Just Bought a 2017 GT AWD - Love it but why such bad gas mileage?

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MLC LS1

Member
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2017 Mazda CX-9
Hey all,
After countless hours of research, I purchased a 2017 CX-9 GT AWD in Machine Grey this past Saturday. I really love the car, it's luxurious and has so many features. One question I have right now is about the gas mileage. I've already figured out that you need to keep your foot out of it if you want to see any decent mileage. I bought the car with about 100 miles on it. It now has about 250 miles on it, and I'm still only averaging 17.5mpg total. I used the fuel economy app on the way to work today and returned 19 mpg going to work and 18.5 going home all while babying it. I thought these cars were supposed to get low 20's mixed city/hwy? All my research on fuelly.com and elsewhere has led me to believe that claim. I figured I'd ask you all what you are getting in mixed stop and go/highway driving. Will my gas mileage improve when the motor breaks in and the computer learns to run the engine parameters based on historical data? I considered an F-150 in my new car search but since they got mid teens mpg wise I passed but this car doesn't seem to be far off. Any help is appreciated.

Mike
 
In steady freeway driving at 75 or 80 I'm getting 26 or better. I do not know why your fuel consumption is so high. It might be your habits plus your city/highway driving conditions. Try for a steady highway run and see the result. If that isn't good, it's time for a trip to a good dealership repair department.
 
MLC LS1 said:
Hey all,
After countless hours of research, I purchased a 2017 CX-9 GT AWD in Machine Grey this past Saturday. I really love the car, it's luxurious and has so many features. One question I have right now is about the gas mileage. I've already figured out that you need to keep your foot out of it if you want to see any decent mileage. I bought the car with about 100 miles on it. It now has about 250 miles on it, and I'm still only averaging 17.5mpg total. I used the fuel economy app on the way to work today and returned 19 mpg going to work and 18.5 going home all while babying it. I thought these cars were supposed to get low 20's mixed city/hwy? All my research on fuelly.com and elsewhere has led me to believe that claim. I figured I'd ask you all what you are getting in mixed stop and go/highway driving. Will my gas mileage improve when the motor breaks in and the computer learns to run the engine parameters based on historical data? I considered an F-150 in my new car search but since they got mid teens mpg wise I passed but this car doesn't seem to be far off. Any help is appreciated.

Mike
Click to expand...

According to specs on the Mazdausa site : "Up to an EPA-estimated 20 city/26 highway MPG for 2017 Mazda CX-9 AWD models."

What PSI are you running in your tires?

Reset the MPG, reset the AVG SPEED, and try again... interested to see what your avg speed is according to the computer.
 
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I've got 19k miles on mine and I just drove from Maryland to cape cod. Averaged 21. I've never come close to 26 of course that was with a fully loaded car + roof box. In the city I get like 18
 
It'll take time to establish MPG baseline numbers.

The truck only has a 4 banger in it and it's pushing a lot of weight, AWD is even heavier.

Give it some time it'll get better.
 
I get really good mileage on my 17 GT. One trip, constant between 60-65 it peaked at 30MPG. My average on the display is usually about 23. Just to make sure, your not in "Sport" Mode, correct? When it runs in Sport, it really goes down. Good luck!
 
Your mpg will get higher as you get past 1500 mile. My 2016 FWD results are shown below. The CX-9 seems to drink a lot of gas while idling. So waiting at multiple red lights with the AC on can have quite a negative impact. See other folks experience here https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123855756-2016-CX-9-Real-World-MPG.

City (true stop and go): ....................................11-14 mpg
Suburban (30-40 mph/intermittent traffic lights):...16-20 mpg
Highway 65 mph@2000 rpm: .............................29-30 mpg <== peak
Highway 75 mph@2200 rpm: .............................27-29 mpg
Highway 80 mph@2500 rpm: .............................24-27 mpg
 
Is it 100% city stop and go driving? What % mix?? Keep tracking the mileage and post updates.

