Ford is investigating its fuel economy and emissions testing

EmersonHart13

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San Francisco (CNN Business)Ford is investigating the testing procedures it uses to certify its fuel economy and emissions standards after employees raised concerns about potential inaccuracies.

It has hired an outside firm to look into the testing process the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Ford has also brought on independent experts and will be using an outside lab throughout the investigation.

Ford has already identified potential concerns with how it calculates road load, which is the force on a vehicle while driving at a constant speed over a smooth and level surface. The first vehicle it's investigating is the 2019 Ranger, but it will eventually test others.

Ford has voluntarily disclosed the potential issue with both the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, it said.

Automakers generally do their own fuel economy testing based on strict criteria and mathematical formulas. They then report the results to the government.

The company said the investigation and potential concerns do not involve the use of so-called "defeat devices" software that can be used to cheat emissions testing.

A group of employees first raised questions about the process in September.

"At Ford, we believe that trust in our brand is earned by acting with integrity and transparency," the statement said. "As always, we strive to be transparent with our customers, employees, dealers, shareholders and other stakeholders. We understand how important it is to all audiences that we thoroughly yet swiftly complete this investigation," the statement said.

It's unclear what will come from Ford's investigation. However, other car manufacturers have had to respond to inaccurate fuel economy reporting in the past.

In 2012, the EPA found that Hyundai and Kia inadvertently overstated the fuel economy of their cars and SUVs.

As a result, they instituted a program that gives customers debit cards to make up for the extra gas they're using compared to what the fuel economy was stated when they bought their cars.

:ford:
 

Kensington

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My Flex is rated at 16/21, I thought it was rated higher, honestly.

I never get below 16 even in winter. Usually around 17/18 mixed driving. Pure highway, if I stick to 70, I can get 24, but realistically with the cruise set at 75-80 it's around 21-22.
 

Chet Donnelly

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Same here. '18 3.5 with 10 speed. 22mpg mixed driving in the summer, 20 in the winter with frequent 5 minute warmups

Are you putting it in "Eco" mode or just leaving it in "Normal." I've been ~15mpg or so this winter and haven't really been able to get better.

I think what kills me is I only drive 3 miles to work and its all stop and go.
 

FirstWorldProblems

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Are you putting it in "Eco" mode or just leaving it in "Normal." I've been ~15mpg or so this winter and haven't really been able to get better.

I think what kills me is I only drive 3 miles to work and its all stop and go.

I keep it in "normal". 15mpg is crazy bad, i get 14mpg towing a 14' enclosed trailer at 75mph

How many miles per month do you drive? 3 miles stop and go would do it if that's what makes up most of your driving
 

GTPpower

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Yeah, my 13 drank lots of fuel on really short trips. And going faster than 60 mph. Or driving into a head-wind.

I have a picture somewhere of the mpg gauge from when I was pulling my enclosed trailer into a really strong headwind. I drove about 40 miles like that with a result of about 5mpg.
 
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