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Dealers' Responses: poor gas mileage

20K views 78 replies 38 participants last post by  Brucey 
#1 ·
Please post dealer's your dealer's response if you complained to them about poor gas mileage: i.e. did they actually do any tests.?

(This is not an attempt to determine if people are lead-foots, or are dealing with winter gas which is common in many parts of the country, not just NE).

Just criticizing other drivers or their comments or just giving seat-of-the-pants impressions isn't going to help any of us either.
 
#2 ·
Really?

You do know that the most common component that causes poor mileage is the loose nut between the wheel and the seat.

Seriously, that's why the numbers on the sticker are estimates. Your results may vary - don't put your foot in it and drive like you're on a race track, don't jack rabbit start, and just pay attention to what you're doing. Don't put cheap gas from the no-name station in.
 
#8 ·
Please post dealer's your dealer's response if you complained to them about poor gas mileage:
I don't ask the dealer many questions simply because I don't like to be lied to, mislead, blown off, etc. What can they say to make you happy regarding the gas mileage anyway? Sometimes it's fun to call BS with people like those at the dealer but you know their full of it and they know their full of it so why even bring it up? Life is too short for meaningless arguments with the goofs at the dealer. I had to put up with the BS at the dealer when I purchased the car and I will have to put up with their BS when I need to take it in for service and warranty work but I certainly will not just walk in to their place of business to point out how full of it they are.

If you don't like your mileage, drive differently or get a different car. When I am VERY careful, I get VERY close to the estimated fuel. When I drive normal (my normal) then my mileage suffers a bit. If I was so concerned with fuel mileage, I would have bought a car with a better fuel estimate. Personally, I think Subaru vehicles get pretty good mileage but I did not buy the car for it's stellar fuel efficiency. Nothing your dealer says will change what your vehicle consumes in fuel.
 
#13 ·
You hit it right on the nail! I've managed mileage well within the recommended and if I change my driving habits, drive more conservatively it would increase and if I go the other way, well we know the consequences. The mileage is only secondary to me, if it was priority, well then I would have got an electric car or ride a bike. >:)
 
#10 ·
Geez...I hate to sound grumpy, but I'm just trying to find out if there have been any tangible dealer complaint/subsequent diagnostics/adjustments.

I think we all know "your mileage may vary, blah blah, blah" as has been rehashed so many times here. Also remember if there is something tangible, it's up to owners to start the remediation process by complaining to their dealer.
 
#22 ·
Geez...I hate to sound grumpy, but I'm just trying to find out if there have been any tangible dealer complaint/subsequent diagnostics/adjustments.
I asked my dealer about 2 months ago and was essentially blown off -- too soon, need to let it break in, winter, etc.

I am due for my 6,000 mile check up in roughly 2 weeks, so plan on bringing up the issue again and will report what they do.
 
#11 ·
This reminds me of when the Toyota Prius came out years ago. What was the MPG supposed to be? Something like 65MPG or something like it. When the yuppies started buying them like crazy they started yelling foul because on a good day they where only getting 36MPG.
In a controlled test they've taken out one very important factor, the real world.

Some days, depending on where I'm driving and how fast, I'll get better than the estimated MPG. Some other days I get worse.
You can't take what's written on the window sticker as gospel, then throw a tantrum wanting your money back or someone to pay for the lie told to you.
It's just an average. And as they all say at the bottom of the page in fine print, you're millage may vary...:roadtrip:
 
#14 ·
After 3000 miles, this is I think. On average driving around town and some short highway trips, this is a 26 mpg car. Highway driving at 75 to 80, this is a 28 mpg car. I did see 33 on a 2+ hour trip at speeds from 45 to 55 on country 2 lane roads. This is with winter gas. Mileagei sould improve with warner temps, better gas and more milage on the car. This car will not do 33 at typical thruway driving. The EPA tests are not representive of how we all drive. Engineering improvements have improved all vehicle milage, milage estimates have also improved by way of the EPA test standards. But, this car is 20% better than the car it replaced.
 
#18 ·
It strikes me that it would not be easy for Subaru to create a standardized test for consumption efficiency. Working out the test criteria would be dead simple. But the facilities for doing the test would be hard.

