Jump to content

Pathetic Gas Mileage


Porthos

Recommended Posts

Ok, so I know that I'm under 1,000 miles and that mileage improves once you break that barrier (or near it), but this is a little extreme.

 

I'm getting 10.5-12.6 MPG. This is not only what the vehicle is calculating, but also (almost exactly matching) what filling the tank and diving gallons into miles gives me.

 

This seems extremely low. I understand that initial mileage might be a little off the registered EPA estimates, but less than 50%?

 

It's an escape 2.0L AWD Titanium. I know it's winter, I know I live in the City and that lowers mileage, but doesn't this still seem very low to everyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, it's very low. Too bad you didn't get a Mercury Mariner Hybrid or a Ford Escape Hybrid when they were available. I get 26-34 mpg in mine. The low figure, 26, is during winter, when the battery is not as efficient, and when the EPA requires some additive in gasoline which has the effect of lowering efficiency.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's extremely low. I know that it's a stupid question but are you calculating it properly? Drive from fillup to fillup, reset the trip odometer at each fillup, and calculate the MPG using the total miles between fillups. I've been keeping a book for several years, so it's a habit for me now.

 

That aside, I'd take it back to the dealer. I've got about 950 miles on mine, just filled it up last night, and I got 23.8 in mixed driving. That's a couple of MPG better than I got with my V-6 2003 Escape, though 3 or 4 lower than I was getting from my Civic in the same driving environment. I'm not unhappy with that, but the real test will come when I drive it on a trip to Florida and back in a month or so. I generally drive about 5 mph over the speed limit on the highway so we'll see how it does with a constant diet of 75 mph.

 

BTW, have you tried a different brand of gas. Some use more ethanol than others and you will get a little (not that much though) lower mileage with a higher ethanol concentration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. Couple of items I didn't mention (and replies)

 

1. Yes I'm sure I'm calculating properly, it's simple division.

2. I have gone to the dealer and they say it need to be over 1K before they address it.

3. I've tried 3 brands of gas at 89 - 91 octane rating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. Couple of items I didn't mention (and replies)

 

1. Yes I'm sure I'm calculating properly, it's simple division.

2. I have gone to the dealer and they say it need to be over 1K before they address it.

3. I've tried 3 brands of gas at 89 - 91 octane rating.

 

I figured that you were calculating it properly, but I have seen some very interesting methods of determining gas mileage that didn't involve simple division so I thought I'd throw that out there. :)

 

Well, you will be over 1000 miles in a couple of weeks, no doubt. In the meantime, you probably ought to do all those things that people do to improve mileage - check the tire pressure, parking brake isn't dragging (shouldn't be on a brand new car), all that kind of thing. Which you're probably doing already anyway.

 

I hope it's a simple solution whatever it is. Mileage in the low teens is unacceptable period. Below that puts you in the range that my 4WD Dodge truck wih the Hemi gets!

 

Even my first fillup was 19.1, and that's considering that it was based on the "full" tank that the dealer gave me (which was probably a little short of full).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is some tips you might want to try.

 

1. Check your tire pressure. I run mine at 10psi over Max sidewall and get the best handling, tire wear, and MPG. The lower you go from there will decrease all those things.

 

2. Make sure your engine oil level is not overfilled.

 

3. Get a Scangauge that plugs into your OBD II connection and monitor instant MPG and all the other gauges on it to improve all your driving habits. Also, check to see if you are getting DFSO (fuel-cut). DFSO means Deceleration Fuel Shut Off and is designed to cut the fuel injectors and hold the engine idle with the transmission in "D".when decelerating. The Scangauge will show Open-Loop and Instant MPG will go to 9,999mpg. When you reapply the gas pedal, the PCM will start injector flow again real smooth. The '12 Explorer Ecoboost 2.0L I test drove didn't have DFSO for some reason. My '09 Escape Hybrid, '11 Explorer V6, and my '12 Focus all have DFSO above 25mph.

 

4. Time Stop Lights far ahead to prevent as many stops and use DFSO as much as possible. The more complete stops you make, the more gas you use. Plan your routes based on traffic flow with the lease stops. Those routes will generally get you to your destination faster and with better MPG.

