Fuel consumption - L/100Km or the equivalent MPG

[Edgingage]

Hello Edge folks:

 

Happy Holiday Season!

 

First of, I'd like to say that I did my search work but couldn't find what I am looking for, maybe because it hasn't been posted yet (which I doubt it), but probably because I didn't managed my search properly.  My apologies before hand if the latter is the case.  But if so, please feel free to forward me or send me in the right direction.

 

As the tittle suggests, I'm going to ask a few questions about fuel consumption, specifically liters/100 Km (the Canadian or metric system) or the equivalent GPM (the American or imperial system).  The objective and result are the same (just a conversion factor).

 

As shown in my profile, I have a 2011 SEL (FWD) with about 186000 Km (116000 miles) in it.  I may have not paid enough attention since I bought it over two years ago, but now finances are shrinking, and the good environment as well   So, lately (don't know since when but many months ago if not over a year by now) my car fuel consumption is not going below 14L/100Km (or above the equivalent 16.8 mpg).  When I cross reference the specifications for this car in different websites, most of them agree to state the worse (city driving conditions) performance of this car new should be around 11L/100Km (or 21mpg).  Even when I have been driving mostly on the HW, I can't get below 14L/100Km.

 

i know the car is already over 8 years old, but I want to start with two main questions:

1.- Is that claim (11L/100Km or 21mpg) true?  Was it ever achievable with this car?  I know the VW got nailed for misleading the public on this subject but I never heard of a similar issue with Ford.

2.- IF this claim is true, what maintenance, replacement or repair should I do to improve the fuel consumption/economy/efficiency in this car?

 

Now, related to my second question, please, I would like to hear suggestions/solutions from the most effective ones down.  What I mean is, a cold air intake may improve (or may not, depending on other things); a K&N filter may improve (but may not, depending on other things).  Basically, I would like to start from basic maintenance things I should change/replace/repair which are known to dramatically improve fuel consumption/economy/efficiency, if you folks don't mind, please.  Then we can go to the "fine tune"

 

And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.  I'm basing my questions on highway driving conditions during summer time (Canadian city driving conditions during Canadian winter time throws ALL READINGS out! lol

 

Thanks so much in advance.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Edgingage
grammar

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Are you having oil consumption issues?  That may be a problem in your 2011 Edge.  If you check oil level regularly, you will know.  OR if you check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate and see pooling oil.  Then you would need to update the front valve cover to fix it. 

 

Also due for new plugs and new fluids at the very least.

 

Then there are the standard variables:  load carried by the vehicle, tire pressure, driving conditions, fuel quality, etc.

[Edgingage]

Hello folks:

 

Happy New Year to all!

 

My apologies for being lost so long, specially to WWWPerFA_ZNOW for your greatly appreciated super quick response; terrible holiday season here with family members flu sick, one completely out now but other one still on the recovery road...  My comments below, thanks:

.- Oil: no oil consumption issues at all.  As a matter of fact, I've been amazed at how little oil my 2011 Edge consumes; I've hardly ever had to top it up before the next oil change six months later.

.- Intake: I once tried to check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate but, to be completely honest (and maybe ignorant or just low-skilled), I got tangled in the stage to remove the the connection to the air filter casing (I don't know how to unhook/disengage the wire/cable connection) and I couldn't go any further.  But giving the fact the this engine doesn't consume much oil I tend to believe (and hope) that I don't have a problem there.  Visually inspected from the outside, I can't see/notice any oil drip, moisture or residue back there.

.- Spark plugs: they're all replaced about 3-4 years ago.  It has had hardly 30-40K Km added since then.  Should I still replace them?

.- Fluids(?): Not sure what fluids exactly you're referring, if you could please clarify I'll appreciate it.  But transmission and coolant fluids were replaced 2.5 years ago.  Some 20-30K Km has been added since then.  Brake and steering fluids have not been recently replaced.  Not sure which other fluids may need to be replaced.  Please keep in mind that I'm not really fully familiar with all a car needs to have done; I'm mostly just a good driver lol.  Should I still replace any of these fluids to improve gas mileage?