It would obviously be very useful- you'd be able to take the car to them, ask for that test and read the results.

I don't know how they could do such a test without controlling a lot of variables- test course, weather, fuel etc.

It wouldn't help many owners to only have one test location, and it would be extremely expensive to build identical courses all around the country and ship stocks of test fuel around.

Even if they did it indoors on a rolling road, that's a big expense. But I could see that working. They could put the car under programmatic control for throttle, drain the gas tank, give it a supply of test fuel and let it execute the run a few times. Then measure remaining fuel and compute the stats.

Hard numbers like that would go a long way to spotting cars with problems vs. drivers with unrealistic expectations.

I can't think of another way to prevent the finger pointing.
 
#20 ·
It would seem to me that ANY dealer could at least check if the various engine sensors are performing correctly, ESPECIALLY if the car is running rich (too much fuel proportionate to air).

That would be step ONE.
If everything is up to spec then the next step could be regional rep etc.
 
#21 ·
I would guess that's what the "CHECK ENGINE" light is for - to detect a sensor that isn't working right. Any sensor that could effect fuel economy would probably result in an overly rich fuel mixture - burning more fuel than designed - and that would output a O2 DTC. So as long as your CHECK ENGING light isn't illuminated your Outback is operating as designed.
 
#24 ·
Here's what I found in the 2015 Outback Service Manual:


 
#25 ·
Here's what I found in the 2015 Outback Service Manual:
The top diagnostic step in the chart refers to checking the MIL - eg. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT - and pulling the DTC codes
 
#29 ·
I think we all's got the point. Fairly literate group here. Thing is, you opened a door on a hot topic and people are going to respond. May not be in a neat tidy little ball, as y'all'd like, but that's the nature of these forums.

This is like someone posting a controversial political issue on Facebook and then getting all bent out of shape when people voice disagreement. Perhaps you should have entitled this "DO NOT RESPOND UNLESS..." Otherwise, it's "like a box of chocolates..."
 
#31 ·
there already is a general MPG thread that shows some people say there is no mpg problem; other claim there is.

This thread was to see if we could find some real examples of dealer responses to those owners who have complained to a dealer service writer and either had a diagnostic test or other action taken.
 
#32 ·
You have asked basically the same question in 6 different posts; there have been more than 900 views of this thread; and still no answers to your direct question. From that I would conclude that either 1) there is no answer to your question or 2) no one cares to give you an answer.

I, for one, would second Rekcah's motion in Post #23.
 
#37 ·
Or few complaints and few of those complaining pursued it. There was one posted with a Legacy where the person was getting 25 mpg avg and service dept. checked it and test drove it and got 32 mpg for the test drive.

I noticed on the EPA site that Outback drivers were averaging less than EPA rated average for 2014 and 2013 models (24.9 vs 26 mpg) and same for 2015 (25.5 vs. 28 mpg) so it may be how people use the Outback. Subaru did seem to deliver on the 10% improvement in MPG from 2014 to 2015.

So it may be that few Outback owners expect to hit the MPG so few complaints about it to dealers.
 
#35 ·
I don't personally have a mileage problem, or at least I don't think I do. I track it on Fuelly and it seems OK. I guess I'll know for sure if I ever burn a tank or two that are 100% highway.

This concern reminds me of what I deal with administering our motor pool at work. Different drivers often have much different experiences with the same car.

For example: We have a driver who swears there's a HUGE problem with her assigned car in snowy and icy conditions. The car apparently has a tendency to slide in corners and skid to a stop in those conditions. No other drivers have the same problem. Our shop comprehensively checked the car a couple of times and replaced the tires twice. We're part of a multi-state government tire compact and only use certain tires which have passed traction and safety tests and been approved by state patrol. It's a safety thing.

