RickNY

Brought my truck in the other day.. 10K miles.. Brake shudder.. Groove in drivers side router.. Also, fuel economy dropped like a rock since they re-flashed the PCM in October. (Avg MPG is 14.4, and falling despite rising temperatures outside -- and the only thing keeping it that high are the 15-16MPG results preceding - its typically ~13 MPG now)

Anyway.. Asked them to fix the brakes. They resurfaced the rotors, de-glazed the old pads and lubricated slides.

Asked them to check if any software updates for PCM.. Tech test drove it and stated "Roadtested vehicle for concern. Found vehicle getting between 19.5-20.3 MPG from 55-65MPH. Got up to 21.7 MPG between 70-75 MPH. Can't reproduce customer complaint". They drove the truck for two miles on the highway, reset the fuel economy on the dash while doing 55, came back and said "tech said the truck is getting great mileage!". Really? I came in with a spreadhseet from all my Fuelly fill-ups.. Apparently 10K miles of records is trumped by a 2mile drive and reset by a tech.

Is there anyone from Ford customer service here that can follow up with me on this? The issue was not properly diagnosed - and subsequently dismissed. The dealer told me "Ford doesn't really give us any options when it comes to issues like this".

Thanks,
Rick

jeffinthebag

What engine, rear end ratio, truck size? Hard to say. But one of my previous f150's went through 3 sets of rotors and few resurfaces in the first 30k. All done through warranty. After that last set they put on at 30k ish, it never happened again. For me I was warping the rotors and getting a pulsation back through the pedal.

gDMJoe

Maybe it's your driving style (?), which does account for a large portion of MPG.
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All Hat No Cattle

I believe the OP was satisfied with his mileage until they re-flashed the PCM. Then the mileage went down.

RickNY

My driving style is very conservative. I'm also not towing or hauling anything. No lift. 18" tires kept at 40psi.

Gradual acceleration, rarely go over 2500 rpm during acceleration (but also don't under accelerate over 60 seconds to get up to 60 mph). Avg speed on highway is 65 or so. And I keep my foot on the pedal as if there were an egg under it.

What bothered me is the tech reset the instant MPG while already at highway speed and proceeded tell me there is no problem.

uzikaduzi

when do summer blends for gasoline come out? that could effect your mileage.

Adam013085

Agreed with winter blend gas. It cut my MPG down by at least 2 MPG in my truck. Now that the weather is warming up though my MPG has come up about 2 MPG or so. It does not seem uncommon for the MPG to drop a couple MPG after the first few thousand miles. There are quite a few threads on it here.

Resetting your MPG at highway speed is dumb on their part but I don't think your MPG is that far out of line depending which engine, gearing, 2x4 or 4x4.

Bubbamcf

This is my $.02 worth on this fuel issue. I am a Ford Tech and have been for 13 years. I do countless fuel mileage tests. I too reset when i reach cruising speed on the highway. Ford does not allow for acceleration on to the highway. Seems like the tech did the highway part correctly. In town is a little different as it needs to be reset again and driven around town. You say he drove it 2 miles? That does seem a little short but gas is expensive also Ford does not pay the dealer for these issues unless a part is replaced and since most shops are on the flat rate pay scale this means your tech prob didn't get paid either. Neither of which should effect a good diagnosis. Now you said your PCM was reprogrammed with an update? I assume you had an issue bec we are not to reprogram unless instructed to do so by a pin point test or our tech hotline. Reprogramming of your PCM will reset your fuel trims thus all the work you have put into easy accelerating and feathering the pedal to get your good mileage will be erased and it all goes back to factory fuel trims. So until the PCM relearns you and it's spark plugs, fuel injectors, etc all of which have 10k miles on them your mileage will suffer. I believe it will return in time. I hope that helps some. I do feel for you as fuel is not cheap here either. $1.46/L or $5.54 a US gallon.

RickNY

Bubbamcf,

Thanks for the insight.. I guess what bothers me is that Ford seems to drop these problems in the dealer's laps, and if it doesn't involve the PCM throwing a code, they aren't permitted to investigate the issue or give them the tools to follow-through.. I can tell that Ford's coverage for warranty parts and labor back to the dealer is extremely strict - hence dealer's do not want to lose any more money than they already are (Im pretty sure the reimbursement schedule for labor is much less than actual time spent)

The PCM was reflashed in October in response to TSB 13-8-10 "3.5L GTDI - SLIGHT BUCK/JERK AT STEADY CRUISE IN 6TH GEAR WITH ENGINE LUGGING UP GRADES AT 1500-2000 RPM - BUILT ON OR BEFORE 7/29/2013 ".

I've put about 5K miles on the truck since then.

Rick

jeffinthebag

It that US gallons or are they using Imperial gallons?