12-11-2013, 01:32 PM | #1 |
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Bad MPG's even worse in cold temps ?
I have been getting an abysmal 20 MPG's on my 2014 X1 (AWD), now that the temps have been in the high 20's - low 30"s for the last few days my MPG's have dropped to 18.5. Is this normal for colder temps with the N20 engine?
Average speed is 23.4 30% highway / 70% streets |
12-11-2013, 02:03 PM | #2 |
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Normal with any engine in cold weather.
Denser, colder air, has more oxygen, and thus for your O2 sensor to remain within spec, more gasoline is added. Makes more power when you need it, but simply idling or driving will use more gas.
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12-11-2013, 02:13 PM | #3 |
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But offsetting that is you get better gas mileage on winter blend gas and your air conditioning isn't running much. I typically get better gas mileage in the winter but I don't live in Canada where it gets really cold.
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12-11-2013, 02:56 PM | #5 |
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It is normal to get less mpg in cold.
We had -40 Celsius in here (that will be -40 F for you) and my vehicle gets 10.5l/100km that will be 22.5 MPG and I think is absolutely reasonable for an AWD vehicle. My previous AWD jaguar was somewhere around 17 MPG in this weather. How many miles on board? maybe is not even broken yet. Anyway, Red Bread has a point, in cold you will see more gas going in. |
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12-11-2013, 04:26 PM | #6 |
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Your average speed is very low. I guess you take short distance trips frequently. In cold weather the engine will burn richer initially to warm up.
If you want to get better mileage I suggest you reduce the number of short trips and cold starts if possible (e.g. walk to a closer lunch spot, instead of driving a 2 mile round trip which involves two cold starts, with added health benefits). My average speed is around 38 mph, I get about 26 mpg from N52 engine which is less efficient than N20. |
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12-11-2013, 04:37 PM | #7 |
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Can't say I noticed in the past with petrol engines but I have noticed a big drop with diesel when it's close to freezing. I normally get mid 30s on my usually drive to work, but I struggle some mornings to top 30mpg. Probably doesn't help that the car doesn't warm up fully either.
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12-11-2013, 05:25 PM | #8 |
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Googled it and 1.7% less efficient gas mileage due to winter blend gas vs summer blend which is very little. They attribute it to what others mentioned like engine warm up. The difference in the south is it rarely gets below 32 here and April-Oct the air conditioning is cranked so I get better mileage in the winter.
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12-11-2013, 07:49 PM | #9 |
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When I started my car to drive to the airport last Friday, the temp was -35C and the mixture was so rich I almost thought I had a diesel. Fact is, you're always going to get much worse mileage in the winter than the summer. As others have stated, your average speed is really low and if you're not letting the engine get up to temp because of short trips, your fuel mileage will be in the garbage. If you have winter tires, they won't help any either.
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12-11-2013, 10:16 PM | #10 | |
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12-12-2013, 10:28 AM | #12 |
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mpg's
Dont forget-- in temperatures below 37 degrees F, the Stop/start system will not activate. So sitting at red lights, in drive-thrus, etc etc, your X1 engine is still running, eating fuel by the gallon, which of course lowers your average mpg.
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