Odd MPG Experience

[CMax-Traveler]

I had a very weird experience yesterday with my MPGs in my C-Max.

 

To start, so far on this tank, I'm averaging 51.8 MPG over 250 miles.  100% city driving.  So, clearly, things are working out well for me with the car.  I also have the 13B07 update.

 

I went out of town to California for a week, and severely missed my car -- I couldn't believe how much I like how it handles and feels compared to the car I had to drive while I was out of town.  Definitely gives me a new appreciation for the car, it's no wonder I fell in love on the first test-drive.

 

Anyway, yesterday I got home and went for a drive.  While out of town I had taken my C-Max key off of my keychain -- no point in carrying it across the country.  So when I got home, I grabbed my key and hopped in the car.  While driving, I noticed my Trip 1 and Trip 2 were in "standard" display, not "enhanced" display like I had set them, and "My View" was set completely differently, so I thought that was odd, and I fixed them.  But then I did two trips and got 40 and 41 MPG on trips that I would usually get 50+ MPG on.  Very odd, and I was fairly concerned -- did that car I drove in Cali really spoil my driving ability?

 

When I got home I figured it out -- I had inadvertently switched key fobs!  That explains the display settings, anyway... I had never driven the car using the other key.  So, it got me wondering.  I switched back to my usual key and took two more trips later in the day -- 51 and 54 MPGs, and then another 53 MPG trip today.  Weird!

 

So... apparently the display settings are key-dependent, but I'm wondering if the PCM is somehow linked to the key?  And maybe it actually does learn and adapt to your driving style, and those adaptations are dependent on the key?  (I had always assumed the "learning" to be marketing BS that the sales guy spouts with no actual basis in reality and that the service advisor says as an excuse to get you to leave them alone, but...)

 

There are so many variables here that I can't definitively say that it was related to the key.  But it certainly seems unusual to me.  Now I'm going to have to try another trip or two with the other key.  Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[C-MaxSea]

It missed you and was just getting your attention? (You haven't named it Hal have you?)  C-Maxes are not inanimate, you see. 

 

Yes strange.

 

Nick

Edited August 30, 2013 by C-MaxSea

[ArizonaEnergi]

Have you manually calculated the MPG to determine that the 50+ readings are correct?  And I wonder how our car picks a fob when it has two fobs in it all the time?

[CMax-Traveler]

Have you manually calculated the MPG to determine that the 50+ readings are correct?  And I wonder how our car picks a fob when it has two fobs in it all the time?

 

My calculated MPGs so far have been within 1 MPG of the displayed MPG, so I have no reason at the moment to doubt it... and between the trip1 and distance to empty, it's currently telling me I'm on track for a 740mi tank.  We'll see after this tank, but I have a looong way to go.

 

Yeah, maybe I should name it Hal...

[Noah Harbinger]

I'm going to try this tomorrow. I have a hard time believing it would maintain separate adaptive learning curves when it doesn't even remember different seat positions :)