Poor fuel economy - 96 Limited

[pfloydman]

I am new to this and don't know a whole lot about cars in general. Before I go get ripped off at the dealer, does anyone have any idea why I might be getting such poor fuel economy out of my 96 Limited? According to the on-board display, I'm getting 11.0 mpg. That is awful! It has about 108k miles. I have had it serviced recently, so there really is no good explanation. Maybe the tires are old...would that cause mpg to be THAT bad though?

 

['97 V8]

what engine does your X have...that would make a world of a difference. What psi are your tires at?

EDIT: Please DO NOT double post.

 

[Lt.Jim]

Welcome to the forum. You are going to get someone telling you not to double post. Ask your question in one section only please and give people a chance to respond. Also try the search function this is a topic that has been covered alot. Poor fuel economy can be caused by several things. Dirty MAF or O2 sensors. Poor alignment on your tires could cause a decrease in fuel economy as well. Check the basics like plugs wires fuel filters maybe a bottle of fuel injector cleaner.

 

[ma96782]

Try doing your MPG calculations the old fashion way (from an old post of mine):

FYI, try calculating your MPG the "old fashion way."

There is going to be some variance, though I did say it was the "old fashion way." Start by filling up your gas tank, fully.......on level ground........first click off (second click off or whatever) or until you see the gas is it at a certain level in the filler neck (some stations will not let you look some won't).........sometimes you'll have to wait a little for the gas to settle in the tank........or the tank to "burrrp." You don't need to record how many gallons were needed (this time). Though you must record your odometer reading (or set the trip odometer) and remember this fill up procedure.

Any way..........now, drive it...........fill it when needed (don't have to be exact about filling it), log the number of gallons that went in.............drive it some more...............fill it when needed…………………………always logging the amount of gallons that went in............repeat the procedure several times.

After a couple of cycles: of driving, and filling, and logging the number of gallons...........this last time, you're gonna go to the same gas station and follow the same procedure that you used to fill your gas tank the first time that you started your quest for truth. Record this last odometer reading.

So, all done filling her up..............how many gallons was it this time? OK, now add up all of the gallons since you first recorded the odometer. So, how many gallons was the total?

Now, take the beginning odometer reading and minus it from the ending odometer reading………………this number is the total number of miles that you've traveled.

One more calculation left..............now, divide the number of miles by the number of gallons you used..................that number, is your MPG. Use a calculator, if you have trouble.

Now, like I said it's the "old fashion way"............and this method doesn't take into account for an odometer that is not functioning correctly.

As for computers...............well, perhaps one day................I'll have more faith in them.................and, that includes the GPS method. I've been off roading, when I was actually on a paved street.............at least that is what the GPS map said, I was doing........LOL.

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Next up, reading some...................

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372




Aloha, Mark

 

[Rhett]

I agree, don't rely on that built-in mpg calc on your overhead console as 100% accurate. Figure you mpg the old fashioned way if you want REAL numbers.

11.0 mpg in town in cold weather for an AWD V8 is not all that abnormal. There are cheap normal tune-up things that you probably need to do, and that would probably help somewhat. 2 of my friends have 96 AWD's (one a Limited, one a Mounty) and they report 11-12 mpg in town on their console. They complained to ME about it, too! heheheh. Like I know anything about 2nd gens, I told them.

 

[ma96782]

Another post to help you clean up your engine vitals:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144066

Aloha, Mark