I have a 2013 O.S. LE with around 600 miles on it. I was getting an average of 18MPG combined driving and I recently drove two hours on teh highway to teh airport for a trip. Couldn't get better than 21 MPG!!!! What is going on with this thing. These are nowhere near indicated expectations. I was driving in 2WD the whole time. No mods. All stock.

Also, is there a patch or programming update for the CVT? Mine dumps through the gears at the start off and lags greatly. I have to almost floor it from stop lights to keep from the CVT bogging down........

Any recommendations? I love the car (bought it over a CX-5), just don't like this CVT and fuel mileage issue. Almost convinced to trade it for the CX-5.

 

There are several threads on this subject already.

A. It's not the car, it's your driving.
B. The mileage will improve after a few thousand miles. That's standard for every car ever made.
C. The oil weight makes a big difference. I don't recall which is the good one and which is the bad, but one of the thicker weights turns the little tiny 4b11 into a giant turd (as opposed to the little turd that it usually is ).

 

@BT,
It's a common scenario for our O.Sports to experience poor MPGs right from Factory "fresh", the CVT just haven't had time to break-in, yet...

I experienced the exact same thing with both of our 2013 Outlander Sport SE AWDs!
1. The first Silver unit was driven exclusively in FWD mode, we hit as high as 32.3MPG, and that's ONLY After we put nearly 2,400 miles on the vehicle. As witnessed here >
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ou...rt-se-4wd.html, Post#10

It just takes awhile longer to break-in these CVTs than compared to regular transmissions.

2. On our Black O.Sport (we have it set in 4WD Auto mode, exclusively - right from the dealer lot when we took the keys) and we are JUST now seeing 27MPGs! < That was back at 1,350 and We are just now passing 2,347 miles on the ODO and we are STILL only getting 27.1MPGs...

So, I guess the moral of this story is, drive in FWD mode if you want best MPGs

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The new 2014 Mazda CX-5 with the upgraded 2.5L motor are Much better in pickup than the old 2.0L they had.. that's for sure.
But, you're definitely paying MUCH more for AWD (that you CAN NOT switch off or go to FWD mode) Nor do you get the amount of tech & features as compared to our O.Sports... Like Xenon HID headlights, Backup Cam, Pano roof, etc.
Unless you're willing to shellout nearly $28K+ for them.

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Also welcome to the forum!
Congrats on your new O.Sport LE.

How do you like the power seats?

 

As mentioned above, your driving style makes or breaks fuel economy. if you're easy on the pedal then you should see fuel gains, however, if you apply high pedals requestig kickdowns then eventualy you go into a less fuel efficient region in the rpm and hurt fuel economy.
The transmission is tunned to give you the best fuel economy unless they have an "eco" button in the vehicle that it needs to be activated inorder to get that. So it isnt "bogging down".

go easy on the pedal..... try not to apply more than 25% and see if you notice any difference.
gl!


edit: on the mileage note, i dont think its related to the transmission as much, but the internal friction of the engine. fresh engines have higher internal frictions so I wouldn't be surprised to see gains after 2k miles or so.

 

OP,
Guess that's the first question > How fast have you been driving?

 

Anything over 55mph drastically reduces the mpgs. I average ~32 @55, but it cuts in 1/2 to about ~16-17 @ 85mph

 

1. You only have 600 miles on the car so far, the engine is going to break in and so is the CVT. I didnt see great gas mileage until about 4000 miles and the CVT was annoying up to about 1500 miles.

2. The CVT is an adaptive transmission that uses software to learn how you drive. INVECS III, which is the name of the software, is capable of adjusting the behavior of the CVT both on the fly and over time. During the first couple of months its in a learning mode, so just keep driving it according to your tastes.

3. Just stick with it. I hated the thing until about 4000 miles. It was super sluggish, the CVT seemed to lag and have no response, gas mileage was not much better than some full size crossovers. Now I regularly see 27-31 MPG and the CVT is very responsive.

 

Thanks to all for the responses. Im going to wait it out for the conditions to improve post break-in. Its just annoying when you pay 25k for a x-over and drive a kia forte with the smoothest xmsn you ever felt. My wifes Hyundai Tucson hasan amazing one as well. Im hoping Mitsu doesnt disappoint in the end....

I averaged 24.1 coming home from KC this evening on the hwy (75-85 mph). Not too bad considering I had to go between autoand sport to keep speed limit.

Im also going to drop in a k&n and see if it helps, too. Anybody put a SprintBooster on their O.S/RVR?

 

I'm surprised you even got 24mpg going 75-85mph lol

 

You may have to hold on that one.. K&N doesn't make a drop-in for our 2013 model... yet.

 

The Lancer crew and full size outlander guys all like the sprint booster, so you should be OK

 

@BTBean

Just curious.. has your MPGs improved?

 

No. Not yet. Im averaging 18 to 22 city and 25the highway. I took it to the dealer to see about the balance shaft. They saidit drives likea Mitaubishi with 1600the miles on it. I did test drive a new Camaro 1LT w RS while it was being checked. It must have heard the wige and I discussing it when we got back in because it has been handling much better since. Lol.

 

I am averaging the same as well, 24mpg in 75-80mph. If i slow down to around 65-70mpg, i always get above 26mpg.

 

@dondi

Its depressing to fill up a 2.0 liter and see 240 mi.es on the DTE indicator. Especially at ove 40.00 a tank. I will be glad when I hit that magical 30mpg mark.