.- Std variables:

  - Load: mostly empty vehicle 95% of the time (just the driver ), ...and a load of grocery shopping for a small family around town once a week.

  - Tire pressure: perfectly fine all the time as per spec posted on the vehicle frame (35 psi, cold).  I have an air compressor in my garage with a digital gauge.  I check and retouch air pressure at the time I swap the wheels; then I check the tire pressure like every month or so (in case the TPMS failed but never there's been ever any issues so far, not even having to top them up.

.- Driving conditions: I know driving habit and conditions are probably the factor # 1 in fuel consumption; that's why I mentioned in my OP that I was referring to mostly highway driving during summer time.  Again, city driving habit during Canadian winter conditions through all numbers out, I know.

.- Fuel quality: well, I have always put regular gasoline (87 octane, as recommended in the owner's manual for this car as well) from Petro Canada, in all my cars, for many years, and I know that every car's make is different but I had always had very good or at least very acceptable (close to manufacture's claim), fuel economy in my previous cars (one Mercury, three Chryslers and one VW).  I think fuel quality may not be a contributing factor in my case, as it has been a very common and constant factor for me all the time in previous cars as well, always with good yields.

 

As you (and everyone, please) can see, and you all can also please feel free to ask any more questions, I'm not doing anything crazy or extraordinary with my car.  My main question still remains, please:

.- Is it true that the 2011 Ford Edge SEL (FWD) is supposed to make 11L/100Km or 21mpg on city (worse than HW) driving conditions, is that achievable, or it's just a bluff?  Has anybody been able to achieve that fuel economy in real life?  ...Or may there be something really wrong with my car?

 

Your questions and suggestions are all welcome.

 

Many thanks in advance.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Edgingage
grammar

[Perblue]

My 2013 3.5l awd with 160k kms on it achieved 12-14mpg in city no where close to the 18 it was rated for, but it did better than rated on the highway so knew it was driving/conditions and not a problem with the car.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

http://fueleconomy.gov will give you the mpg ratings you want to look up (at least for the U.S.).

https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&path=1&year1=2011&year2=2011&make=Ford&baseModel=Edge&srchtyp=ymm

 

I think you are looking at the combined ratings, not the city ratings at 21.

 

Bigger wheels and AWD will eat into the mpg, to the tune of almost 2 mpg.  You have FWD, so that is not an issue.  Fluids seem good too.  Winter drops tire pressures, but it seems you are checking regularly so you are keeping them at 35 psi (I assume).

 

City driving or "special operations" conditions it is not unusual to get lower mpg than rated unless you really hypermile it.  Short trips and extended idling waste fuel and dilute the oil with fuel.  If you smell fuel in the oil, the oil has run too long, or you may need a slightly higher viscosity oil to begin with (5W30 instead of 5W20, for example).

 

25,000 miles in 3 years (or worse, 4) is very low mileage annually.  While I don't think the plugs need replacing, it is easy to pull and check Bank 2 (near radiator) to verify.  Realize that Bank 1 plugs are more likely to have larger gaps but not by a significant margin.

 

When were brakes last serviced (especially rears)?  Were the slide pins and boots serviced at the same time (greased and/or replaced)?

 

 

[Edgingage]

Hi guys:

Perblue, thank you for reporting your real-life mileage; that's something I was very eager to know, if my car was a bad one or it's normal to get so low fuel economy compared with the advertisement.  I'll assume my roughly 17mpg (or 14L/100Km) on HDC is a kind of normal performance and not that bad for these cars then.  Thanks again.

