trip summary &mpg? software update

[3COWBOYS3]

Hello. I'm new to the forum. Browsed a little first. I just got my fusion hybrid se last thursday amd trying to figure out how everyone is getting there good mileage. On the big mpg while driving show about 40.5mpg or so and when I'm done the trip summary fluctuates between 39-41 mpg so far. Ive been doing good on driving but want to know how others are getting 47. Mine was supposed to have the software update and I got a copy of the invoice. Any help/tips? The car goes into EV above 62 mph but usually not for long. My speed 65-70mph Highway mostly. Do I need to reset the trip and mpg all the time. And the lifetime only shows 23mpg or so. Only has 400 or so miles on the car. Taking it back to the dealer for a bumper issue But want to see if its me or the car before I mention anything. I did sone research but stilll new.

[keithsm2]

1) Speed Kills MPG....65 and under probably to come close to 47.

2) AC kills MPG... the more the AC Runs the lower the MPG... can be significant in Texas.

3) Short Trips Kills MPG.. probably need 7 miles or more to get close to 47... ( depends on your battery "State of charge"(SOC) at beginning of trip. )

4) break in period is reported to be near 6000 miles.....so if your getting high 30's to low 40's now...you should be good. Use the Fuelly website or app to record actually mileage.

5) I would reset the lifetime mileage as it includes all the stuff done at the dealer and is probably not representative of what you are getting.....

 

Hope some of that helps..

 

PS...some people have the perfect route and driving skills to get the 47 mpg....

[jeff_h]

PS...some people have the perfect route and driving skills to get the 47 mpg....

 

Bingo -

 

Route: Mine has many minor rolling hills, which I think actually help MPG as opposed to flat terrain... just my opinion.

 

Driving skills: If a person wants the best MPG then he/she needs to drive that way, which means (in my experience, anyway) smoothly and slow down... I got 52.4 MPG this morning on my normal commute of 59 miles, where cruise was applicable I set it on 64. Sure it can be set higher but IMHO the MPG will suffer more as you go higher.

[keithsm2]

another never really mentioned here but really important........"Increase the distance you follow other vehicles in town " You need to be smooth on break and accelerator..... it is hard to brake smoothly when you are on someones tail..... Look far ahead of your vehicle for red lights..... if its red....and a reasonable distance....get off the gas and coast.........if its green and been green for a while.....may as well start letting off the gas....probably gonna be red before you get there.... While in the city.....you should have quite a bit of time of coasting..if you are either on the gas or brakes all the time....youre wasting energy in some form or fashion...

[3COWBOYS3]

Oh ok. Thanks. I will try those things out for a little and see what it brings. The slow down and acceleration I think I have down pretty good. Braking prob needs a little more. Averaging probably like 90% 100 here and there. And the ac I can probably do without. Not too hot here in california right now. And yes I wish I had more downhills :-(. But i will tweek my driving. Does resetting the mpg after each trip or filling the tank up make a difference at all?

[keithsm2]

i reset trip 1 each tank fill up.....( just so i can see the MPG for that tank and how many gallons its used )

 

I use trip 2 for other things....( ie....whats the mileage on this trip.......or this work week commuting ...ect ) they effect nothing....

 

Its all your preference.....you can reset the Mileage in the empower screen.....( doesnt reset your overall mileage ) .

 

to reset the overall mileage ( reported when vehicle turned off ) you have to go into settings on the screen left of the Speedometer i believe....

[3COWBOYS3]

Ok thanks. Just checking. Ya when I first left the dealer it was some low weired numbers then I reset the trips and mpg. But I didn't reset the lifetime. Ill do that today.

[hybridbear]

Welcome to the Forum. Check out the thread below which has a bunch of links to tips for improving gas mileage. The suggestions from above are spot on too.

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6816-read-this-first-useful-information-for-all-new-forum-users/

[hytibill]

Just be aware that the dealers will do dumb things that ruin your reported fuel economy when the car is new. For instance, the dealership burned nearly a quarter tank of gas when they installed the PCM update. I know they had the AC blasting on MAX because I had it set at 74 when I dropped it off and picked it up with MAX AC. I just don't know how you burn that much freaking gas without adding a single mile to the odometer.

