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Subaru investigates possible mileage cheating, shares drop

12K views 51 replies 33 participants last post by  Subarik 
#1 ·
Reuters reports that Subaru is investigating possible mileage cheating and trying to verify if data was falsified.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...le-mileage-cheating-shares-drop-idUSKBN1EE0MF

Subaru shares have also dropped by 10% over the last two months.



I have been trying hard to raise the city fuel economy of my Impreza but it has not gone up over 21.6 mpg over the last 1500 miles after the 1000 mile break in period.We need to wait and watch :|
 
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#3 ·
When my car had a little over 4,000 miles on it, it get peppier and my gas mileage went up to about 28-29 mpg. I also put high test in when I can. It is like a different car now. I drive on highways with 2-3 thousand feet of altitude one way or the other and the car used to feel very sluggish at times.
 
#6 ·
I've been monitoring mine. With my mixed daily driving, i sometimes take the highway to/from work or other things around the city I live in, I also take plenty of surface streets. Car's computer reads in the 29s over the past few thousand miles.

This weekend I'm in Cincinnati OH and the drive down as high as 34 by the end of the nearly 500 mile trip, more than half of which was in a snowstorm. I also am saving data for this trip so I can calculate mileage myself when I get home in a couple days. Of course, in doing that, I'm assuming that the 5 or so gas stations I'll stop at have roughly the same opinion on when to stop filling the tank so that can introduce errors as well.

Unless it's way off, these things are always all over the place; everyone will see something different. How much do you have to stop in your stop & go, how hard do you accelerate, how much is in the car? Highway miles are affected a lot by elevation changes, conditions, etc. So far though, unless the computer in my car is a terrible liar, it doesn't look too bad.
 
#7 ·
I generally get about 34mpg combined with traffic in California. I just drove from San Diego to San Francisco and was averaging about 36-37mpg. When I went up hills and passes, it dropped to about 34mpg. I always reset my counter when I fill up, and I usually put in 91 gas for long road trips to keep the inside of my engine clean. :grin2:
 
#8 ·
Please do NOT use the trip computer to estimate your actual mileage. The only way to accurately measure milage is by manually measuring the fuel you put into your tank and dividing it by the number of miles you've driven. These "computers" are always 2-3mpg off on the side of Subaru:wink2:
 
#15 · (Edited)
My 05 Legacy was pretty spot on. If it deviated, it was too high by a small amount in city and too low by a larger amount on highway.

I'd say some comparisons to the manual method are wise initially to help you 'calibrate' how you read the gauge, after that the in-car gauge isn't bad.

Of course, some would say that if you don't always fill at the same pump, your calculations will not be that accurate either :)
 
#11 ·
Not sure how the OP is getting only 21.6mpg, must have lots of idling in traffic or a 10000 foot climb both ways to and from work. Before I put snow tires on I was averaging 28mpg around town and as high as 34 mpg on the highway for a 5 hour trip with the cruise set to 72mph. The snows, and probably the winter gas, has dropped mileage by a couple of mpg.
 
#12 ·
I'm averaging around 29.5 mpg. I can't complain though because my commute to work is short so it hurts my mileage. However the good thing about that is I can usually go a month and only need to fill up twice. Sometimes once if I do it right.
 
#16 ·
I wish I had a 6th gear. I like to cruise at 80 mph and this thing is just screaming up past 3k rpm. I am still getting approx 25.6 mpg, the computer says 24, so oddly enough I have the reverse problem as everyone else. Mostly city driving for me and I have a 5MT
 
#17 ·
20 mpg?!?

I see that there are others who have experienced the same terrible gas mileage (20-23 mpg in town; better on the highway). I also read the Reuters article stating that mileage estimates may have been falsified. I've reported my issues to Subaru and, to date, they've only provided generic excuses. If the gas mileage has been misreported, what recourse does anyone have? Has anyone looked into this? Thanks for your help.
 
#18 ·
I see that there are others who have experienced the same terrible gas mileage (20-23 mpg in town; better on the highway). I also read the Reuters article stating that mileage estimates may have been falsified. I've reported my issues to Subaru and, to date, they've only provided generic excuses. If the gas mileage has been misreported, what recourse does anyone have? Has anyone looked into this? Thanks for your help.
Hi and welcome.

As a consumer there isn't a lot we can do, unless you are a multi millionaire and want to take Subaru to court for years of litigation over gas millage on your 24k car.

Government agencies will go after Subaru and fine them if it turns out they lied. And maybe consumers will get something from Subaru (don't count on it).

It will all come down to the wording and Subaru is very careful that the millage is "up to" a certain number.
 
#20 ·
#47 ·
Only going that many miles your car's oil never gets close to operating temperatures that's what makes the MPG's so low. My BRZ and Forester XT had an actual oil temp read out. I had to go about at least 15 - 20 minutes at highway speeds before the temp would reach its steady temp. Short trips are hard on a car. As an aside, that would be considered severe duty on the oil. Be sure to get it up to operating temps on the highway every so often. Moisture will accumulate in the oil, getting it hot will flash off the moisture.
 
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#22 ·
I'm getting about 34 90% highway miles.
Which is about the highest I've seen anyone be getting. I also do not burn oil.

I wonder if theres any correlation there.

And the girl has a Kia soul, she gets a check every few months in regards to the actual mpg being far under what it is rated for.

I would be all into pressing this hard. Subies have some of the most outspoken and active owners on the web.
38mpg is a big reason I got this.
My buddies 18 crosstrek is way worse though, like 27, even though it should be very comparable to the impreza.

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#28 ·
so are you just trying to get out of your car because the mileage is off some?

I am not sure that there is anything you or anybody else can do. unless of course you have unlimited funds and time on your hands to file a suit against Subaru and spend the next 3-5 years in litigation only to be told they claimed you can get "up to" a certain mileage. but since you bought an Impreza I am guessing you don't have unlimited funds.

you can always email SOA and lodge a complaint. they will tell you to take it to your dealer and have the car checked out. which means they are gonna be driving your car for some time just to get an accurate account of mileage. so my suggestion would be drive the car, fill it up when it gets low and keep on driving. enjoy the car for what it is.
 
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#24 ·
We could start an online petition for owners to state their actual mileage and sign, followed by a preprinted block of text stating the mileage is no where near stated ratings, as well as a link to complain to the proper channels at the EPA.

Enough dissent and noise should get the ball moving. Kia and Hyundai both had to reimburse consumers and they were off by 1-6mpg. From what I see, we are off by 4-10mpg. That's a huge number especially if you are logging 25k+ miles a year like me.

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#27 ·
At 14 fill ups I am averaging 36 mpg. I do mostly highway driving and use the cruise as much as possible.
This is calculated not from the car computer. I used to calculate with my last car and averaged 39 mpg, I knew this car would be lower and am happy with what I am getting. I do approx 100 miles round trip 6 days a week.
 
#29 ·
This all varies on so many conditions. The one having the most effect is driving style. I was getting 22.2 mpg for the first few thousand miles of mainly city driving. Now that everything is "broken in" I do drive a little sportier and I'm averaging 21.6 MPG. My car sees very little highway and I expect my mpg to be on the lower end of the scale. I'll take 21.6 over the 12.3 I was getting in my Denali as a daily driver.
 
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