We finally referred her to our state fleet office who had state patrol look at the complaints. They're sending her to defensive driving school. They said this is driver problem, not a problem with the car. They believe she's simply never been taught how to drive properly on snow and ice. When we first tried to tell her this, she was quite angry and accused us of calling her a bad driver. Turns out that she IS just a bad driver. She's REALLY mad at us now. :) oh well
 
#41 ·
The link below explains how fuel consumption tests are calculated in Australia. They are done to the European standard. Try and replicate this in the real world. Modern cars don't often have consumption problems. Your driving style, temp, altitude and heaps of other variables are the factors. Sales people and techs get their nose out of joint when you whinge about a non existent problem. My speedo/odo meter is about 7% out, it reads over. The dyno the tests are done on are calibrated.


Explaining official fuel consumption figures | ask the experts
 
#42 ·
That source says at the end "In recent years many car companies have also become more savvy with making their vehicles perform better in the test than it may in real life." US automakers are under pressure to improve their Corporate Average Fleet Economy (CAFE). All-wheel drive makes that harder. It would not surprise me if Subaru has gotten better at gaming the tests as well. I have a favorite saying - "you get what you measure".
 
#43 ·
We bought our Outback Sept 2015 and we averaged about 26/27 mpg till around Dec (we live in Ct).We traveled to Florida via auto train.To Virginia we averaged 27/29 mpg. we drove to many areas of Fl. Looking at different areas as we are interested in buying a retirement home. honestly we put on about 2000 miles and our average went up to 32/34 mpg. Now in Fl they do drive 70 mph on many highways, sometimes you have drive 75 to 80 mph to go along with the traffic. I believe that warmer climate and Fl being relatively flat terrain really makes a difference.
 
#44 ·
Yet another mpg thread. I wonder if anyone has search this forum and summed the total number of threads and posts on this topic

It seems the whiners just want to sing the "Subaru done me wrong song" despite being apprised of the real world variables that truly affect fuel efficiency. The whiners just don't want to accept the facts and want Subabru to do something, anything to "fix" the perceived problem.

So. Here's thought.... Let's come together, form a circle, hold hands, put on a sad face, let a little tear trickle down one or both cheeks and sing the whiner's theme song..... "Subaru done me wrong..." There...does that help?

Seriously. If there wasn't a single owner that reported achieving or nearly achieving published fuel economy then there'd be cause to continue the yapping. BUT, more than a few owners report achieving or nearly achieving published fuel economy. This isn't at all like the ford claim for their C-Max product whereby they blatantly fabricated the fuel efficiency numbers they published and mislead buyers.

It doesn't serve Subaru, or any manufacturer for that matter, to overstate the "Average" Mpg's for their products. If all the manufacturers products are tested under the same standards and protocols......and when they overstate the results, they get caught. It is what it is......
 
#48 ·
This isn't at all like the ford claim for their C-Max product whereby they blatantly fabricated the fuel efficiency numbers they published and mislead buyers.
Actually, I've followed the C-Max hybrid forum quite closely for well over a year now and there are very few complaints there about poor mileage. In fact, many of the regulars there report gas mileage that meets the original 47 mpg EPA estimate that Ford later downgraded. (It turned out that Ford initially never ran the EPA test on the C-Max but rather "borrowed" the numbers from the Fusion hybrid which uses the same drive train. Apparently shortcuts of this nature are not uncommon in the auto world.)

Most of the C-Max complaints center around a mysterious dead 12 volt battery that strikes some cars that Ford hasn't been able to find a good answer for. And interestingly, even though they've been stranded, they get about the same reaction from a few people on that forum as those having Outback mpg issues get from a few people here. And, many of the dealers have been much help, either. Some things are the same no matter where you are. ;-)
 
#46 ·
Hey guys. Think about what a lovely day it is outside. Think about that great time you had with your friends/family recently. Think about that next big thing you're planning. Think about those good times you had or will have.

This thread is simply asking for input from users on a dealer response for their low MPG. It's separate than the MPG thread (and I haven't simply merged it into it) as a result.

One says "What's your MPG?" and the other says "My dealer said XYZ about my MPG" and they're different topics, and as such, warrant different threads.
 
#47 ·
Simple solution if you perceive you have a problem and don't have a CEL, take it to an independent tester who can run the tests to US/Euro standards. If they don't get anywhere close to the claimed figures then the dealer might give you a more positive response instead of just a general bagging of the product he/she sells.
 
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