3.5L Ecoboost Owners - What MPG are you getting?

[Countryboy07]

Just returned from a mini vacation and between 90% highway and 10% in town driving the explorer returned 19.8 mpg hand calculated. Not terrible by any means

 

[wheelspin]

In the winter, with warm up remote starting, and my wife driving, the dash reports mid 13s.
In the summer, with only afternoon pre starts, it gets into the 15s.
That's 99% in town city driving.


Every time I get in it, the number goes up. My wife drives it like the throttle is an on off device and then throws out the anchor at the lights...
She tears around like a scalded rat!
I consistently get 2 to 3 mpg better than she does.

On the interstate with either of us driving it gets 21 to 22.

Winter makes about a 10 to 15% hit to results. (MN)
And the driver is up to a third of the difference, unless you are talking flat level cruise.

 

[wheelspin]

To be fair though, it's an AWD, 7 passenger vehicle, that tows my boat, and runs with Muscle cars. If I was worried about mpg, I'd sell the boat and cram only 4 of us into the Prius to get 50 mpg.

The Prius won't tow, won't haul 7, and sure as hell can't do this:

 

[jhu8]

Well I am still envy and kinda wish I had the 3.5 EB, but I am pretty happy with my 2.3 EB and consistently getting 25 mpg + on the highway. At least you guys have the power.

 

[Professorfingers]

I just use the on board computer. It shows 18.8-18.9 for ~ 70% HWY 30% In Town. As a data point my 09 FWD Edge got 19.8--19.9 for the same driving. I don't remember the numbers but feel sure the Ex is several hundred pounds heavier plus it has AWD.

I didn't pay any attention to the mileage until I had my first oil change. I did change it early, ~ 2,500 miles.

 

[Doug21]

I currently have a 2018 explorer sport and it gets very bad gas mileage. Mostly driven around town on streets stop and go use 91 octane. Mileage on dash shows average 8.5 MPG and only getting about 200 per every full tank. I can get mileage to reset back to show 340 until empty if i unhook battery and reset cpu. But then after a few days of driving it goes back to 200 per every full tank fill up. Car only has 2,300 miles. On highway driving only I have gotten an average of 20 MPG on long trips. Is this acurate to get under 10MPG on street driving. Might have a heavy foot driving around town but I thought it would get a little better Mileage than that. Isn’t that why they switched from the V8 to the V6 for better gas mileage ? Please let me know thoughts of other 2018 sport owners.
Thanks

 

[15Limited]

There are many factors that affect MPG, agree that you have a heavy foot...and around town driving with a heavy foot will kill your numbers. And I don’t think disconnecting your battery is helping either...I thought I had read where that will cause your ECU to reset and then your vehicle has to relearn it’s fuel curve/driving. Suggest you reset your MPG/DTE with the ‘ok’ button.

My around town MPG is closer to 16-17 and on my current road trip I’m getting 25.9 driving up the mountains at 60-75 mph...but will get more data when I hit the flatlands.

As far as your dash numbers, do a search on this forum for ‘AFE Bias’ and you’ll see how to make your dash MPG more closely match your real-world numbers.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Doug.
Your thread was merged with this one.
As 15Limited mentioned, do not disconnect the battery in this case for the reason stated. The Mile to Empty is calculated on the mileage achieved on the previous tank of fuel. Reset using the OK button. FYI, I have found the displayed MPG to be somewhat generous. I use fuelly.com to keep track and a history of my fillups/MPG and it will also do the conversion for you when you plug in the required numbers. You can also to your own 'hand' calculations to get a more accurate figure. I wouldn't be too concerned at the moment as the Manual says to wait until you get over the 2000 mile mark which you just barely reached. I used the method described in the thread started by 15Limited to adjust my display readout and found out it was actually reading 1 mpg higher than actual. based on mainly driving around town. It went from 14 to 13 mpg. Here is that thread which I found quite useful. AFE Bias - How to correct your MPG readout/display
There is another thread I found using the Forum's 'Search' feature (upper right);Explorer Gas Mileage - including Ecoboost

Peter

 

[Mario1377]

Hey guy. New to the forum. I just bought a 2015 explorer sport with 64k on the clock. And I’m getting ridiculously low gas mileage. First week I chalked it up to enjoying the turbos. But After getting tired of 12.5 mpg I decided to drive it like I did my old 2013 limited Nice and easy. I can’t break an average of 14 mpg no Matter how I drive. Truck has an extended warranty anyone have a clue as to what I can do. Or what I should tell the dealer when I bring it back Because we all know their gonna try and blame a heavy foot. Any help is appreciated

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Mario.
Have you checked the air filter? Is the tire pressure what it should be (35 psi)? The Sport came with 255/50R20 tires. Is that what is on there now? What octane are you using? Premium will increase it slightly but whether it is worth the extra cost is debatable. If you're going by the MPG readout on the dash, then I've got bad news for you. The readout is usually a bit on the generous side by about 1 MPG or so. You'd be better off using pen and paper or a site like Fuelly.com which I have been using for my past 3 vehicles. It will do all the figuring for you after you punch in the numbers. The Manual suggests changing plugs at 100k miles but it may not hurt to check a couple of them.

