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Still getting crap gas mileage

shadowless127

Explorer Addict
Joined
December 13, 2007
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City, State
Long Island, NY
Year, Model & Trim Level
'01 EB AWD 5.0
Ok so I noticed the mounty was getting a tid bit grouchy at idle, so I figured it was time to give her some TLC.

Got the oil changed, had the fuel filter changed, and got a new drop in filter (Really lazy about my CAI project...).

I get fantastic hwy mileage, ~20mpg @ 68-72mph. Around the city though... I'm getting an awful 11-12mpg.

my driving style is a bit aggressive, but i don't think it's aggressive enough to make my "mpg" that bad.

trans was serviced @ 60k, as well as rear diff
 



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how long is that city trip where you get 11-12mpg? I get about 18-19 hwy. about 15-16 city. I have gotten 12-13mpg but that was when my wife had a 2 mile commute, and that was because the truck never had a chance to warm up. . .
 






how long is that city trip where you get 11-12mpg? I get about 18-19 hwy. about 15-16 city. I have gotten 12-13mpg but that was when my wife had a 2 mile commute, and that was because the truck never had a chance to warm up. . .

its all city trips, whether its tooling around in town, or my dreaded 20mile commute to work.

The truck warms up for minimum 7minutes every morning because I have remote start, so I start it up right before I get dressed and grab my gear n go.

Maybe i'm being paranoid, I just remember getting like 12.5-13.9mpg combined, and lately i've been getting ~11.9-12.3mpg combined.
 






Ah, when was the remote start added?? before or after you noticed the gas mileage change? If you have the trip computer try and reset it after you warmed it up and start driving, after your trip then check it?

Just guessing, roughly, you sit and warm it up for 7 min at 0mpg, then drive 21min city at 15mpg it should average out. My wife kinda did the same thing, i gave her the heep for the first time for her DD, i was shocked to check the computer after about 1-2 months and found 10.2mpg???? Got me paranoid too, filled it up, reset the computer and took if for 100mi drive no stopping, 19mpg on the computer and i filled it backup with about 5 gal worth, so i assumed it was her daily trip that killed the mpg.

Now she has the Ex and a 20mile commute, same driver but a little older, and gets about 15-16mpg, 50%hwy, 50% city.

hopefully this helps.
 






Ah, when was the remote start added?? before or after you noticed the gas mileage change? If you have the trip computer try and reset it after you warmed it up and start driving, after your trip then check it?

Just guessing, roughly, you sit and warm it up for 7 min at 0mpg, then drive 21min city at 15mpg it should average out. My wife kinda did the same thing, i gave her the heep for the first time for her DD, i was shocked to check the computer after about 1-2 months and found 10.2mpg???? Got me paranoid too, filled it up, reset the computer and took if for 100mi drive no stopping, 19mpg on the computer and i filled it backup with about 5 gal worth, so i assumed it was her daily trip that killed the mpg.

Now she has the Ex and a 20mile commute, same driver but a little older, and gets about 15-16mpg, 50%hwy, 50% city.

hopefully this helps.

Remote start was installed by the previous owner. But i'm sure between that and the commute and rush hour i'm gettin screwed...

Need to convince the wife a MAC CAI will give me better mpg's and save us $$$ :D.
 






7 minutes warming up wastes lots of gas. My V8 warms up in about 3-5 minutes driving it. I get 15-17mpg in city and 18-20 on highway and I never let it idle before driving unless I'm trying to get all the snow off it ! LOL

02 XLT V8 84K miles
 






I know this thread is about a month old, but I remember reading and learning that allowing your car to properly warm up before driving it will increase your mileage instead of running it on a cold engine.

this is for the winter time of course.

when its cold the T/C will not lock up until the trans fluid is warm, and the oil will still be alot thicker until warmed up, giving you terrible gas mileage.

so sitting for 5 min getting 0 mpg, sounds bad, but it burns what, mabye 1/2 a gal an hour? so in those 5 min, you lose 1/12 a gallon, instead of driving for 5 min getting horrible gas mileage beacuse nothings warmed up.

idk, the logic is there somewhere.
 






I'm in Canada, so we go by Litres/per 100 kilometers... but I switched the message centre over to American and it says I'm getting 9.6 MPG with mostly city driving.

