recently purchased 2009 fusion sel awd

[fusion33]

Hello all,

 

I recently purcased a ford fusion 2009 from my grandmother who drove it less than twice a year. When i bought it it had 10,000 miles on it, every piece of equipment has been maintained by the ford warranty whenever something went wrong with it. I have been driving it for a few days and am getting the oil changed today most likely at valvoline.

 

This car was sitting for atleast 3 years before being sold to me where I drive it to work daily (roughly 15 miles there , 15 back). The car has not had an oil change in years and fluids need to be replenished. When I drive it the dashboard reads that it is getting 13.5 MPG with an average of 12MPH. (I dont know what this means) The system check reads everything as OK.

 

Could somebody explain to me what this means? Also, if there is a way to get better gas mileage from this vehicle. Will this vehicle run more efficient after getting all the fluids changed. I am not very much an auto person, more of an electronics and computer guy. Getting 13 MPG isnt very much ive been told and this car could be doing so much better.

And, are there any trusted sites I could purchase replacement parts from if necessary? - maybe a few exterior parts as well ?seeing as I would like this car to be blacked out.

 

 

Thank you!

[Waldo]

The MPG and average speed are running averages since the last time it was reset If you haven't reset it, then it's including all the time your grandmother drove it. Sounds like she either drove really slow or let it idle a lot, so that would easily explain the low averages. Just hit the reset button and see how it's really doing under your driving conditions.

[fusion33]

Thank you for replying.

 

Would there be another way to up the MPG? , I live in a small city, about 2 square miles. I understand that city driving is a pig on gas with this engine , would there be anyway to make this vehicle more efficient with gas?

[akirby]

Make sure the tires are properly inflated, accelerate moderately and coast as much as possible. You'd be surprised how far you can coast without losing much speed (approaching a red light e.g.). Not much else you can really do.

 

You should be able to get 17-19 mpg in normal city driving.

[fusion33]

Alright, I will try these methods and reply back asap.

 

Thank you for your reply everybody!

[Bman505]

There are some other things to be worried about for cars that have been sitting.

 

Check the tires for flat spots, dry rot, cracks

Check for oil/other fluid leaks from anywhere two pieces that process fluids come together (too many places here to list, this would be from the seals shrinking),

Purge (at a very minimum dilute with new gas) everything in the fuel system as the gas in there has gone bad (gasoline has about a 1 year shelf life without additives such as stabil) I would for sure add fuel injector cleaner to your next few tanks of gas!

Change the oil (as you said you were going to, the composition of oil separates over time) MAKE SURE the oil filter is changed also.

Change all the fluids in the cooling system and hope the cooling system hasn't rusted

Check all the belts to make sure they are not cracked from dry rot

Change all the air filters

Check all rubber components like the CV boots for cracks

Depending on if you are in an area that has this problem or not, check for rat nests (even in places such as the airbox, you would be amazed where they can get into), chewed wires, etc.

 

There might be a few more things that I am forgetting.

 

In general I would rather buy a car with higher miles than a car that has been sitting. Hopefully it was sitting in a garage and not outside for all that time, that will help the severity in all these potential issues.