Ford Edge 2012 Fuel Consumption
Keith Cogswell
I've had my Ford Edge Sel V6 3.5L for just over 6 months now. I'm currently sitting at 8200km after doing the first oil change. I've noticed that the fuel economy hasn't dropped below 14.0L/100KM at any given point, which is odd because FORD has an estimated 11.5L/100KM.
There may be something wrong but I don't think you understand how mpg works. You can take the exact same vehicle and let 2 people drive it on 2 different routes at different times and get a huge difference in mpg. I don't do metric but you could see a range from 15 mpg to 30 mpg just depending on the route and driver and speed. There is no such thing as a single expected mpg.
If I let my Dad drive my 2011 3.5 Edge for a few weeks it averages 18.5 MPG. I always keep it around 22 MPG driving in the same area. MPG drops like a stone if I don't always pay attention to the pedal and traffic.
With about 2500 miles on my 2013 Edge, I reset the trip odometer while on the highway, set the car to cruise at 70mph and watched the gas mileage get up to 25.8 mpg. Not bad. Too bad I do a good bit of local driving. ;-)
We also get about 13.8-14.3L/100km in city traffic. The 2014 Edge SEL AWD states city 11.8 on the window sticker or 24mpg (CDN) That is also marked on the 3.5L FWD window stickers, so I am making an assumption that the AWD system does drink slightly more fuel. We have gotten 8.8 on the hwy avg 115km/hr which is close to the 7.8L/100(36mpg). Mind you we were going 115 at 100km/hr I am sure the fuel economy would improve. We have just passed 3000 km so the engine is still very new. I suspect the stop and go traffic my wife drives in has alot to do with the fuel economy. I have a 2008 Bullitt modified with Ford HR CAMS long tube headers and a tune and I get 14.5L/100km in the city. Seems weird that I get better fuel economy with 380 hp on a 3600lb Mustang. I am hoping for improvement but it is what it is I guess.
Forget the window sticker as far as fuel economy figures go. They are useful to compare between vehicles, but there are no guarantee that they will represent real life consumption. These values are made using tests that does not necessarily represent driving reality.
Whats even worse is the fact that canadian figures almost always show better consumption rating than american numbers. They updated the test in the states a few year ago to try an make them more realistic, but Canada did not update their test yet, so it is even less representative.
I figured it was and comparing it to our 2004 Explorer XLT 4.0L we traded in for the Edge we are sipping gas. The Explorer was always maintained and stop and go traffic with my wife driving(light on the skinny pedal we got 17.5-20L/100km I am happy. We needed the AWD so ecoboost wasn't even in the option list for us. Oh ya GO HABS, I am a transplanted Montrealer actually Chomedey
The Edge is a pretty thirsty vehicle, but it should be expected when compared with the other SUVs on the market. It is built on a fairly old frame (2005-2006) and is pretty heavy. You compared it to your mustang, but the edge is actually 4000+ lbs.
I am in the same boat, because of winter and frequent ski trip, there is no way I would have gotten one that wasn't AWD, so the ecoboost was not an option. Plus I don't really buy into the "turbo everything" hype. GO Habs, haha, I am from Rimouski, about 6 hours east of Montreal.
First of, I'd like to say that I did my search work but couldn't find what I am looking for, maybe because it hasn't been posted yet (which I doubt it), but probably because I didn't managed my search properly. My apologies before hand if the latter is the case. But if so, please feel free to forward me or send me in the right direction.
As the tittle suggests, I'm going to ask a few questions about fuel consumption, specifically liters/100 Km (the Canadian or metric system) or the equivalent GPM (the American or imperial system). The objective and result are the same (just a conversion factor).
As shown in my profile, I have a 2011 SEL (FWD) with about 186000 Km (116000 miles) in it. I may have not paid enough attention since I bought it over two years ago, but now finances are shrinking, and the good environment as well So, lately (don't know since when but many months ago if not over a year by now) my car fuel consumption is not going below 14L/100Km (or above the equivalent 16.8 mpg). When I cross reference the specifications for this car in different websites, most of them agree to state the worse (city driving conditions) performance of this car new should be around 11L/100Km (or 21mpg). Even when I have been driving mostly on the HW, I can't get below 14L/100Km.
