2014 CX5 2.5 fuel econ horrible

[dougal]

Yes, the warmer weather is helping. I am averaging a ~25 MPG in all city driving, which is up from 23 in the winter. And if I could keep my wife out of my car, I think I could get 27.

 

[brandini]

My first fill-up was at 445 miles. It took 14.5 gallons, which is about 30.6 MPG by calculator. The computer reported an average MPG of 28.2

I don't trust this number completely because I don't know exactly how full the dealer had it off the lot, but I was pleased to see my manual calculation beat the computer's estimation.

One quirk though, I went to fill up when range from the computer was reporting "4 miles to empty". At the pump it stopped filling up at 12.8 gallons. I thought this was odd so kept topping it off, it kept filling an extra gallon at a time and then stopped. I know the tank is something like 14.8 (?) gallons.

Does this mean there is not much extra "buffer" mileage once the range drops to 0? On my old Jeep it would say 0 miles to empty and had a solid ~2 gallons remaining. Anyone else notice this?

Fill at a slower speed once you're nearing full. Cheers!

 

[IronMan0737]

Averaging 24.5 at 1000 miles. Nothing but hills and slow traffic where I live. Still beats the Terrain by over 4mpg.

 

[ocbot]

First long trip of about 500mi up the PCH to Cambria and back. Good combo of traffic and highway speeds averaged 27mpg. I'll take that.

 

[baddad]

Took a 250 mile each way trip from Barneveld NY to Lewisburg PA with my daughter to visit Bucknell University. Averaged about 29.4 mpg highway on the way down, only 28.6 on the way back. I need to save money on gas so I can afford to send kid to Bucknell!

 

[MikeM.]

I'm getting better than expected MPG from my AWD CX-5.

 

[Surfsup]

Took a 250 mile each way trip from Barneveld NY to Lewisburg PA with my daughter to visit Bucknell University. Averaged about 29.4 mpg highway on the way down, only 28.6 on the way back.

What are the elevations for each location? The wind would be a factor as well.

 

[Beefy]

A tale of two economies......

One tank of regular city driving involving lots of short trips: 308km (191 miles), 37.1 litres (9.8 gallons) of Shell 91, 12.05L/100km (19.5mpg)

The following day a big road trip, mostly highways at 110kmh (70mph), frequent headwinds, but also lots of 'spirited' back road driving: 379km (235 miles), 28.9 litres (7.6 gallons) of Shell 91, 7.6L/100km (31mpg).

So my highway mileage exceeds stated figures for the 2.5 AT AWD, and would likely exceed by a lot more if not for the wind and back roads - but my city mileage is well behind. Just further confirmation that driving style and route characteristics are absolutely key to fuel economy, and that there really isn't anything 'wrong' with the Skyactiv.

 

[karbuff]

My first fill-up was at 445 miles. It took 14.5 gallons, which is about 30.6 MPG by calculator. The computer reported an average MPG of 28.2

I don't trust this number completely because I don't know exactly how full the dealer had it off the lot, but I was pleased to see my manual calculation beat the computer's estimation.

One quirk though, I went to fill up when range from the computer was reporting "4 miles to empty". At the pump it stopped filling up at 12.8 gallons. I thought this was odd so kept topping it off, it kept filling an extra gallon at a time and then stopped. I know the tank is something like 14.8 (?) gallons.

Does this mean there is not much extra "buffer" mileage once the range drops to 0? On my old Jeep it would say 0 miles to empty and had a solid ~2 gallons remaining. Anyone else notice this?

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Is there any information in the manual about how many gallons remain when the empty indicator light comes on? I may need to know this in an emergency, didn't see anything listed. Hopefully it would be 2 or maybe 3 gallons? Which one to trust, computer miles to empty, or the empty indicator light?

 

[brandini]

Don't ever run it that empty. Ever.

Fuel is what cools the fuel pump so if you like the idea of paying for that down the road, keep on keepin on.

