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EPA fuel mileage ratings

J

jacks

Member
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/12/another-reason-your-mileage-may-vary-for-the-worse-ethanol.html

The attached link brings up some good points about evaluating the EPA fuel mileage ratings advertised for new vehicles.

1. The testing is done by the automaker on a dynamometer.
2. EPA only audits 10-15% of the manufacturer's tests.
3. Gas engine vehicles are tested with ethanol free gas. To compare gas engine ratings with similar diesel vehicles, the gas engine fuel mileage must be de-rated by 3 to 4 %, or else factor in the cost of ethanol free gasoline.
4. Several automakers have been required to revise their fuel ratings downward.

The bottom line is that these fuel mileage ratings should not be taken at face value. It is best to get real world fuel mileage feedback from forums, friends and acquaintances who own a similar vehicle and are using the way you intend to.
cars.com article on EPA fuel ratings
 
"Several automakers have been required to revise their fuel ratings downward."

Bingo.

Ford and one of the Japanese manufacturers were recently exposed for inflating their MPG numbers. Ford was particularly egregious.

The EPA numbers are somewhat useful for comparing vehicle to vehicle but certainly do not represent real world results for the average driver.

Dean
 
(quoted from post at 20:53:21 12/02/14) http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/12/another-reason-your-mileage-may-vary-for-the-worse-ethanol.html

The attached link brings up some good points about evaluating the EPA fuel mileage ratings advertised for new vehicles.

1. The testing is done by the automaker on a dynamometer.
2. EPA only audits 10-15% of the manufacturer's tests.
3. Gas engine vehicles are tested with ethanol free gas. To compare gas engine ratings with similar diesel vehicles, the gas engine fuel mileage must be de-rated by 3 to 4 %, or else factor in the cost of ethanol free gasoline.
4. Several automakers have been required to revise their fuel ratings downward.

The bottom line is that these fuel mileage ratings should not be taken at face value. It is best to get real world fuel mileage feedback from forums, friends and acquaintances who own a similar vehicle and are using the way you intend to.
cars.com article on EPA fuel ratings
Click to expand...

Oh yea just ask on forums. That works well. Tried that a few years back. The only thing I learned is that most people drive like idiots then complain about mileage! Had one guy tell me about his poor mileage on the vehicle in question then admit he seldom drove less than 85 MPH. We bought the vehicle and averaged about 7MPG over what most people on the forum said they got by simply obeying the speed limits.

Rick
 
I give far more credence to the EPA ratings than to my buddies' anecdotal reports. Most people don't have a clue what their vehicle's fuel economy is, and even if they do they'll usually lie about it.

The value of the EPA ratings to the consumer is they provide a good apples-to-apples comparison between different vehicles or between different powertrain options for the same vehicle. Will most people get the rated mileage? Probably not, because the automaker follows a strict test protocol and is going to do everything possible to maximize economy within the constraints of the protocol. In my experience, though, I've found my actual mileage to be pretty close to the "combined" city/highway EPA rating.
 
(quoted from post at 04:14:08 12/03/14) I give far more credence to the EPA ratings than to my buddies' anecdotal reports. Most people don't have a clue what their vehicle's fuel economy is, and even if they do they'll usually lie about it.

The value of the EPA ratings to the consumer is they provide a good apples-to-apples comparison between different vehicles or between different powertrain options for the same vehicle. Will most people get the rated mileage? Probably not, because the automaker follows a strict test protocol and is going to do everything possible to maximize economy within the constraints of the protocol. In my experience, though, I've found my actual mileage to be pretty close to the "combined" city/highway EPA rating.
Click to expand...

LOL, my FIL was that way for years. Claiming mileage that he wasn't getting because people were saying that it was stupid to drive certain vehicles he liked! Thing is he could afford to drive them. Me, when someone says I should drive something more efficient I tell em, 1. I can afford it. 2. With back and knee problems I need something I can drive and be comfortable in. 3. I need something a 6'5" man with those problems can get in and out of easily and 4. It's really none of your business!

To me it's like the person who tells people what a great deal they got on their car/truck and what a great vehicle it's been. The more they say it the less I believe it. It's human nature not to want to be thought of as being gullible. So they fudge the numbers.

Rick
 
Well for me the EPA numbers have been almost exactly what I get in real driving and figuring it up myself.
 
It is best to get real world fuel mileage feedback from forums, friends and acquaintances who own a similar vehicle and are using the way you intend to.
Click to expand...

Frankly the EPA is more reliable and trustworthy.

For some reason people like to lie about the fuel economy they get. I don't know why. All they're doing is making the manufacturer look better.
 