 

5. There is very little break-in on new engines today. New tires have more rubber and weigh more. The weight of turning your new tires will decrease MPG until you wear off some of that rubber with the higher the miles you put on them.

 

6. Accelerating to slow can hurt MPG. Find a acceleration RPM that gets you up to a steady state speed without losing to much MPG. Look up the "Pulse & Glide" technique if you really want to improve MPG. If your engine does not have DFSO, glide in neutral.

 

7. Try not to use the brake pedal as much as you can. If you have DFSO, tapping the brake pedal lightly can sent a message to the PCM to start DFSO faster. This works in all my Fords.

 

8. Every vehicle drives differently, so don't expect to get the MPG you get driving it like another vehicle. Learn what works for each vehicle you drive to get the best MPG possible.

 

9. Use only the recommended octane in your manual and on the gas door. Higher octane or switching octane from one tank to another will reduce MPG. Your PCM stores Long-Term air-fuel ratios in KAM (Keep Alive Memory) to improve MPG and performance.

 

10. Like tires, the rims on your model might be heavier than those tested for the EPA rating. Lighter rims will give you better MPG. My '11 Explorer Limited came with lighter rims than the optional polished rims available. The polished rims look better, but I didn't want any decrease in MPG. I found this out with my '09 Escape Hybrid Limited rims which are heavier than the standard Hybrid rims on my '05 Escape Hybrid. I switched rims from my '05 to my '09 and found I got much better MPG with the lighter rims.

 

Hope this helps everyone reading my post!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Needs to go back to the dealer asap.

 

If he lives and drives near Manhattan, there are very few places that have those traffic conditions. You will get ran over by taxis if you don't drive with heavy acceleration and heavy braking from all those stop lights at every block. My Son lives in Manhattan and it's crazy driving in those conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the dealer today... they say that the Escape now needs 6,000 miles before the computer "adjusts" mixture, shift points, and other things. To that I have to say "BS" - out of the box, I ought to be getting at least 15-16 mpg around town.

 

So they then said to adjust the Remote Start back to 10 minutes. I think that's BS too, but I need a math wiz. Let's say I drive 150 miles/week and I get 14 mpg. In 7 days I remote start 10 times, each for 15 minutes. How many gal/gas does the car burn in 10 ea. 15 min. remote starts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is some tips you might want to try.

 

1. Check your tire pressure. I run mine at 10psi over Max sidewall and get the best handling, tire wear, and MPG. The lower you go from there will decrease all those things.

 

2. Make sure your engine oil level is not overfilled.

 

3. Get a Scangauge that plugs into your OBD II connection and monitor instant MPG and all the other gauges on it to improve all your driving habits. Also, check to see if you are getting DFSO (fuel-cut). DFSO means Deceleration Fuel Shut Off and is designed to cut the fuel injectors and hold the engine idle with the transmission in "D".when decelerating. The Scangauge will show Open-Loop and Instant MPG will go to 9,999mpg. When you reapply the gas pedal, the PCM will start injector flow again real smooth. The '12 Explorer Ecoboost 2.0L I test drove didn't have DFSO for some reason. My '09 Escape Hybrid, '11 Explorer V6, and my '12 Focus all have DFSO above 25mph.

 

4. Time Stop Lights far ahead to prevent as many stops and use DFSO as much as possible. The more complete stops you make, the more gas you use. Plan your routes based on traffic flow with the lease stops. Those routes will generally get you to your destination faster and with better MPG.

 

5. There is very little break-in on new engines today. New tires have more rubber and weigh more. The weight of turning your new tires will decrease MPG until you wear off some of that rubber with the higher the miles you put on them.

 

6. Accelerating to slow can hurt MPG. Find a acceleration RPM that gets you up to a steady state speed without losing to much MPG. Look up the "Pulse & Glide" technique if you really want to improve MPG. If your engine does not have DFSO, glide in neutral.

 

7. Try not to use the brake pedal as much as you can. If you have DFSO, tapping the brake pedal lightly can sent a message to the PCM to start DFSO faster. This works in all my Fords.

