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I've only been driving in the city so far. What I notice most of the time is that when I use ECO mode, my fuel economy isn't as great as when I use NORMAL mode. Maybe I'm not using ECO mode properly? Under what conditions do you guys use ECO mode or NORMAL mode?
Eco simply lessens the amount of fuel to the engine when pressing the accelerator pedal vs Normal. So like for like, when pressing the pedal say 1 inch, less fuel enters in Eco mode resulting in a slower acceleration versus Normal mode. Personally, I drive in Normal or Sport mode most of the time and control fuel economy with my foot!
I took my first road trip (albeit only about 350 miles round-trip) this past weekend. I have put only 2,500 miles on my 2015 NX 200t in 2-1/2 months.
On the way there (with tons of traffic jams on the freeways), I only got 26.14 mpg. On the way back (see image below), I was at 28.34 mpg. At one time I was cruising at 29.4 mpg. During the return trip, I had the speed control set at 80 mph at times.
It is interesting to me that the California people are seeing such low mpg.
My drive to work is 23 miles a direction, all backroads (up and down and all around). I drive in normal to work and I get 27mpg, and on the way home with 50% eco, I will get 29mpg. Now, this is with summer blend at 70-90F outside. On the highway I typically see 24-25mpg.
Now, as previously stated, I have seen those numbers decrease to 25 to work and 27 back due to the falling temperatures and the switchover to winter blend.
Now, for the California people, if you're driving highway, keep in mind that is going to in most cases bring your mpg average DOWN. But what confuses me is that your ground is pretty flat and your elevation change is kept to a minimum (unlike me who is at the Allegheny mountain range) so the car should be depending mostly on the motor alone. I rarely see boost on the highway unless I'm climbing a hill.
My only assumptions are the following:
1. Due to the lunatic levels of emissions standards in Cali, your gas mixture is richening the motor? I'm not even sure how that's possible off hand. You are still limited to E10, correct?
2. Your driving style is too "0% throttle or 100% throttle". No coasting or modulation? Again...a guess.
Keep in mind that driving in eco will not really save you mpg. Its a minor savings, but most of the mpg savings is in your driving style when IN eco. I can bet you $10 I could drive in normal at the same time you're driving in eco, and I will probably get better mpg than you. I drive very relaxed, slow acceleration and keep the car out of boost whenever possible.
It is interesting to me that the California people are seeing such low mpg...
...But what confuses me is that your ground is pretty flat and your elevation change is kept to a minimum (unlike me who is at the Allegheny mountain range)...
It seems you've never been to California. We have much larger mountain ranges than in Pennsylvania.
Mountains aside, you've never driven our freeways either, it seems.
Commuting to/from work on our freeways is typically stop-n-go (bad for mpg). As for surface street driving, it's just as bad during morning/evening commutes. It's not common to be able to cruise at a fuel efficient speed. Even away from mountains, we have rolling hills (probably equivalent to your "mountains"). Our freeways have high/steep flyovers. Our surface streets have high/steep flyovers. Therefore, we are not as flatland-driving people as non-Californians would think.
It seems you've never been to California. We have much larger mountain ranges than in Pennsylvania.
Mountains aside, you've never driven our freeways either, it seems.
Commuting to/from work on our freeways is typically stop-n-go (bad for mpg). As for surface street driving, it's just as bad during morning/evening commutes. It's not common to be able to cruise at a fuel efficient speed. Even away from mountains, we have rolling hills (probably equivalent to your "mountains"). Our freeways have high/steep flyovers. Our surface streets have high/steep flyovers. Therefore, we are not as flatland-driving people as non-Californians would think.
And that is where you'd be wrong. I drove from Sacramento to Tahoe on 80. The Sacramento area was all flat until you start your ascent to Tahoe. Then after coming Back down 80, it was flat will we reached Napa. Then Napa to San Fran was also flat.
So I think by saying it had more "mountains" I believe you're generalizing too much.
