Information Center Readings Not Correct

[MKX2007]

Has anyone with the info center had any problems with inaccurate readings? The past 4 times I've filled up I've noticed that the "miles to empty" keeps getting higher on each fill up. In the past, it would read around 415 miles to empty. Today, it showed 448 to empty. Also, it doesn't keep pace with the amount of miles driven. Example; I know I've driven about 25 miles & the readout has only dropped 10 miles. After driving perhaps 50 miles, the readout will start dropping faster then the amount of miles driven. Example; drive about 25 miles & the readout will show 40 or more miles. Also the average MPG has creeped up from 22.1 to 22.9.

[bbf2530]

Has anyone with the info center had any problems with inaccurate readings? The past 4 times I've filled up I've noticed that the "miles to empty" keeps getting higher on each fill up. In the past, it would read around 415 miles to empty. Today, it showed 448 to empty. Also, it doesn't keep pace with the amount of miles driven. Example; I know I've driven about 25 miles & the readout has only dropped 10 miles. After driving perhaps 50 miles, the readout will start dropping faster then the amount of miles driven. Example; drive about 25 miles & the readout will show 40 or more miles. Also the average MPG has creeped up from 22.1 to 22.9.

 

Hi MKX2007. :D You have a misunderstanding of how the Information Center achieves its calculations. If you read the Owners Manual information concerning the Information Center, you may have a better understanding of how it arrives at its calculations.

 

For example, it is natural and normal for the "Miles to Empty" figure to vary. It will depend on the average fuel economy you are recently achieving. Since your average fuel economy lately has risen (from 22.1 to 22.9), your "Miles to Empty" reading will also increase.

 

It is the same story concerning how quickly the "Miles to Empty" reading drops as you drive. It drops according to real world driving at the moment. So if you are driving in stop and go traffic and getting 16 mpg, the reading will drop faster than normal, since the calculation was initially figured at whatever higher mileage you were averaging before (i.e. 22.9) and vice-versa. It will rarely drop the exact amount of your actual miles driven, because how you drive will vary from minute to minute, let alone day to day.

 

This is all a bit hard to explain in a short forum reply, so again your best course of action would be to read your Owners Manual. It has several pages of information explaining how the Information Center works. You will have much better understanding of how it calculates its readings.

 

Also, do you keep a manual history of your MPG's, by keeping track of how many actual gallons you refill the tank with versus the number of miles driven on the previous tankful of gas? If not, you should. It is the easiest way to verify the accuracy of the Information Center. If you do not do that now or are not sure how, it is also explained in the Owners Manual.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited December 3, 2008 by bbf2530

[MKX2007]

Hi MKX2007. :D You have a misunderstanding of how the Information Center achieves its calculations. If you read the Owners Manual information concerning the Information Center, you may have a better understanding of how it arrives at its calculations.

 

For example, it is natural and normal for the "Miles to Empty" figure to vary. It will depend on the average fuel economy you are recently achieving. Since your average fuel economy lately has risen (from 22.1 to 22.9), your "Miles to Empty" reading will also increase.

 

It is the same story concerning how quickly the "Miles to Empty" reading drops as you drive. It drops according to real world driving at the moment. So if you are driving in stop and go traffic and getting 16 mpg, the reading will drop faster than normal, since the calculation was initially figured at whatever higher mileage you were averaging before (i.e. 22.9) and vice-versa. It will rarely drop the exact amount of your actual miles driven, because how you drive will vary from minute to minute, let alone day to day.

 

This is all a bit hard to explain in a short forum reply, so again your best course of action would be to read your Owners Manual. It has several pages of information explaining how the Information Center works. You will have much better understanding of how it calculates its readings.

 

Also, do you keep a manual history of your MPG's, by keeping track of how many actual gallons you refill the tank with versus the number of miles driven on the previous tankful of gas? If not, you should. It is the easiest way to verify the accuracy of the Information Center. If you do not do that now or are not sure how, it is also explained in the Owners Manual.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

 

I've had the car for a year a half & drive same route to work & back at about the same speed. This just started happening the past couple of months. When I fill up, it ALWAYS showed around 410-415 miles to empty. The last 4 times the miles to empty have gone up each time. Now, over 30 miles more.

When I left work today, it read 444 miles to empty & I know I drove about 26 miles. So according to the display I drove 3 miles. By the time I arrived home, about another 26 miles, it read 382 miles to empty.According to the display I drove 62 miles. I also believe the average MPG is inflated also. Since breakin, its always been 22.1 to 22.2. I can't believe my driving habits suddenly changed enough for it to climb to 22.9.

[bbf2530]

I've had the car for a year a half & drive same route to work & back at about the same speed. This just started happening the past couple of months. When I fill up, it ALWAYS showed around 410-415 miles to empty. The last 4 times the miles to empty have gone up each time. Now, over 30 miles more.

When I left work today, it read 444 miles to empty & I know I drove about 26 miles. So according to the display I drove 3 miles. By the time I arrived home, about another 26 miles, it read 382 miles to empty.According to the display I drove 62 miles. I also believe the average MPG is inflated also. Since breakin, its always been 22.1 to 22.2. I can't believe my driving habits suddenly changed enough for it to climb to 22.9.

 

Hi MKX2007. :D I understand exactly what your concern is and what you were stating in your first post. So please understand that I am trying to help you, not argue or debate the subject with you.