 

8. Every vehicle drives differently, so don't expect to get the MPG you get driving it like another vehicle. Learn what works for each vehicle you drive to get the best MPG possible.

 

9. Use only the recommended octane in your manual and on the gas door. Higher octane or switching octane from one tank to another will reduce MPG. Your PCM stores Long-Term air-fuel ratios in KAM (Keep Alive Memory) to improve MPG and performance.

 

10. Like tires, the rims on your model might be heavier than those tested for the EPA rating. Lighter rims will give you better MPG. My '11 Explorer Limited came with lighter rims than the optional polished rims available. The polished rims look better, but I didn't want any decrease in MPG. I found this out with my '09 Escape Hybrid Limited rims which are heavier than the standard Hybrid rims on my '05 Escape Hybrid. I switched rims from my '05 to my '09 and found I got much better MPG with the lighter rims.

 

Hope this helps everyone reading my post!

 

Sorry, but most of your suggestions, while I'm sure they would improve mileage, do not absolve Ford of the obligation of meeting a reasonable facsimile of what they advertise. Saying that my car might be different than the EPA estimates is wrong, as well, since the sticker was on my car, and therefore it is the obligation of the vendor to correctly advertise the vehicle that the sticker is on. I had something similar at Honda when I walked in and a sign on a car said "Lease this car for $8/day" and it was on a fully loaded CRV. I said I would take it and they said "we'll not this car exactly." I took a picture and sent it to the attorney general as that is false advertising.

 

Making a claim that a car performs a particular way is part of the contract when I buy it. While YMMV, 50% has been shown to get car companies in a great deal of trouble (just take a look at Hyundai and the massive fines and car returns they are processing right now for false MPG claims on the Sonata, and that is only a 10% underperformance).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Titanium AWD:

 

The worst I have gotten is 20.5 mpg and the best has been 26.5 mpg. Average so far in 5800 miles is 23 mpg. I really baby the car most of the time and drive mostly 55 mph two lane roads to and from work. I am a bit disappointed right now, but I will reserve final judgement until summer; I just bought the vehicle in October. I also almost never let the car idle to warm up except for the -15F mornings.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the dealer today... they say that the Escape now needs 6,000 miles before the computer "adjusts" mixture, shift points, and other things. To that I have to say "BS" - out of the box, I ought to be getting at least 15-16 mpg around town.

 

So they then said to adjust the Remote Start back to 10 minutes. I think that's BS too, but I need a math wiz. Let's say I drive 150 miles/week and I get 14 mpg. In 7 days I remote start 10 times, each for 15 minutes. How many gal/gas does the car burn in 10 ea. 15 min. remote starts?

 

A cold start at idle for 15 minutes will kill your average tank MPG. It will also kill your average for even 10 minutes. Hypermilers back their vehicles face out so they can get moving a second after starting the engine to increase their average tank MPG. Your engine coolant system is designed to bring your cabin heater heating as fast as possible and under a engine load while moving is much faster than at an idle. Ford is now using broadband heated O2 sensors to quickly heat the Cat converter so fuel mixtures are adjusted as fast as possible by the PCM. Your right, the dealer is feeding you BS about taking 6,000 miles to adjust fuel mixtures with these newer sensors. My '09 Escape Hybrid has these newer O2 sensors, so by now, all Ford vehicles should have them.

 

In my opinion, the dealer is wrong about recommending even a ten minute warm-up to improve MPG. The 6,000 miles to adjust fuel mixtures is about 5,750 miles to much also. All Ford vehicles come with a PCM default fuel mixture setting that will reset after the 12V battery is disconnected for more than 5 minutes. I own a 9V battery to plug in to my 12V plug if I want to keep KAM Long-Term Fuel Map memory if I need to disconnect the 12V battery for over 5 minutes. You can buy them at most auto parts stores for less than $5..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, but most of your suggestions, while I'm sure they would improve mileage, do not absolve Ford of the obligation of meeting a reasonable facsimile of what they advertise. Saying that my car might be different than the EPA estimates is wrong, as well, since the sticker was on my car, and therefore it is the obligation of the vendor to correctly advertise the vehicle that the sticker is on. I had something similar at Honda when I walked in and a sign on a car said "Lease this car for $8/day" and it was on a fully loaded CRV. I said I would take it and they said "we'll not this car exactly." I took a picture and sent it to the attorney general as that is false advertising. Making a claim that a car performs a particular way is part of the contract when I buy it. While YMMV, 50% has been shown to get car companies in a great deal of trouble (just take a look at Hyundai and the massive fines and car returns they are processing right now for false MPG claims on the Sonata, and that is only a 10% underperformance).

