Hi,
I am new to this site. My husband and I just bought a used 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid from Carmax. We have 5 days to return it if we are not happy with it. We are thinking of doing so because we are not getting the mpg even close to what is advertised.

Carmax did their inspection and our mechanic did one as well. Both came out with no issues. The message center tells us that we are averaging 14 mpg. We are following all of the recommendations for driving (no defrost, tires inflated properly, etc). This is very disappointing as the car we are preparing to sell if we keep this is a Dodge Durango with a V8 that gets the same mpg (14).

Is it possible that the message center is wrong? Can it be reset? Does it need to be recalibrated?

We bought this car for the hybrid technology but it doesn't appear that it is working any better than our other SUV.

Please help

 

The MMH is capable of getting into the mid 30's with some effort and the upper 20's without trying too hard at all. Do you know someone who has a hybrid that can drive the car and see what they can do with it? It would be best if you have a ford, merc, or toyota driver in the car as the Honda system works differently in the city.

If they get the same mileage as you are running, there is a problem with the car. If the mileage goes up, you need to learn how the system works. Hybrids are capable of doing very well if you spend the time to understand how they work and how to take advantage of them.

My business partner drives his Camry like a normal car and gets 35 mpg. I have fun learning how mine works, try to drive for better miles and average just under 41 mpg on mine. There are other users here with Camrys that are getting in the 20's others in the mid 40's. Same car, different drivers, situations, temps, terrain, etc.

 

Thanks! We took it into the dealership today. As it turns out we just need to drive it more to geta better average. We live in Chicago and the dealership had been starting it and letting it run and defrost all winter as they showed it to perspective buyers. The engine running without the car logging any miles is what threw off the average mpg.

 

You have the AWD version and this will depress the mileage figures when compared to the FWD version. Winter blend fuel will also depress the mileage. Colder weather will significantly (as much as 10 mpg) decrease your mileage. You want to use a device such as a Scanguage II to help track mileage and learn more about your vehicle.