Yes the modern v-8's can do 17mpg with a decent amount of highway miles averaged in. I have a feeling a v-8 F150 would have done a lot worse than 17 for the type of driving you are probably doing though. Unless you ARE doing highway miles and something is not right with the car.

Speaking of v-8's. I remember the v-8 cars from high school days. One of my buddies had a Mustang GT 5 liter that had less power and torque than these 2.5t's! Hows that for some perspective..
 
I drive to work - 13 miles each day , mix of highway and city, but always in traffic. probably get 13-15 mpg, but the weekend where there less traffic, more like 18-21 mpg. The best I've got is 22.8 mpg on a trip to DC but I was averaging 80MPH.. so I know if you limit to 65 MPH, you should get mid 20's or better
 
i have been using my cx9 for 2 months now, 3000 kms already on the odometer, i have realized that in city consumption is high although highway is very low so that's why the average is low. so my point is that if your daily circle has lots of stops ur mileage will be low. i also have the answer on why. this suv has an amazing amount of torque, and when u accelerate u can feel the punch like if it were a v8 , that immediately makes u want to feel the power and u usually are pressing the accelerator more than usual . so my advice, try to control ur right foot. your mileage will lower immediately
 
pholway said:
I've got 19k miles on mine and I just drove from Maryland to cape cod. Averaged 21. I've never come close to 26 of course that was with a fully loaded car + roof box. In the city I get like 18
Click to expand...

Roof top carriers takes a significant hit out of gas mileage by killing aerodynamics.
 
MLC LS1 said:
Hey all,
After countless hours of research, I purchased a 2017 CX-9 GT AWD in Machine Grey this past Saturday. I really love the car, it's luxurious and has so many features. One question I have right now is about the gas mileage. I've already figured out that you need to keep your foot out of it if you want to see any decent mileage. I bought the car with about 100 miles on it. It now has about 250 miles on it, and I'm still only averaging 17.5mpg total. I used the fuel economy app on the way to work today and returned 19 mpg going to work and 18.5 going home all while babying it. I thought these cars were supposed to get low 20's mixed city/hwy? All my research on fuelly.com and elsewhere has led me to believe that claim. I figured I'd ask you all what you are getting in mixed stop and go/highway driving. Will my gas mileage improve when the motor breaks in and the computer learns to run the engine parameters based on historical data? I considered an F-150 in my new car search but since they got mid teens mpg wise I passed but this car doesn't seem to be far off. Any help is appreciated.

Mike
Click to expand...

Give it time and the more you drive it the MPG will improve...just like any new vehicle it takes awhile as you're still in the break in period. I've had my '17 CX9 for 7 months now and I've hit the advertised fuel economy after 3-4 months or approx 3,000 Kms. Of course the mpg was bad when I first got it but later on improved. I also have a brand new '17 Ford Escape SE 1.5T 4cyl engine and accdg to Ford don't expect to hit the mpg right away and it'll be achieved approx after 3,500 kms! Right now my Escape's mpg is worst than my CX9...
 
Wow, so many different responses! Today was in the 19 mpg range, but I didn't have the air conditioning on while driving to work. There are a good amount of hills on my commute, and a good amount of stop and go driving too. I haven't found where it tells me my average speed, but I reset my mpg meter this morning and it says high 19s now. I checked my tire pressure before leaving for work this morning, it's sitting at about 35psi which is just about perfect. I'm coming from an 05' Scion xA stickshift that got 35 mpg all day every day no matter if it was city or highway, driving fast or going slow...didn't matter. I still have the car, I plan to sell it but I will miss that gas mileage. 320 miles for $25. Anyways, I'll keep an eye on the mileage. I think it will slowly improve as I learn the car and the engine breaks in/computer learns the engine.
 
