A Problem With Subaru Ascent Fuel Mileage? Owners Say EPA Isn’t Even Close

I am also very unhappy with the mpg I'm getting on my 2023 Ascent. I have the touring model and am getting 14 mpg. I too would not have purchased this vehicle had I known what the actual mpg was.

We got the 2022 Ascent Touring for my wife. It has never got more than 14mpg. It was disappointing considering our old Outback got 24-26mpg.

I have a little over 1000 miles on my 23 Ascent Onyx. I'm averaging 16mpg. Went out of town and averaged 21.6mpg on the highway at 75mph with cruise control. This is unacceptable. I had a 22 Outback Premium and I put gas in it at half a tank every 2 weeks. This thing is at half a tank before the week is over. Something has to be done by SOA. I'm not making this up. I drove about 5 miles after fill up and the needle dropped. I actually saw it dropping. Took a pic and I was averaging 13mpg with light driving. This is really unacceptable. SOA has to fix this.

The problem has not subsided. I'm now over 6k miles and still continue to get around 14 mpg in the city. Subaru corporate - Barbara Gil - has completely stonewalled me at this point and won't admit there's a problem. It seems they are waiting to be sued or perhaps for a government enforcement action. For a company that excessively promotes itself as a good corporate citizen, that could not be farther from the truth.

Another thing I can't understand is why auto manufacturers aren't required to keep, in car computer systems, records of what a car is getting mpg wise. It would seem that - if Congress and the government were serious about this stuff and the environment - it would require cars be built with such capabilities. That way they would be putting out truthful mpg information. They are, of course, collecting all sorts of other information. So it would seem they really don't want to know what's truly going on. If anyone wishes to discuss this with me, please be in touch.

Got my 2023 Subaru Ascent Limited two weeks ago and driven 363miles per Odometer. I reset trip A to zero when I did a full tank last week then drove 193miles. I did a full tank today and paid for 10.84gal of same regular gas. So my first actual measurement is 17.8mpg. This is combined city and highway driving in MN. Will monitor again next week.

We’ve bought our 2020 ascent in April of 2020. Supposed to get 21/27. We’ve gone on 2000 mile road trips and not once did we ever get close to 27 mpgs like it states. I have filled up and got right on the highway with nothing else in the car and may get up to 24 mpgs. I complained to the dealership. I told them this is about the 8th vehicle I’ve purchased brand new (Honda, Nissan, ford) and they’ve all been true to their mpg ratings. I’m not driving any different. The manager said it’ll get better the more driving you do and tried to spin it stating it’s all about driving conditions. Well we are around 40k miles now and it’s not any better. This was the whole reason we traded in our Honda pilot. It showed the same mpg but with all wheel drive. We would’ve kept the pilot if I’d known the gas was terrible.

I'm averaging around 13 mpg and the Ascent is a pure gasoline hog. I didn't think it was going to be this bad with my new Subaru. The SUV only has 400 plus miles.

My 2023 Ascent gives 13 to 14 miles per gallon in city. Very disappointed with this purchase.

We purchased a 2021 Ascent with 16K miles. Told by the salesman that combined mileage was mid-20’s. The best we have gotten is 17.1! So disappointing since we traded a Ford F150 crew cab that did better than that!

Well I'm on my first tank of gas and picked up the car this week. According to my calculations, the best hope for city driving is 16 MPG. Nowhere near 22. I coast an awful lot also. I'm by no means a leadfoot driver. Guess I'm stuck with a gas guzzler for 3 years . (Lease)

I agree with the 11-14 comment on MPG. We play a game where we try to get the MPG above average MPH and it never happens, even with an 800 mile highway trip. Even with a highway mix and 2 years driving it can’t get above 13.5 MPG. Even on just highway can’t get it above 18 mpg. My full size F150 get 19.5 MPG city and outweighs the Ascent by over 500 lbs. Absolutely horrendous gas mileage. How the gov hasn’t investigated Subaru over the blatant lies on the gas mileage and messing with the CAFE averages is beyond me.

In only average 14 MPG. Who is going to start the Class Action Lawsuit? I'm considering it.

