nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I had a fuel economy test completed by my dealership today... There diagnostic software said my car Averaged 37MPG over 1hour and 15minutes of Driving. The Digital readout read 34 MPG (3 MPG disparity) Next step is waiting to hear back from the Regional Customer Service manager.... wonder what she will say?? Anyone else have this done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marjen Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 NO but I would sure like to. My AWD titanium is averaging about 19 mpg. Last 2 tanks were under that at 17.5 and 18.4 I am now 3300 miles in so break in is out the window. Did ford conduct this test and how did you get them to do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 I contacted ford customer care via phone, then I contacted "Natasha at Ford" on facebook. She escalated my case to the Regional Customer Service manager... They told the dealership to do the Fuel Economy Test. The ford dealership did the test on a preset route today.... and gave me a print out of the results.. If you do not get ford customer care to recommend the test I believe you would have to pay for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest abjb Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 This is a first. I thought it was a given that the computer ALWAYS reported BETTER mpg than hand calculated. ab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 This is a first.I thought it was a given that the computer ALWAYS reported BETTER mpg than hand calculated. ab They didn't hand calculate... it is a laptop hooked up to the CPU in the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest abjb Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Yea I understood, somethings not right with your car. I would bet a few $'s that after they fix it, it will report better MPG than you're really getting. Every car I've owned and every car I have ever come in contact with that shows MPG has been at least a few tenths, some of them miles per gal optimistic. My Mini Cooper always shows .4 to 1 MPG better than I hand caculate My wifes MKX always shows 1 to 1.5 better. I hand caculate every tank. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Yea I understood, somethings not right with your car. I would bet a few $'s that after they fix it, it will report better MPG than you're really getting. Every car I've owned and every car I have ever come in contact with that shows MPG has been at least a few tenths, some of them miles per gal optimistic. My Mini Cooper always shows .4 to 1 MPG better than I hand caculate My wifes MKX always shows 1 to 1.5 better. I hand caculate every tank. ab The problem is they are saying nothing is wrong.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadman64 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 The problem is they are saying nothing is wrong.. The hybrid is supposed to get 47 right? If they say you're getting 37 that's over 20% off and I'd think should be an indication that something is wrong. My 2.0T is about 15% off. I think Ford is probably investigating all of the fuel economy stuff right now and is probably just telling dealership's to say nothing is wrong until they get to the bottom of it. (This entire statement is just a guess!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 The hybrid is supposed to get 47 right? If they say you're getting 37 that's over 20% off and I'd think should be an indication that something is wrong. My 2.0T is about 15% off. I think Ford is probably investigating all of the fuel economy stuff right now and is probably just telling dealership's to say nothing is wrong until they get to the bottom of it. (This entire statement is just a guess!) Keep in mind that test is not scientific and it's not replicating the EPA test conditions so there's no reason to expect that you'd get the EPA mileage necessarily. The way it should be used is to compare to another similar vehicle to see if you get the same mileage to rule out an individual vehicle problem. Remember that hybrids get far worse fuel economy in the winter because the ICE has to run more and the batteries are not as efficient. Add to that E-10/winter blend fuel which the EPA does not use and it's no surprise that fuel economy is low right now. I would expect to see a big jump in fuel economy for most folks as it warms up and they reach the 5K mile mark. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest abjb Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I think the op's complaint is a more than 10% discrepancy between what his MPG display says and what the car actually gets. His car actually gets BETTER mpg (per his dealer) than the car displays. ab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I think the op's complaint is a more than 10% discrepancy between what his MPG display says and what the car actually gets. His car actually gets BETTER mpg (per his dealer) than the car displays. ab No, nmadole's complaint was he wasn't getting close enough to EPA fuel economy thus the reason for the fuel economy test in the first place. The discrepancy was just an observation. Was the avg mpg reset at the beginning of the fuel economy test by the dealership? I would have to guess that they were not reset in sync (maybe the laptop was reset at a different time during the test drive) since both use the PCM information to do the calculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 No, nmadole's complaint was he wasn't getting close enough to EPA fuel economy thus the reason for the fuel economy test in the first place. The discrepancy was just an observation. Was the avg mpg reset at the beginning of the fuel economy test by the dealership? I would have to guess that they were not reset in sync (maybe the laptop was reset at a different time during the test drive) since both use the PCM information to do the calculation. The Trip and Average MPG were reset by me when I dropped it off... there test ran 1 hour 15 minutes (33 miles) my trip read 1 20 minutes (33 miles) ... There test is best case senario where I live. They said they have a pre determined route that should maximize my fuel efficency... 37 or 34 (depending on which computer you believe) is THE BEST I can get where I live... My car is getting 30 MPG Average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coach81 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 ouch.