any where from 65 to 69 mpg.

 

Driving with the a/c on is more challenging to get good mileage. I set the temperature to 80, after letting the car air out with the windows open for 30 minutes before driving home. I also take a different route, same mileage, lower speed, less stop lights in order to get good mileage.

I am going to address some of what you wrote. In re: to a/c, I live in southern NV and temps are just now getting down into the 80's for highs. When we got our MKZ-h in July, the daily highs were always over 100. The worst mpg I've ever gotten when going into town (9.7 miles) has been 36mpg. That is with the a/c auto set at 72. Now that we have @4000 miles on the car, the worst we get lately is in the low to mid-40s. Just today, we got 56mpg going to town and 44mpg coming back. It is currently 79 degrees. So as far as a/c and short trips go, I don't believe those are necessarily the culprits for her poor mpg. The MKZ-h is a heavier car with non-low resistance tires, hence the lower 'official' mpg estimates. The one thing that comes to mind is possibly the difference in humidity. My mom lived in FL and when we visited, we had to learn to chew the air before swallowing, lol. Another thing, we are at @2700ft elevation, which conceivable should negatively affect our mpg.

One other thing I did is disable the ev+. When coming home, I try to boost the SOC so when I leave again, I can get more ev miles.

To sum up: Considering Michelle and I both do a lot of 10 mile trips, use the a/c all the time, and she is getting much lower mpg in a higher rated fuel efficiency car, I would have to guess that her problem is with the car, the climatic conditions, or her driving habits. If I were getting only 30mpg, I would also be disappointed.

All the previous relates to short trips into Pahrump. When going to/from Las Vegas, we now are consistently getting around 42-44 mpg. There is a 5,410 elevation pass between home and LV, which I am sure cuts into ideal mpg.

[lolder]

You should lower the charge as you near home so when the ICE runs for it's initial checks and warms up you get the charge back. Don't force EV.

[acdii]

I find(keep in mind its 55MPH out of my driveway) that in leaving home if I have a full SOC, I tend to get better MPG than if the battery is half or less. As soon as I pull out the ICE kicks on, I bump it down to low and back to bypass stage 1, and by the time I reach the speed limit the instant is up near 40 MPG. Turning EV+ off would work fine if I only drove to and from my house with no other stops, but EV+ helps when I near my office since its 25 MPH for about a mile or so, and since I use all EV for that, the EV+ works great. When I leave my office I have to climb a hill, so best time to charge the pack, is going up that hill. By the time I am at the top and turn, the pack is nearly charged, its a 30 MPH zone and I can cruise in EV for a bit more.

 

It's funny but I dont go down the hill to my office since it actually can take longer then going down the residential area, but going the other way its fast since I can turn right onto that road usually right away. Also in the morning there is no left turn onto the side street where I work. I would have to make 2 left turns at lights.

 

Oh on the AC thing, there must be some sort of moisture measuring device in the HVAC, it was raining this morning and the AC was on the entire trip, unlike yesterday when it went off right away.

[Waldo]

Yes, the in in-cabin sensor is a dual temp/humidity sensor.

[lolder]

I understand delivery companies like UPS plan their routes to avoid left turns.

 

The HVAC knows the humidity inside. I have had my 2010 go to defrost/defog automatically on foggy mornings.

[Easy Rider]

I understand delivery companies like UPS plan their routes to avoid left turns.

 

Safety is a big consideration in that too; left turns are MUCH more dangerous.

 

Semi drivers do just the opposite. If you have only one lane to work with, some right turns are next to impossible with a BIG truck.