Definitely disappointed with the fuel economy. I'm getting about 19/21. I wasn't expecting the moon but was hoping to hit the upper 20s with highway driving...I mean that's what was advertised. It doesn't look like that will be happening.

My new Ascent has horrible gas mileage. I don't even get 250 miles from a full tank of gas. We have a Crosstrek too and that gets great gas mileage. It was never disclosed when we purchased the Ascent and if I'd known I wouldn't have purchased this model. Now I'm stuck with a 2023 for years to come and I hate to drive it anywhere. My husband has a similar size SUV from Mercedes, 2023 model, and it gets great gas mileage so I'm not sure using the EPA changes is a valid excuse for Subaru's horrible gas mileage.

Extremely dissatisfied with my 2023 Subaru Ascent fuel mileage. Currently getting 9-11 city and 15-17 highway with and average of about 12.5 MPG overall. This is absolutely unacceptable. Would have never even looked at this vehicle to purchase if I had known about its poor fuel efficiency. Have had 1 visit to dealer service. Service drove it 3.5 miles and said everything was normal!

I have a 2019 Ascent. I do almost exclusively local city driving my commute to and from work and kids schools is around 10 miles a day and I average about 13-14 mpg. No joke. Highway I'm lucky if I can crack 24 with no traffic. Terrible mpg.

I bought a 2022 Ascent Limited new over a year ago, 3900 miles and the best mileage is 16.6 Highway, 16 city. The salesman raved how great the gas mileage would be and with the window sticker estimating 20/26mpg city/hwy it sounded great. At my recent oil change, the Subaru service advisor recommended I file a complaint stating I was not the only person complaining about this. It's upsetting to know that the sales people are aware of this yet the lie about it. I've filed my complaint with EPA and Subaru and doubt they will do a thing about it to make it right. Therefore I will post this on as many social media platforms as I can and encourage others to do the same.

I'm getting no more than 13 MPG in city driving!

I have a '23 Ascent and get typically 13-15 mpg. I have asked the dealership multiple times and I have been told it would get better after the "break in period" which started at 2,500 mi, then 5,000, then "well I have I have seen on some that it takes 10,000 mi" but try using seafoam in the meantime (on a brand new engine) low and behold after 10k now over 12k with no improvement. I have asked if they could put it on the computer to see if there is any possible programming issues but told that I just need to be patient. I do really like the vehicle itself but am at the end of my patience.

oh by the way if anyone is interested in getting a Subaru avoid getting the wireless charger it is a waste of $350+, I barely charges if at all and the phone gets very hot killing the battery. was told that cant use my case when charging( pain to take it on an off) but tried this as well and very little improvement and still gets very hot

I have a "new to me" 2021 subaru Ascent touring I recently purchased from a dealer in the DFW area as a CPO. My experience with the mileage is combined 16-19 mpg which is way below the stated EPA. The low mileage is why I ended up on this article - a search to see if this is a common problem. Apparently it is.
I also have a 2018 outback and my mileage is 25ish combined and better on the highway.
Would appreciate you passing this along to SBA as you noted
Thanks

Subaru Ascent, 2024. 16 mpg in mixed driving. Very disappointed.

I have a 2019 Subaru Ascent and the gas mileage really stinks. 11-12 mpg is the norm. Hard on the wallet.

We have a 2019 Ascent and can only manage 13 mpg in town and 20 mpg on the freeway.

While I read the comments about under performing fuel mileage, I have had the exact opposite findings. My 2019 Subaru Ascent just turned 303,000 miles. I use it for everything from airport shuttles, wine tours and hauling around up to 30 bowling balls and accessories across the western US. I have MULTIPLE trips in excess of 30 mpg, with the best I've ever recorded at 31.6 mpg. I've gotten a much as 620 miles out of a single tank, and numerous trips between 580 - 600 miles. I always top off when the fuel pump stopper activates, and the tank filler holds an additional 3 gallons after first click. I don't have any special gadgets, use full synthetic oil, and go 10,000 - 12,000 miles between oil changes due to the excessive driving I do. This is by far the best SUV I've ever owned.