Terrible gas mileage!

[Mavster Mechanic]

It was not observer bias. For a long time I used regular (the medium grade). Then we needed gas while my wife was at Costco, so we bought gas there. They don't have the medium grade, only the low grade and premium. So I wasn't buying premium for a mileage test or improvement. But I always check the milage I'm getting on a tank and trips. I noticed, with honest surprise that the milage went up on the premium gas. About 10%. Then another time I needed gas and the closest station was union 76. So I bought their premium. Not as an experiment, it was what was available where I was. And checking the milage it added another 2-3 mpg.

However you have no way to tell if you got higher MPG or you put in 0.25 or 0.55 gallons of bonus fuel.

One thing known for sure is; it is impossible to refuel exactly what you burned. Hence you need long term averages.

Sponsored

 

[MarcoG]

Fuel economy does not increase over time. The engine doesn't 'loosen up'.

COMPLETELY AGREE. Drove my hybrid Lariat straight across the country, right out of the box from Miami to Los Angeles and got 37+ at 75 MPH, or more overall. Gets way more in town and local. Had been driving hybrids and plug-ins for years before the Mav. It takes a different kinder-type of driving. Not hyper-miling, but conscious driving to maximize MPG. Never on and off gas and coasting to stop and reds. Hey, and what's wrong with ECO mode? Seems fine to me.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Nothing wrong with Eco mode.
Regen is too strong for my liking.
Slows me down too much.

Slippery mode for me.
It is the lowest power regen so you can get really long zero gas coasting boosting MPG and it is more gentle on the battery creating less battery heat.

I have noticed (with a scan tool) Eco mode generates a lot of heat in the battery. In hot climates, this is bad.

This is because higher regen = higher amperage.

Eco will heat the battery 2-3°F per coast down.

Normal will heat the battery 1-2°F per.

Slippery will add just 0.5 to 1°F.

 

[Robot-Wrangler]

I am two months into owning and daily driving a 2025 Hybrid AWD. All of the reviews, window sticker, and published data indicated that I would be getting 37 mpg combined city/highway. Well, that is my daily routine - about 50% city and 50%highway based on total miles driven. The city may not be bumper to bumper like New York traffic, but there are plenty of stop signs and lights with average speeds around 35 mph.

I am only seeing 32 mpg on my short and long term trip computers readings.

I do not use the Economy mode because the vehicle is pretty slow already. And I am not pounding the pedal constantly to race it around. Pretty normal stuff and not loading the bed or towing (yet).

I have about 1,200 miles on it so far. Thought it might get better over time, but has not. Also, I notice that the 2.5 liter gas engine is on far more than I would have expected. Stays off on very slow starts up to about 10 mph, then the ICE kicks in.

What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? Can Ford make any changes to improves this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Neil

I would assume that you ignored the information about the break-in period for your truck? Keep an eye on your mpg if your obsessed with it but don't expect improvement until after about 4,000 miles.

Don't expect good mileage during colder temperatures with this truck. The truck uses warmed engine coolant to keep the battery and you at optimum temperature. The engine has to run to warm the coolant.

Make sure that you don't have a dead bird or a rock in your radiator shutters. They close to help prevent cooling of the coolant when that's not what is desired.

Have patience and good luck to you.

 

[Robot-Wrangler]

Tire pressure has a larger effect than most people think. Soft tires are like driving through mud full time.

Going from 5 under (30 psi) to 5 above (40 psi) nets 5 MPG more.

Absolutely true! I noticed that my Maverick came with tires at 42psi. The door placard states 36psi max. I'm going by the tire max psi now and my mileage went up. My tires are larger than stock and have greater rolling resistance but hot damn do they ride nice and handle well at 46psi. Max is 50psi.

I lost 3mpg going from 225/55R19 to 255/50R20 SUV tires. I have not recalibrated the truck speed and am not getting an accurate reading of mpg nor mph.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I easily get 3-5mpg better MPG than my wife driving the same routes.
-heat and A/C make the ICE work more.
-accelerate moderate hard then "coast" to go to electric mode for a few miles. (Accelerating gentle upon a green light like in regular cars actually uses all the battery up then you can't coast with the ICE off.)
-anticipate traffic. Watch the road a quarter mile ahead. Brake earlier and more gentle to not only build the battery up but to not have to slow or stop when you could coast or not have to get back up to speed as much.
-Don't tailgate, then you have to brake/ accelerate way more often.
-if someone is slowing like they may turn and another lane is available, use it instead of having to wait for them. (safely and courteously of course)

I have found in my MX-5 hard driving gets me 29mpg but taking it nicer I can get up to 33mpg.

 

[MattinFLA]

I am i

Ford and empirical tests say otherwise. What do you have that shows that everyone else is wrong?

n Florida and have gotten 42 mph since nile 1 and still get that 22,000 miles

 

[Robot-Wrangler]

Tire pressure also affects mpg. I run 37 lbs because here in Texas, 20 to 40 degree swings in a 24 hour period are common.

Nitrogen tire fills are immune to temperature swings. Just saying.

 

[Robot-Wrangler]

I believe what you said, however, in this case, if you expect the mileage to improve, it likely will, regardless of the fuel difference.

This is due to a common human trait that occurs when people test anything.
It's called observer bias.
It's not that you intentionally are trying to make the fuel factor improvement happen, but subconsciously, you may change your driving behavior enough to make it appear that way.

That's part of the reason for so called blind tests, where the tester, in this case , wouldn't know whether or not regular or premium were used during the vehicle test.

