Gas Tank Range only 280mi on 2018 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD / Low MPG

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INeverFreeze

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Mazda CX-5 GT AWD 2018
I have a 2018 CX-5 GT AWD. Ive had it for over a month and im still averaging (according to the computer) about 280 miles per tank which seems a bit low.

According to mazda specs, the 2018 GT AWD has a fuel tank capacity of 15.3 gallons. Also, according to their estimates MPG is 24 city / 30 hwy . If im driving mainly city, i should be averaging 24 MPG per tank of 15.3 which would give me a range of 367.2miles but somehow my tank is only averaging about 280. My MPG seems to be a bit low at about 20-22 MPG.

anyone else having this issue? and is it an issue at all ? Should i just assume that my driving conditions are not the best and the car is only able to get that low MPG. ?

any info helps. Thanks.
 
i have a 2017 cx5 and I drive about 30 minutes for my commute to work (15 minutes to get there, 15 minutes back) and most of it is city driving (20 minutes in city, 10 minutes in highway) and I'm getting between 20-22 MPG as well. On my current trip it's 20.5 and I've only done a few minutes of aggressive driving out of a couple hundred miles. I thought it was low at first, but realize the EPA standards are generally higher as those are created in a lab and not in real world scenarios. If you do all highway driving, you can usually get high 20s and possibly low 30s depending on how fast you drive, but in the city, 20-22 is about right.

i actually started a thread about this, you might get more information over here: https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123863972-Getting-better-MPG
 
INeverFreeze said:
I have a 2018 CX-5 GT AWD. Ive had it for over a month and im still averaging (according to the computer) about 280 miles per tank which seems a bit low.

According to mazda specs, the 2018 GT AWD has a fuel tank capacity of 15.3 gallons. Also, according to their estimates MPG is 24 city / 30 hwy . If im driving mainly city, i should be averaging 24 MPG per tank of 15.3 which would give me a range of 367.2miles but somehow my tank is only averaging about 280. My MPG seems to be a bit low at about 20-22 MPG.

anyone else having this issue? and is it an issue at all ? Should i just assume that my driving conditions are not the best and the car is only able to get that low MPG. ?

any info helps. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Unless you have reset the miles on your trip meters, the MPG estimates have not reset, and your numbers are skewed from lots of idle time.

Reset your trip meters and see how things fair. Also, do a real MPG estimate by calculating the actual gallons used vs. miles driven. And make sure you have allowed for break in - 1000 miles or so.
 
Gas tank on my fwd is 14.8 mazda starts warning at around 10.5 gallons used. Its range for me goes to 0 with 11.5 used. I rarely fill more than 12 gals
28 mpg for my mixed driving per tank. My commute is split into two due to school drop.
Pay attention to what you fill. Reset mpg with every fill. 18 with cylinder deactivated should do better.
 
I have an 18 CX5 and I ran it down to almost 0 and it was under 12 gallons to fill it. So almost 3 gallons is a reserve I guess. I do wish tank was a little bigger. Also reset after every fill up. I use adaptive cruise a lot, from what I was told cylinder deactivation kicks in the most at steady speeds. I'm averaging 30 mpg , But I do live in Florida which is flat. But I would think you should be getting better than 20-22 mpg
 
My '17 CX-5, AWD averages 26 mpg on mixed driving. I've routinely hit 33-34 mpg on long trips. I would consider mine "broke in". I'm at 13,500 miles.
 
3600 miles on my 2017 CX-5 GT AWD. I'm averaging 28.6 mpg and I've hit as high as 33 mpg average on highway trips. Not bad at all for winter months.

When I first bought my CX-5 I was averaging only 22-23mpg. The cold weather coupled with a green engine did no favors to the MPG.
 
I'd wait at least after the 2nd oil change to truly gauge mpg's. After 3rd is even more ideal.
 
INeverFreeze said:
I have a 2018 CX-5 GT AWD. Ive had it for over a month and im still averaging (according to the computer) about 280 miles per tank which seems a bit low.

According to mazda specs, the 2018 GT AWD has a fuel tank capacity of 15.3 gallons. Also, according to their estimates MPG is 24 city / 30 hwy . If im driving mainly city, i should be averaging 24 MPG per tank of 15.3 which would give me a range of 367.2miles but somehow my tank is only averaging about 280. My MPG seems to be a bit low at about 20-22 MPG.

anyone else having this issue? and is it an issue at all ? Should i just assume that my driving conditions are not the best and the car is only able to get that low MPG. ?

any info helps. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Pretty normal. "City" driving is subjective - if you're in traffic, starting and stopping a lot, you'll run lower. EPA has a definition for it that attempts to average out everyone's "city" experience. Many run lower. 21 vs 24? Very minor difference.

Also the tank holds 15.3 but "0 miles left" still has about 2.2 gallons in reserve. 24 x 13 = 312, so not too far off from your 280 @ 22 mpg.

This is pretty close to EPA for a brand new engine.

Don't forget to 0 out the MPG frequently, otherwise it'll settle to something and not move.
 
I tracked the first 3,000 miles on my '17 AWD CX-5 and averaged 27.8mpg with a low of 25.7 in the winter (when mpg is lower) and best of 31.9. I drove home the other day with the low fuel warning light on and my estimated remaining range of only 13 miles (down to 6 miles when I arrived home). I fueled up and still had nearly 3 gallons remaining in the tank.

Running the engine dry is never a good thing for fuel injected engines. Max safe cruising range was 300 miles. Larger fuel tanks just mean you're hauling more weight which affects mpg.
 
The throttle on these vehicles is very sensitive. I’m not sure if the 18 still has this feature but one of the info screens has a mpg meter. If you have that set your info screen to display it and watch how even a very slight pressure relief off the throttle affects your reading. The meter reminds me of the old vacuum gauges.

If you have a lead foot then this might be a good time to consider lightening the load so to speak.

Incidentally, with just over 1600 miles I am averaging 28.7 mpg. I’ve seen over 33 highway. Some short trips put me in the low twenties.

Finally, you can change your nav screen settings to display the fuel economy window when you shut off the engine. It shows graphs plus your current trip fuel economy.
 
INeverFreeze said:
I have a 2018 CX-5 GT AWD. Ive had it for over a month and im still averaging (according to the computer) about 280 miles per tank which seems a bit low.

According to mazda specs, the 2018 GT AWD has a fuel tank capacity of 15.3 gallons. Also, according to their estimates MPG is 24 city / 30 hwy . If im driving mainly city, i should be averaging 24 MPG per tank of 15.3 which would give me a range of 367.2miles but somehow my tank is only averaging about 280. My MPG seems to be a bit low at about 20-22 MPG.

anyone else having this issue? and is it an issue at all ? Should i just assume that my driving conditions are not the best and the car is only able to get that low MPG. ?

any info helps. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I only get 265 miles out of a full tank of gas in my 2014 since day one of new ownership with a combination of city and highway driving. I think you’re doing well!
 
Your car needs to break in. Mileage will improve after the first oil change. And yes, you are maybe the 100th poster with the same question.
 
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