When I purchased our Malibu in 2004, I determined after a couple months that the mileage was off by 1.8 mpg. It was always optimistic - I got 31.8 mpg! No, I actually got 30.
When I took it in for service and to have a minor factory defect repaired, I ask that they adjust the ratio for the MPG display in the Drivers Information Center (DIC). The response: "It is set at the factory, we don't have any way to change it".
As Bipeflier stated, it is for entertainment purposes only. Mine has always been right at 1.8mpg worse than the read-out, so I have a good enough idea of the actual numbers. This is my daily driver, and now with 178K miles on the clock, it is still getting around 29-30.
Our new Sunseeker has the MPG in the DIC as well - but the Sunseeker will never be driven on a consistent repeatable commute. Mileage will vary widely from one tank to the next due to road conditions, fill up locations, etc etc.
I'll install the ScanGaugeII from the ford, as that's what I used to get a general idea of the mileage from tank to tank. It'll give me a general idea of the info I seek.
2016 Forest River Sunseeker 2250SLEC Chevrolet 6.0L