2025 is already in the shop!

[JHand]

I only mention because I've seen many posts lately by 1st time Hybrid owners that don't realize what the EPA MPG means they will get.

Year round avg.
But more importantly - is your mileage so far almost all highway speeds?

But indeed bad O2 sensor and therefore bad fuel usage can cause that effect - as well as shorten life of catalytic converter dealing with extra unburned fuel if it was going that direction.

ETA - since your MIL went back off after more driving, almost assuredly not that bad.

I do probably 75% highway, but even then the window sticker shows we should be getting 34 on the highway. I've been averaging 26-28 highway, the but of city brings the average to 32 total. I'm not complaining much since the 97 ranger I came from got 17, but it's not where I was expecting based on advertising. The cold weather causing people's low mpg shouldn't be causing it either. In CA, it's been between 45&75 degrees for the past few weeks, so I was expecting better

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[scottjl]

Year round avg.

But more importantly - is your mileage so far almost all highway speeds?

^^ this ^^

as someone who's been driving hybrid vehicles for the past decade in the northern midwest with our freezing winters and getting-too-hot summers. your daily MPG is going to vary with the day of the year and the weather. don't expect 50mpg out of the box on a 3° day in the middle of january. and as good as hybrids can get, long stretches of a constant speed like highway driving is simply where they don't excel. at best you're going to get what would be typical for the 4cyl gas engine sitting in the vehicle. want the high numbers? stop-and-go city traffic is where they are best.

i have a friend who does most of his driving in downtown chicago in his 2023 hybrid escape, he brags to me about getting 50-60mpg! me, i avoid driving downtown as much as possible, my 2023 hybrid escape gets me 35, some times up to 40 out here in the sticks.

 

[oysterville]

Also depends on how fast on the highway. Fifty five gets much better fuel efficiency than seventy five.

 

[L30n1d45]

they said there are no problems driving it, so they gave it back

Sounds like it isn't in the shop.

 

[JHand]

^^ this ^^

as someone who's been driving hybrid vehicles for the past decade in the northern midwest with our freezing winters and getting-too-hot summers. your daily MPG is going to vary with the day of the year and the weather. don't expect 50mpg out of the box on a 3° day in the middle of january. and as good as hybrids can get, long stretches of a constant speed like highway driving is simply where they don't excel. at best you're going to get what would be typical for the 4cyl gas engine sitting in the vehicle. want the high numbers? stop-and-go city traffic is where they are best.

i have a friend who does most of his driving in downtown chicago in his 2023 hybrid escape, he brags to me about getting 50-60mpg! me, i avoid driving downtown as much as possible, my 2023 hybrid escape gets me 35, some times up to 40 out here in the sticks.

I'm in California. A cold day is in the mid 40's, for the last couple months it's been in the 60's, and it's been 75 for the past few days. I know that cold weather affects the mpg, but I'm not dealing with the temps that are even close to freezing

 

[Jpalmer1]

I'm in California. A cold day is in the mid 40's, for the last couple months it's been in the 60's, and it's been 75 for the past few days. I know that cold weather affects the mpg, but I'm not dealing with the temps that are even close to freezing

The O2 & PCT repair will make a big difference, but so will summer. I’m in TX and have seen a significant MPG difference from 45 to 75 Degrees to 95. At least a few to several MPGs. For perspective, it may also help to point out how much is now monitored that wasn’t monitored just a decade ago nor even existed a decade before that. So, previously we all would have simply driven on with bad components and before that simply paid for 14 MPG in cars without modern efficiency systems. Hopefully your luck will be better following this episode.

 

[shark978]

When you build things in the tens of thousands, each with thousands of parts, a failure rate of even 1/10th of a percent means someone--- many someones--- will experience a failure.

Ford isn't NASA, where parts are inspected and tested many times before assembly, each with its own paper trail. Ford is more like Boeing, where only the most critical components are so heavily scrutinized. I suspect Ford's standards are not even lower than that, given it's production volumes.

Actually I know Boing currently is a laughingstock, but being they make aircraft you better believe they scrutinize the hell out of every part. Per mile flying is almost unbelievably safe, and way way way safer than traveling in a car.

Before the recent Long Island crash, their had not been a commercial airplane crash in America in 16 yrs. Not one.