If it were not for all the crap the EPA requires we would have great MPG on most cars, maybe Ford and the others tested their cars without all the emissions crap, and forgot to redo their testing with all the MPG reducing emissions stuff....
 
Gas mileage is a lot like fuel usage in tractors it can vary between two that are identical.And yea I know how to figure the fuel usage on both and mine are probably more accurate as I'll keep a running tally for several tank fulls. How the vehicle/tractor is used,weight its carrying/pulling,terrain of the area/road,stop and go, how much
idling it does,etc etc all enter into fuel usage.And all these factors vary with each operator.
 

You are living in the distant past. Gasoline emissions equipment and mileage was terrible from 1971 until fuel injection was implemented in the mid to late 1980's. Gasoline engines now last 300,000 miles, are fuel efficient ,small compact, light weight and powerful.
It's now the emissions diesels that are crippled with EGR, retarded timing and particulate filter regeneration.
City mileage in particular has suffered due to the weight of all the safety equipment .
 
(reply to post at 20:53:21 12/02/14)
Click to expand...

Practically everyone will tell you what the absolute best mileage was from the one time they checked it on a long trip on flat land with the wind at their back. Or they will say "well, uh, lessee, I went XXXX miles and the gauge read 3/4 full when I started and read 1/4 full when I got there and it's, lessee XXXX miles so the mileage was XXXXXX inflated figure"

I keep track of every drop and every mile. My Colorado 5 cylinder gets 18-19 for the kind of short driving I mostly do on ethanol or not. The few long trips I have taken it on show 23-24 MPG. Therefore, at the coffee shop it gets 23-24 ALL THE TIME. LOL.

Come to think of it I've never checked the EPA figures for my vehicles.
 
I drive conservatively since I have a long commute to work and driving like a madman would be too costly (both in gas and traffic tickets) and have been consistantly getting in excess of the EPA rating on my Subaru. Rated 26 highway and get 30 - 32, even with a few miles of downtown driving. I think ones foot has more to do with mileage than anything else!
 
Of course, the EPA ratings are ONLY an estimate, but there's a good chance they serve as a valid comparison between different makes and models of vehicles. I'm always cautious of any government bureaucrats (left or right) that may have a certain political agenda and the EPA is loaded with bureaucrats, some of which may be political appointees. Don't worry, Big Brother is watching over and taking care of you!!! what car to drive and what food to eat, and don't you dare smoke UNLESS its marijuana of course YOU CANT MAKE THIS STUFF UP...

John T
 
I find your comments interesting. I had a 68 or
69 Chevy Impala, that I could consistently get
right at 20 mpg. I kept a running tally,
because I was 15 and driving 15 miles to work.
About diesels.... I had an 06 Dodge 2500, 6
speed, 4x4. If I drove 55 to 60, I could easily
get 24mpg, empty. Didn't happen much, because
we bought it to pull.
I now have a 2012 Dodge 1 ton dually 4x4, and
on a GOOD day I can get 14.5 mpg. I am sure the
6.7 has some extra power, but it isn't near as
noticeable as I thought it would be. Hopefully
I can get more then 20,000 miles out of a set
of tires. That was the main reason for going to
a Dually.
 
Agreed, Leo.

Manufacturers could certainly produce vehicles offering better fuel mileage and/or performance were it not for federal regulations.

The free market does a good job of satisfying consumer wishes absent government meddling. Certainly much better than any central bureaucracy has ever done.

Dean
 
Thanks, that's my story n Ima stickin to it, lol and all are entitled to their own opinions.

John T
 
(quoted from post at 04:14:08 12/03/14) I give far more credence to the EPA ratings than to my buddies' anecdotal reports. Most people don't have a clue what their vehicle's fuel economy is, and even if they do they'll usually lie about it.



Particularly when they paid an extra $5,000 to $7,000 to get the diesel engine.
Click to expand...
 
I am 66 years old, and have kept a close eye on my mileage since I was 16 and first started driving, I never did like spending more money on fuel than I had to, even when it was 25 cents per gallon. I was not a professional driver, but the combination of my personal driving and company driving which involved making service calls over a wide rural area frequently totaled 50k to 80k miles per year. On the older vehicles I found my fuel mileage usually ran best about 57 or 58 mph. On the newer fuel injected computer controlled engines,they seem to get better mileage in the area of 2,000m to 2100 rpm, which normally translates to 61 or 62 mph. None of my vehicles are fancy enough to have the computer readout systems, but I have a unit that plugs into the OBD2 plug and monitors many functions, including both current and average mpg. It will definitely point out conditions causing differences. As an example raising speed from 62 to 75 will lower gas mileage by 20 to 30 percent on most pickups.
 
