2013 Hybrid MPG Results

[neevers1]

When you cant get in the 40's, when the temps are in the 70's, with Climate turned off, drafting a Semi @ 60 MPH, what does that tell you? When I had a Prius, I did the draft @ 1.5 seconds behind a flatbed truck and got 75 MPG. On this trip barely touched 40, all the rest of the trip, whether I used Cruise, hyper mile, P&G, Drafting, 60 MPH 70 MPH, all it got was around 36 MPG. Pretty crappy mileage.

 

Well since you said you feel drag when you let off the gas, I think there is perhaps a brake dragging or something.

[acdii]

Well since you said you feel drag when you let off the gas, I think there is perhaps a brake dragging or something.

 

I went to a local Ford dealer here but they couldnt get a mech to check the car. All I really wanted them to do was enter it into Oasis so the miles were recorded.

 

One other thing I notcied today. With everything off, Climate control, radio, lights, only thing on was the ignition, the battery was showing a discharge. So what could be pulling power from the traction battery?

[neevers1]

I went to a local Ford dealer here but they couldnt get a mech to check the car. All I really wanted them to do was enter it into Oasis so the miles were recorded.

 

One other thing I notcied today. With everything off, Climate control, radio, lights, only thing on was the ignition, the battery was showing a discharge. So what could be pulling power from the traction battery?

 

Probably all the electronics in the car such as the LCD panels etc.

[ptjones]

When you cant get in the 40's, when the temps are in the 70's, with Climate turned off, drafting a Semi @ 60 MPH, what does that tell you? When I had a Prius, I did the draft @ 1.5 seconds behind a flatbed truck and got 75 MPG. On this trip barely touched 40, all the rest of the trip, whether I used Cruise, hyper mile, P&G, Drafting, 60 MPH 70 MPH, all it got was around 36 MPG. Pretty crappy mileage.

 

Here is the deal, this hybrid system uses a lithium ion battery which has twice the capacity of other hybrid batteries. It can be charged faster than NiMH batteries. If you watch the battery charge level there is always a charge or discharge arrow, no coast. Charging takes power from ICE lowering MPG, this system works best at speeds less than 63mph. If you accelate to 65mph and set cruise you can see the instantaneous mpg slowing climb as battery gets charged.

It will start around 20mpg and gradually climb to 40mpg. Also notice that everytime you accelate above 63mph the EV assists comes on, the bottom arrow on battery level.

 

Nmadole I did a interesting test this morning temps 41 deg.F. I blocked off both middle and bottom air intakes to radiator and then went on fwy to 70mph for 6mi to get off the fwy. The WT never got above 175 deg.F, but 200 deg.F is around the operating temp for the ICE to get the best MPGs. Ready to try out my packing tape idea? It may be worth 5+MPGs. What about oil pan heater? You say you like Physics, then this is right down your alley.

 

BTW if you complain about your bad MPGs to your dealer they will give you a questionaire to fill out which they will fax to ford. I did it today.

[coach81]

Obviously something is up.. with all that I have read on these forums... and now the EPA is auditing...

[Nmadole]

As of today I am averaging 29.6 MPG on my new FFH

[bankyedwards]

I have had mine a week now and am averaging 36mpg here in Chicago burbs. I drive the car for work (deliver jimmy johns) So I am making constant short trips during the day. Have not gone on highway yet. have only just under 200 miles on car so far. I do notice first trip to work in morning has horrid mileage usually around 18 but that is mostly all ICE as battery is charging and car is "warming up" earlier today I did have a 1.5 mile trip that going wound up 58.9 mpg and on way back hit 89.1mpg as EV+ came on as I neared work as the car thinks that is where I live lol. more and more I am seeing most my trips in the 40+ range and this is with temps in the 30's in morning and 40's during day.

 

I also think my average would be a little higher if it wasn't for me taking the car into dealer friday to have rustproofing/scotchguarding ect done. I reset trip one after i got it back and have been getting 39ish overall since then. I don't think the dealer cared about my overall mileage and yes i did a full reset when i picked up car originally when it had 13 miles on it. only through less than half a tank so far.

[acdii]

short trips+ hybrid dont mix well. Once the car warms up though, and if your trips, though short, are consistent one after the other, then it will improve. Keeping my fingers crossed they find the problem with mine. An increase of 5 MPG will make a world of difference in the car and put it right where I believe it should be for the driving I do.

[bankyedwards]

yes my short trips are one right after the other. i deliver Jimmy Johns so its constant running in grabbign an order and heading back out. my average is now just under 37 as it creeps up. going to be taking a trip to Iowa from Chicago on Friday so finally going to see how it does highway.

[coach81]

Same here acdii!

Edited December 20, 2012 by coach81

[ptjones]

My testing has shown 3 mpg increase with my LEXAN plastic grill covers install on CMAX, would expect simular results with 2013 FH. For those in cold country Wolerine makes a Model 9 oil pan heater that fits ICE oil pan to speed up ICE warmup time.

[coach81]

My testing has shown 3 mpg increase with my LEXAN plastic grill covers install on CMAX, would expect simular results with 2013 FH. For those in cold country Wolerine makes a Model 9 oil pan heater that fits ICE oil pan to speed up ICE warmup time.

 

Where do you get these things?

[ptjones]

amazon has the oil pan heater for around $56. I haven't made a cover for FH yet but you could experiment by taking Heavy Duty clear packing tape to your two front grills. Allow for some air to circulate to radiator and try to make it as aerodynamic as possible. If you don't like it you can rip it off easially. The radiator fan comes on at 215 degrees F to give you an idea ware you are temp wise. A Scanguage is a nice computer to have to monitor temps. It will be interesting to hear your results.

