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2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and poor FE reason

Discussion in 'Ford/Lincoln Hybrids and EVs' started by acdii, Dec 5, 2012.

  1. lennyp

    lennyp New Member

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    I tried using middle grade gasoline and saw my mpg drop for the two tankfuls into the high 30's. I just filled up with regular and my trip mileage has climbed again into mid 40's at ~32 degrees (even hit 49 and 53 for the first time) . Is the mixture too rich? I thought the higher grades would result in better mileage?

    I do think there are some inconsistencies with the car almost like it doesn't boot up its systems properly causing overuse of the ICE sometimes and other times it runs so strong staying in EV. Still haven't found a pattern.
     
  2. acdii

    acdii Active Member

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    Agreed, Ford has some explaining to do. They can only say nothing wrong so many times and will get called out on this. For me however, have had enough and getting out of it while the miles are still low enough on the car. I am getting another Fusion, but not the Hybrid. Getting a Titanium with the options I want, and will be happy with it. At the very least I can tow with it and not worry about the CVT crapping out, it has a 2K# tow rating, which is perfect. Dropping my car off tomorrow, they will place the order for the new one on Monday and they are going to put this one on the lot and sell it. Hopefully they can sell it quickly, but in the meantime, I will still make my payments, until they sell it, or my new one arrives. and my payments on the new one will be around $5 a month more, or $360 more than I pay now.


    As for the lawsuit, if you purchased a Fusion Hybrid, and join the lawsuit, whether or not you still own the car, you are still eligible.
     
  3. lennyp

    lennyp New Member

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    I'm sure you'll enjoy the titanium - the 2013 Fusion is a nice car. When you buy something with expectations that don't remotely come close, it definitely sours the experience (47 mpg vs. 35mpg). Ford should really get out of the denial stage and start figuring this out. My dealer did tell me Ford wanted info on mileage (hopefully to determine and fix the issue(s) rather than protect themselves).

    So did they do a system reset to clear the mileage?
     
  4. acdii

    acdii Active Member

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    They did a lot to it, but other than the first week after replacing the plugs, and I had high hopes it was fixed, nothing else seemed to help. For the first two tanks I was getting 38-39, then it dropped off again.
    I was considering ordering the HyTi, but my dealer looked at me and shook his head, he said, you will be doing the same thing even if it does have the better stereo, and he was right. I do obsess over gas mileage, and when I expect one thing, and get something far different, it irks me. At least with the Ecoboost I do know how to get good MPG out of it, it will be my third one. I had a Flex EB, averaged 18.5 in my daily drives and have seen as much as 27 on the interstate. My F150 had the EB in it and daily was about 17, and interstate was 21-24. I should be able to get 26-28 in this new one, and will be quite happy. Once I figure out its sweet spot, and can hit 28, that's only 5 miles under what I have been getting in the Hybrid. But the Hybrid cant do what the 2.0EB can do and that's what really makes it worth it. It can tow a trailer, so it all works out.
     
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  5. rico567

    rico567 Junior Member

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    This has been a very informative thread. It, and some others, has done much to give me a "real world" view of hybrid ownership. I'm thankful to all those who have gone to the effort to contribute.
    Since this car will be used for rather extensive highway trips (I'm guessing 2/3 - 3/4 of the miles), I'm not sure that I'm willing to drop my cruising speed to the degree that would be required to get >40 mpg.....which was one of our top criteria when we began to select new cars. The Prius 'v' may be an exception, but neither of us is really that much in favor of that car for other reasons (the other two Prii models plain don't fit me, I'm 6'6")
    I'm also going to assume (until some car proves me wrong) that any hybrid is basically going to react the same way. I can make some changes in urban driving, where I'm not on cruise, but to have to cruise <65 all the time is going to be a big stretch for us.
    I am also dubious as to whether or not a particular tire can have a dramatic (10 mpg) effect on mileage, and what running >40 psi on the tires will do to the ride quality.
    This has been interesting research, I just don't think it's going to end in us purchasing a hybrid.
     
  6. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I don't have a problem with ride with >40psi, but I prefer a tighter suspension to begin with. Nothing to stop you from experimenting with tire pressures on your current car. Higher pressures will reduce the rolling resistance for any type of vehicle.

    Every car is going to see their fuel economy drop at speeds over 65mph. Assist type hybrids(Hyundai, VW, Honda) might do better than a Toyota/Ford type system. They follow the low city, high highway pattern of fuel economy.

    But with that much highway miles, a diesel is probably the best fit for fuel economy. When driven in a reasonable manner, they tend to exceed the EPA figures. The only problem is selection. The Cruze diesel will be out in a few months, but among non luxury cars, the market is pretty much just VW. The Cruze can use a higher percentage of biodiesel than the Germans, and is on the largish size for a compact.
     
  7. lennyp

    lennyp New Member

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    Been seeing much higher trip mileage the past couple of weeks. Hitting over 50 (52-54) now on many trips. Way better then upper 30's during the winter months. There are days/trips where I don't understand the lower mileage dragging down the average. It seems to not want to recharge or runs very sluggish ... I follow the same routes almost every day.

    Running my Purecontacts (18" wheels) at 42psi. Still rides well.
     
  8. ualdriver

    ualdriver Member

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    Have you been driving it differently where you have been getting that better mileage?
     
  9. lennyp

    lennyp New Member

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    Well this is my first Hybrid and I have about 8,000 miles now. The bad mileage trips seem like the car won't respond/recharge well. Just like it is bi-polar or something. Not the kind of thing I can take in and say check it out as it is not predictable (yet). I have to believe there is a set of conditions, but I haven't been able to identify them. Again my last three trips have been approx 51-53 mpg, but before that it was 44 and 43ishy. It does seem to dislike rainy conditions of any typey (light or heavy).
     
  10. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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  11. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    I don't understand why you jump from ford to ford to ford, even with these sorts of problems. But at least you are happy.
     
  12. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    I've been looking up Fusion hybrid stats on fuelly, but since there is no separate category for the Energi that I've seen the 40.9 mpg figure might be inflated.



     
  13. acdii

    acdii Active Member

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    Long term update. The SE is long gone, sorry for whomever gets it. The HyTi i replaced it with has been superb. I had 55MPG trips today, prior to the update it was doing OK, post Update it gained .5 MPG lifetime and seeing consistently higher MPG each day, Getting at, near or above EPA. Only downfall are the short trips take its toll on over all FE. The car does not like going under 10 miles cold at 55 MPH. It takes too long to recoup the lost FE with a cold engine at those speeds. However in city trips 35 MPH and under cold are much improved with the update.

    The First one I had was a good driving car, more comfortable with the SE luxury seats than the Titanium trim, but the HyTi is a much nicer car all around. Really enjoying the new Fusion now, very pleased with the MPG, it is doing exactly what I expected it to do MPG.

    That and it is one of the best looking cars on the road. I got it in Tuxedo Black and have had lots of compliments on the color. Wow look at the sparkles!

    So far I have over 6400 miles on it, lifetime on the dash since I pulled off the lot is 44, actual gas used is 42.7. That included at least 1000 miles interstate travel at 65-80 MPH pre-update. Post Update my last tank came out to over 48 MPG.
     
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