As others have said, give it some time to break-in. The MPG will improve. Try a different brand of fuel. With my Mazda3, I get 3-5 mpg better with Speed Way. Shell or Costco gas will get the worst MPG. Guess Mazdas don't like gas with lot of additives.
 
karthik1516 said:
As others have said, give it some time to break-in. The MPG will improve. Try a different brand of fuel. With my Mazda3, I get 3-5 mpg better with Speed Way. Shell or Costco gas will get the worst MPG. Guess Mazdas don't like gas with lot of additives.
Click to expand...

I am still on the dealers tank of gas. Since Mazda specifically spells out that the car can run on 87 octane, I'd imagine that's what they put in it. I'll try a tank of 93 next fill up.
 
TX_Driver said:
Your mpg will get higher as you get past 1500 mile. My 2016 FWD results are shown below. The CX-9 seems to drink a lot of gas while idling. So waiting at multiple red lights with the AC on can have quite a negative impact. See other folks experience here https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123855756-2016-CX-9-Real-World-MPG.

City (true stop and go): ....................................11-14 mpg
Suburban (30-40 mph/intermittent traffic lights):...16-20 mpg
Highway 65 mph@2000 rpm: .............................29-30 mpg <== peak
Highway 75 mph@2200 rpm: .............................27-29 mpg
Highway 80 mph@2500 rpm: .............................24-27 mpg
Click to expand...

I call BS on the highway mpg. We're on our 4th CX-9. My wife's 2016 GT AWD with 10,000 miles on it is getting 16 - 19mpg in a suburban setting around our little town. We have never gotten above 23 mpg. On our yearly trip to Nashville, TN from Charleston,SC on relatively flat interstate, at a constant 75 (typical speed most folks drive) you will not get more 23 mpg. At 80, the best you are going to get is 21. I know this for a fact as I have set the cruise on these speeds for at least 20 miles at a time. I don't know anyone who drives at 65 on interstate but even at that speed, best we get is 23 - 24. Using the fillup method of calculation instead of using the display in the dash, typical is 20 - 21 mpg interstate driving.

This is very disappointing as its no better than the 2013 V6 GT FWD we traded it for. The best CX-9 we had was the 2008 model with the 3.5 ltr V6, we routinely got 25mpg on the highway and at that time we still had our kids and had to use a cartop carrier. The 3.5 ltr was a smoother engine than the 3.7 ltr. This 4 banger turbo is disappointing since the mpg is not what its supposed to be.

My personal vehicle is a 2017 Audi Q7 with the 3.0 v6 supercharged engine. With less than 1500 miles on it, I'm getting 20 - 21 around town and that's not driving it gently. I'm easily getting 24 mpg on the highway at 80 mph. Folks this car weighs, 4900 lbs so what gives? (pissed)
 
MLC LS1 said:
I am still on the dealers tank of gas. Since Mazda specifically spells out that the car can run on 87 octane, I'd imagine that's what they put in it. I'll try a tank of 93 next fill up.
Click to expand...

This will not improve the mpg, only performance at high RPM. The car is set up to improve performance with the higher octane, not mileage. Its opposite of how the german cars are set up. German cars are set up for the horsepower numbers given. Using regular instead of premium in my Q7 will decrease the mpg because it needs more fuel to achieve the same performance with premium. We use regular in the CX-9 because my wife is never going to see the need for the extra 23 hp.
 
How do you calculate your mpg? The way I do it to have the trip meter running, when I go to fill up with gas, I record the mileage since my last fill up (then reset), divide that by the amount of fuel put in and get the mpg (the gas station receipt has the amount of fuel sold). If you are using an app, it could be a problem with the algorithm's assumptions, or some other issue.
 
Matthew PDX said:
How do you calculate your mpg? The way I do it to have the trip meter running, when I go to fill up with gas, I record the mileage since my last fill up (then reset), divide that by the amount of fuel put in and get the mpg (the gas station receipt has the amount of fuel sold). If you are using an app, it could be a problem with the algorithm's assumptions, or some other issue.
Click to expand...
I agree that the pump/trip method is the most accurate way. However I have yet to see the Pump and trip meter method differ from the onboard computer by a difference of more than a tenth of a mpg.
 
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