 

You may be correct and there may be a problem, or the Information Center may be accurate. The only way to be sure is to compare the Information Center calculations to your own manual calculations and/or bring it to the Dealer and have them check the calibration for accuracy.

 

Let me try to give this example: If you were to start your car and leave it sitting there idling for several hours, eventually your tank would run dry. You would not have driven a single mile, but during that the entire time, the "Miles to Empty' reading would keep changing, dropping mile by mile towards zero. When the tank eventually ran dry, your odometer would read the same as when you started the car. You would not have driven a single mile, but the "Miles to Empty" would eventually read zero. The "Miles to Empty" calculation is based solely on current fuel consumption and the amount of fuel in the fuel tank. And your current fuel consumption changes by the fraction of a second. By the same reasoning, the "Miles to Empty" reading really has absolutely nothing to do with how many miles you have actually driven. Does that help to explain how the "Miles to Empty" reading is completely independent of how far you have actually driven? This is very hard to try and explain to people, and the Owners Manual probably does a better job than I am doing. But I am giving it a shot anyway.

 

As I asked earlier, do you keep a manual record of your MPG's, or do you simply use the Information Center figures? As it explains in the Owners Manual, the Information Center calculations are not precise figures and will vary according to many factors. If you would keep a manual reading of your fuel mileage for the next few tankfuls, you will be able to compare them to the Information Center and see whether it is inaccurate or not. It would also come in handy to have those figures to show the Service Department if you should decide that there is a problem that you need diagnosed by the Dealer. Again, this information is explained in the Owners Manual.

 

Even driving the same route day after day can and will get varied fuel mileage according to numerous factors. If you read the Owners Manual section concerning the Information Center, you will have a much better understanding of how the system calculates its averages. Have you read the Owners Manual section concerning the Information Center?

 

There are a lot of factors which will have an affect on your MPG's, far to many for me to try and list here. Just one example: If you had been driving around all summer long with the AC system set to "AUTO", and then turned it off recently (i.e. just before the "last 4" fill-ups), your MPG's will now be higher. This would be due to the fact that the "AUTO " setting is the equivalent of driving around with the AC compressor running all the time, and now you have it turned off. Therefore, your MPG's will increase.

 

I am not saying that particular example is what has caused your problem, just giving one example.

 

And again, the "Miles to Empty" reading does not tell you how many miles you have driven (that is what the trip odometers are for). It simply gives you an "approximation" ( I can not overemphasize the word "approximation") of how much further you may be able to drive if your fuel usage does not change (but it always does anyway). The "Miles to Empty" reading should more accurately be looked at as an extension of the gas gauge, not an extension of the odometer.

 

In the end, what it all comes down to is this: If you truly believe you have problem with the Information Center being inaccurate, you should make a Service appointment. In the mean time, you should begin keeping a manual fuel mileage record of your MPG's to verify/back-up your concerns.

 

Let us know how your figures come out.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited December 4, 2008 by bbf2530

[Waldo]

Have you changed to a different parking spot at work, one that's on an incline? If you park on an incline the fuel level reading will be high for a short time and the miles to empty will be inflated, then it will "catch up", which seems like what you're describing.

[08ltdawdbc]

Also note DTE is calculated using a running average fuel economy, which is based

on your recent driving history of 500 miles. See page 111 in owners manual.

[Kanatronic]

Just reset all the counters and you will be OK, the car is using the last 500 miles readings to calcculate, maybe in the last few fills your MPG incresed a little bit and it calculates based on that...Resetting all the counters will solve that problem in hte future...

[bbf2530]

Hi Kanatronic. :D I am not sure whether your reply was referring to the "Miles to Empty" reading or not, but just as an FYI: Resetting the "counters" will not affect the "Miles to Empty" reading at all.

 

While you can reset the "Average MPG's", "Average MPH", Trip Odometers, etc, you can not reset the "Miles to Empty". And resetting the other stored calculations will not change/affect the "Miles to Empty" reading. Only driving will.

 

Other than driving, the only way to change the "Miles to Empty" reading is to disconnect the battery. By disconnecting the battery, the "Miles to Empty" reading will revert back to a "Factory default value". This number will then readjust to your own drivng habits over time.

 

As 08ltdawdbc mentioned, here is the copy and paste (bold and underlined) concerning the "Miles to Empty" reading from the Owners Manual:

 

Distance to empty (DTE)

Selecting this function from the

INFO menu estimates approximately

how far you can drive with the fuel

remaining in your tank under

normal driving conditions.

Remember to turn the ignition OFF

when refueling to allow this feature to correctly detect the added fuel.

The DTE function will display LOW FUEL LEVEL when you have

approximately 50 miles (80 km) to empty. If you RESET this warning

message, this display will return within 10 minutes.

DTE is calculated using a running average fuel economy, which is based

on your recent driving history of 500 miles (800 km). This value is not

the same as the average fuel economy display. The running average fuel

economy is reinitialized to a factory default value if the battery is

disconnected.

 

I hope this information helps make the way the system works more understandable.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

 

 

PS - If your reply was not referring to the "Miles to Empty' reading, just ignore all of the above! But hopefully it may help someone else with similar questions concerning the way the Information Center works.

Edited December 10, 2008 by bbf2530