3,000+ Mile Report through the North East...

[Expedition Dave]

Had a recent round-trip over 3,000 miles starting from Florida to New York. Went from 82F degrees to 17F, and she never missed a beat. See Signature for factory specs. Weight of people and kit: 750+/- pounds, 87 octane used always.

Mileage at slow speeds for 40-60 mph average 27-29 mpg, however highway speeds (65-80 mph) generated 20-23 mpg on the average. This is normal for me when I am driving economically and my location. However, these readings are off.

It has been my determination that the factory fuel meter ALWAYS reads favorably--which annoys me quite a bit. It should be calibrated dead on or not favorably the other way. In my research (miles vs gallons of gas pumped in on level ground) I determined a 5-6% false reading with the error always on the "better mileage than you are really getting" side. To me, this is false advertising to make people feelz good.

Because I did feel good
And upon measuring it correctly--now I do not

Any others check their variances? I will open a separate thread, as OMMV (Our Mileage May Vary).
(And before you say "all factory readings are off--!" I can tell you other vehicles I have owned were w/i normal variations of pumps and temps of +/- 1-2%).

Further, as I got to the upper NE I noticed a reduction in fuel mileage. I have noticed this before, even on level highway and attribute this to "winter gas." My 1-2 extra miles per gallon seems to be restored once out of the NE. Headwinds can also easily eat 1-2 mpg.

Managed to dodge the really bad weather, but did play with the drive systems a bit. I mostly drive in town and highway in ECO mode, 2wd. If the weather gets weird, I will put it in AWD for piece of mind (gives my pax a false sense of security at highway speeds).

Worthy to note is ECO vs AWD GRASS/GRAVEL/SNOW modes, and how sluggish and heavier the vehicle feels when using them. This is the normal byproduct of deliberately reduced throttle response. ECO slightly, and SNOW mode greatly--like you are dragging something w/o wheels behind you. This is obviously VERY important when traction is limited and spotty, but using it around town on bone dry, heavily salted and cleared roads it felt a bit much. I found myself spending most of my time in ECO and NORMAL 2WD and AWD. That being said, in snow or icy conditions, or potentially "surprise" conditions and for folks not used to it I would definitely suggest SNOW mode.

As always YMMV. Stay safe!!

 

[wakeboarder]

Had a recent round-trip over 3,000 miles starting from Florida to New York. Went from 82F degrees to 17F, and she never missed a beat. See Signature for factory specs. Weight of people and kit: 750+/- pounds, 87 octane used always.

Mileage at slow speeds for 40-60 mph average 27-29 mpg, however highway speeds (65-80 mph) generated 20-23 mpg on the average. This is normal for me when I am driving economically and my location. However, these readings are off.

It has been my determination that the factory fuel meter ALWAYS reads favorably--which annoys me quite a bit. It should be calibrated dead on or not favorably the other way. In my research (miles vs gallons of gas pumped in on level ground) I determined a 5-6% false reading with the error always on the "better mileage than you are really getting" side. To me, this is false advertising to make people feelz good.

Because I did feel good
And upon measuring it correctly--now I do not

Any others check their variances? I will open a separate thread, as OMMV (Our Mileage May Vary).
(And before you say "all factory readings are off--!" I can tell you other vehicles I have owned were w/i normal variations of pumps and temps of +/- 1-2%).

Further, as I got to the upper NE I noticed a reduction in fuel mileage. I have noticed this before, even on level highway and attribute this to "winter gas." My 1-2 extra miles per gallon seems to be restored once out of the NE. Headwinds can also easily eat 1-2 mpg.

Managed to dodge the really bad weather, but did play with the drive systems a bit. I mostly drive in town and highway in ECO mode, 2wd. If the weather gets weird, I will put it in AWD for piece of mind (gives my pax a false sense of security at highway speeds).

Worthy to note is ECO vs AWD GRASS/GRAVEL/SNOW modes, and how sluggish and heavier the vehicle feels when using them. This is the normal byproduct of deliberately reduced throttle response. ECO slightly, and SNOW mode greatly--like you are dragging something w/o wheels behind you. This is obviously VERY important when traction is limited and spotty, but using it around town on bone dry, heavily salted and cleared roads it felt a bit much. I found myself spending most of my time in ECO and NORMAL 2WD and AWD. That being said, in snow or icy conditions, or potentially "surprise" conditions and for folks not used to it I would definitely suggest SNOW mode.

As always YMMV. Stay safe!!

You can correct the mileage yourself.

See the f150 thread. https://www.f150forum.com/f118/fix-inaccurate-mpg-display-2-minutes-421912/#post5852007

 

[5280tunage]

I've always just taken these readings as a grain of salt. Knowing they are likely off, and will continue to be off. To me, there are so many factors at play, that mean even if you decided to adjust yours, it would still likely be off. That is, where you drive, where you buy gas, where the actual gas was refined, driving style, weather/temps, altitude, etc. While the systems are designed to account for a lot of these in the air/fuel mixtures and burn efficiency, there will still be a net effect. Especially over the life of a 25GAL fuel tank (or several for that matter). I mostly use the readings to be cognizant of my own driving habits, as well as any major issues with the vehicle. i.e. if my city mileage were to drop by .5 mpg or more, I might think something was really wrong or wonder who's been driving my vehicle...

OP, that sounds like a fun trip and glad you managed to miss a lot of the weather.

 

[Expedition Dave]

You can correct the mileage yourself.
See the f150 thread. https://www.f150forum.com/f118/fix-inaccurate-mpg-display-2-minutes-421912/#post5852007

 

[Expedition Dave]

I did luck out, and the several hours of rain washed The Bullet salt and sand off completely--which was a nice touch (I sprayed the underside with a pressure hose for about 30 minutes and not a drop of salt/sand could be found).

I would say I definitely did cover all of the temps, fuel pumps, and range you could ask for in 3000 miles to include and additional 100 miles of local street driving and idling. I can also say definitively I am spot on at the 5% inaccuracy, and it looks like a lot of folks are reporting a similarly consistent 5% off as well (20 mpg displayed = 19 actual). I have also noticed this over the months of ownership. Some speculate it does not take into account ETHANOL fuels, which we all know produce poorer mileage and it explains the factory incorrection.

Now, one will never be 100% right, but a margin of +/- 1% = 20 displayed but 19.8 to 20.2 actual is significantly more pleasing to me. And to restate, it is ALWAYS negatively incorrect by 5% and never reads lower than actual. That is not a variation, that is a hard way of displaying incorrect info. YMMV, but I am fixing this ASAP.