[DeeCee]

Did my third fill-up today. Total miles now 1,247 with 27 gallons fuel used for an overall average of 46.2 mpg. Cars computer is reporting a lifetime average of 46.0 which is pretty close to the actual.

[coach81]

Did my third fill-up today. Total miles now 1,247 with 27 gallons fuel used for an overall average of 46.2 mpg. Cars computer is reporting a lifetime average of 46.0 which is pretty close to the actual.

 

Go DeeCee!!!

[bankyedwards]

did a trip from chicago to iowa all on highway and got 35.5 mpg got 38.5mpg on way back next day. temps were in teens on way there and around 30 on way home. all done at 65mph still averaging 35.5 mpg overall.

[acdii]

I posted 2 dash pics from today using the Eco Cruise. Pretty crappy mileage for a car rated at 47/47/47, especially considering a car rated at 41/36/39 can beat it.

 

I would post them here, but they are too big.

 

http://www.facebook.com/fordfusion

 

Something else I noticed, I have had my 2010 since September 2011, and filled it 65 times, but only had the 13 for 4 weeks and filled it 14 times already, damn it has a small tank.

Edited December 23, 2012 by acdii

[camelot]

Goes along with the article I read that the epa rating is at 55 with short bursts to 80 and cr is done at 65. They say mpg is overrated by 8-10mpg. Bank proves it.

[acdii]

I did a head to head between my 2010 which gets EPA, vs my 2013 which gets nowhere near EPA.

 

Short results,

 

2013

 

33.7 and 34.9 to and from

 

2010

 

33.5 and 36.4 to and from.

 

Started a thread with the details under the hybrid forum.

[mrobinso8]

Made a trip from Maryville, TN to Gainesville, Fl. for Christmas. Picked up car 19 Dec with 7 miles on it. Left 21 Dec with return of 25 Dec. Trip was 1089 miles using 26.4 gallons of gas. 61 mph going down with 70 mph return. Calculate mpg 41.25. Car's trip computer showed 42.1 mpg. Not bad for not being broken in yet.

[hybridbear]

We picked up our 2013 just over a week ago. In about 400 miles so far all city driving we're averaging right around 40 MPG. It's been cold in Minneapolis, the warmest day this past week was in the low 20s with most mornings being down close to 0 degrees. Most of our trips are short, and from watching the coolant temp display in MyView we're almost never seeing the engine reach full operating temperature because of the demands of the heater pulling warmth from the coolant and the fact that when running EV mode the engine cools down very quickly. Based on other comments on the forum I'm fully expecting that our mileage will exceed 47 MPG in the summertime based on a 50 degree rise in temperature being worth about 10 MPGs. We notice that the ICE runs a lot right now because of the cold. In a typical 6.3 mile drive from home to work with these cold temperatures the ICE is running most of the time and that is hurting our mileage. I try to shut the heat off when stopped so that the ICE will shut off and then I turn the heat back on when moving to help improve the mileage. But so far the fuel economy has been acceptable.

 

The best single trip we've seen in this cold weather was somewhere just north of 50 MPG and that was a 10-15 mile trip starting with the engine already somewhat warm.

[hybridbear]

When it comes to the EPA tests I fully believe that Ford was "gaming" the system to get this 47 MPG result. Remember how before the car was produced Ford was estimating 47 city, 44 highway for the Fusion? And then they made a big deal when the car "exceeded" expectations and achieved 47/47/47.

 

All the manufacturers have known for years how the EPA test cycle works being that they are the ones who do the testing, not the EPA itself. I believe that Ford programmed the computers in the C-Max and Fusion Hybrids to maximize their fuel economy in the specific scenarios used in the EPA test cycle. Now I wonder if they're regretting that decision...

 

It's also of note that in response to the outcry about fuel economy in the new Ford hybrids, Ford is saying that the EPA needs to come up with a different test cycle for hybrids. I think that the real solution to this is to do what Ford is suggesting. The EPA should create a different test cycle for hybrids and plug-in hybrids because the current test cycle doesn't yield realistic results for hybrids. Consumer Reports also found that the Prius got way lower MPG in their tests than the EPA mileage, but many Prius owners exceed the EPA mileage. With time I'm sure that FFH owners will find the same. And I fully agree with Ford that because the new Ford hybrids aren't underpowered like the Prius it's easy to drive them more agressively and waste fuel. My wife drives our new Fusion Hybrid way more agressively than I do and thus she gets about 5 MPG less on average than I do on the same routes. With time she'll hopefully learn to better maximize fuel economy, but for now the more fun nature of the vehicle leads to more agressive driving and lower gas mileage.

[acdii]

What tires does your have? No matter what I try, and I have been doing it a long time now, I have yet to see 40 MPG. With the cold temps you see, and the fact you have the heater on, getting 40 sounds pretty good. One other thing, compare your trip gallons used to actual and see how close they are.

 

Just seems pretty odd that nearly 5000 miles now and it gets just about the same as my 2010 Hybrid does. Quite a gap between 39 Combined and 47 combined, yet the older one does better. :drop:

[Ttabone19]

I've had mine since Thanksgiving. I've altered my driving habits to maximize mileage and been averaging 36. I have 18" Goodyear tires and mine seems to slow when I lift. I also can't get as many EV miles as others are showing. I have 1750 on it with 493EV. My commute is 40miles each way with a mix of highway and city. Just as puzzled as Acdii seems to be....

[acdii]

My driving is roughly the same, though highway for me is rural roads posted at 55. About the same amount of miles though, 42 when the kids aren't in school, 37 when they are. Drove my 2010 today, and it needs new tires, and havent checked the pressure in them in months, before the cold came in, and I still got 37+ this morning. Yesterday in the new car, 38.8 was about it.

 

Would be nice if I can find rims that would fit both cars so I can get some 17" Michelins to try out on the new one before putting them on the old one.