Low MPG

[BLUEOVALRACER]

Gosh I had to come back here to say this but…it’s crazy to think a tiny BS with 250hp burns more gas than my 430hp, 5.5k lbs F150! Like how?! My city average is 23mpg, lifetime so far 26mpg!

Do you have the Power Boost 3.5 in your F-150?

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[DWG]

I just bought a 2023 Bronco Sport Badlands trim model with 2400 miles on it. Love the car but I am only averaging 17.8 mi in the city. What's going on???? That's not anywhere near the 21 miles cited by Ford. Anybody have any ideas of why my gas mileage is so poor? The vehicle is stock with no additional racks. Otherwise I love the car. I'm just really disappointed with the poor gas mileage.

A little more information please. Based on your first comment I am assuming you purchased your BS used? I am also assuming your BS had the software (BCM/PCM) update per recall 24S24 completed. This update causes the transmission to go into learning mode again. In my case the gas mileage was terrible but improved after the recall. Some people have mentioned that the recall caused gas mileage to decrease but your mpg is already low. My BS only had 1500 miles on it so the increase in gas mileage may have just been a coincidence because the BS was still breaking in. I felt as long as I was being light on the gas pedal the transmission seemed to shift smoother after the recall. The BS is still under warranty so if nothing else I would mention the low gas mileage to the dealer and ask them to refresh the transmission software to put the transmission into learning mode and try and be conscious of of how hard you are stepping on the gas. The dealer might just say keep driving for a while before they want to do anything. In my opinion with 1st and 2nd gear being so close the transmission doesn't like hard starts from a stop.

You are only mentioning city driving. Have you had an opportunity to drive at least in a suburban setting where you can drive consistently at 40 - 50 mph with few stops? This should get you to closer to the listed highway mpg. It would be interesting to see what that number would be. Also where does the 17.8 mpg come from? The car's average mpg reading? This is a cumulative number so the longer you go without resetting it the more it may be off compared to current mileage.

Here is the EPA website where they explain how the window sticker fuel economy is calculated and other tips about fuel economy: fueleconomy also / (fuel economy.gov) (almost the same but different start screens.) the 21 city mpg is done under a controlled setting so it is possible that your mileage will be different based on many factors that you can find on the EPA web site I have sited.

 

[Webini]

On 87 octane gas.

 

[jkernitzki]

There’s a reason “YMMV” is a common phrase.

 

[Escape2Bronco]

On 87 octane gas.

This is a 1.5l, @Sara has a Badlands with a 2.0l.

 

[Mwittke5857]

Big Bend trim, with a lift, tires and tune I avg in that range

 

[Dude]

Big Bend trim, with a lift, tires and tune I avg in that range

And is worth it for that performance and fun factor!!

 

[Sara]

Where is the boost indictor?

A little more information please. Based on your first comment I am assuming you purchased your BS used? I am also assuming your BS had the software (BCM/PCM) update per recall 24S24 completed. This update causes the transmission to go into learning mode again. In my case the gas mileage was terrible but improved after the recall. Some people have mentioned that the recall caused gas mileage to decrease but your mpg is already low. My BS only had 1500 miles on it so the increase in gas mileage may have just been a coincidence because the BS was still breaking in. I felt as long as I was being light on the gas pedal the transmission seemed to shift smoother after the recall. The BS is still under warranty so if nothing else I would mention the low gas mileage to the dealer and ask them to refresh the transmission software to put the transmission into learning mode and try and be conscious of of how hard you are stepping on the gas. The dealer might just say keep driving for a while before they want to do anything. In my opinion with 1st and 2nd gear being so close the transmission doesn't like hard starts from a stop.

You are only mentioning city driving. Have you had an opportunity to drive at least in a suburban setting where you can drive consistently at 40 - 50 mph with few stops? This should get you to closer to the listed highway mpg. It would be interesting to see what that number would be. Also where does the 17.8 mpg come from? The car's average mpg reading? This is a cumulative number so the longer you go without resetting it the more it may be off compared to current mileage.

Here is the EPA website where they explain how the window sticker fuel economy is calculated and other tips about fuel economy: fueleconomy also / (fuel economy.gov) (almost the same but different start screens.) the 21 city mpg is done under a controlled setting so it is possible that your mileage will be different based on many factors that you can find on the EPA web site I have sited.