It's actually really interesting I read once about how safety is so different in air travel vs automobile. A airline crash is considered unthinkable, so every single thing in the chain of events is scrutinized in the event of one to make sure it never happens again. It's basically proceeding from a zero accidents baseline mentality. I get why that's not feasible for cars, but I still found it fascinating.

 

[Kobeck]

^^ this ^^

as someone who's been driving hybrid vehicles for the past decade in the northern midwest with our freezing winters and getting-too-hot summers. your daily MPG is going to vary with the day of the year and the weather. don't expect 50mpg out of the box on a 3° day in the middle of january. and as good as hybrids can get, long stretches of a constant speed like highway driving is simply where they don't excel. at best you're going to get what would be typical for the 4cyl gas engine sitting in the vehicle. want the high numbers? stop-and-go city traffic is where they are best.

i have a friend who does most of his driving in downtown chicago in his 2023 hybrid escape, he brags to me about getting 50-60mpg! me, i avoid driving downtown as much as possible, my 2023 hybrid escape gets me 35, some times up to 40 out here in the sticks.

100% agreement .... reason I went with EB

 

[Kobeck]

Sounds like it isn't in the shop.

yeah.... check engine lights are concerning but almost all are emissions related and still safe to drive

heck modern vehicles will go into 'limp mode' lots of times even if its bad

 

[Waterick]

I'm in California. A cold day is in the mid 40's, for the last couple months it's been in the 60's, and it's been 75 for the past few days. I know that cold weather affects the mpg, but I'm not dealing with the temps that are even close to freezing

You have not mentioned the duration of your typical drives. Even in mild weather, a hybrid will take a bit longer to fully warm up to its optimal operating temperature. In other words, short trips will really negatively impact your fuel mileage.

 

[JHand]

Well, pulled into the office today, and the check engine light came on, and I received the same message on the Ford app. Drove it straight to the shop and the truck is throwing the same error (bank 1 O2 sensor) that was just replaced. Since the check engine light was on, I asked them to scan it now and I would make an appointment to come back. Even though the check engine light is on, it did not throw a code? The mechanic said that if the system detects an error, the light comes on, but it has to happen twice to actually throw a code?

Does that sound right? I have never seen a check engine light with no code?

 

[HeyBales]

Well, pulled into the office today, and the check engine light came on, and I received the same message on the Ford app. Drove it straight to the shop and the truck is throwing the same error (bank 1 O2 sensor) that was just replaced. Since the check engine light was on, I asked them to scan it now and I would make an appointment to come back. Even though the check engine light is on, it did not throw a code? The mechanic said that if the system detects an error, the light comes on, but it has to happen twice to actually throw a code?

Does that sound right? I have never seen a check engine light with no code?

Opposite.
Hope you heard it wrong, and not that he understands it wrong.

System can detect an error and set a pending code but not the MIL - if it happens again sets the MIL and stores active code.
Certain errors will set the MIL immediately.
In either case, enough driving cycles without the issue can clear the active code and disable the MIL. Pending usually still there, incase it happens again.

Even your cheap scanners can usually read both codes now.
Better ones will read the prior codes even after a scanner has cleared any active codes.

Usually that code for O2 sensor doesn't mean a bad sensor (there is a code for no sensor seen of course) - that replacing the sensor is just the hopeful quick fix to avoid the deeper potential problems - poor fuel or vacuum usage. Trim too rich so O2 too high.
Hope they didn't knock a vacuum hose off!

 

[JHand]

Opposite.
Hope you heard it wrong, and not that he understands it wrong.

System can detect an error and set a pending code but not the MIL - if it happens again sets the MIL and stores active code.
Certain errors will set the MIL immediately.
In either case, enough driving cycles without the issue can clear the active code and disable the MIL. Pending usually still there, incase it happens again.

Even your cheap scanners can usually read both codes now.
Better ones will read the prior codes even after a scanner has cleared any active codes.

Usually that code for O2 sensor doesn't mean a bad sensor (there is a code for no sensor seen of course) - that replacing the sensor is just the hopeful quick fix to avoid the deeper potential problems - poor fuel or vacuum usage. Trim too rich so O2 too high.
Hope they didn't knock a vacuum hose off!

The mechanic actually showed me the scanner and said no code! Told me to keep driving it and if it doesn't go away to come back. im thinking this may explain my bad mileage, especially since this is the second time with the same error

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