2010 Ford Fusion

[jschiln]

I bought a used 2010 Ford Fusion recently. We have had a wicked winter in Illinois. The car has 87,000 miles on it or so. WHY am I only getting 28 mpg? I'm not an aggressive driver. My tires are good, the engine is good, I get regular oil changes. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

[FordService]

I bought a used 2010 Ford Fusion recently. We have had a wicked winter in Illinois. The car has 87,000 miles on it or so. WHY am I only getting 28 mpg? I'm not an aggressive driver. My tires are good, the engine is good, I get regular oil changes. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

 

Hi there, jschiln, and welcome to the forum.

 

I have a bunch of suggestions for you! First, if you haven't already, I recommend resetting your trip gauges to zero, so you can get the most accurate mpg readings. It is possible the person who owned it before you wasn't a very efficient driver, and their poor numbers are bringing your average down. The EPA estimate for your Fusion is 39 combined city/highway, just as an FYI.

 

Additionally, you should check out these driving tips, especially if you're new to hybrid driving. There are some nuances that can really help bump up those numbers. I'm sure you'll find tons of other helpful tips elsewhere on the forum, too.

 

Finally, if after a couple weeks you're not seeing an improvement, I suggest heading by your nearest Ford dealer to have them take a look. They'll be able to tell you if there is anything going on that could be contributing to decreased fuel economy.

 

Let me know how it goes and if you have any other questions!

 

Ashley

[Scott Carlton Windell]

Several factors are possibly at play here. First is temperature, hybrids hate cold. I averaged between 50 to 60 mpg going to work and back spring and summer, that same drive would be 42 in the winter months. Also tires make a big difference, tread design as well as maintenance. What type of tires do you have? I put Michelin Hydroedge treads on my 2003 Honda and lost 5 mpg immediately. These are variables that combined with driving style help characterize your car. Since you are new to the car may I share some experience as I drive 200 miles daily to and from work and have done this since 2001. The key to getting the mileage is lower speeds, the use of cruise control as often as is safe, and just as importantly finding your car's sweet spot. I started by selecting a course (greater than 30 miles seems to work best) and drive your route using cruise control to hold your speed and accelerate to your cruise speed in the event it has to be disengaged. Start at the fastest legal speed. Or that plus 5, if you are my brother, and document your result. Repeat dropping your speed in increments of your choosing until you reach the slowest reasonable speed and the best acceptable MPG. I found that my 2003 Honda dropped precipitously at cruising speeds greater than 56. The 2006 Honda was still averaging 57mpg at 53mph with 277,000 miles and the original battery, however turn on the air and drive 65 you would average 35 to 39. Repeat this with different routes and you will quickly learn to compensate for your car's configuration, weather, and your driving preferences. I use this technique on my wifes 2005 Jeep grand Cherokee and average 24 mpg and 23 in her V8 Jeep as well.

[lolder]

There are six measures of fuel economy. The first two are resetable; the Long Term Fuel economy in the menu and Average MPG with the reset button when displayed. I reset the Long Term at 10K oil changes. You should do that now. I reset the AVG MPG at fuel ups. The others are the Instantaneous gauge, the bar graphs ( get rid of the leaves in the menu ), the Trip Summary on shutdown and the Distance to empty. These are all differently calculated and give you a wide range of views of fuel economy.

If you drive 75 mph in 20 º F. windy weather you'll get 28 mpg or worse.

The car gets 46 mpg at 50 mph and 60º F. Add 2 mpg for every 10º F. temperature increase and subtract 6 mpg for every 10 mph increase. Subtract 3 mpg for each 10 mph headwind. The reverse is true for all the previous factors. Subtract 1-5 mpg for AC.

Wait for Spring!

Edited April 2, 2014 by lolder

[acdii]

If driven correctly it should be between 32 and 38 MPG in the winter, depending on temps. This is what I saw on mine in upper IL last year. Keep it under 65 MPH on the interstate and seeing high 50's in the summer is doable. Most important, be patient and learn the dash and pedals. While not nearly as important as on the 13+ models, ease into the brakes when slowing down and try to recover as much energy as you can, though the 10-12 models dont store as much energy in the HVB as the new ones do, getting as much back in as possible helps in under 45 MPH driving.