Now, related to my second question, please, I would like to hear suggestions/solutions from the most effective ones down. What I mean is, a cold air intake may improve (or may not, depending on other things); a K&N filter may improve (but may not, depending on other things). Basically, I would like to start from basic maintenance things I should change/replace/repair which are known to dramatically improve fuel consumption/economy/efficiency, if you folks don't mind, please. Then we can go to the "fine tune"
And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'm basing my questions on highway driving conditions during summer time (Canadian city driving conditions during Canadian winter time throws ALL READINGS out! lol
Are you having oil consumption issues? That may be a problem in your 2011 Edge. If you check oil level regularly, you will know. OR if you check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate and see pooling oil. Then you would need to update the front valve cover to fix it.
My apologies for being lost so long, specially to WWWPerFA_ZNOW for your greatly appreciated super quick response; terrible holiday season here with family members flu sick, one completely out now but other one still on the recovery road... My comments below, thanks:
.- Intake: I once tried to check the intake tubing/back of the throttle plate but, to be completely honest (and maybe ignorant or just low-skilled), I got tangled in the stage to remove the the connection to the air filter casing (I don't know how to unhook/disengage the wire/cable connection) and I couldn't go any further. But giving the fact the this engine doesn't consume much oil I tend to believe (and hope) that I don't have a problem there. Visually inspected from the outside, I can't see/notice any oil drip, moisture or residue back there.
.- Fluids(?): Not sure what fluids exactly you're referring, if you could please clarify I'll appreciate it. But transmission and coolant fluids were replaced 2.5 years ago. Some 20-30K Km has been added since then. Brake and steering fluids have not been recently replaced. Not sure which other fluids may need to be replaced. Please keep in mind that I'm not really fully familiar with all a car needs to have done; I'm mostly just a good driver lol. Should I still replace any of these fluids to improve gas mileage?
- Tire pressure: perfectly fine all the time as per spec posted on the vehicle frame (35 psi, cold). I have an air compressor in my garage with a digital gauge. I check and retouch air pressure at the time I swap the wheels; then I check the tire pressure like every month or so (in case the TPMS failed but never there's been ever any issues so far, not even having to top them up.
.- Driving conditions: I know driving habit and conditions are probably the factor # 1 in fuel consumption; that's why I mentioned in my OP that I was referring to mostly highway driving during summer time. Again, city driving habit during Canadian winter conditions through all numbers out, I know.
.- Fuel quality: well, I have always put regular gasoline (87 octane, as recommended in the owner's manual for this car as well) from Petro Canada, in all my cars, for many years, and I know that every car's make is different but I had always had very good or at least very acceptable (close to manufacture's claim), fuel economy in my previous cars (one Mercury, three Chryslers and one VW). I think fuel quality may not be a contributing factor in my case, as it has been a very common and constant factor for me all the time in previous cars as well, always with good yields.
As you (and everyone, please) can see, and you all can also please feel free to ask any more questions, I'm not doing anything crazy or extraordinary with my car. My main question still remains, please:
.- Is it true that the 2011 Ford Edge SEL (FWD) is supposed to make 11L/100Km or 21mpg on city (worse than HW) driving conditions, is that achievable, or it's just a bluff? Has anybody been able to achieve that fuel economy in real life? ...Or may there be something really wrong with my car?
My 2013 3.5l awd with 160k kms on it achieved 12-14mpg in city no where close to the 18 it was rated for, but it did better than rated on the highway so knew it was driving/conditions and not a problem with the car.
Bigger wheels and AWD will eat into the mpg, to the tune of almost 2 mpg. You have FWD, so that is not an issue. Fluids seem good too. Winter drops tire pressures, but it seems you are checking regularly so you are keeping them at 35 psi (I assume).
City driving or "special operations" conditions it is not unusual to get lower mpg than rated unless you really hypermile it. Short trips and extended idling waste fuel and dilute the oil with fuel. If you smell fuel in the oil, the oil has run too long, or you may need a slightly higher viscosity oil to begin with (5W30 instead of 5W20, for example).
25,000 miles in 3 years (or worse, 4) is very low mileage annually. While I don't think the plugs need replacing, it is easy to pull and check Bank 2 (near radiator) to verify. Realize that Bank 1 plugs are more likely to have larger gaps but not by a significant margin.
Yeap, I check the tire pressure more often during the winter time just because I parked the car just besides the compressor . But again, I don't even bother to look at any numbers during the winter time because: I'm always driving in the city only (30-60 Km/h), I remote start the car when leaving work and let it run idle for about 5-8 min while removing snow and/or ice; some times shorter when outside temp is frigid lol; Those two things alone throw any fuel economy/efficiency numbers out. I don't bother to check those numbers during winter time; I check on fuel economy/efficiency only during summer time.
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