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Mazda CX-9 Real World MPG

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    robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Give it some time to break in. Most engines don't reach peak MPG until about 10K miles.

    Also, it's cold, you were sitting in traffic, et al - you can't expect to great MPG. To give you an idea, my VW Passat (rated at 25 city) was returning today about 18 MPG due to heavy traffic.
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    kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 237,164
    edited February 2011
    Trying to figure your gas mileage daily is an exercise in frustration, and not likely to result in accurate numbers, anyway...

    Fill up your car.. reset the trip odometer... Next time you fill up, note the number of gallons, and divide that into the mileage on the trip odometer... that is your fuel mileage...

    Do it at least three or four consecutive times...

    Then... report back here!

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    cericceric Member Posts: 1,092
    CX9s are heavy vehicles.
    I don't know what people expect the MPG should be for a 4500lbs vehicle in stop and go traffic. All the energy has to come from somewhere. CX9 is not hybrid. No energy is recovered from braking.

    There are many factors to MPG. Compared to a vehicle like Pilot. Then, we are talking.

    CX9s are very efficient on highway speed due to low 6th gear ratio and low Cd (0.36).

    BTW, CX9 switches to 6th gear at 42mph at light throttle.
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    cubanomxcubanomx Member Posts: 6
    Thanks. The exercise you instruct to know the fuel mileage is very good, I will do it, but now in the first days of the SUV, I need to know values of consumption in different enviroments: city normal, city heavy traffic, city super heavy (i.e: 30 minutes for 6 miles!), highway and city/highway conbination. This is very important to adopt driving habits and understand factors affecting fuel economy. For example here in mexico there is lot of speed bump and this stop - and go maneuvers are real bad for this SUV. In my old accord v6 2005 and old volvo turbo 2007 this was not a problem at all but with this heavy SUV, is a real headache.

    I will get back with real numbers but I'm telling you this SUV is making consuption numbers like a Hummer V8
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    cubanomxcubanomx Member Posts: 6
    CX9 weights 600lbs more than CX7, is a heavy SUV, but the V6 is getting gas consumption in V8 numbers. Believe me, in my job a friend have a Jeep V8 and is getting better numbers.

    One thing concerns me: at 40miles x hour the gearbox use 5th gear and at 50mph the gearbox changes to 6th gear. I believe this is new in 2011 because in internet articles I read 6th is only for highway cruise but not in this model (or is a factory defect)
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    dogdoc1997dogdoc1997 Member Posts: 32
    Are most of you posting the low mileage referencing the MPG on the dash "info" panel? That says I am getting 13.2, I want to do the simple tripmeter and the number of gallons at fill up and see if it gets any different numbers.... :surprise:
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    cericceric Member Posts: 1,092
    5th to 6th happens at 42mph at light throttle.
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    cubanomxcubanomx Member Posts: 6
    I´m getting better numbers now after some "practice" with the CX9. in full highway I get 23.9 MPG. This is the expected number I think.
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    vic_nycvic_nyc Member Posts: 1
    Could you tell me what you did to improve the MPG? Have you noticed any improvements in city driving MPG as opposed to before?

    I just got a new CX-9 2011 and drove it only for ~100 miles but it seems to have horrible consumption. The average stayed at 10MPG, and once as I drove into the city it even went to as low as 7.8MPG !!!

    I am thinking there must be something defective with the car, as this is a far reach from the minimum 16MPG that it's supposed to get ...

    Thank you!
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    oldburbnewcx9oldburbnewcx9 Member Posts: 53
    vic nyc

    Could use more information. How many miles on your CX-9, FWD or AWD, what type of driving, how are you determining mpg.

    Also the EPA rated mpg of 16 is not a minimum and not a guarantee. It's just a measurement of the fuel consumption during an EPA city test.
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    oldburbnewcx9oldburbnewcx9 Member Posts: 53
    2009 CX-9 touring AWD. 30600 miles. Recently drove from Washington, DC to Cincinnati. Weather was in the 50s. I set the cruise control 5MPH over the posted speed limit so the highway speed was mostly 70 to 75 mph. First tank has 80 miles of local driving and 240 miles on highway. Three people and luggage for a week in the car. 304 miles and 17.1 gallons for a tank mpg was 17.8 mpg. Filled up in Morgatown, WV and on to Cincinnati. 317 miles and 15.1 gallons for tank mpg of 21.0. Drove around Cincinnati for a week. 280 miles and 16.6 gallons for 16.9 gallons. Return trip sams general conditions first tank 324 miles and 14.7 gallons for 22.0 mpg and last tank 220 miles and 10.4 gallons for 21.2 mpg. I am very satisfied withe the MPG of this car. EPA rating is 15 city 21 highway and 17 combined.
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    rickcx9rickcx9 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2011 CX9 AWD and drving around town, not heavy traffic, I get 13 - 14 mpg, on a 200 mile trip mostly highway, less than 19.
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    cericceric Member Posts: 1,092
    edited January 2012
    I often do 120-mile trips from San Jose to Sacramento. I got 22mpg at 70-75mph.
    This is 2008 GT AWD loaded with 2+ people.

    CX9 designed the 6th gear to be fuel-efficient on highways. With cd=0.36, this beats many CUVs w/ 3 rows. It has wider tires (245mm) than others. If CX9 has 225 (like some older Pilots), the mpg would be even higher.

    Local driving, however, is not that forte of CX9. It is heavy (4500lbs+ about 200lbs heavier than a comparable Highlander). It also has very short 1st gear to have the zoom-zoom feeling, which is also bad for city driving. In short, short trips (light-to-light) absolutely kill the city MPG of CX9. Go easy on 1st gear, and try to drive at 42mph+ whenever possible (it shifts to 6th gear),
    not 40mph (it stays at 5th gear). Also, keep your tires inflated and unload the
    junks in your CX9.

    Just my experiences from 4+ years of ownership. ;)
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    gungagunga Member Posts: 16
    Just drove from Wisconsin to Phoenix 70 - 80 most of the way.

    Got 20.9 MPG. 2011 AWD.

    Have been getting 17.8 driving around home.
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    meh255meh255 Member Posts: 1
    Would love to hear from other 2012 mazda cx9 owners about the kind of mileage you're getting. City is posted at 16 and the dealer told us to expect a couple miles higher than that. The best we are getting in the city according to the dash display is 13.7. We love the car but are very disappointed with this terrible mileage. We could have gotten a Suburban for that.
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    elibruno1elibruno1 Member Posts: 2
    we have a 2011 CX-9 and get 18 city and 23 highway without any special driving habits. has an AWD 2008 CX-9 with absolutely terrible mileage (14/19) and just going with front wheel drive and newer technology has helped a lot. This is a Great 3 seat SUV!
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    rabadashrabadash Member Posts: 11
    Ceric, my experience over four years mirrors yours. Behaving myself behind the wheel, I average 17 around town, but that necessitates no quick starts from stops. Acceleration must emulate a diesel locomotive in first and second to achieve those numbers. I've found that manually shifting around town helps, keeping the tach between 2,000 and 2500 rpm in 3rd and 4th to maximize mileage. On the highway, 5-6 mph over the limit in 6th rewards with 21-23 mpg, depending on terrain and headwinds. Great people-and-stuff-moving vehicle. Love it for all that it offers drivers and passengers when they're not pausing for a fuel break.
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