 

I'm aware of Hyundai's problem, but there is also post from others here that are saying they are getting much better MPG in their new Escape 2.0 AWD. The window sticker also has a disclaimer that says "Your Mileage may vary".

 

The EPA rating on my Escape Hybrid Limited has the same rating as all the '09 Escapes FWD's with the standard rims. EPA test do not take into account every package on your Escape. Engine, transmission, FWD and AWD are about all that is rated separately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the dealer today... they say that the Escape now needs 6,000 miles before the computer "adjusts" mixture, shift points, and other things. To that I have to say "BS" - out of the box, I ought to be getting at least 15-16 mpg around town.

 

So they then said to adjust the Remote Start back to 10 minutes. I think that's BS too, but I need a math wiz. Let's say I drive 150 miles/week and I get 14 mpg. In 7 days I remote start 10 times, each for 15 minutes. How many gal/gas does the car burn in 10 ea. 15 min. remote starts?

I don't know. Mine semed to improve around the 6000 mark. Anyway, my average is 24 to 25. I can easily get 27, but on the last 1/4 of the tank I tend to celebrate my good mpg by hot dogging a little. Like today, this guy in a honda minivan is tail gateing me on Rt.66. He was in a big hurry. So I stomped on the gas and waved bye-bye to him. It was really fun. Like a scene out of Star Wars when Han hit the hyperdrive. Left him in the dust. So now I'm at 24.9 with 1/8 tank left. It was worth every penny.

 

I was very poo-poo about my mpg earlier. But now that I know the car better I'm really digging it.

 

What I am not digging is my loud f###ing brakes. They still squeal.

Edited by Escapism
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own a 2012 Fusion with the 2.5L four cylinder and six speed automatic. EPA says 33 on the highway. In summer, running non-ethanol blended gasoline (Fastrac sells it in premium grade) I will get 36 MPG. In winter when I use ethanol blended gasoline and remote start and (this is key) have the defroster running, my mileage will drop off to around 26-28 MPG. The defroster cycles the A/C unit on and this will cause mileage drops similar in the summer when you run the A/C. NOTE: I don't run the A/C unless it is REALLY hot and humid, otherwise, I just run "vent" position and am very comfortable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 remote start events using 15 minutes each is 150 minutes of idleing a cold engine. At approx 1 gal / hr of idle time thats 2 gallons of your tank gone with zero miles. Even if you were getting 17 which is not bad for that engine during city driving during the first 6k miles, removing 2 gals of gas from the equation easily gets the numbers you are quoting.

 

Stop with the every day remote start thing. As you approach 5k or so miles the mileage does improve. I also complained about 17mpg at first. We are now getting 23 average with a city/hwy mix. Still winter so things get better. Not sure if 6k is the magic number but there is something to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can say this - the last 2 cars I've owned as new cars have had some improvement in mileage over the first 4000-6000 miles of driving. Not huge differences, but I've seen about a 2-3 mpg improvement in mileage in my Honda. Can't remember what the change was in my 2003 Escape, but gas was fairly cheap back then and I wasn't quite as tuned in to mileage as I am now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, so I know that I'm under 1,000 miles and that mileage improves once you break that barrier (or near it), but this is a little extreme.

 

I'm getting 10.5-12.6 MPG. This is not only what the vehicle is calculating, but also (almost exactly matching) what filling the tank and diving gallons into miles gives me.

 

This seems extremely low. I understand that initial mileage might be a little off the registered EPA estimates, but less than 50%?

 

It's an escape 2.0L AWD Titanium. I know it's winter, I know I live in the City and that lowers mileage, but doesn't this still seem very low to everyone?

