Crappy Fuel Mileage

[kemassey]

It is cold in Nebraska now. I've noticed that with town driving only that I'm getting around 14 mpg. I hope this isn't normal but just curious

if other owners are getting the same results. If I can go highway driving I'll get 29 or 30 mpg. My car is an 09 SEL V6 with 220 hp and no

mods of any king. I can roughly go 250 to 270 miles on a tank with town driving. Any info would be appreciated.

 

Kevin

Edited December 5, 2010 by kemassey

[Darksider]

Right now mine is the same , 16 , 17 mpg in warmer weather in town highway 29 or so ( same engine)

[JohnE]

Wow, that is some crappy mileage. And in my opinion not normal. I had a 07 4-banger and now have a 2011 3.0 V6 and in both cars I experienced excellent mileage. I can't remember what the 07 got, but remember around 23-25 mph around town. The new 2011 30 is getting 25-27 mph around town which to me is amazing considering a bigger engine. Now winter has set in and the MPG has dropped a bit. But am still getting an average of 25 around town in the 2011. I have to think something isn't quite right with your 09. Maybe a tuneup might get you more MPH. Change the filters, air, fuel. Maybe switch to an all synthetic oil, or at least try a semi-synthetic. New plugs, etc, may help too. Just trying to think of things that would improve your around town driving MPH. It doesn't sound right, even with winter and the extreme cold. Good luck!

[Oldguy16]

I have a 2010 3.0 and I'm seeing 22mpg steady for city driving and around 30mpg highway in winter. Last year I was doing about the same, with or without an intake mileage seems to be equal. Like John said, maybe time for a tune up? Only other thing I can think of, sometimes I know in my area when it gets cold, mice tend to get into the car and hide because it's warm when you come home, and eventually they start chewing away spark plug wires, that happened to my econoline, it's rare but check it out.

[shadowkold]

I was getting really bad mileage and also having some other issues getting worse, i changed up my air filter to a k&n high flow air filter (which is also reusable for the life of the vehicle, just need to clean it every 3 months or so!) and noticed a CONSIDERABLE improvement in gas mileage and some issues went away completely(including a knock in the engine!), try changing your air filter and see if it helps (normally supposed to change it every 24, 000 km anyways)

[jazztrumpet216]

I was getting really bad mileage and also having some other issues getting worse, i changed up my air filter to a k&n high flow air filter (which is also reusable for the life of the vehicle, just need to clean it every 3 months or so!) and noticed a CONSIDERABLE improvement in gas mileage and some issues went away completely(including a knock in the engine!), try changing your air filter and see if it helps (normally supposed to change it every 24, 000 km anyways)

 

There is absolutely NO way your air filter resolved a knock. None whatsoever. Sorry man.

[SCS]

My 2010 SEL 3.0 was getting 27.3 MPG avg this summer, it has dropped down to 24 MPG. It doesn’t seem to like the winter blend much.

[jtb3]

My 2010 SEL 3.0 was getting 27.3 MPG avg this summer, it has dropped down to 24 MPG. It doesn’t seem to like the winter blend much.

 

From cold start up till the engine is at operating temperature the fuel/air mixture must be richer with fuel for the

engine to run proper. We have had a cold winter that is making the problem even worse.

I also have a 2010 3.0 and have seen a decline in MPG this winter. With my driving , mixing suburbs and highway,

in the summer I average 28 but now only 25 ( that's with about 1 cold start in every 20 miles).

My MPG average can even get worse, depending on how many Chevy's I catch at red lights while on the highway !

[danford1]

I'm getting crappy mileage in Michigan too.

I have an 08 Sport and I'm only getting about 16.0 mpg city driving. That sucks.

I just got the car in November. The first tank I had it it got 22 mpg, city driving (same area I'm driving now).

Then it got 18.8 for two tanks and now 16.0. I sure Hope it is just the winter blend fuel.

I replaced the air filter thinking that would help, no difference.

The oil has about 1000 miles on it, still clean.

Tires are pumped up to 35 lbs.

My trunk is empty too. No added weight in car.

I use BP 87 octane gas.

