Well, this is interesting...Ford Trucks Gas Mileage Lawsuit

[AbleGuy]

(Please Note: I’m making no claim as to the accuracy or veracity of the allegations in this lawsuit and am not a party to it either....I’m just sharing this article I found. And good luck reading it...I couldn’t understand parts of the second half of it)

Ford Fuel Economy Lawsuit Says MPG Ratings False
Class action lawsuit alleges Ford Rangers, F-150s and other models have overstated mpg ratings.
By David A. Wood, CarComplaints.com
September 3, 2019

“— A Ford fuel economy lawsuit alleges the automaker cheated owners and lessees of of 2017-2019 vehicles, including the 2019 Ford Rangers and 2018 Ford F-150 trucks.

The proposed Ford fuel economy class action lawsuit is just one of at least 10 suits that allege Ford sold and marketed vehicles with false mpg ratings.
According to the lawsuit, the 2019 Ford Ranger and 2018 Ford F-150 trucks underwent inaccurate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing that overstated fuel economy.”

Ford Fuel Economy Lawsuit Says MPG Ratings False

A Ford fuel economy lawsuit alleges the automaker cheated owners and lessees of 2017-2019 vehicles, including the 2019 Ford Rangers and 2018 Ford F-150 trucks. The proposed Ford fuel economy class action lawsuit is just one of at least 10 suits that allege Ford sold and marketed vehicles with...

www.carcomplaints.com

 

[1leglance]

After VW I guess some lawyers figured they could get some money out of a settlement.....this isn't the EPA going after them and it looks like Ford self reported a concern before the suit was filed.
Should be interesting to watch.

 

[AbleGuy]

Here’s some of the confusing stuff in the article:

“Road load uses engineering models and physical track tests referred to as "coastdown testing,” which "simulates aerodynamic drag, tire rolling resistance, and drivetrain frictional losses and provides the technical data used to program the test dynamometers that generate EPA fuel economy ratings.” The lawsuit says to perform a coastdown test, the vehicle travels at a high speed on a straight flat road and is shifted into NEUTRAL until it slows to a low speed. Estimates are produced by recording the time the vehicle takes to slow down, modeling the forces affecting the vehicle.”

WTH? How does including “coasting” in the mileage computation tell me accurately what kind of real life driving mpg’s I should expect to get when I’m operating this truck? Also, coasting your vehicle probably is illegal* in many (if not all) states and in any event is not likely even advised by the auto manufacturers anyhow!

I dunno, maybe that’s the crux of this claim?

*[see, for example, https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.495]

 

[Buliwyf]

If I can get 24mpg on the hwy with an F150, then can I have the lawyers pay for this case?

Stupid lawsuit is stupid. One test drive and it's out the window. City mileage is a useless spec. I can coast through your city at midnight and get 20+mpg in a gas Super Duty. LA during the day?.......1 mpg.

I think that Ryan Hubert just can't drive for s41+.

But if a Ford engineer used a dyno to guess mileage. Lol, that's not what dyno's are for. Axe that chump before he kills someone.

 

[gatorgrizz27]

Stupid indeed. How hard would it be to take 10 trucks to a city with ideal conditions (sea level, flat, relatively cool), after morning rush hour and tell everyone “drive around for an hour, try not to mash the throttle.”

Throw out the highest and lowest, average the others, that’s your “up to XX mpg” number.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Coastdown is a legit test to extrapolate resistance and drag. When I let off the gas and stay off the brakes, my truck with 36" MTs drags itself to a stop much quicker than my wife's stock Grand Cherokee. Guess which one gets worse mileage?

Conversely, take your foot off the gas pedal of a Camry and see how long it takes to come to a stop.

 

[deserteagle56]

I think I should sue Ford also!

The window sticker on my 2016 F150 stated the combined mileage (city/highway average) should be 18 mpg. Over the 37000+ miles I've driven this truck my combined mileage, calculated by spreadsheet, is 20.9. We can't be having this kind of inaccuracy!

 

[D45]

Not suprised. My junk Ecoboost gets 13.5 in the winter and 15.5 in the summer

 

[snowfiend]

Not suprised. My junk Ecoboost gets 13.5 in the winter and 15.5 in the summer

Same.

 

[Buliwyf]

My 6.2l F250 does better than that.

Consider adding a vacuum gauge to your pillar. And a dyno tune to fix whatever your mods are doing wrong.

 

[shade]

IMO, fuel economy ratings are best viewed as a way to rank one vehicle against another based on standardized test results, not so much as real world expectations. If Truck A delivered better fuel economy on the same test as Truck B, owners of Truck A will probably get better fuel economy results in the real world than owners of Truck B. Once differences in driving habits, cargo, modifications, and environmental conditions come into play, those EPA economy numbers don't mean much. The numbers on the window represent the results of EPA testing. While the tests are designed to be relevant to real world use, they can't hope to predict real world results.

OEMs have faced similar suits for many years, long before VW got caught playing with the code. If Ford was similarly found to have gamed the system, or willfully altered the results, they'll be on the hook. Otoh, if this is about people griping that they aren't attaining EPA economy numbers with their trucks, and Ford followed the EPA process faithfully, I doubt the suit will go anywhere.

 

[F350joe]

I read about this awhile ago and concluded it was frivolous for the reasons mentioned by other posters. Probably some investor trying to manipulate stock prices.

 

[jadmt]

Some law firm will make money every member of the class action will get a Built Ford Tough decal.

 

[phsycle]

My Ecoboost gets 23mpg highway, just like the sticker says. I had some neighbor years ago complain about MPG on his Ecoboost F150. "I only get 17MPG on the highway!" "How fast do you go?" "80 - 85MPH." ?

 

[billiebob]

Here’s some of the confusing stuff in the article:

“Road load uses engineering models and physical track tests referred to as "coastdown testing,” which "simulates aerodynamic drag, tire rolling resistance, and drivetrain frictional losses and provides the technical data used to program the test dynamometers that generate EPA fuel economy ratings.” The lawsuit says to perform a coastdown test, the vehicle travels at a high speed on a straight flat road and is shifted into NEUTRAL until it slows to a low speed. Estimates are produced by recording the time the vehicle takes to slow down, modeling the forces affecting the vehicle.”

WTH? How does including “coasting” in the mileage computation tell me accurately what kind of real life driving mpg’s I should expect to get when I’m operating this truck? Also, coasting your vehicle probably is illegal* in many (if not all) states and in any event is not likely even advised by the auto manufacturers anyhow!

I dunno, maybe that’s the crux of this claim?

*[see, for example, https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/811.495]

This makes perfect sense.

I just switched from 33x10.50R15s to 7.50R16s
My mileage went from 17mpg to 22mpg.
The tires are 12 pounds lighter each.

But rolling resistance is dramatically less.
In city driving I find myself caught off guard at every red light needing to suddenly apply the brakes to stop.
With the 33s and every other mainstream Jeep tire there was so much rolling resistance that the Jeep slowed faster when coasting.

Coasting is just one way to measure rolling resistance. As rolling resistance rises, it takes more power, fuel to keep a vehicle moving.