WWWPerfA_ZN0W, thanks for the links provided.  From there I also learned that the advertised fuel economy has nothing to do with real life fuel consumption.  Just to clarify: the numbers that I was using to compare were the worse casenario; I mean, I was using the worse fuel economy advertised (city driving: 19mpg or 12L/100Km) to compare with the actual consumption I was getting at its best (HW driving: 17mpg or 14L/100Km), all good things considered.  Basically what I was trying to say was that my car during highway driving conditions was making almost as bad fuel efficiency as the advertised new for city driving conditions.  Again, now I know that advertised is one thing and real is another thing.  My almost 8-Y old car should be ok in that sense then.

I kind of knew that bigger wheels consume more gas (larger contact patch and therefore higher surface resistance), but I'm using the manufacturer recommendation: 245/60R18.

 

Yeap, I check the tire pressure more often during the winter time just because I parked the car just besides the compressor .  But again, I don't even bother to look at any numbers during the winter time because: I'm always driving in the city only (30-60 Km/h), I remote start the car when leaving work and let it run idle for about 5-8 min while removing snow and/or ice; some times shorter when outside temp is frigid lol; Those two things alone throw any fuel economy/efficiency numbers out.  I don't bother to check those numbers during winter time; I check on fuel economy/efficiency only during summer time.

 

Now the gas smell in the oil is a little over my head: how can I know that, when I change the oil?  If that's the case, no, I haven't smelled gas in the used oil.  I remember you or someone else suggested me to change the oil by the hours of operation not by the time, resetting the trip 2 odometer.  I keep an eye on that too, not only on the six-month time change.  But also when we talked about oil quality the main and most important thing for me was to get the oil with the lesser temperature and viscosity (0W20) to minimize the hardship of the cold starts during the freezing winter months, at least during the winter time.  As the 0W20 didn't offer a lower freezing temp than the 5W20 (which was my main concern) I stuck with the latter all year around.

 

I'll check into the spark plugs.  Thanks for the suggestion.

 

And also thank you VERY much for the suggestion about the brakes.  Interesting, or rather missed by me: the dealer has offered me the winter brake maintenance service a couple of times and I has kindly declined it thinking that it's just a money making, unnecessary service they just put up there when don't find something else to charge me for. But after you mentioned it makes sense to me now.  Although my car rolls freely on neutral gear in my 1.5% slope driveway, I did some mornings hear a brake noise right when the car stars to roll after a rainy night.  The noise disappears before I get to the corner though...  But I will accept the offer next time the dealer does so.

 

Thanks WWWPerfA_ZN0W  for all your time, information, explanations and suggestions, I GREATLY appreciate them.

 

Thank you all.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Edgingage
Letter font screwed up :(

[Live n Misery]

Hey there. I am also in Canada with a 12 Limited FWD with stock 20's and 245-50-20 tires. My fuel mileage during this past winter typically averaged about 12-14 liters per 100 kms with mixed driving in the city and hwy. Now that its warmer outside I am averaging 10-12L/100 kms and went as low as 9.4 last week on a road trip. The spark plugs were all changed a few months back and I put an AFE cold air intake which Improved throttle response and a sportier exhaust note the mileage seems slightly better from what I was getting prior to that swap. I change oil every 7-8000k and tire pressure is checked every 3-4 weeks at 35psi. Also considering my driving style... quick acceleration to get near the front of the pack on the hwy and then cruise at 120-125 kmh. How fast do you drive on the hwy? Is there typically congestion or stop and go traffic? 

[Edgingage]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:06 AM, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said:

...

When were brakes last serviced (especially rears)?  Were the slide pins and boots serviced at the same time (greased and/or replaced)?

 

Live n Misery, thanks for your reply, and sorry for my late one.  I may consider to spend on a cold air intake if it can get over other more critical issues first.  Thanks anyways.

 

WWWPerfA, thank you VERY much for your last suggestion to check.  Here is the dealer's report: "Driver rear side had a stuck slider pin which caused the inner pad to wear out. Heated it up and got it free.  Cleaned out and applied silicone grease.  Cleaned slider and now it's free."

