A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Ford alleging that the mileage estimates for the C-Max and Fusion Hybrid are false.

Based on what I've been reading about real-world tests showing much lower results than 47/47, this should be intersting to follow.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/ford...aims-1C7755875

 

I'm not surprised at all. I'm 2200 miles into my new 13 fusion and am averaging 33 during that time. This tank is my highest at 35.8 so far average. If I use many of the hypermiler techniques, I can get about 39, but that's with the heater turned off and pulsing. I've had it back at the ford dealer and they are telling me that it will improve 10 MPG by having over 40 deg temps and once it has at least 6000 miles on it. The guys in the service department tell me it's my driving technique...I told them I'd let them each drive it 100 miles on my gas and whoever of the 5 of them gets over 40MPG I'd give a crisp $100 bill. However, if they came in short, they have to give me $100. None of them were willing to try. Why? Not possible, at least not until it's warm and broken in. That's a little problematic in a climate like Northern Indiana when it drops below 40 six months per year. On the highway above 65 MPH I haven't been able to top 35 MPG.

So anyhow, love the car if mileage wasn't my goal. However, having purchased the car to get the advertised 47 MPG, I'm not presently very happy with that part of the ownership experience. Yet to determine whether I'll sign up for the class action suit.

 

I know there is lots of talk about breaking in, tires, engines, and what-not. I have kept mpg records of my last 3 cars, (one was a 05 Honda Civic Hybrid), and none of them had any significant mileage increases (or decreases) as they got older, although many here claim of 1-2 mpg as tires break in and so on, but nothing like 10 mpg that I can recall.

Also, we have seen lots of people here who complain about low mileage where it turned out to be their fault. And often it took another member going over and watching them drive 90 mph, or noticing the giant custom wheels that killed their mpg.

If the car is bone stock, with OEM tires properly inflated (preferably slightly over-inflated), the engine warmed up, on a flat, constant throttle (no speeding up or slowing down), no wind, manufacturer recommended gasoline, and at 65 mph, most cars will easily exceed their EPA highway ratings. Whew! Did I cover everything?

So the question becomes, do you meet all the qualifications I mentioned?

If yes to everything then maybe sign up for the lawsuit.

My 05 HCH-I had a class action suit against it, and I declined to sign up for it because I was getting pretty close to what was advertised, and could easily beat the highway number by 10% (given all the conditions above). But the car had to be babied to achieve consistent high mpg, and most people just aren't up to that kind of driving care, but I believed Honda delivered what they said they did.

The settlement was funny too, I got the settlement even though I didn't sign up for the suit. It was a $2,000 discount for any low-mileage vehicle Honda made. All the high-mileage vehicles were excluded. I just couldn't believe that. What a waste, and how incredibly ironic.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah it's bone stock. I've got under 2500 miles on it and I've had it back to the dealer twice to see if they can show me what's wrong with it. I don't know if you saw what I said to the service department there, but I have a standing bet with them that if they can run it 100 miles at 40 mpg, I'll give them each $100. No one there will try it. I don't have 2 pounds of extra gear in the car. Trunk, back seat, and passenger seat are empty. Tires are inflated. I even leave the heat off except to clear the windows (wear hat and gloves in my car). I've been reading the hypermiling forums and accelerating up the hills and using the battery downhill...looking ahead for stale lights, I get good braking scores above 95% on the car computer, etc... I've filled up about 5 times, and the best average so far is 35.7. Most of my driving is highway miles. It's rated at 47 MPG. If I use the cruise at 55 (in eco mode)I can get 35-36 MPG, At 60 it's about the same. At 65,MPH 34MPG, 70MPH 33 MPG, 75MPH 32 MPG. 80MPH 30MPG. If I don't use ecocruise, I can get another 4 mpg "pulsing". So I can get about 39 MPG between 55 and 60 mph using pulsing (and leaning to the middle, holding the left side of my teeth together, squint my right eye feather the pedal...you get my drift). What's really upsetting is that I can't even get the car to read out a 40mpg average on the dash for any 2-6 minute interval above 55 MPH. I haven't driven over 63mph the past 3 tanks.

When I see 47/47/47 on the sticker, I don't really think "well on a flat surface, car warmed up, up to cruising speed, no wind, 70 degrees, heat off, at exactly 55 mph, drafting a semi, with a 100 pound driver, no passengers or cargo you'll get somewhere near 47MPG ." When I see 47/47/47 on the sticker, that means with reasonable conservative driving you should get 47 mpg average for a tank of gas, no matter how you drive it. Heck, I can't get over 35 mpg average. The service manager got 36 mpg when I gave it to him for 3 days, and he said "that's nearly 40". In reality, it's almost 33% below their rating at 36 and even if I could get 40, that's almost 20% below their claim -- and I don't even thing that is possible in highway driving.

So anyhow, I'm actually shopping it around to trade it. 35 mpg isn't anything special, and constantly driving it to maximize mileage is for the birds. I'll probably participate in the class action suit and see if I can recoup any of my lost costs. I want to get rid of it before the whole world figures out the mileage is bogus and the value goes to next to zero.