I just purchased a 2016 NX 200T AWD Sport, and it gets terrible mileage when in Eco Mode- only between 9-15mpg! I drive 80% hwy, 20% city, and have been very light on the pedal the whole way, even driving 10 miles under the speed limit at times, to save on fuel. I thought "Eco Mode" was supposed to get you better mileage than normal or sport, but apparently not? I switched it to the Normal mode, and it now gets 15-20mpg, but no better. I am using the recommended premium fuel also. This is unacceptable. Has anyone else experienced this same issue? When I told the dealer, he said "it can take up to 1000 miles to start getting the average "24mpg" that is advertised on the spec sheet." That's a long time to wait and a lot of money to have to pay for poor mileage capability. Has anyone else been told that there is a "break-in" period for these vehicles? In fact, my 4-year-old Toyota Highlander which is almost twice as large, gets better mileage than this vehicle! I'm sadly disappointed.
I just purchased a 2016 NX 200T AWD Sport, and it gets terrible mileage when in Eco Mode- only between 9-15mpg! I drive 80% hwy, 20% city, and have been very light on the pedal the whole way, even driving 10 miles under the speed limit at times, to save on fuel. I thought "Eco Mode" was supposed to get you better mileage than normal or sport, but apparently not? I switched it to the Normal mode, and it now gets 15-20mpg, but no better. I am using the recommended premium fuel also. This is unacceptable. Has anyone else experienced this same issue? When I told the dealer, he said "it can take up to 1000 miles to start getting the average "24mpg" that is advertised on the spec sheet." That's a long time to wait and a lot of money to have to pay for poor mileage capability. Has anyone else been told that there is a "break-in" period for these vehicles? In fact, my 4-year-old Toyota Highlander which is almost twice as large, gets better mileage than this vehicle! I'm sadly disappointed.
Being that this is your first post, I'm tempted to cry "troll", but maybe we can entertain this a little.
First, every motor takes 1000-1500 miles to break in. It takes time to get the motor to loosen up. My NX got 20ish until after 500 miles when I started getting 25-30mpg. I also noticed that the engine avoided boost much of its early life. I am not sure if that was tuning tied to mileage? My Camaro got 10mpg or lower for my first 500 miles, then 15mpg next 500, and then finally opened up to 20 after 1500. It takes time.
People make very odd conclusions. Your Toyota Highlander has no relation to to the NX. Different platform, different drive train, different engine, different transmission, different weight. So not comparable at all.
My first recommendation for you would be to disconnect the battery. Let the car sit for 2-3 hrs, and then plug it back in. This way, the entire system has reset. Then just drive the car for a while.
I just purchased a 2016 NX 200T AWD Sport, and it gets terrible mileage when in Eco Mode- only between 9-15mpg! I drive 80% hwy, 20% city, and have been very light on the pedal the whole way, even driving 10 miles under the speed limit at times, to save on fuel. I thought "Eco Mode" was supposed to get you better mileage than normal or sport, but apparently not? I switched it to the Normal mode, and it now gets 15-20mpg, but no better. I am using the recommended premium fuel also. This is unacceptable. Has anyone else experienced this same issue? When I told the dealer, he said "it can take up to 1000 miles to start getting the average "24mpg" that is advertised on the spec sheet." That's a long time to wait and a lot of money to have to pay for poor mileage capability. Has anyone else been told that there is a "break-in" period for these vehicles? In fact, my 4-year-old Toyota Highlander which is almost twice as large, gets better mileage than this vehicle! I'm sadly disappointed.
Same car but '15, getting 25 to 26 consistently, still only at 400 miles, normal mode. Around town driving. occasional 4 lane.
I always drive in ECO mode and drive about 80% highway (commute Sundays-out / Thursdays-back 250 miles each way) and I always use premium fuel (top-tier). My stats-to-date are as follows:
As of 12/16/2015:
Totals to date: 14850 miles, 591 gallons, $1,487.16 fuel cost.
11-28-15, 01:59 PM
Our freeways have high/steep flyovers. Our surface streets have high/steep flyovers. Therefore, we are not as flatland-driving people as non-Californians would think.
lol
