Do you own a hybrid Ford or Lincoln? Are you not getting the mileage you expected? Then get excited for some swell news — you're about to get paid!
As The Detroit News reports, Ford is having to revise the fuel economy ratings on six of its new cars, and not in a good way. They mistakenly overrated the efficiency of their vehicles and then self-reported the error to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which does fuel economy ratings for cars and trucks. From their report:
Ford said it erred by in calculating "Total Road Load Horsepower" — a vehicle-specific resistance level used in vehicle dynamometer testing that determines fuel economy ratings. The level is established through engineering models that checked through through vehicle testing, including physical track tests referred to as coastdown testing.
The affected vehicles include the the hybrid and Energi versions of the 2013-14 Ford Fusion, the C-Max Hybrid and Energi, the 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and also four versions of the 2014 Ford Fiesta.
Owners will be compensated for the error. The newspaper reports payments will range from $125 to $1,050 depending on which vehicle and if it was leased or purchased. The EPA says fuel economy labels on these cars will change between 1 and 5 MPG, and that will happen within 15 days.
It's the second fuel economy-related black eye Ford has received within a year. In August, they were forced to revise the C-Max Hybrid's fuel economy from 47 combined MPG to 43 combined MPG. They paid customers in that instance as well.
Do any of you folks own the affected cars? Have you noticed that your fuel economy isn't quite what Ford has claimed?