 

Fuel consumption immediately improved from 14.2L/100 KM (16.6 MPG) to 13.2L/100 KM (17.8 MPG).  I still have a long way to achieve Live n Misery's..., but one step at a time

 

Thank you again.

[Edgingage]

Update: fuel consumption is back up worse now, up to 15.4L/100 KM (15.3 MPG)... ?

 

On 12/28/2019 at 12:43 AM, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said:

Are you having oil consumption issues?  That may be a problem in your 2011 Edge.  If you check oil level regularly, you will know.  OR if you check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate and see pooling oil.  Then you would need to update the front valve cover to fix it. 

 

Also due for new plugs and new fluids at the very least.

 

Then there are the standard variables:  load carried by the vehicle, tire pressure, driving conditions, fuel quality, etc.

 

WWWPerfA: just to refresh my previous answers, and detail a bit more:

- no oil consumption issues at all.  I changed it in May and it's now due up, and I just checked the level and it's in between the two holes in the oil stick (at 45% life showing in the instrument cluster panel).  I'll change it soon anyway.

- I've attempted twice (in different occasions) to get to the throttle plate to check for oil residue there but I get stuck at front, at the beginning of the procedure: I can't find a way to release/disconnect the clip attaching the sensor to the plastic air intake casing coming out of the air filter box to connect to the throttle plate, and for that reason I can't remove the whole plastic air intake casing to uncover the throttle plate... ?.  I'll try harder this weekend.

- plugs were replaced on Oct 18, 2016 at 154K km (~96K miles).  It's now at 195K km (~122K miles), plugs have only 41K km (~26K miles) on 4 years now.  There is no hesitation or lost of power at any time.  I'm trying to avoid replacing the plugs again if I don't know they're the culprit...

- engine coolant replaced (drained and refilled twice) on Oct 02, 2017 at 163K km (~102K miles).  I just got an appointment to replace it this coming Tuesday, Nov 24 again, but I'm not really sure if it's needed again so soon as it has only 32K km (~20K miles) on it...  Should I?  I wonder.

- trans fluid replaced on Oct 12, 2017 at 163K km (~102K miles), only 32K km (~20K miles) on it now.  I was thinking to also replace it again but ...shifting is REALLY SMOOTH and responsive all the way up and down (love it).  I don't think it's needed again yet so soon...  Do you think?

- standard variables are all ok: driving mostly empty all the time (just my 180lb added lol), tire pressured checked monthly always ok at 35 psi, fuel quality very good (I've actually being feeding it with 89 octanes now that the price went down lol), driving conditions have been always the same: special operation.  But those have always been the same special operation driving conditions since I bought it three years ago, but then it was doing around 13L/100 km (~18 MPG), ...and I was very happy with it lol.

- all four brakes are now serviced: new pads, and caliper slider pins and boots all greased up.  Same stock rim and tire size: 245/60R18.

 

I need to find the proper way to disconnect that sensor without breaking it, to be able to remove the whole air intake casing to uncover the throttle plate.  The problem may remain there, as you said.  ...But the fact that it's hardly consuming any oil makes me hope that's not the problem.  I'll try again.

 

...And I have seen a couple of YT videos on how to remove the air intake to get to the throttle plate; I just don't seem to be able to release that sensor connector to get everything out of the way...  I'll try again this weekend.

 

Thank you all in advance for your opinions, suggestions and advice.

 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Edgingage

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

A lot if not all the connectors use locking tabs.  There is a red clip underneath the MAF sensor connector that you first need to pull out towards you to unlock the connector.  Then you can pull the connector out as normal.  When reinstalling make sure to push that tab back in once the connector is in place.

 

If there is no red tab, there may be a tab you depress and hold to unlock the connector while removing it.  Should self lock once the connector is all the way back in.

[Edgingage]

Thank you WWWPerfA!,  I'll look for a red clip (I didn't know about that one).  I did try to find and depress and pull a "tab" (?), ...but maybe there is no tab (that's why) lol.

 

Thanks again!