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcats98 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 (edited) Their test is best case scenario where I live. They said they have a pre determined route that should maximize my fuel efficency... 37 or 34 (depending on which computer you believe) is THE BEST I can get where I live... My car is getting 30 MPG Average I would be very upset. Knowing that realistically 47 is only on level ground at optimum EPA conditions, I would expect closer to 41-43. But 30? Almost 40% difference? Obviously you didn't get to go but with that much disparity I would have requested to ride along. Or maybe you should go drive one of those *ahem* other *ahem* hybrids of the same class and see if you get similar numbers... Edited January 17, 2013 by Bearcats98 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_h Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Knowing that realistically 47 is only on level ground at optimum EPA conditions, I would expect closer to 41-43. Not true - on today's drive home I went 67 miles and it was definitely not level ground, averaged 49.8 for the trip. I think his colder weather (mine was 43 today, his probably a lot lower) may be a slight factor for him, but a secondary issue to his real issue, which is probably something else with his engine or the software that runs it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The test drive showed 37 mpg, not 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neod192 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The test drive showed 37 mpg, not 30. According to nmadole the test also shows best case scenario for where he lives, not an average. If the car can only do 37 in the best possible scenario, something else is going on. The EPA test shows an average of 47, so the best EPA results has to be quite a bit higher than 47 (sure, the EPA won't run it in 30 degree weather). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcats98 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The test drive showed 37 mpg, not 30. According to nmadole the test also shows best case scenario for where he lives, not an average. If the car can only do 37 in the best possible scenario, something else is going on. The EPA test shows an average of 47, so the best EPA results has to be quite a bit higher than 47 (sure, the EPA won't run it in 30 degree weather). That is my thinking. He calculations show 30. The Ford test "shows" 37 but only in an ideal stretch. And another poster just above shows above 47. So the dealer tells him "Well, that's the way it is". So what are his choices now? That is my concern about putting down a premium for the technology....will I actually get close to the EPA numbers or will I be a "results may vary" class member? I get EPA numbers (and a bit better on the highway) out of my Sonata and live in a sorta hilly area. Guess Ill just keep watching. Really though, the Ti model is what I crave but even those model members are not seeing the mileage results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionHybrid2013 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I wouldn't get 37mpg in my hybrid unless I put a lot of effort into trying to get bad gas mileage. Even when I pay no attention to how I'm driving (ie. when I'm in a hurry and drive very fast) I still get around 38-40mpg. As far as cold goes, The lowest temp I hit was in the low teens and I still was able to top 40mpg (I think I was around 41mpg that day). I feel bad for you because there is something wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I was only saying that the discrepancy between the EPA and a semi-controlled dealer test was 37 to 47 not 30 to 47. You can't compare normal driving to a controlled test and even the dealer test is only loosely controlled. The only way to really tell if this is an individual car problem is for the dealer to run the same test on multiple vehicles and compare them. Hybrids are very sensitive to higher speeds, cold weather and ethanol/winter blend fuel as well as engine break-in and battery charge. Until the weather warms up and the engines are broken in it will be difficult to really tell if there is a problem or the EPA ratings are just not representative of this new type of hybrid. It would help if Ford would take one of these vehicles experiencing low mileage and run it through the EPA test. That's the only way to really know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmadole Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 UPDATE: Here is my response from Ford "Dear Nicholas, In regards to your fuel economy on your 2013 Fusion, your dealership has advised that you are currently at an average of 37 MPG. This average is normal for this time of year with the winter blend fuel that is currently on the market at all gas station across the country. We would like for you to come back in the late spring around April/ May 2013 so that we may complete another test for you. We thank you for being our Ford customer! We will speak with you in the spring!" They say nothing is wrong and my car is at its expect MPG.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neod192 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The only way to really tell if this is an individual car problem is for the dealer to run the same test on multiple vehicles and compare them. AMEN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neod192 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 UPDATE: Here is my response from Ford "Dear Nicholas, In regards to your fuel economy on your 2013 Fusion, your dealership has advised that you are currently at an average of 37 MPG. This average is normal for this time of year with the winter blend fuel that is currently on the market at all gas station across the country. We would like for you to come back in the late spring around April/ May 2013 so that we may complete another test for you. We thank you for being our Ford customer! We will speak with you in the spring!" They say nothing is wrong and my car is at its expect MPG.... DAMN I'm sorry to hear that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WithBBQSauce Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) That's interesting about the test. I'll be curious to see what happens in the spring. Edited January 18, 2013 by WithBBQSauce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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