Wow. Thanks for your long reply. Yes I bought it used. I can't imagine why there was so few miles on it but there were. It still had that new car smell. I bought the car from a dealer so they cleared it for any recalls and gave the vehicle a thorough inspection before selling it. I'm getting ready to do a road trip tomorrow and it'll be interesting to see what the gas mileage gets on the highway. In all fairness, after so many comments, I need to do some more driving to accurately determine my mileage. I live in San Diego and the traffic is not like Los Angeles, but I have been idling the vehicle figuring out the controls etc. I was just so shocked after a half a tank of gas to have the needle go down so fast. I love the car though. It's a blast to drive and so nimble. I'm driving from San Diego to Tehachapi tomorrow (250 miles). It will be a perfect drive for me to check the highway mileage and i will report back. Regarding those recalls, the dealer that told me the car said it didn't apply to my vehicle. Is there any way to check online with the VIN number?

 

[Sara]

We are all missing something here. There’s multiple 2.0L Badlands and First Edition owners that posted on various sites of a fairly sudden drop off in city driving mileage. Not in highway mileage only city mileage.

Could be summer time or winter time gas blend who knows, but drop in mileage with no change in driving style or behavior extending over the different seasons it would seem hard to believe that’s it’s due to the gasoline blend in a specific season.

This has been going on for a couple years, the OP is not the first to post about the issue.

There’s not enough owner reports to establish a good pattern so at least it’s probably not a wide spread issue with drop off in city driving gas mileage for the 2.0L.

73% in my poll said they get gas mileage within the range and only 9% said they don't while the remainder said sometimes. Still 73% is a pretty big majority

 

[cprcubed]

Is there any way to check online with the VIN number?

Ford Recalls | Ford Owner Support
We lived in Tehachapi for 28 years! Cheers!

 

[Sara]

Thanks everybody for your words of wisdom. I'm a newbie on this forum and actually a newbie to any car forum. Kind of cool to have a community of people that all have the same vehicle.

Drive on!!???

 

[DWG]

Wow. Thanks for your long reply. Yes I bought it used. I can't imagine why there was so few miles on it but there were. It still had that new car smell. I bought the car from a dealer so they cleared it for any recalls and gave the vehicle a thorough inspection before selling it. I'm getting ready to do a road trip tomorrow and it'll be interesting to see what the gas mileage gets on the highway. In all fairness, after so many comments, I need to do some more driving to accurately determine my mileage. I live in San Diego and the traffic is not like Los Angeles, but I have been idling the vehicle figuring out the controls etc. I was just so shocked after a half a tank of gas to have the needle go down so fast. I love the car though. It's a blast to drive and so nimble. I'm driving from San Diego to Tehachapi tomorrow (250 miles). It will be a perfect drive for me to check the highway mileage and i will report back. Regarding those recalls, the dealer that told me the car said it didn't apply to my vehicle. Is there any way to check online with the VIN number?

One note about the gas gauge that you may not have realized. Being dashes instead of a needle it can be deceiving. For each quarter of a tank there are 2 bars so for instance if your gauge reads full (8 bars) or exactly half (4 bars) or 1/4 tank (2 bars) the gas tank level could be as much as 1/8 of tank lower since the bars that are showing on the gauge do not drop to the next lower bar until the gas level in the tank drops by 1/8 of tank.

 

[Dude]

At last check there 25 votes (72% said they get gas mileage within the range, 8% said they don't while the remainder 20% said sometimes)

It’s a statistically insignificant number of votes, no conclusions can be drawn however the poll produced some good discussion

 

[Escape2Bronco]

Wow. Thanks for your long reply. Yes I bought it used. I can't imagine why there was so few miles on it but there were. It still had that new car smell. I bought the car from a dealer so they cleared it for any recalls and gave the vehicle a thorough inspection before selling it. I'm getting ready to do a road trip tomorrow and it'll be interesting to see what the gas mileage gets on the highway. In all fairness, after so many comments, I need to do some more driving to accurately determine my mileage. I live in San Diego and the traffic is not like Los Angeles, but I have been idling the vehicle figuring out the controls etc. I was just so shocked after a half a tank of gas to have the needle go down so fast. I love the car though. It's a blast to drive and so nimble. I'm driving from San Diego to Tehachapi tomorrow (250 miles). It will be a perfect drive for me to check the highway mileage and i will report back. Regarding those recalls, the dealer that told me the car said it didn't apply to my vehicle. Is there any way to check online with the VIN number?

You’ll have to let us know your improvement in milage after your trip. I expect you will find after a few tanks, you will be in the same range as the rest of us.

 

[CLR]

Is the stop-start doing it’s thing? Lots of people hate it but it will have a positive impact on mpg when it’s working.

My last tank was 19 and it was all local commute. A bit of freeway time will bump it up.

My guess is you’ll see better mpg on your return trip from Tehachapi to SD because it’s more downhill. When I drive from Yosemite to the Bay Area I can get 29 thanks to all the downhill.

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