We have our 1st Suburu. We have 2020 Ascent. Gas mileage is so bad. Is this normal for Suburu? This will be my last one.
Horrible gas mileage
Kvenner
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Curious as to what the dealer is going/can do?
If fuel economy is significantly lower than expected, the dealer could run several diagnostic checks and look at various computer telemetry to figure out if something mechanical has failed. For example, if there's a bad injector or pressure regulator or something similar, the engine could be consuming more fuel than intended. This could be discovered during a physical inspection or perhaps by looking at the short term and/or long term fuel trim numbers (and/or other data) to see if the computer is trying its best to compensate for extra fuel.
We obviously couldn't know or predict what is happening in any one case, but that's an example of how a dealer could approach it. Of course, a dealer could just blow the customer off and say it's due to a lead foot. I guess only a visit to the service department will reveal how they't treat the situation.
We obviously couldn't know or predict what is happening in any one case, but that's an example of how a dealer could approach it. Of course, a dealer could just blow the customer off and say it's due to a lead foot. I guess only a visit to the service department will reveal how they't treat the situation.
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My falkens were out by 25K too. The dealer tried to sell me a new set of tires for over 900. I was like, I bought the car from you and the tires lasted 25k miles. Please tell me why I should pay for the same privilege again? I went to Discount Tire and got Yokohama's . They were rated well in CR. Mileage doesn't seem to be much different.
Hopefully, the current version doesn't wear as fast as the set I had on my previous vehicle...but yes, they were fine for fuel economy.
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I'm on my Third Subaru, getting the best mileage ever on a 2018 Outback. Easily get 31 MPG at freeway speeds of around 75 MPH. City is worse, around 27, but still not bad for an all wheel drive vehicle!
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My 2019 Ascent Touring package has never topped 21 mpg. I now have 25K miles on it and the 21 was a trip to LA from Seattle and back with my wife and child and luggage. I drive it around town most of the time and only get about 14 MPG. It sucks. I also get my absolute best mileage at high speeds of 75-85. Sounds crazy but true.
But in Subaru's defense.... That turbo they installed just seems to give me a lead foot!! It is so fun to drive. So much power for being only a 4 cyl, I also only use Premium Shell Gas. I guess I like wasting money. - Jon Pierre Greater Seattle Area (AKA - Gods Country).
But in Subaru's defense.... That turbo they installed just seems to give me a lead foot!! It is so fun to drive. So much power for being only a 4 cyl, I also only use Premium Shell Gas. I guess I like wasting money. - Jon Pierre Greater Seattle Area (AKA - Gods Country).
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Extremely low fuel economy points to a problem with a specific vehicle. Everyone's results are going to vary for a variety of reasons, but the only "good" reason for an Ascent to get 14 mpg is towing something big or lots of short trips with the skinny pedal to the floor.
This may say it all.
The way I drive ours most of the time, I'm at or below 2,000-2,500 RPM. Our in-town economy is in the 20-22mpg range on regular gas. Lugging this engine a little bit seems to give good results. Engine speed is low, engine load is high, throttle openings are usually somewhat high (even if the turbo isn't pressurizing the intake), and parasitic losses (like manifold vacuum) are low. It seems to do best in this type of environment.
I use the Manual function and Passle shifters to keep my Ascent in 8th gear when driving in the highway. I also do it for in town as well sometimes.
If I work at it, I’ll get about 20 in the city and 24-25 on the highway.
I wish they offered an option for a ‘maximize fuel economy’ shifting option. Many times, I’ll be cruising at 60 on a flat highway, and when I switch to manual mode, I may be in 7th, sometimes 6th gear!
Last weekend driving from Maine to NYC I decided to babysit throttle to see what average going to be.
Distance was 422 miles. Car fully loaded with 4 passengers and 4 bicycles on hitch carrier. I have achieved 25 mpg. I'm OK with that.
Distance was 422 miles. Car fully loaded with 4 passengers and 4 bicycles on hitch carrier. I have achieved 25 mpg. I'm OK with that.
We have about a hundred miles on our current tank, and have really been just toodling around town, keeping engine speeds low. We're averaging over 24 mpg (it's either .2 or .3 right now). Again, our driving is semi-rural, semi-suburban, and is fairly ideal for maiximizing "in town" fuel economy, but still...the Ascent really does seem to respond to minding your manners with the skinny pedal.
I think this is said of modern turbocharged cars in general. They're tuned to get pretty good economy when driven at speeds resembling the EPA drive cycles (pretty moderate). Have fun with them, though, and they really pour in the fuel.
I think this is said of modern turbocharged cars in general. They're tuned to get pretty good economy when driven at speeds resembling the EPA drive cycles (pretty moderate). Have fun with them, though, and they really pour in the fuel.
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It's all how you finesse the gas pedal.
