[rain2200]

I recently bought a 2017 Kia Sportage EX AWD. I have been enjoying it overall, but the displayed mileage has been crazy low compared to what I expected. I know this isn't the most fuel efficient car out there, but I am regularly getting only 13 mpg or so on my trips according to the dash display. Is anyone out there having a similar experience?

It is winter in Minnesota, and I am usually only going a few miles on a trip, still I did not expect such a drastic difference between the avg city mpg and my actual mpg. Did I underestimate the impact of my regular driving conditions, or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for any insights. I did spend time trying to comb through previous posts, but I did not turn up anything about such a low mileage read.

 

[Squiggy]

I would speculate that the reason you are getting such poor mpg is due to multiple reasons:
It is winter, the temperature is very low and only driving a 'few miles' doesn't sufficiently warm the vehicle up to optimum operating temperatures so your engine is running rich using extra fuel.
Gasoline is using the 'winter blend' which always lowers mpg.
A ' few miles' suggests it is stop and go traffic, which is always a negative impact on mpg.
This is just my speculation.

 

[ricbrk]

I recently bought a 2017 Kia Sportage EX AWD. I have been enjoying it overall, but the displayed mileage has been crazy low compared to what I expected. I know this isn't the most fuel efficient car out there, but I am regularly getting only 13 mpg or so on my trips according to the dash display. Is anyone out there having a similar experience?

It is winter in Minnesota, and I am usually only going a few miles on a trip, still I did not expect such a drastic difference between the avg city mpg and my actual mpg. Did I underestimate the impact of my regular driving conditions, or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for any insights. I did spend time trying to comb through previous posts, but I did not turn up anything about such a low mileage read.

We live in the Pennsylvania mountains with cold winter conditions. Our 2013 Sportage AWD with 2.4 is mainly used for short trips on all mountainous terrain. It is averaging 22 mpg. We took it to Sam's Club in Morgantown WV recently and it went up to 26 mpg on highway. Our 2020 KIA Sportage AWD is used for work travel approx. 12 miles each way. Same conditions & terrain. It is averaging 18-20 MPG. I attribute that to the remote starter as my wife uses it two times a day in the winter. Your13 mpg seems low to me. I would do a mpg self check. You may be able to reset the MPG shown also.

 

[Lou O.]

I would speculate that the reason you are getting such poor mpg is due to multiple reasons:
It is winter, the temperature is very low and only driving a 'few miles' doesn't sufficiently warm the vehicle up to optimum operating temperatures so your engine is running rich using extra fuel.
Gasoline is using the 'winter blend' which always lowers mpg.
A ' few miles' suggests it is stop and go traffic, which is always a negative impact on mpg.
This is just my speculation.

BINGO!

 

[kinglerch]

You should also calculate the MPG manually because the carputer is not the most accurate

 

[1saxman]

Rain; since its a used car, you have no way of knowing what may have been done to it. I would start with the simple things first and check out the engine air intake path to make sure its open, then pull out the air filter and look at it. You could try a few tanks of premium fuel or at least the mid-grade which has a better additive package and could possibly clean up the injectors a little. If you could get it out on the highway and put about 20 miles on it with several instances of 'standing on it', that might help too. You shouldn't assume it has the correct oil in it either. Someone may have used a heavier oil than it was designed for. I forget what the 2.4L takes - I think its 5W-20. Anyway, make sure you have a premium brand of whatever its supposed to have in at least synthetic blend.

 

[pcguy]

It might be a good idea to get an obdII bluetooth device, and the torque app. Take a look at how the engine is running. AFR, fuel trims, exhaust temp etc... just to be sure things are running as they should. If that's not possible, it might warrant having it looked at by a professional.

 

[106IFA]

doing nothing but short trips on winter gas will get me 18 mpg's, which is concerning. but my last long trip, driving from ny to ct highway, using cruise control at about 70-73mph, i got close to 32 mpg's.

most of my driving gets me about 23-24mpg's. but again, if i'm only doing short trips i get pretty low.

 

[TexanEagleScout]

My mileage when driving to or from work (19 miles mostly freeway) starts out really low like in the OP example, but within a few miles it begins to climb fairly rapidly. By the end I am usually between 28 and 32 mpg.