Helping the transmission shift?

I've noticed when I drive my 2013 CX 5 AWD and am starting out from a stop that the mpg reading is very low which i realize is normal. As I accelerate with the speed increasing I can feel the transmission starting to shift so I take my foot off the gas a little and the mpg reading goes up. Are others doing this and does this sound right? I am constantly trying to improve my mpg which for city driving has been averaging under 24.

are you looking at the instant mpg reading? Pretty much any time you back off the throttle the instant mpg will go up. Even if it is just a little you are giving the car less gas so it will use less. And if you are really backing off the car is going to be coasting for a moment as it slows to you current throttle position.

HandA said:

are you looking at the instant mpg reading? Pretty much any time you back off the throttle the instant mpg will go up. Even if it is just a little you are giving the car less gas so it will use less. And if you are really backing off the car is going to be coasting for a moment as it slows to you current throttle position.

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I am definitely looking at the instant mpg reading trying to drive most efficiently to get the best mpg. I am thinking that I am helping by doing this but I wonder if I would be better off continuing to accelerate until the car shifts on its own. I also wonder if this is the same way other CX 5 are behaving or if I should question my transmission's operation.
I appreciate any thoughts on this!

I imagine that it's engineered and tuned to deliver best results with a light but steady foot on the pedal... gets the most MPG for the most people that way, resulting in happy customers, good reviews, referrals, and return sales!

Getting low mileage in city driving is more a matter of physics than anything else. No car gets good milage when accelerating to speed and every brake application is burning off momentum that would stay as forward motion (less aerodynamic and mechanical drag) were you cruising at a constant speed. Every engine gets zero mpg at idle, so unless you have a hybrid or an i-stop type system for shutting the engine off and rapidly restarting when at standstill that's going to be a big hit.

But 24mpg in all city driving is hardly terrible, that's about the same that I see in my '08 Mazda3 with the older 2.0L and a manual... sounds like your CX-5 is doing pretty well for being bigger, AWD, and 600lbs heavier.

jcarroll07 said:

I imagine that it's engineered and tuned to deliver best results with a light but steady foot on the pedal...

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I'd agree. I'd think it would be setup to shift at optimal times for they current way you are driving. New cars head for higher gears as soon as they possibly can so trying to get it to shift even earlier by making it think you weren't going to keep accelerating may just confuse it and cause it to then go down a gear when you give it gas again. Taking your foot off the throttle a little at any time will make the instant mpg go up, regardless of if it upshifts or not. For me on a smooth start from a stop I don't feel mine shift but when driving smoothly it rarely goes over 3000 rpm when accelerating (and I still leave other cars behind at the lights).

It is actually easy to over-act in trying to get better mpg. Smooth and steady is pretty much the general rule for mpg. If you watch the instant readout too much it can make it tempting to change things too often. Changing the throttle position unnecessarily can cause it to burn even more gas. Slow steady acceleration and minimal braking are key. As jcarroll07 said when you brake you turn the gas into heat on the brake rotors.

Although I do sometimes use the instant readout I find the average and the range to be helpful for adjusting driving style. The instant changes so much that it is hard to tell if it was a slight incline in the road or what caused it. Resetting the average at different intervals will shed light on overall driving technique. And the range reacts pretty quickly to things like full throttle runs and shows how much no-throttle coasting it takes to make it back up.

Yes, you can feel the CX-5 go for highest gears early and feel it lug a bit for best gas mileage.

I ignore the instand mpg readout, I know it's not perfectly accurate and I'd rather watch the road and surroundings. I remember one poster complaining that crusing at 35 mph they noticed it was in 6th gear, when the instant readout said the gas mileage was same in (shifted manually) 4th, 5th or 6th...

Thanks to all of you for your input. I think I will just drive normally and see how things go!

bosip said:

Thanks to all of you for your input. I think I will just drive normally and see how things go!

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That's not a bad way to go with this car - it is quite good at shifting in auto mode in a variety of situations. Just remember that if you want it to shift down for performance, don't be gentle with the "go" pedal. I only shift to manual mode when descending a steep grade or cresting a grade and wanting it to shift up in anticipation. Oh, also passing other cars. Manual mode removes a slight delay and allows for a smoother pass when passing distance is tight because I can perform the downshift without full power already applied. For normal driving, auto mode is very good and the lockup feature is excellent.

MikeM - thanks for your thoughts. I will use some of those ideas!