2012 Focus Average MPG problems

[Prefurbia]

I picked up my 2012 SEL loaded Focus a week ago and love all the features except the Trip 1 and Trip 2 Average MPG is terribly off showing an average between 23 and 26 MPG even though my actual verified is about 38 MPG average.

When I picked up the car I reset the trip 1 and trip 2 while I was driving, both showing 180.0 miles had been driven, but one showed an average of 23.0 MPG and the other 25.9 MPG.

Yesterday I went to my Ford dealer to 'fix' the problem

The Ford mechanic told me the difference might have been because I set the trip meters while driving and the difference in the delay between resets could cause the difference. A Bugatti Veyron could not even use that much fuel in the few seconds it took to clear eack trip meter. Being told something that would be physically impossible is not a great way to start a relationship with my new Ford...

After the dealer called the factory, they handed my car back to me with no fix stating there are no faults, or known fixes...

Anybody else having similar problems?

[Sponsor]

[Gobird]

Don't know about the Focus yet but my 500 has the same thing it it should be reset when sitting still.

[Red 2012]

Are you resetting both the MPG and miles? doing that, I think, starts off the trip with no MPG initially. I did that while in motion yesterday.

Isn't this a Microsoft software product? if that is so, we should be getting changes reloaded nearly every day. duh.... I guess we take the wireless laptop out to the car, plug the cable into the usb socket and everything will be right for the day.

Right now I don't think the mechanics have a clew ... I have a screwed up AM in the radio and am holding off taking it in for a couple of weeks, hoping they may may learn something meanwhile.

[Prefurbia]

They download updates through Microsoft wireless thing-a-magiggie?

I reset the trip meters while stopped - same problem exists so far.

The first car I had with a digital odometer was a Pontiac Grand Prix, every 3,000 miles it rest to zero - a great bug to have... drove the car 5 years and sold it with less than 1,000 showing (I did keep a record and was honest).

This bug - not so great!

[mysticbluebmw]

Originally Posted by Prefurbia

They download updates through Microsoft wireless thing-a-magiggie?

I reset the trip meters while stopped - same problem exists so far.

The first car I had with a digital odometer was a Pontiac Grand Prix, every 3,000 miles it rest to zero - a great bug to have... drove the car 5 years and sold it with less than 1,000 showing (I did keep a record and was honest).

This bug - not so great!

Hope you get it sorted soon!

[Triton46]

Could you take a picture of the MPG display? I could not find this feature on the SEL I test drove a few weeks back and the dealer was uncertain. Also, does the Focus only have a life average MPG or does it also have a real time MPG?

[28HopUp]

Originally Posted by Triton46

Could you take a picture of the MPG display? I could not find this feature on the SEL I test drove a few weeks back and the dealer was uncertain. Also, does the Focus only have a life average MPG or does it also have a real time MPG?

Triton46, on my SE the MPG display is above the steering wheel on the dash. If I'm not mistaken, it's on the same panel for the SEL's too. Regarding your other question, I've driven other Fords that had two displays for MPG's: instant and average. The new Focus only displays the average MPG's, but you can hold down the OK button on the left steering wheel stalk to reset it to quickly learn what you are doing at the time.

I think the OP was correct to calculate MPG's over the course of a tank of gas (distance traveled divided by gallons pumped into tank). I've only refueled the car once, but my calculated MPG's was much higher than what was displayed on the dash.

[Triton46]

Originally Posted by 28HopUp

Triton46, on my SE the MPG display is above the steering wheel on the dash. If I'm not mistaken, it's on the same panel for the SEL's too. Regarding your other question, I've driven other Fords that had two displays for MPG's: instant and average. The new Focus only displays the average MPG's, but you can hold down the OK button on the left steering wheel stalk to reset it to quickly learn what you are doing at the time.

I think the OP was correct to calculate MPG's over the course of a tank of gas (distance traveled divided by gallons pumped into tank). I've only refueled the car once, but my calculated MPG's was much higher than what was displayed on the dash.

Hmmm, I found all kinds of settings/displays on the display between the speedometer and tachometer but could not find a MPG display. Could you describe what the menu directory is to get to it?

I'm sure it is there, but I went through every menu and sub-menu three times and still could not find it.

[28HopUp]

Originally Posted by Triton46

Hmmm, I found all kinds of settings/displays on the display between the speedometer and tachometer but could not find a MPG display. Could you describe what the menu directory is to get to it?

I'm sure it is there, but I went through every menu and sub-menu three times and still could not find it.

When you have the center screen (between the guages) set to Trip 1, you can use the left steering wheel stalk to scroll down through the choices, which on my SE are:

Trip Odometer
Trip Timer
Distance to Empty
Average MPG's


The number displayed was just about 2 MPG's less than what I calculated as actual.

[iminhell]

Not sure if I'm right here but far as I'm reading from the manual this is how I understand it,

Originally Posted by 2012 Ford Focus Owner's Manual, page 19

Average fuel
economy —
shows the
average
distance
traveled per
unit of fuel
used for a given
trip

That to me says the 'average fuel economy' will be calculated per trip setting. That is, gallons used divided by trip one or trip two, and not the total of trip one and two. So it'd be best to reset one trip and use that for average fuel economy and the other for whatever.