I bought my FEH 06 in November and was told by the dealer I would get 28 and 30mpg. I have driven my escape every way possible and have only got 23.4 mpg at most on a tank of gas and as low as 21 mpg. I have no clue on what the problem could be. I need help and hope someone can help me!!! PLZ let me know!!

 

By asking, you've taken the first step towards improving your mileage.

I could go into details regarding what you should do in order to improve your mileage, but I suspect many FEH owners will readily step to the plate for that.
Instead, I will wholeheartedly recommend you read the following articles:

How to beat the EPA

Hypermiling the FEH


Think of these articles as biblical must know stuff if you truly want to get MUCH, MUCH better fuel economy on your great vehicle.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

First: Welcome to the CLUB!
One of our regular posters has written a FAQ for the FEH and actively posts. I have no doubt you'll soon receive a pointer to his excellent document. However, you could help by adding a couple of things to your profile: (1) location, (2) type of FEH (2 wheel or 4 wheel drive.) It also helps to know a little about your typical driving profile:

• daily trips - typical distances, city/highway, type of terrain
• fuel - straight gas, ethanol, brand
• maintenance - tire pressure, engine oil level, last alignment results
• operator(s) - just one or several
• recent weather

You may want to start recording your mileage in the GreenHybrid database. Many of us used our own records to figure out what works and doesn't work.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks Bob,

As mentioned, explaining what "every way possible" means would help as well, so we know what you are and aren't trying.

Your distance, type of commute, average speeds, number of lights, weather, etc. These are all major factors. Do you have any idea what kind of MPG you got in your last vehicle?

If you haven't, a starting place I'd recommend is the FEH FAQ, a link to which is in my signature to at least get you started.

Keep in mind, if your vehicle is new, and you're in a cold weather climate, you're probably not going to ge the best MPGs right off the bat.

 

To get that low a mileage you must be driving very short trips when it is very cold outside. Or you are warming the engine before you are driving and using the defroster all the time.
Is the engine shuting off when you come to a stop?

As above we need you your location, trip length, city or highway etc.

 

Did you buy it new? How many miles are on it? This is the most important info you can provide. Techniques are pretty meaningless if you have under 3,000 miles on it. There is a break-in period for the computer and the battery system. Until you put at least 3,000 miles on it you will be limited in terms of how easily it will go into EV mode, how long it will stay in EV mode, how fast you can go in EV mode, etc. While all those things are limited, so will your gas mileage.

That said, temperature and driving type will be the next biggest factors. No matter what I do, with short commutes, in the cold, from a cold start, in stop and go city traffic...I cannot and will not exceed 26mpg. In the summer heat with the AC cranked because my kids are in the back...I'm looking at 24-25mpg. You just have to remember that other cars suffer in the cold and heat and sitting in traffic too. In good weather, on a warm engine, on the highway or in the suburbs...I am in the 30's. Unfortunately, most of my driving is in the city in heavy traffic on a cold engine.

 

What is the weather like where you are??

That is about what I got on my last tanks also, but this morning it was 2º when I left my house. I pretty much given up on trying for high mpg in that weather, I do warm the truck up before I leave & ignore the mpg (since it will suck in that weather anyway)

I have gotten over 30 mpg in the Summer at times in my 4WD.

~John

 

As a simple, no cost option... disconnect the negative ( black ) battery terminal from the 12v battery and wait 15 minutes. Then reattach. This will reset the car computer control memory, and the car should go back to inital factory settings.

It may not "fix" your problem, but it for sure can't hurt.
It's a cheaper and quicker way to find out before going to a dealer.
The dealer will probably try that also!
-John

 

Make sure you don't have the defroster on all the time. The engine will never cut off (or run on the battery only).

 

Actually I was thinking Squirrel lived in the South and left his A/C on 24/7 but usually the defroster also uses the A/C.