The car runs excellent with plenty of power, just crappy mileage... Perhaps it will get better in summer.

 

Danford1

Edited January 24, 2011 by danford1

[Oldguy16]

I'm getting crappy mileage in Michigan too.

I have an 08 Sport and I'm only getting about 16.0 mpg city driving. That sucks.

I just got the car in November. The first tank I had it it got 22 mpg, city driving (same area I'm driving now).

Then it got 18.8 for two tanks and now 16.0. I sure Hope it is just the winter blend fuel.

I replaced the air filter thinking that would help, no difference.

The oil has about 1000 miles on it, still clean.

Tires are pumped up to 35 lbs.

My trunk is empty too. No added weight in car.

I use BP 87 octane gas.

The car runs excellent with plenty of power, just crappy mileage... Perhaps it will get better in summer.

 

Danford1

16 seems unreasonably low. Even mostly city driving, and winter, and heavy foot I manage 19 in my 2010. I would suggest having that looked at.

[TFocker]

I recently took a business trip that was 360 miles round-trip with my 2011 SE V6 and averaged an absolutely pathetic 23.9mpg. I generally get 21-22mpg for my normal weekly driving so I was really looking forward to putting up some good numbers with a nice highway drive. The trip had zero traffic or stops and I had the cruise on as much as possible. My speeds ranged from 65-80mph.

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed when I did the math at the pump.

My Corvette gets 26-27mpg on the highway all day long.

 

The other thing I'm slightly disappointed with is the transmission calibration. I came from an Altima with a CVT so maybe I'm not used to a normal automatic, but the shifts are just mush and seem to take forever or are poorly timed. Oh well.

[Oldguy16]

I recently took a business trip that was 360 miles round-trip with my 2011 SE V6 and averaged an absolutely pathetic 23.9mpg. I generally get 21-22mpg for my normal weekly driving so I was really looking forward to putting up some good numbers with a nice highway drive. The trip had zero traffic or stops and I had the cruise on as much as possible. My speeds ranged from 65-80mph.

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed when I did the math at the pump.

My Corvette gets 26-27mpg on the highway all day long.

 

The other thing I'm slightly disappointed with is the transmission calibration. I came from an Altima with a CVT so maybe I'm not used to a normal automatic, but the shifts are just mush and seem to take forever or are poorly timed. Oh well.

You don't have AWD do you? Those numbers seem low, even with cruise control at 95mph I managed 26mpg. I hate this transmission also though, wish I could take the one from my 20 year old econoline and put it in the Fusion lol.

[gb_fusionguy]

Just an FYI

 

Our 2011 Sport FWD with 400 miles on it is showing 15.5 MPG.

We drive it 1 mile (yes, one mile) to work and put on average 15 Miles per week.

It;s been really cold here in NJ. Am I upset, about the MPG?

NO way. I enjoy the car, for how it is used, I think it's doing great!

 

GB

[Oldguy16]

Just an FYI

 

Our 2011 Sport FWD with 400 miles on it is showing 15.5 MPG.

We drive it 1 mile (yes, one mile) to work and put on average 15 Miles per week.

It;s been really cold here in NJ. Am I upset, about the MPG?

NO way. I enjoy the car, for how it is used, I think it's doing great!

 

GB

Your mileage will significantly improve, I went from 14 in my SEL V6 to 22 average from brand new, to broken in, so If you enjoy the car the way it's supposed to be, excellent! The improved mileage will just be a plus.

[drolds1]

Just an FYI

 

Our 2011 Sport FWD with 400 miles on it is showing 15.5 MPG.

We drive it 1 mile (yes, one mile) to work and put on average 15 Miles per week.

It;s been really cold here in NJ. Am I upset, about the MPG?

NO way. I enjoy the car, for how it is used, I think it's doing great!

 

GB

 

Under those conditions, the mpg is to be expected. I had a 2000 Lincoln LS V6 that got as low as 13 mpg under very similar conditions.

 

I hope you do take the car out for a good run regularly, though, so that everything can reach normal operating temperature.

