INSubbie

Not sure if anyone else saw this article... It seems like this will really hurt both Hyundai and Kia in the long run.

Hyundai Surrenders 40 MPG claims

My partner has a 2012 Sonata Hybrid that is holding close to it's MPG claim. Window sticker is 35 City, 40 Highway. City has been averaging 29, but Highway, I've gotten 43.

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'06 XT w/ 5MT

nasoj007

As long as the media doesn't latch onto it like a dog with a bone I don't think it will hurt them too much in the long run. They've been very forward with the problem, accepted responsibility and presented a very fair (imho) compensation for the error. Every year for as long as you own the car they will record you mileage, calculate the cost difference in fuel that you have ended up paying due to the error and reimburse you that plus an extra 15% for your troubles. As usual there will be some people that will blow it way out of proportion to try to get some big settlement out of it but there's always gonna be some money grubbers out there :P

1stSub

They do, however need to latch onto it like a dog with a bone. There is no way they could have made errors calculating MPGs...We're talking a team of top scientists working for a large car company. It's blatant deception, and the public needs to be aware of what they've done.

I'm a fan Hyundai, and I always have taken their MPG claim with a grain of salt, as I do with all cars. one or two MPGs off, perfectly understandable. But as much as 7 or 8 MPGs?! We are back in the 1980s fairytale MPGs again. "Why, yes. This 3/4 ton full size pickup can get 23mpg on the freeway."

GreyingJay

So you must be all over the Chevy Equinox and the 2013 Ford Escape for their mileage claims... :D

SierraHotel

As I understand it, the vehicle manufacturers are given the detailed testing parameters....and then they do their own testing and submit the results to the EPA. About 10% of the results submitted are randomly tested by the EPA for accuracy.

The testing parameters are rigid enough that it is not reasonable to think that the Hyundai mpg numbers were "an honest mistake". They cheated... and were caught. Being able to advertise a car as getting 40 mpg highway mileage, vice 36 mpg, gives a huge marketing advantage... and probably resulted in thousands of additional cars being sold...under false pretenses.

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2010 Forester Premium Paprika Red Pearl

Trainman

Its not just one car, but a lot of the Hyundai/Kia marketing was about how many cars they have (had I guess now) that were at or over 40. This has the potential to really blow up in their face with negative public reaction but so far its been pretty quite (this was first reported (at least up here in Canada) November 2. More info for Canadians here: https://hyundaifuelconsumption.ca/ Kia also has a web site.

But how would you feel if you had bought a vehicle that claimed it got 3-5 MPG more than a competitor says theirs got but after re-testing they are now the same? Would that have changed your mind on what you purchased? I can see lawsuits along this line coming.

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2009 Subaru Forester Touring Edition, AT

GreyingJay

I can tell you that if I had known how bad (well, "not great") the mileage would be on the Toyota Matrix I bought in 2007, I would not have bought it.

Scenario: Leased a Toyota RAV4. Great little SUV, but mileage was "meh". I think 9-12 L/100 km. Decided not to buy out the lease, instead bought a used Toyota Matrix, which is advertised at 6-8 L/100 km. Figured the Matrix was like a "mini SUV" in terms of styling and cargo capacity, I also lose AWD ability, but would get dramatically better mileage. Nope! My real world records indicated typically 8-9, as bad as 11.5 L/100, absolute best ever was 7.5 L/100.

Maybe there was something wrong with mine. My dad owns a Vibe and his numbers are closer to 7-9. Regardless, if I'd known the real-world mileage was only slightly better than the RAV4, then I would have just kept it. Pay a couple extra dollars in gas but keep the AWD, more powerful engine, and larger capacity. Cheaper to buy out the RAV4 lease than it was to buy the Matrix, too! Oh well.