I was expecting to get at least 12-13 MPG... as I have aftermarket K&N CAI, Flowmaster exhaust installed on the Ex. Fuel Filter was replaced about 10000 KILOmeters back, and had new sparkplugs installed only 5000-6000 KM ago.

I'm not getting any trouble codes, so I'm mystified as to what the problem could be.
 






I'm in Canada, so we go by Litres/per 100 kilometers... but I switched the message centre over to American and it says I'm getting 9.6 MPG with mostly city driving.

I was expecting to get at least 12-13 MPG... as I have aftermarket K&N CAI, Flowmaster exhaust installed on the Ex. Fuel Filter was replaced about 10000 KILOmeters back, and had new sparkplugs installed only 5000-6000 KM ago.

I'm not getting any trouble codes, so I'm mystified as to what the problem could be.

Find the mileage yourself, fill up, put the odometer to 0, and next time you fill up, divide the miles (kilometers) you drive by the gallons of gas (leters?) you put in, and bamn, you get your MPG (LPK?)
 






I get a consistent 17.1 mpg and do a lot of short 15 minute city trips during the week and maybe some longer highway trips on the weekends.
 






16.5-17mpg

That's my avg, and I don't have a trip computer. About 60% highway/ 40% city. Haven't taken it on any road trips to compare straight highway. When I first got the truck I was lucky to top 15. Then I started driving a little like Granny. Very occasionally take it over 3k RPMs. I have found driving habits are a HUGE factor in mpgs.:cool:
 






I'm in Canada, so we go by Litres/per 100 kilometers... but I switched the message centre over to American and it says I'm getting 9.6 MPG with mostly city driving.

I was expecting to get at least 12-13 MPG... as I have aftermarket K&N CAI, Flowmaster exhaust installed on the Ex. Fuel Filter was replaced about 10000 KILOmeters back, and had new sparkplugs installed only 5000-6000 KM ago.

I'm not getting any trouble codes, so I'm mystified as to what the problem could be.

That could be your problem. If you have the CAI, but no "tune" to compensate, it will tend to make the truck run richer, and hence get less mpg. Also, the oil from the K&N filter is known to contaminate the MAF sensor. Get some MAF cleaner spray. (yes, there is a specific cleaner. I think the CRC stuff is in a grey can.) Make sure you only spray it on the MAF when it is cold, or you'll fry it. Also let it dry before you turn the key on/start the engine, for the same reason.
 






That could be your problem. If you have the CAI, but no "tune" to compensate, it will tend to make the truck run richer


The same for a free flowing exhaust.

Check O2 sensors and cats as well.
 






That could be your problem. If you have the CAI, but no "tune" to compensate, it will tend to make the truck run richer, and hence get less mpg. Also, the oil from the K&N filter is known to contaminate the MAF sensor. Get some MAF cleaner spray. (yes, there is a specific cleaner. I think the CRC stuff is in a grey can.) Make sure you only spray it on the MAF when it is cold, or you'll fry it. Also let it dry before you turn the key on/start the engine, for the same reason.


Well I've had the K&N CAI on for about 6 months now, and I just recently noticed the drop in MPG in the last month so I don't think that's the problem. Also, I haven't been able to locate any SPECIFIC MAF cleaner at any autoparts store up here, but a few people suggested trying Electronic Parts Cleaner that evaporates with no residue... which I did, but no luck there either.

Also I spoke with James from Henson Performance a while back when I purchased a SCT3 tuner from him, and he said with bolt on upgrades there shouldn't be any need for a tune.

I've been getting conflicting information about the O2 sensors. Some say they can fail without throwing codes, others say if they fail they'll throw codes for sure... but I don't have a check engine light and my scanner isn't coming up with any codes either.

I'm going to try resetting the fuel trim today though and see if that improves anything.

I appreciate the suggestions though, if resetting the fuel trim doesn't work I'll check out the Cats and O2's anyway.
 






im currently in school and on my breaks i go out to my ex and start it and let it idle to get heat so i can actually stand it out there, anyway mine is only a 4.0 and im getting worse milage now than in the summer because of the idling, when driving even when its below freezing i notice its blowing warm air after about a min, and about 2 just idling, and i put an intake and an exhaust on mine and i didnt notice a change in milage idk if i crazy or doing something wrong, or if my ex is just a freak..
 






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