Premium fuel with a higher octane rating will make a difference in an engine like the 2.0 Eco, but the Atkinson powered Hybrid does not need the extra octane rating, and that provides no benefit to the hybrid. Higher octane is really only needed to prevent detonation due to premature firing.

There may be benefits from the premium additive packages, typically additives that act as cleaners to fuel system components, but that process is unlikely to make a difference on the first tank.

I run premium only when I tow with my Maverick. I've seen it tach out to in excess of 5,100rpm pulling an aluminum trailer with an 800lb motorcycle on it uphill at 70mph.

 

[710-oil-614]

Anyone claiming to get 37+ mpg on a highway trip needs to post their results over the hundreds of miles.

 

[jcs]

I am two months into owning and daily driving a 2025 Hybrid AWD. All of the reviews, window sticker, and published data indicated that I would be getting 37 mpg combined city/highway. Well, that is my daily routine - about 50% city and 50%highway based on total miles driven. The city may not be bumper to bumper like New York traffic, but there are plenty of stop signs and lights with average speeds around 35 mph.

I am only seeing 32 mpg on my short and long term trip computers readings.

I do not use the Economy mode because the vehicle is pretty slow already. And I am not pounding the pedal constantly to race it around. Pretty normal stuff and not loading the bed or towing (yet).

I have about 1,200 miles on it so far. Thought it might get better over time, but has not. Also, I notice that the 2.5 liter gas engine is on far more than I would have expected. Stays off on very slow starts up to about 10 mph, then the ICE kicks in.

What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? Can Ford make any changes to improves this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Neil

Maybe drive like a normal person and dont slam the gas pedal everytime you take off. My comute is 50% city and 50% streets and I consistently get 41 mpgs with my Hybrid.

 

[Yip]

I am two months into owning and daily driving a 2025 Hybrid AWD. All of the reviews, window sticker, and published data indicated that I would be getting 37 mpg combined city/highway. Well, that is my daily routine - about 50% city and 50%highway based on total miles driven. The city may not be bumper to bumper like New York traffic, but there are plenty of stop signs and lights with average speeds around 35 mph.

I am only seeing 32 mpg on my short and long term trip computers readings.

I do not use the Economy mode because the vehicle is pretty slow already. And I am not pounding the pedal constantly to race it around. Pretty normal stuff and not loading the bed or towing (yet).

I have about 1,200 miles on it so far. Thought it might get better over time, but has not. Also, I notice that the 2.5 liter gas engine is on far more than I would have expected. Stays off on very slow starts up to about 10 mph, then the ICE kicks in.

What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? Can Ford make any changes to improves this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Neil

I am two months into owning and daily driving a 2025 Hybrid AWD. All of the reviews, window sticker, and published data indicated that I would be getting 37 mpg combined city/highway. Well, that is my daily routine - about 50% city and 50%highway based on total miles driven. The city may not be bumper to bumper like New York traffic, but there are plenty of stop signs and lights with average speeds around 35 mph.

I am only seeing 32 mpg on my short and long term trip computers readings.

I do not use the Economy mode because the vehicle is pretty slow already. And I am not pounding the pedal constantly to race it around. Pretty normal stuff and not loading the bed or towing (yet).

I have about 1,200 miles on it so far. Thought it might get better over time, but has not. Also, I notice that the 2.5 liter gas engine is on far more than I would have expected. Stays off on very slow starts up to about 10 mph, then the ICE kicks in.

What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? Can Ford make any changes to improves this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Neil

Hmmmm. I’ve had my 2025 lariat hybrid awd for about 3000 miles now and am averaging 42 mpg for all that mileage. A mix of highway and city. I coast into stops and don’t brake at the last second. Also I don’t gun it at acceleration.

 

[710-oil-614]

Hmmmm. I’ve had my 2025 lariat hybrid awd for about 3000 miles now and am averaging 42 mpg for all that mileage. A mix of highway and city. I coast into stops and don’t brake at the last second. Also I don’t gun it at acceleration.

Have you tracked those numbers in Fuelly or another app?

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Anyone claiming to get 37+ mpg on a highway trip needs to post their results over the hundreds of miles.

If I've told you once (and I have) I've told you 1000 times.

A whole bunch of folks have 55 MPH highways. You don't. So what?

It works like this:

55 MPH highway nets ~45 MPG
65 MPH highway nets ~ 39 or 40 MPG
75 MPH highway nets ~ 32 or 33 MPG

 

[Nittany]

I am two months into owning and daily driving a 2025 Hybrid AWD. All of the reviews, window sticker, and published data indicated that I would be getting 37 mpg combined city/highway. Well, that is my daily routine - about 50% city and 50%highway based on total miles driven. The city may not be bumper to bumper like New York traffic, but there are plenty of stop signs and lights with average speeds around 35 mph.

I am only seeing 32 mpg on my short and long term trip computers readings.

I do not use the Economy mode because the vehicle is pretty slow already. And I am not pounding the pedal constantly to race it around. Pretty normal stuff and not loading the bed or towing (yet).

I have about 1,200 miles on it so far. Thought it might get better over time, but has not. Also, I notice that the 2.5 liter gas engine is on far more than I would have expected. Stays off on very slow starts up to about 10 mph, then the ICE kicks in.

What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? Can Ford make any changes to improves this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Neil

My only thought for your reduced MPG based on what you posted might have to do with the fact that you say you don't drive in the economy mode. I have a 2023 XLT hybrid. I regularly get around 44 MPG when driving strictly in the city with stop and go. And when driving on the highway, I typically get 36-37 MPG. If I go through a stretch of combined city/highway, I get 39-40 MPG. I do keep mine on economy mode all the time and I get more than enough power for my driving.

Sponsored