Like I wrote in another thread, I'm getting the same mileage as you... But it's 90% city with so many stop signs it's crazy... I know it's my driving... Yes I've got a heavy foot... You'd never be slowed down because of me, that's for sure....And yes I use the remote start often.... But I'm not worried anymore because on the highway, my gas consumption goes down to almost what it's supposed to be...Just imagine how much it cost me with my Ranger 4.0l with the same driving conditions.. Much better with the Escape..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the dealer today... they say that the Escape now needs 6,000 miles before the computer "adjusts" mixture, shift points, and other things. To that I have to say "BS" - out of the box, I ought to be getting at least 15-16 mpg around town.

 

So they then said to adjust the Remote Start back to 10 minutes. I think that's BS too, but I need a math wiz. Let's say I drive 150 miles/week and I get 14 mpg. In 7 days I remote start 10 times, each for 15 minutes. How many gal/gas does the car burn in 10 ea. 15 min. remote starts?

 

My Edge is getting about 3 MPG better average now than it did when new, which is now usually a little over 21 combined. I have no idea what you people are doing to your Escapes to make them somehow get worse fuel economy than my much heavier car with 300+ horsepower. Just defies logic.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 remote start events using 15 minutes each is 150 minutes of idling a cold engine. At approx. 1 gal / hr. of idle time that's 2 gallons of your tank gone with zero miles. Even if you were getting 17 which is not bad for that engine during city driving during the first 6k miles, removing 2 gals of gas from the equation easily gets the numbers you are quoting.

 

Many thanks! I was missing a idling gal./hr. number. (I assume that's an accurate figure). I think on the next fill-up, I'll try a tank of not using remote start and see how/if it improves. I did use remote start a lot with my Fusion while in Houston for the A/C, but still got no worse than 17, and yeah I had a very heavy foot. :peelout: I've now mellowed and drive respectably around town... heh ....heh... ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Edge is getting about 3 MPG better average now than it did when new, which is now usually a little over 21 combined. I have no idea what you people are doing to your Escapes to make them somehow get worse fuel economy than my much heavier car with 300+ horsepower. Just defies logic.

 

It's a combination of a few things......one of course many of these new Escapes still have 5K miles or less.

 

The city mileage is greatly affected by accelleration which involves the TURBO which eats gas.

 

The highway mileage is affected by high speeds, hilly terrain, and weather conditions. This body style (2012 Focus is the same way), doesn't like speeds over 65MPH, the gas mileage over that speed drops greater than any other vehicle I have owned. Most people drive faster than this on the highway, and many speed limits are now 70MPH.

 

On top of all of these, just plain driving habits are so varied between individuals (including warm up time, acceleration, looking forward to stop lights for coast down, idling while sitting in parking lots, etc).

 

I think any of the Ecoboost engines have the capability to get the advertised numbers, it's just the Ecoboost engines are also GREATLY affected by driving habits.

 

For example, my parent's 2.0EB AWD which is still new and goes on short trips with warmup idling is lucky to get 22MPG. They got around that with their V-6 Edge.

 

I drive 85% highway, never over 65MPH, coast to stoplights, accelerate moderatly, and idle the engine just for a few minutes on very cold mornings only. I have a lifetime average of 28MPG over 12K miles. http://www.fuelly.com/driver/csvt2060/escape

Edited by svtenthusiast
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The city mileage is greatly affected by accelleration which involves the TURBO which eats gas.

 

Oh come on. A turbo is nothing more an an air pump. Given that they are both tuned properly, a naturally aspirated engine with a given output similar to a turbocharged one is going to use the exact same amount of fuel. There's absolutely nothing inherently less fuel efficient about forced induction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's absolutely nothing inherently less fuel efficient about forced induction.

 

One thing that is inherently different with a boosted engine, or any high-output engine, is that it's fun to feel those horses kicking you in the seat of the pants. I've been driving mine in a relatively miserly manner, but I really do like the way the 2.0 reacts when I sink my foot into the throttle. I like it a lot!

 

But in my case, that's a tradeoff that I'm willing to make. If I was really going for the maximum MPG, I'd probably have bought a VW TDI diesel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...