Thought a good time to share this TRUE STORY that took place years ago where I worked., This big shot bragger dude (you know the type, every work place has them) bought a brand new supposed high mileage car back when and came in each day bragging how great the MPG was (He seemed to monitor and measure it daily, how???) ......So these other dudes where I worked started sneaking out each day and adding gas to it and asking and listen to the guy about his great MPG, they did that a few weeks and then started going out and siphoning gas out each day, but all of a sudden the guy stops talking about his MPG

When they finally broke down and told the guy it got pretty HOT there for a time whewwwwww

If you ever notice when a dude pays big bucks for some particular product or device or truck etc they seem to brag about how well it performs and how much they are satisfied with their expensive purchase, there's no way they would ever admit it wasn't all that great or worth what they spent LOL Similar some have an "attitude" if asked a question about their preferences or opinions of a product or method or way of doing something, ITS THEIR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY lol

Hey Im farrrrrr from perfect, make plenty of mistakes, and like all others voice my opinions also SO THERE lol I'm guilty as anyone else..........

Its still fun here and a there's a great group of gents all willing to help each other, gotta love it

John T
 
I am 63, and I also like to keep track of my mileage,
and have done some experimenting. My truck (13
Silverado 1500) has all the electronic fuel readout,
so it's fairly easy. It is amazing how much
difference from 55-65, or more, it really drops off.
We do most of our driving on fairly flat roads, so
hills are not an issue. We have found that wind
makes a big difference, and always have to factor
that in. Something new I have noticed, just never
payed a lot of attention, is temperature. We got a
new Subaru this summer and were really impressed when
the weather was warmer, it was getting better than
the rating. now we have taken a couple of 300 mile
trips in colder temperatures (0-+10) it has dropped
off 5 mpg! Being all wheel drive there are a lot of
rotating parts.
 
On several vehicles I use in my business, I keep accurate and detailed expense records. It's easy to dial 'em up at any moment and figure EXACT cost per mile to operate any and all of them. This also allows me to keep tabs on fuel use. My program even figures cost per mile per cargo lbs.

I've got 3 gas trucks that are IDENTICAL. They are used on a rotating basis with 3 different drivers. One gets far BETTER mileage. One gets about what it should based on EPA estimates. 3rd drinks the gas.

My diesel pick ups are money pits and won't be replaced with diesels when that time comes. What is gained by increased mileage is more than offset by increased purchase price and routine maint cost. They're just not anywhere NEAR as practical as the manufacturer propaganda would lead you to believe.

I also have a couple imports, smaller trucks. It's been my observation that the EPA ratings on them are more accurate than the domestic brands.

Essentially anecdotal observations based on hard numbers....But long and short, EPA ratings serve as a decent baseline, but can vary wildly depending on a number of factors.
 
I agree, I keep MPH to like usually 58, maybe 60 max, I drive like an OLD MAN, but hey, I am an old man lol I dont have the data or curves handy but its something like an exponential curve as to how wind drag and resistance increases immensely and reduces MPG as speeds increase. I drive slower because one its safer and two it saves me money, if that makes me a square fine Im a square lol

I REALLY notice the difference when I drive the RV and keep it to usually 58 on the cruise control.

As far as gas prices, I've heard on the abundant news media about how some bad mouth lower gas prices and they are crying and whining and seem to prefer paying more for gas and say its better YEAH RIGHT lol. For me I prefer to pay less for gas, for those who wish to pay more, maybe there could be a collection box at the pump if they wish to donate, think they would????

John T Christian Conservative Fuddy Duddy and so proud and happy for it
 
We traded for a 4 wh drive vehicle about 5 months ago. In warmer weather in the fall it was getting better mileage than the epa rating predicted by 3-4 mpg. Now that cold weather is here the mileage dropped 4-5 miles per gallon. Am going by the electronic fuel readout on the dash. If it is lying to me then so be it. There is a lots of gears, driveshafts, differentials, and u-joints that have to spin under there in cold weather.
 
Sounds like a good story but I've found the EPA ratings to be pretty accurate with every car and truck I've owned -in real world use.
 
Agreed. I've usually found the city rating to be a little higher than actual and the highway mileage to be a little lower than actual. Or maybe I know how to drive on the highway better than I know how to drive in town.
 
I just bought a 98 dually and I get 16 empty driving around the farm and 12 or 13 loaded between 25 to 30,000 .
 
Some of the electronic mileage calculators are pretty close and some are'nt. The Chevy is real close but we had a Buick that was sometimes off by 3-4. The Subaru seems to be pretty close. You have to check it a few times with a calculator.
 
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