2013 gas mileage way less than expected

[Fellglenn]

We are new to the outback family and so far we love it.

We just returned from a 600 mile road trip from atlanta to north central Florida and driving an average of 75 mph with mostly cruise control, we only averaged around 25 to 26 mpg. We confirmed this with both the gauge and a manual log and calculation. We have a 2013 2.5 limited outback and I have read averag of high twentys to low 30s on the interstatinches I was doing my research. Even in in urban interstate traffic, I have seen 30mpg in my research. We were on flat open interstate, which i would imagine is the ideal next all downhill. I was a little disappointed with this. Since 2013 has a new engine, is there something wrong here or is this common for the first 1000 miles? We current have just shy of 1100 miles. Thoughts?

[JTrujillo86]

First and foremost, you should always vary your speed when breaking in a new car's engine, and long road trips for the first 2500 miles are not recommended. It states this in the owners manual. Your poor fuel consumption is likely due to the fact the engine hasn't been fully broken in.

- Jeremy.

[Glenn-BJ74]

Fuel economy degrades the faster you go ( especially above 60mph) because air resistance increases exponentially with speed. My last trip I averaged 32 mpg (usgal) over 1,000 miles including mountains and secondary roads -- but I held my speed to 60 -65 mph with a light throttle.

[4wheeldog]

I have a '12. I got about 27 for the first 1000 miles. The average for the first 10,000 was 30.3. Since passing 10k, it has been closer to 32. I am at about 14,500 now.

I get about 1 mpg more than my wife does, when she is driving. I keep the eco gauge off both the upper and lower limits when cruising. (Back off the cruise control slightly going up hills, increase going down.) So actively working at it has an effect. I also drive faster than my wife.

Short version.........It will get better, by about 10%. Good luck.

[Jake2c]

My manual said to vary speeds and no hard breaking/fast acceleration (unless necessary) for the first 1000 miles. I drove some of the same roads from N. Fl to Virginia. When I started the car had 1300 miles on it. I averaged 29.9 by math and 28 by the car's readout. I stayed between 65-75mph or a little higher on the highway depending on the state I was in. I now have 2200 miles with 200 on a fresh tank all mixed driving. I have not done the math as I won't until I fill up next but the car's readout is showing 26. I do not have a heavy foot as traffic up here only gives you ulcers if you do, so I just listen to comedy radio and stay with traffic. I am not carrying a lot of weight, sounds like you were.

[BossMaverick]

Fellglenn,

You may have experienced lower fuel mileage for several reasons. The reasons could range from the vehicle not being fully broken in yet, headwinds, ethanol percentages, etc. Also, many of the people in this forum live at higher altitude cities then where you traveled. You get better gas mileage the higher in altitude you that are.

But overall, I'd say give more time for your engine to full break in before you get too disappointed.

[twowings]

Amen to varying your speed....every 5-10 miles pick a new speed and stick with it for the next 5-10 miles...try not to use cruise control unless you must and then set varying speeds as you drive...your engine will not likely hit its stride until about 7000-10000 miles....then you should see figures much closer to the EPA estimates and even better...the magic barrier is about 60 mph...once you push ANY vehicle through the air faster than that it takes geometrically much more fuel to overcome the coefficent of drag...if you use a rooftop box for cargo and pack the back full of family stuff your mileage will suffer from the extra weight...

[Woozle Wuzzle]

One data point here. In my new 2013 2.5 I got 29 mpg on the first tank of gas. This was on non-interstate highways going no faster than 65 mph. The Outback is not aerodynamic so going faster than about 60 mph will yield lower fuel economy.

There are mentions here about varying the speed of the car in order to properly break in the engine. I believe the speed of the car is irrelevant, it's the engine speed that needs to vary. With the CVT, this will happen automatically. Granted, this will be minimized on the interstate, but in my experience the tach never stays in one place for more than a minute or so before adjusting. With EyeSight and using the adaptive cruise control, even on the interstate the tach is constantly adjusting.

[Busdrivera321]

Originally Posted by JTrujillo86

First and foremost, you should always vary your speed when breaking in a new car's engine, and long road trips for the first 2500 miles are not recommended. It states this in the owners manual. Your poor fuel consumption is likely due to the fact the engine hasn't been fully broken in.

- Jeremy.

Jeremy,
Where in the manual does it say to not take long road trips? My wife and I just completed a 2500 mile cross country trip in our 2013 Outback. We did drive mostly two lane roads for the first 1000 miles and varied the rpm's constantly, the next 1500 were a mixture of everything. We experienced exceptional mileage, and on one leg from TorC, N.M. we got 38.0 at 60 miles an hour to Phoenix, AZ. This was confirmed by our fill up and the computer was showing pretty much the same. I have never heard of the first 2500 mile thing, I hope it's not true but who knows! Our car runs great lets hope it stays that way for a long time.
Matthew

[MchughSkmchugh]

With my new 2013, I calculated 27 mpg highway mostly. (currently at 2800 miles). With my previous 09 forester i used to get 24.5 mpg. Im hoping it gets better.