 

Wait until the 3000 mile break in, No, hold on, Wait until 6000 miles to break in, Oh, shoot we're sorry we meant wait until 10K miles break in.

Those are the answers I got from Ford Customer Service regarding my 2013 Fusion Hybrid. Like others it get poor gas mileage. I also own a 2010 Fusion Hybrid, which gets its EPA ratings, even in winter when I try. When I dont try, I get around 34, and considering its 80% highway, 2 under EPA, not bad! I can usually get low 40's when I try even when its 28* out.

However, there is something not right with the new Fusions in that the cold affects them way too much, by up to 30%. Is it the batteries? The cooling system? Ford sure doesnt know, nor do they care. If they can road test a car and their computer tells them that it gets withing a certain range, then there is nothing wrong. I went on one of the road tests, you MUST hyper mile the car, extreme P&G if you want to see 40 in the cold weather. If you dont mind driving slowly up to 60 MPH, then gliding down to 45 on battery, and doing it all over again, to get 40 MPG in winter, Go right ahead, but if you dont, buy an older Fusion, or Toyota, where you do not have to drive like that to get the EPA. Of course, the car did not get close to EPA in any of the tests, best he did was 44.

If this was my first hybrid and I got these results, maybe I could accept their accusations of its your driving, but seriously, this is my 4th Hybrid, and the only one I have not been able to get to meet the EPA numbers in. Heck I road tested a brand new Toyota Avalon Hybrid with 335 mile on it, and got 40 MPG mixed driving. I test drove a 2012 Camry Hybrid and got 41.7 MPG in it.

Ford may have aced the EPA tests, but their real world numbers are going to come back and bite them, and this CAL is just the thing to do it. Even if Ford doesnt wind up paying out anything, in the very least my hope is the EPA tests will be changed so consumers are less likely to be duped by this kind of advertising.

Ford built a great car with the 2013, but I feel they did a huge disservice to all its customers with the 47/47/47 MPG claims. How is it Toyota can market a car with high EPA claims, and the majority of owners and meet and exceed them while Ford cant?

 

I'll have to change my user name to FWFusion to FWPassat, LOL. I traded my '13 Fusion Hybrid. What a joke. Seriously. The mileage claims are so far off it's mind-boggling as you saw from my postings above. I traded it with 3500 miles for a Passat diesel stick shift. WITHOUT HYPERMILING I'm averaging 44 MPG tank after tank. I drove all highway last week and got 49.9mpg at 78MPH most of the time. At 56mph and cruise set I get over 50mpg without doing anything special at all. Heck, hypermiling like I was doing with that POS Fusion I probably would get 55-60mpg. This Passat is AWESOME. I highly recommend it. I took a $4K loss on the Fusion but will make it up on the mileage increase on the Passat, and the resale value (once the world figures out the Fusion is garbage rendering it worthless). Oh, and maybe being part of one of the class actions will help, too.

 

To be a part of the CAL, where you can participate you need to retain ownership of the vehicle in question. Dont ask how I know, as I wont answer(hint hint). Overall the Fusion is a great car for what you get in it, but the premium for the hybrid package is just not worth it, so in any case, Ford needs to settle up with us over this somehow. Considering the Gen I FFH is easier to get EPA in and it does even in cold weather, the Gen II is a step backwards. Since it was released late in the year and went right into the cold weather season, wait until the weather warms up and see how they do then. All I can say is, these cars do not like cold weather.

 

The law firm I'm registered with said there have been awards to former owners on other suits, and that since I have been a "class member" and arguably have incurred damages in mileage and depreciation, I may be entitled to an award at the conclusion. I'm certainly not budgeting for it, and it will probably be years away, but I'll stay abreast just in case. Maybe I'll get a groupon for a Gen3....

 

I purchased a 2013 fusion hybrid this past January. Two weeeks after purchase at about 800miles I drove the car from Ohio to Florida....averaging 40.5 mpg for the trip.Upon return to Ohio the average increased to 41.3 mpg. Both trips were through the mountains of KY & Tenn. at 75/80mph. Just last week I discovered the ECO setting and now have it on. After resetting the odom mpg calculation the car is now registering a 45.7 mpg. That being said I am sure that with a little effort ( speeds under 60 & no rabbit starts/warmer weather ) I can achieve the 47 mpg. Sorry others are not. Tom

 

I recently drove a cmax round trip for about 20 miles on MA 140. At 65 mph the car only achieved an indicated 34mpg. I then did the same exact thing with my gen three 2010 prius which is rated only one mpg higher on the highway... I got an indicated 46.5mpg. Temps were in the low to mid thirties. Ford is in some hot water... Also I have driven the cmax and fusion hybrids a number of times against my prius and have gotten the same disparities every time regardless of speed and temperatures. Now for the idiots who claim you need 3 to ten k breakin...I have driven many new cars with less than a hundred miles on the odometer that easily hit their epa at 65mph in 40 degree temps.