[StephenPeterson]

I've had my 4 cyl Fusion for a couple of weeks now and am very happy with the fuel mileage. I do notice that it's very sensitive to the way I drive...very sensitive. I have a 20mile commute...some stop and go and hilly terrain. If I take it very easy, I can get 30mpg very easily, which is great! If I drive without taking fuel mileage into consideration, it can drop to the low 20s very easily.

 

Adjust your driving style for a few trips and see if you notice any difference.

[TFocker]

You don't have AWD do you? Those numbers seem low, even with cruise control at 95mph I managed 26mpg. I hate this transmission also though, wish I could take the one from my 20 year old econoline and put it in the Fusion lol.

 

 

Nope, just an SE with the V6 FWD.

To say I'm supremely disappointed in the fuel economy is an understatement.

[Oldguy16]

Nope, just an SE with the V6 FWD.

To say I'm supremely disappointed in the fuel economy is an understatement.

I have no idea why you're mileage is so low. Winter with combo city and some highway I manage 23mpg. Like I said cruise control 95mpg and I do 26mpg, try breaking in the car some more and see if it gets better. Like I said, when I first got mine I was getting 14mpg, now I see 23mpg winter.

[huskerflex]

I used KN filters on my last care and it made a difference... Will be picking up on for the Fusion! Though I doubt it fixed the knock... it WILL help you mileage! Well worth the investment! I already have the cleaning kit!

[akirby]

I used KN filters on my last care and it made a difference... Will be picking up on for the Fusion! Though I doubt it fixed the knock... it WILL help you mileage! Well worth the investment! I already have the cleaning kit!

 

There is no guarantee it will improve fuel economy. K&N won't even claim that, although they try to make you believe that without actually saying it. If there was a valid test that concluded there was an increase in MPG then K&N would be advertising it all day long. They don't. It won't. The amount of fuel used is directly related to how much air is pulled in - it doesn't matter how the air is pulled in. 50% throttle with paper filter or 45% throttle with K&N - it's all the same to the engine.

[forbes/hutton]

I was getting really bad mileage and also having some other issues getting worse, i changed up my air filter to a k&n high flow air filter (which is also reusable for the life of the vehicle, just need to clean it every 3 months or so!) and noticed a CONSIDERABLE improvement in gas mileage and some issues went away completely(including a knock in the engine!), try changing your air filter and see if it helps (normally supposed to change it every 24, 000 km anyways)

 

Strange, I just put in a K&N air filter (not the CAI) and fuel consumption has gone up by 15%. As already stated K&N only implies that mileage will improve. I'll be at the dealer on Monday for a OEM filter.

[Oldguy16]

There is no way a K&N drop in will decrease your mileage by 15%. I did 1 month with my airbox and 1 month with the Steeda Intake and saw 2mpg improvement. The steeda filter is huge, virtually equivalent of an open tube, and my mpg improved. The K&N drop in won't do much but save you money on new filters, and maybe give you 1hp on a good day.

[forbes/hutton]

There is no way a K&N drop in will decrease your mileage by 15%. I did 1 month with my airbox and 1 month with the Steeda Intake and saw 2mpg improvement. The steeda filter is huge, virtually equivalent of an open tube, and my mpg improved. The K&N drop in won't do much but save you money on new filters, and maybe give you 1hp on a good day.

 

No other changes were made. Compared during my normal commute (45kms each way, highway speed in the morning, bumper to bumper on the same route in the afternoon), factory filter was doing 8.8 liters per 100kms, K&N over 3 days is at 10.5 liters per 100kms.

[akirby]

There is no way a K&N drop in will decrease your mileage by 15%. I did 1 month with my airbox and 1 month with the Steeda Intake and saw 2mpg improvement. The steeda filter is huge, virtually equivalent of an open tube, and my mpg improved. The K&N drop in won't do much but save you money on new filters, and maybe give you 1hp on a good day.

 

So YOUR anecdotal evidence of a 2mpg improvement is correct but HIS anecdotal evidence of a 15% decrease isn't? Seems to me his claim is just as valid as yours.

[98sierra]

my 06 SEL gets 17mpg... 60k miles new air filter, new oil, good tires and pressure clean injectors clean throttle body.. will a tuner and aftermarket filter help that much?