Peter

 

[Mario1377]

Welcome to the Forum Mario.
Have you checked the air filter? Is the tire pressure what it should be (35 psi)? The Sport came with 255/50R20 tires. Is that what is on there now? What octane are you using? Premium will increase it slightly but whether it is worth the extra cost is debatable. If you're going by the MPG readout on the dash, then I've got bad news for you. The readout is usually a bit on the generous side by about 1 MPG or so. You'd be better off using pen and paper or a site like Fuelly.com which I have been using for my past 3 vehicles. It will do all the figuring for you after you punch in the numbers. The Manual suggests changing plugs at 100k miles but it may not hurt to check a couple of them.

Peter

Thanks!! And Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah man filters new (I just ordered k&n cold air intake to replace it lol) tires are the right size also new and inflate to 34 but I’ll bump them up to 35. That was my next thing to check the plugs but I figured the ford dealer put a bunch of new stuff on the truck they would’ve checked those too. But I’ll check them anyway this Sunday. Figured I’d ask to see if there’s something I’m missing. Maybe a bad sensor or something Everyone here seems to be getting great mileage compared to mine. And I used to get really good mileage on my limited. It’s just crazy how low this one goes

 

[RhinoQuartz]

Thanks!! And Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah man filters new (I just ordered k&n cold air intake to replace it lol) tires are the right size also new and inflate to 34 but I’ll bump them up to 35. That was my next thing to check the plugs but I figured the ford dealer put a bunch of new stuff on the truck they would’ve checked those too. But I’ll check them anyway this Sunday. Figured I’d ask to see if there’s something I’m missing. Maybe a bad sensor or something Everyone here seems to be getting great mileage compared to mine. And I used to get really good mileage on my limited. It’s just crazy how low this one goes

Depending on your tires, you could always increase psi to 40+, to reduce rolling resistance. That CAI isn't going to do a whole bunch (if anything) for your mileage btw - at least, according to some members of this and other forums.

How does your transmission shift? Does it go into the higher gears at 2-2.5k rpms? Are you keeping it in drive or pushing into sport a lot (I definitely know which one is more fun)? Do you have Are you idling or remote starting a lot?

 

[CarpeNoctem]

I need to actually crunch the numbers but the mpg reading in the display is disgusting at ~10.8. I keep hoping it will get better as the engine loosens up a bit.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

I need to actually crunch the numbers but the mpg reading in the display is disgusting at ~10.8. I keep hoping it will get better as the engine loosens up a bit.

How many miles does it have?

 

[2018explorersport]

I need to actually crunch the numbers but the mpg reading in the display is disgusting at ~10.8. I keep hoping it will get better as the engine loosens up a bit.

That can't be real life, you must drive with your foot to the floor.

 

[BerndM]

I just filled up today and after 176 miles of 100% in town type driving I got 14.5mpg.
On a 50-50 hiway/city tank, I usually get about 18-19 and a 90%+ hiway is will get around 21 -22
Compared to my previous SUV, a 2003 Expedition EB 4WD with 5.4 V8, I couldn't be more pleased.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

I just filled up today and after 176 miles of 100% in town type driving I got 14.5mpg.
On a 50-50 hiway/city tank, I usually get about 18-19 and a 90%+ hiway is will get around 21 -22
Compared to my previous SUV, a 2003 Expedition EB 4WD with 5.4 V8, I couldn't be more pleased.

Damn, did you measure fuel consumption in gallons/mile in the Expy ?

 

[peterk9]

I need to actually crunch the numbers but the mpg reading in the display is disgusting at ~10.8. I keep hoping it will get better as the engine loosens up a bit.

That works out to 21.78 L/100 kms. I've never seen anything close to that on any of my vehicles even when brand new. You must have a serious problem somewhere. Are you sure your brakes aren't dragging?
I've filled up my 2017 29 times and average 13.7 L/100 kms or 17.17 mpg (US) in likely 50/50 driving.

Peter

 

[CarpeNoctem]

How many miles does it have?

1184 miles

That can't be real life, you must drive with your foot to the floor.

No, not much. Occasionally to merge with traffic or something...

That works out to 21.78 L/100 kms. I've never seen anything close to that on any of my vehicles even when brand new. You must have a serious problem somewhere. Are you sure your brakes aren't dragging?
I've filled up my 2017 29 times and average 13.7 L/100 kms or 17.17 mpg (US) in likely 50/50 driving.
Peter

No brake issues.

~38psi in all the tires.

Sorry, It had been a while since I checked it. My bad. I just went out to specifically confirm and it is up to 13.4mpg now. Still not great but getting better. Most of the trips are short and in town so that is part of it. The transmission is starting to learn how I drive so that could be part of the increase as well.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

1184 miles


No, not much. Occasionally to merge with traffic or something...


No brake issues.

~38psi in all the tires.

Sorry, It had been a while since I checked it. My bad. I just went out to specifically confirm and it is up to 13.4mpg now. Still not great but getting better. Most of the trips are short and in town so that is part of it. The transmission is starting to learn how I drive so that could be part of the increase as well.

Those trips should've been really short with a decent amount of idling for such poor fuel economy. I was at 9.5-10mpg this past winter, but temps were below - 20C consistently, so did a lot of idling at startup and short trips around town + fuel mixture ran pretty rich + transmission was also learning city driving as opposed to highway driving (although I doubt that affected the mileage too much).