Another Fuel Economy Thread

[storksb]

Called my dealer regarding a couple of issues I am having and mentioned the less than stellar mpg, he asked what gas I was using and when I said Regular 87 to said I needed to be running 93 due to the ethanol content, I think this is bogus but looking for opinion from other owners. Any thoughts? May try a tank of premium but not hopeful on the results.

 

storksb

[murphy]

From the Owner's Manual:

 

Your hybrid vehicle can use E15 (15%
ethanol, 85% gasoline) fuel, but you may
notice slightly reduced fuel economy
because ethanol contains less energy per
gallon than gasoline. Your hybrid vehicle is
not designed to use E85 (85% ethanol).


Octane Recommendations
Regular unleaded gasoline with a pump
(R+M)/2 octane rating of 87 is
recommended. Some fuel stations offer
fuels posted as regular with an octane
rating below 87, particularly in high altitude
areas. Fuels with octane levels below 87
are not recommended.
Do not be concerned if your engine
sometimes knocks lightly. However, if it
knocks heavily while you are using fuel with
the recommended octane rating, see your
authorized dealer to prevent any engine
damage.

[hermans]

Called my dealer regarding a couple of issues I am having and mentioned the less than stellar mpg, he asked what gas I was using and when I said Regular 87 to said I needed to be running 93 due to the ethanol content, I think this is bogus but looking for opinion from other owners. Any thoughts? May try a tank of premium but not hopeful on the results.

 

storksb

That "93" will have the same amount of winter blend ethanol in it.

[ptjones]

I have tried both Premium and no ethanol with around 1mpg improvement, not worth the extra expense unless you are going for max range or MPG's.

[lolder]

Called my dealer regarding a couple of issues I am having and mentioned the less than stellar mpg, he asked what gas I was using and when I said Regular 87 to said I needed to be running 93 due to the ethanol content, I think this is bogus but looking for opinion from other owners. Any thoughts? May try a tank of premium but not hopeful on the results.

 

storksb

Bogus !

[acdii]

That is BS. Unless stated in the OM, its a bogus line.

 

These are Atkinson cycle engines, they are designed to run on 87 octane fuel. They are low compression engines, running Premium is a waste of money.

 

What your dealer is saying to you discretely is, We have no freaking idea why they get poor gas mileage, if you can figure it out, let us know.

 

Here is why I say that. I have 2 Hybrids, both Ford Fusions, both cars get their gas at the same station, one car gets EPA in it or better, one cant get past 35 MPG. Is it the gas? I don't THINK SO! Is it the cold temps? Partially, however, only a small amount since in 78* weather it was just as bad.

 

They attempted to blame the gas for all 4 spark plugs fouling, but I use the same gas in my other car and it runs just fine. Deer in headlights. I still have no answer as to why they were all fouled at only 4500 miles, can't really accept that, oh maybe they were defective. Really? All 4 of them? out of the hundreds of thousands of spark plugs made, my engine got the only 4 bad ones? Crickets......

 

I seriously doubt Ford has any clue as to why so many cars are underperforming. If you look through the threads you see quite a few that are doing OK, and there are a few that are not doing OK. Some are doing quite well in cold weather, others are doing poorly in warm weather.

[storksb]

Thanks for all the replies, I thought they were probably blowing smoke but like to get other opinions.

 

Well discuss with them on Thursday I have the MFT updated.

 

storksb