Otherwise, fill up at 1/4 tank.

And have mercy if you ever run it dry being direct injected.

If you're running for your life distance isn't your concern... speed is.

 

[karbuff]

I normally fill up around the 1/2 mark, with gas near $4, --that is expensive enough!

 

[halfast3]

... fill up at 1/4 tank.

Just did that. First refill at 255 miles of mostly city driving. Took 10.6 gallons = 24 mpg. I can live with that.

 

[MikeM.]

Don't ever run it that empty. Ever.

Fuel is what cools the fuel pump so if you like the idea of paying for that down the road, keep on keepin on.

Otherwise, fill up at 1/4 tank.

That's an old wives tale. As long as you don't actually run out of gas your fuel pump will be fine. It's the fuel that flows through the pump that is important for lubrication but the pump is manufactured from components that can take the heat inside an empty fuel tank.

I run my CX-5 as low as possible without issues, often over 400 miles per tank.

It's not a big deal, the car was engineered to be able to use the full amount of fuel. No use in packing around 30 lbs. of extra fuel that your never going to use.

 

[Eric.D]

2014 touring 2.5 3.1k miles
avg 27 mpg

 

[CX5racer]

3 fill up's and still averaging 27.5 mpg with 50/50 mix on city and Hwy. I would imagine the higher the percentage of ethenol in the fuel will lower fuel mileage so keep an eye on that.

 

[MikeM.]

3 fill up's and still averaging 27.5 mpg with 50/50 mix on city and Hwy. I would imagine the higher the percentage of ethenol in the fuel will lower fuel mileage so keep an eye on that.

Federal law limits the maximum amount of ethanol at the pump to 10%.

But in random checks by Washington State Department of Weights and Measures a surprising percentage of suppliers were caught cheating with ethanol between 10-12%. Ethanol is considerably less expensive than gasoline so there is quite a financial incentive to exceed the federal limits.

 

[halfast3]

Isn't higher percentage ethanol content common in the mid-west?

OK here's a link. It looks like that's what Flex Fuel vehicles are all about.

 

[brandini]

That's an old wives tale. As long as you don't actually run out of gas your fuel pump will be fine.

It's not a big deal, the car was engineered to be able to use the full amount of fuel. No use in packing around 30 lbs. of extra fuel that your never going to use.

I have a few friends that are mechanics and another that works at a warranty company and there's a direct correlation between in-tank fuel pump failures and running the tank low. It's damn hot here in the summer.

And it's not fuel you're never going to use on a sky active engine, it's a reserve to prevent you going to the dealer and paying for re-bleeding the high pressure fuel system.

You can do what you like... it's only money.

 

[ironbrewer]

# Date Miles Gal. MPG Price Notes
29 4/21/14 348.8 9.74 35.8 3.449
28 4/13/14 412.5 11.11 37.1 3.439
27 4/4/14 355.5 12.29 28.9 3.519
26 3/28/14 286.6 10.68 26.8 3.329
25 3/28/14 282.3 11.10 25.4 3.359
24 3/26/14 146.0 4.85 30.1 3.459
23 3/25/14 246.9 9.68 25.5 3.489
22 3/21/14 277.9 7.71 36.0 3.509
21 3/17/14 391.9 12.43 31.5 3.549
20 2/28/14 350.0 10.77 32.5 3.529

Here is my recent MPGs all figured out using fuelly. The low MPG's from may 25th to April 4th were a vacation. We had 2 space cases on top, 3 dogs, 4 people, and camping gear for 10 days. The gas mileage took a hit, but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Since it gotten warm here in Colorado I have been getting great gas mileage, and it looks like my next tank will be about 37 mpg. I love this car.

 

[donkeykong]

Second fill up @ 4 miles to empty on the range meter gave me 392 miles on this tank. When I filled it up it once again it stopped filling at around 13 gallons, but I kept topping it off until it climbed all the way to 15.8 gal !!! I thought the tank size was 14.8 (for FWD). What gives???