[3COWBOYS3]

Oh ok. Thanks I will take a look at the link as well check to see if anything has change when I pick it up from the dealer. I tweeked my driving a little bit and was able to get 43 going to the dealership. But Wont get my car back until mid next week beacuse of my bumper being misaligned and a piece sticking out. So can't practice mydriving techniques. But I will read the threads.

[3COWBOYS3]

Ok. Got my car back today from dealer bumper is good finally. I drived a little slower. Couldn't get up to 65 very much cuz traffic. About 30mph going. No ac because it wasnt that hot and just radio on. The big mpg on screen varied going up to 45mpg but when I got home end of trip summary read 47.3 while lifetime read 45 about. I reset everything when I got it back from the dealer. Did another drive to my girls house amd got about 45 again so I'm doing something right.lol

[Skydogz]

I followed the tip of turning the climate temp higher (less AC use) and it made a REAL noticeable difference!

I went from getting 39 mpg to getting well over that with just an Temp set at 74F, I used to have it at 68F.

 

 

[corncobs]

I followed the tip of turning the climate temp higher (less AC use) and it made a REAL noticeable difference!

I went from getting 39 mpg to getting well over that with just an Temp set at 74F, I used to have it at 68F.

 

Are you trying to keep your drinks cold ? ;-) Edited September 9, 2013 by corncobs

[Skydogz]

Are you trying to keep your drinks cold ? ;-)

LOL, I was just trying to cool the car quickly from the 100F+ Texas heat!!!

[IceStorm]

After the software updated on my fusion hybrid at my 10,000 mile service. The car drive about the same. I am however seeing around 2 mpg more per trip. In a recent trip about 8 miles very hilly suburban route, I got 60+ mpg at a average speed of 35 mph. That was a surprise as I expected way less because of hills.

Anyway, I do see better mileage above 65+ mph. I would gently accelerate (2 to 2.25 power bars) to 70+, coast to around 65 and repeat. This technique gets me about 47 mpg now. Previously above 65, it is hard to get near 47 mpg. More than 5-7 mph variance would net better fuel economy but would annoy other drivers (could also cause road rage) and keeps me entertained and alert. I found that I am getting better mileage than setting adaptive cruise at constant 67.5 mph. You can probably get more mileage if you use adaptive cruise to get to speed. Whenever I use adaptive cruise to get to speed, I would set about 5+ mph above my target speed and cancel when the desired speed is reached because the lack luster acceleration near its set speed.

I use adaptive cruise constantly on my daily commute in the Boston area (mixed suburban(10)/highway(12)/city(2) 24 miles with average speed of 30 mph) and am now getting around 50 mpg going to work (heavy traffic, slight downhill) and around 47 mpg going home in much heavier traffic. I normally would not use adaptive cruise above 65. Whenever I see that I am closing in slower traffic, I would use adaptive cruise to get as much re-gen as I can. By the way, prolong stop and go traffic will net you bad mileage for any type of cars. The penalty for hybrid is lot less (still getting above 30 mpg vs 15-20 for VW Passat I had before) and using AC or heat would bring it closer to a normal car.

Overall, I am happy with this upgrade. My overall mpg is now at 44 and climbing (11,200 miles since OCT 2012, 1100 miles on re-gen, 5500 mile on battery). From my experience, I loose about 3-4 mpg in the winter. I wish Ford installed an electric heater to augment the regular heat so the engine would not need to turn on that much more in the winter. Using AC cause me about 2 mpg. Maybe I'll get to 47 mpg in a year or two if winters are not too cool and summers are not too hot. Of course, your mileage will vary ;)

Edited September 11, 2013 by IceStorm

[3COWBOYS3]

As soon as I can figure out how yo post pictures I will show mine. I've been keeping my ac at 71 about. I've been messing around with the eco cruise and switching it up with a light pedal at about 65 to keep the battery mostly used. Been reving it some times just because the ev kick in at a certain point and will shut off the engine when I'm at higher speeds. I got 51.5 yesterday and 47.1 today. Lifetime is about 44. Still learning so I can consistantly get that but its working prettu good. Car is already paying for itself.