I had just finished a 120mi highway drive, uphill, from San Francisco to Ukiah, on the 101, varying from 50 - 80mph, basically staying in the fast lane unless a sports car came up behind me. I hold pedal position on uphills, but still do better than all 18 wheelers and 60% of cars, but I do slow some, and sure I can use the pedal and maintain 80mph uphill but that sucks a lot of gas. I got off the freeway and had about a 3 mile surface street loop (in traffic) and the MilesTillEmpty gauge uses the last half hour ? of driving (easily a 1,000 foot altitude) to calcuate the miles remaining.
And when I'm home on the ranch, crawling up hills and checking tanks, I go way down, and that's expected too.
But if you keep the boost down, you can get amazing mileage. Close to 29mpg on that trip. [570 / 19gal]
( kalifornia emissions package)
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I had just finished a 120mi highway drive, uphill, from San Francisco to Ukiah, on the 101, varying from 50 - 80mph, basically staying in the fast lane unless a sports car came up behind me. I hold pedal position on uphills, but still do better than all 18 wheelers and 60% of cars, but I do slow some, and sure I can use the pedal and maintain 80mph uphill but that sucks a lot of gas. I got off the freeway and had about a 3 mile surface street loop (in traffic) and the MilesTillEmpty gauge uses the last half hour ? of driving (easily a 1,000 foot altitude) to calcuate the miles remaining.
And when I'm home on the ranch, crawling up hills and checking tanks, I go way down, and that's expected too.
But if you keep the boost down, you can get amazing mileage. Close to 29mpg on that trip. [570 / 19gal]
( kalifornia emissions package)
The CVT does not have any "6th, 7th or 8th" gear or any other fixed ratio. The system works to be in optimal combination of engine RPM and ratio...the latter being continuously variable. While there are the unfortunate "simulated shift points" with the current software implementation to make folks feel like they are driving with a traditional automatic transmission, when on ACC, the software works to make things as efficient as possible based on the level of acceleration aggressiveness you've tagged in the settings. When you switch to manual mode to use the paddle shifters, it has to display something so it likely picks something that's close to the current ratio.
2023 Tesla M3P, 2020 Ascent (sold), 2011 WRX, 2009 Outback
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Nobody "tapes" anything anymore, nor do we save to floppy disks. But that doesnt stop people from using the phrase and UI designers continue to use the floppy disk icon.
That's true....but there are many folks who don't get the "continuously variable" part of CVT, so my comment was mere clarification just in case.Nobody "tapes" anything anymore, nor do we save to floppy disks. But that doesnt stop people from using the phrase and UI designers continue to use the floppy disk icon.
There is always a certain mathematical pulley ratio in the CVT (it changes continuously in automatic mode, but there is always a ratio). And there are eight fixed ratios programmed into the system for manual mode...when you move it to manual mode, the computer just selects the closest of the programmed "speeds" for whatever the mathematical ratio is in the CVT at the time. If you're coasting down a hill, you may be closest to the ratio corresponding to "7th speed", so it selects that one. If you're climbing a hill, you may be closest to the ratio corresponding to "6th speed" or even "5th speed", so it would select that one.
Note that low engine speed is generally good for economy when poking around town, but it's not necessarily best for fuel economy when at road speed. If you lug the engine and try to maintain speed, the engine's load will be pretty high, it'll probably be under boost, and it'll be using quite a bit of fuel to keep the mixture correct and to prevent spark knock. Though sometimes counterintuitive, if allowed to rev some, the engine load can be maintained at a lower level, the engine can stay out of boost to maintain speed, and it doesn't have to consume as much fuel.
There's a road near me with a 65 mph speed limit and a straight section with a slight incline for nearly a mile. It's very interesting to watch the onboard data while driving this incline in various "speeds" selected manually. If left alone, the CVT will adjust so that the engine spins at about 2,200 rpm to maintain speed. I thought that it would certainly use less fuel if the engine speed was kept down, so I logged data in 6th, 7th, and 8th "speed" to see what was actually going on. There wasn't really a difference in the amount of fuel used, which surprised me. The engine was spinning quite contently in 6th and 7th speeds, there was no turbo boost (there was still manifold vacuum), spark timing was relatively advanced, etc. The engine seemed pretty happy. If forced to drive in 8th speed, the reported engine load was fairly high, the turbocharger was boosting the engine (negative manifold vacuum), and spark timing was cut way back (again, to avoid spark knock, etc.). It was certainly maintaining speed up the hill, but the engine was worked much harder to do it when forced to do it at the slower engine speed.
It surprised me, the results I observed. But it made it clear to me that Subaru's programming (allowing the engine to spin faster than we might think it should) is achieving the best balance of wear, longevity, economy, etc.
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I wouldn't waste my time. The Ascent automatically changes the ratio to the fake 8th when in automatic mode. If you shift to manual mode, it actually changes the ratio to 7th. There aren't gears. The computer is better at adjusting the ratio pretty instantaneously.
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