[Michelle Clayton Flanders]

thanks for all the input guys. as far as the f-150 I had only getting 10mpg, it was lifted 6inches and on 35's and a 373 rearend. I believe the mpg before being lifted was only 16. but that vehicle was my toy and I enjoyed every minute of it and hated to get rid of it, but I had to make the big girl decision for better gas mileage. which is why I wanted the hybrid, even though my husband wanted the ecoboost. And the overall average for my hybrid has been 32mpg, through winter months until now. we have made several 200+ mile trips to Georgia and had the same results. We have made 50mile trips to palm coast, same results. and I do believe that I am trying to drive as hybrid friendly as I can. My ac has been on constantly and maybe that has taken a toll. but even during the cooler months at the beginning of the year I had similar results. within the first 2k miles I had my car at the dealer for a service engine soon light, 2 different times. it was blamed on the capless gas system. but my mileage hasn't improved. and I do not use the car's mpg readout for my calculations. I do my own at each fill up. My trips to work involve enough dead stop to recharge my battery. but even when gently accelerating from a dead stop it kicks into gas mode almost immediately. so now I am trying to set aside the time to take it to another dealer and have them see if they can figure it out.

[hybridbear]

Michelle Clayton Flanders, on 07 Oct 2014 - 09:48 AM, said:

thanks for all the input guys. as far as the f-150 I had only getting 10mpg, it was lifted 6inches and on 35's and a 373 rearend. I believe the mpg before being lifted was only 16. but that vehicle was my toy and I enjoyed every minute of it and hated to get rid of it, but I had to make the big girl decision for better gas mileage. which is why I wanted the hybrid, even though my husband wanted the ecoboost. And the overall average for my hybrid has been 32mpg, through winter months until now. we have made several 200+ mile trips to Georgia and had the same results. We have made 50mile trips to palm coast, same results. and I do believe that I am trying to drive as hybrid friendly as I can. My ac has been on constantly and maybe that has taken a toll. but even during the cooler months at the beginning of the year I had similar results. within the first 2k miles I had my car at the dealer for a service engine soon light, 2 different times. it was blamed on the capless gas system. but my mileage hasn't improved. and I do not use the car's mpg readout for my calculations. I do my own at each fill up. My trips to work involve enough dead stop to recharge my battery. but even when gently accelerating from a dead stop it kicks into gas mode almost immediately. so now I am trying to set aside the time to take it to another dealer and have them see if they can figure it out.

There are a couple of questions from post #2 that still have not been answered which could be a factor: How do your coaching bars read? Which rims/tires do you have?

[Easy Rider]

And it's possible that your driving conditions are the worst possible, both the city miles and the highway ones.

A lot of "dead-stop, go again" in your city driving really KILLS mileage.

So does driving FAST on the highway, like above 70.

 

I've taken 3 fairly long trips lately.

The first was at 65 or below for long distances. The display said 42; most likely really 39.

 

The second one was at around 70; display said 40, true likely about 37.

 

The last one was at 75 and included a bunch of stop and go rush hour; display said 37, true likely was 34.

So you see I am approaching the numbers that you report.

 

I think you can expect to see a true 40 or above ONLY with ideal conditions AND ideal technique.

You need to be paying at least a little attention the display aids, just don't believe the absolute numbers.

 

But by all means, have another dealer take a look.

Actually finding something repairable with "low mileage" complaints is fairly rare, I think.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Easy Rider

[terryb]

4.3 mile trip to coffee twice per day.

This afternoon trip outbound, HVAC set at 76 ambient 85, mileage for the trip 30.3mpg.

Homebound trip one hour later, HVAC off, front windows down, mileage for the trip (seems like we hit every light homebound) was 50.6mpg.

 

Before I retired, I was commuting 20 miles each was, I got 43mpg lifetime average on my '10 FFH. I traded for the '13 and all the toys on it. Styling too. I've been disappointed with my lifetime running around 38, but I know that the short radius of my retirement is a huge factor.

 

TerryB

[lolder]

Was the car heat soaked for the first afternoon trip? If so, that's the reason. It can take over 15 minutes for the AC load to reach even 150% of steady state even though the fan speed has decreased.

[Darkside]

I would love my car much more if it wouldn't lie to me. Told me I had gotten 43.1 mpg and used 9.17 gallons. Pump and calculator tell me 10.26 gallons used and 38.4 mpg. Off by over a gallon is not what I would call acceptable.