Low MPG on used '14 CX-5

[dougal]

you should mention if you have a fwd or a awd because the gas mileage between these two on cx-5 has bigger gap than every other compact cuvs!

AWD. With the exception of my first 1000 miles, all my fill ups have been recorded on Fuelly.

The fuelly app is a problem as the % city thing does not work but I usually add my MPH average for that tax in the notes section.

You can see my winter mileage is worse than my summer mileage. I also have noticed that when I use really cheap gas, ie. Sam's club, I lose about 1.5 MPG. I did that enough to be convinced.

 

[Guest2019C20]

Dragging brakes can be caused by the brake pistons being rusted in place when the previous owner didn't change the brake fluid often enough. If you determine this is the cause, you will need to replace the brake caliper and piston. You can't really repair them from this damage.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Have you looked at mods?

 

[neelkc12]

26.5 mpg is exactly I get on an average

If I drive fearlessly , the best I best I get is 26.5 on my 2014 AWD grandtouring since Jan 2014. It's pretty consistent in mixed driving conditions

If I drive under 40 mph on backroads for an extended amount of time I get close to 30mpg.

If I drive on the highway in 65-70 mpg range, under cruisecontrol I get around 27 mpg.

Over 75 mph , I get around 22-23 mpg

 

[Reggae]

The winter blend gas does affect your mileage also

 

[ProAlpine]

Update: I drove 5 hours straight on the interstate (78mph) and highway (73 & 68mph) with cruise control on almost entirely and averaged 23.5mpg. Conditions were perfect- pleasantly dry, sunny and no wind. It's an AWD and as I mentioned before, if I lightly step on the brakes at highway speeds I get some pulsing. So far I'm not impressed with the mpg. I may drive a little on the fast side but driving under the speed limit is my pet peeve. I think I'll have the brakes checked out.

 

[Unobtanium]

The winter blend gas does affect your mileage also

Never seen that happen. I average the same, year round. 0*F outside, or 100*F outside, winter or summer, it's all the same. I think people let the vehicle idle more in cold weather and it skews their data, or it takes longer to warm up and runs rich for longer and skews their data.

 

[Unobtanium]

Update: I drove 5 hours straight on the interstate (78mph) and highway (73 & 68mph) with cruise control on almost entirely and averaged 23.5mpg. Conditions were perfect- pleasantly dry, sunny and no wind. It's an AWD and as I mentioned before, if I lightly step on the brakes at highway speeds I get some pulsing. So far I'm not impressed with the mpg. I may drive a little on the fast side but driving under the speed limit is my pet peeve. I think I'll have the brakes checked out.

That is a tad low. I would average 26-28mpg doing that.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

That is a tad low. I would average 26-28mpg doing that.

I concur. Seems low, I averaged the same as Uno.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Guest2019C20]

My new AWD GT got 25 mpg (US) at 80 mph. That's in 25f air temp.

Something I just learned last year-a big cause of mpg drop in winter is because the air is denser! It's a lot more than you'd think.

 

[ALafya]

Update: I drove 5 hours straight on the interstate (78mph) and highway (73 & 68mph) with cruise control on almost entirely and averaged 23.5mpg. Conditions were perfect- pleasantly dry, sunny and no wind. It's an AWD and as I mentioned before, if I lightly step on the brakes at highway speeds I get some pulsing. So far I'm not impressed with the mpg. I may drive a little on the fast side but driving under the speed limit is my pet peeve. I think I'll have the brakes checked out.

Yes, its low. Depending on how much 78 vs 73~68, and if no wind, I'd get 26~29. Mine is AWD too.
With winter gas it can go down a bit, but only ~1 MPG.

 

[Unobtanium]

I'd also check tires and alignment. Scrubbing the tires costs speed and mileage. And tires.

 

[Moonlighter]

And check tyre pressures - i run 38psi as a min.

 

[Unobtanium]

And check tyre pressures - i run 38psi as a min.

I run 34 as the manual states (I think 34?) I tried 38 for several thousand miles and noted zero improvement in mpg, and a slightly harsher ride, and slightly less traction in corners.

 

[yrwei52]

I run 34 as the manual states (I think 34?) I tried 38 for several thousand miles and noted zero improvement in mpg, and a slightly harsher ride, and slightly less traction in corners.

What tires do you have?

 

[Unobtanium]

What tires do you have?

Continental Cross Contact LX20's.

 

[wlong01]

Never seen that happen. I average the same, year round. 0*F outside, or 100*F outside, winter or summer, it's all the same. I think people let the vehicle idle more in cold weather and it skews their data, or it takes longer to warm up and runs rich for longer and skews their data.

No it's not, air is thinner in warm weather and denser in cold, that affects engine performance which directly affects mpg.

 

[Unobtanium]

No it's not, air is thinner in warm weather and denser in cold, that affects engine performance which directly affects mpg.

This is what the text-book says. The real world shows it to be a null point in my case. 22.5 summer, 22.5 winter.

 

[Kaps]

This is what the text-book says. The real world shows it to be a null point in my case. 22.5 summer, 22.5 winter.

This is a quote from MB forums about the B-Class electric which has a Tesla powertrain : "B Class will do 70-110 miles. 70 is bad winter weather and 110 during summer"
The winter performance drop is a significant reason why folks in northern parts hated their Nissan Leaf that would lose up to 25% of range due to battery degradation and then some due to winter. Electrics always lose range in winter.
Your car works harder in winter to overcome the dense air - wind resistance is a big factor at 60 mph and above - hence you can see studies that say close your windows at that speed and turn A/C on.

In theory bad winter should affect mpg adversely by 1-2 or more. This is true in practice as well.


Anyhow back to the original question - while doing steady driving, lets say you are on a road with speed limit 45 and no traffic - you would do 50 or so and put on cruise etc. - do you use the paddle shifters to go a gear up and improve FE? has anyone done this? I am about to try the paddle for city acceleration moving to top gear faster than Mazda. Mazda AT will usually rev upto 3000 before upshift, more if you press hard. I usually see my upshifts at around 2200 if I am gentle. I just want to be at an optimum gear and about 1200 rpm at which the FE seems to be fantastic. My personal observation on a 30mph road - 4th gear or so and 1200 RPM - very good FE in upper 30s. Only problem is I drive on it for 3 miles and hence it makes no dent in overall FE.

I am averaging 28ish in really a challenging driving situation - 7 miles of inner city + Highway which is usually clogged too.

 

[craigo]

Update: I drove 5 hours straight on the interstate (78mph) and highway (73 & 68mph) with cruise control on almost entirely and averaged 23.5mpg. Conditions were perfect- pleasantly dry, sunny and no wind. It's an AWD and as I mentioned before, if I lightly step on the brakes at highway speeds I get some pulsing. So far I'm not impressed with the mpg. I may drive a little on the fast side but driving under the speed limit is my pet peeve. I think I'll have the brakes checked out.

Are you zero-ing out the MPG info when on the highway? Carrying cargo or passengers? I'll see a change if I'm carrying my usual 350 lbs of cargo vs not. 23.5 is about equivalent to 25 on a FWD - I'll see that in winter occasionally, at those speeds.