Poor mileage - Engine Tuning?

[strongline]

Hi I have 2010 Fusion 2.5Lv4 which I feel it's not burning gas completely. Its exhaust is smelly and mileage is very poor (in summer, 10+L/100KM  (21.3mpg), winter easily 13-14L/100km (16-18mpg)). Will chiptuning help? Or what can I do myself (replace spark plug, adjust timing etc.?), from easiest to most difficult?

[sirtanon]

With mileage like that, chip tuning would probably make matters worse.. and at the very least will end up doing nothing.  If my car was acting like that, the first thing I would do is standard maintenance work, like checking/replacing the plugs, injectors, exhaust, etc..

The 2010 Fusion uses computer control, so there really is no "adjusting the timing" as it's all calculated by the ECU.

 

Also, check your air filter, tire pressure, engine compression, brakes to make sure they're not dragging, wheel bearings, etc..

[eGuru]

In addition to Sirtanon's suggestions, you should clean your MAF (with appropriate cleaner).

[drolds1]

How many miles on the car?  No CEL? These symptoms sometimes point to a "lazy" O2 sensor.  They can go out of range without triggering a CEL.  They don't last forever.

BTW, by "chip tuning" if you mean one of those cheap ebay chips, don't waste your money.  If you mean an actual handheld tuner, first, there's no "chip" in your car's ECU and second, you would not want to utilize one unless you engine was running perfectly to begin with. in the first place.

[strongline]

21 hours ago, sirtanon said:

With mileage like that, chip tuning would probably make matters worse.. and at the very least will end up doing nothing.  If my car was acting like that, the first thing I would do is standard maintenance work, like checking/replacing the plugs, injectors, exhaust, etc..

The 2010 Fusion uses computer control, so there really is no "adjusting the timing" as it's all calculated by the ECU.

 

Also, check your air filter, tire pressure, engine compression, brakes to make sure they're not dragging, wheel bearings, etc..

Air filter, tire pressure are regularly checked and maintained. No brake dragging/bearing dragging etc. I will see how to check engine compression - is it something can be read from OBD? 

[strongline]

21 hours ago, eGuru said:

In addition to Sirtanon's suggestions, you should clean your MAF (with appropriate cleaner).

Will definitely do that.

[strongline]

16 hours ago, drolds1 said:

How many miles on the car?  No CEL? These symptoms sometimes point to a "lazy" O2 sensor.  They can go out of range without triggering a CEL.  They don't last forever.

BTW, by "chip tuning" if you mean one of those cheap ebay chips, don't waste your money.  If you mean an actual handheld tuner, first, there's no "chip" in your car's ECU and second, you would not want to utilize one unless you engine was running perfectly to begin with. in the first place.

It has only 110k+. What's CEL? If you referred to engine light, no there never was one. But transmission has been buggy.

[drolds1]

Yes, CEL= check engine light.  At 110K,  it's certainly possible that an 02 sensor is on it's way out.

 

What do you mean by "buggy" WRT the transs?

[strongline]

The transs performs poorly, especially in low speed (<10km/h). In stop  & go traffic, it hesitates, jerks, not smooth at all. A few years back, check tanss light lit on a few times. I went to dealer the first time and was told the temperature was too high ( keep in mind I am in Canada so weather is not that hot up here) while I was cruising on highway so there wasn't any gear shifting. The light would be gone after restart, but it made  me unease. The car quickly became my secondary car so I no longer drive it long distance, probably why I no longer see the transs check light. 

 

Also in colder weather, if start from a cold engine, I have to be extremely delicate with gas pedal pressure because often  the gear either doesn't kick in at all, or it dashes forward all of a sudden. Very annoying.

Edited September 16, 2017 by strongline

[nForrest]

When is the last time you had the transmission serviced? Fluid and filter change?

[drolds1]

4 hours ago, nForrest said:

When is the last time you had the transmission serviced? Fluid and filter change?

The filter can't be changed in the 6F35 unless the unit is being disassembled.

[akirby]

5 hours ago, drolds1 said:

The filter can't be changed in the 6F35 unless the unit is being disassembled.

 

And as our friend the former Ford transmission engineer has told us repeatedly - if there is ever enough junk in the trans to block the filter the trans is already toast.

[robertlane]

Lifetime sealed unit.

[akirby]

6 minutes ago, robertlane said:

Lifetime sealed unit.

 

Not really, you can change fluid.   Ford recommends changing fluid at 150K for normal conditions.  I thought it was 60K for severe service.  Most folks don't recommend going over 60k including tranny engineers.  But not a sealed or lifetime unit.

 

Interesting story - when the Lincoln LS came out in 99 there was no transmission dipstick so folks assumed that meant the tranny was sealed and you never had to check or change fluid.  Not true - they simply ran out of room in the engine bay for the dipstick tube so they left it out.  You still had to service it the same way but using a second hole to check the level instead of a dipstick - like a manual trans.

[strongline]

Don't remember whether a tran flush was ever done, but I've followed all scheduled maintenance