Keep Getting Worse and Worse MPG | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Keep Getting Worse and Worse MPG

Joined
January 29, 2012
Messages
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City, State
Houston, TX
Year, Model & Trim Level
2010 Sports Trac
I have a 2010 Sport Trac, very new just since February. Less than 15K miles. I did a road trip from Texas to Ohio, I know its 95% Highway but on that trip I was getting 23 MPG. And about 440 miles on a full tank...since being in Ohio, in a more city enviornment, each time I fill up It keeps getting worse and worse. 20 MPG, 19 MPG, 16.5 MPG....now I just filled up and on a full tank I only got 240 Miles til empty and 14 MPG....do you think something is wrong with my vehicle...this kind of dropoff doesnt seem normal
 



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Not really. The 23mpg isn't realistic for a city environment, even hard to consistently do for hwy. Too many variables like terrain, driving style, weather, truck condition, what engine... to make more observation.

Published MPG rating:

Fuel economy: 14 city/20 hwy mpg
 






Not really. The 23mpg isn't realistic for a city environment, even hard to consistently do for hwy. Too many variables like terrain, driving style, weather, truck condition, what engine... to make more observation.

Published MPG rating:

Fuel economy: 14 city/20 hwy mpg

its just a v6. ive been here for a 2 months and where I drive hasnt changed. It was in that 16.5-18.5 range for a while..but this last time filling up went all the way down to 14 mpg
 






You may have had residual MPG left from the higher MPG tank.

Seriously- if you're running mixed and more city, you're not going to pull the high end of the scale. Is the CEL on?

V6 window sticker:

40322520.jpg
 






Reset your Mileage and get a fresh reading. Bet its around 14 in the city, mine is. Scored a 26 with a good tail wind across the flat prarie last weekend woo hoo!
 






Your miles to empty on the trip computer is calculated based on your current mpg average showing on the computer. If you are currently averaging 16 mpg, when you fill up, the computer multiplies gallons x avg mpg. If you reset and have a higher mpg when you fill it next time, your miles to empty should be closer to 400 miles.

The first couple times I filled mine I kept trying to top it off higher because I had shown 407 miles to empty on a previous fill up and the next time I filled up it only showed 389 miles to empty. Then I realized the avg mpg was affecting the results.

I'm averaging 21-22 on longer highway trips and have seen my average drop to as low as 16 around town with stop and go traffic. Right now, combined with a bias toward highway, my computer is showing 19.2 mpg.
 






Keep track of your gas mileage and expenses using a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel. There are free equivalent spreadsheet applications like Google Docs or OpenOffice. You will be able to learn a lot about your costs using these tools. I know because I've been using Microsoft Excel since 2003 to track three vehicles and I've learned a lot about gas mileage. For instance in retrospect I detected when my favorite gasoline Chevron began selling their brand with 10% ethanol which dropped my mpg about 7%. I can also detect when the gasoline blend is changed because of the seasons. For what it's worth my 2007 ST V6 has recent tank to tank mpg readings varying from 18.2 to 19.6 and an all time mpg of 19.6. I drive with a light throttle foot on suburban highways and county roads mostly. I have very little (almost no) city driving of stop and go. The vehicle computer is a fairly crude approximation at best but if you are consistent with your driving habits it can help detect a problem before it becomes too expensive to fix. For instance, I noticed a drop in mpg starting a few years ago and then about a year ago I began to notice occasional shifting anomalies. Then recently the shifting anomalies became more common and it turned out to be the predictable transmission rebuild/repair with this variety of transmission that is so common. Now my gas mileage is going back up but two tanks ago I also put a can of BG 44K Power Enhancer to help clean the injectors. Also, for what it's worth I like to use a top tier gasoline like Shell or Chevron. A lot of people think it is a waste of money but if you intend to keep your vehicle past the warranty period I highly recommend Chevron. You can buy the Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner separately as well. I'm doing this more and more since I think this 10% ethanol gasoline is not as good for our fuel systems as 100% gasoline which is what your engine will run best on. I try to alternate fillups between Chevron and 100% gasoline. Oh yeah, you may be able to find a store near you selling 100% gasoline at pure-gas.org. Expect to pay a little more per gallon since your gas mileage will go up due to the higher energy content of 100% gasoline. These gas stations can frequently be found near rivers where people are boating a lot. Apparently boat engines do not do very well when running gasoline with ethanol. I hope this fuel information helps. Don't forget, there are many other reason for reduced gas mileage such as under inflated tires or lead footing it which I must admit is fun but expensive. Just as an experiment try driving your V6 with your tachometer not exceeding 2,500 rpm in any gear. Sure you will accelerate slower but I can guarantee that your gas mileage will even out over a few tanks of gas and your mpg will most likely go up. You may even detect a transmission shifting problem like I did. For those driving ST V8's I've read 2,000 rpm is a good mpg shift point.
 






I have a 2010 with the v6 as well and I get virtually the same mileage as you. I had around 12 or 13 mpg before my last oil change, then it went back to 13.9 or 14.
Also i find that mileage in the city depends a lot on your driving style... How fast you come out of lights or stop signs, how many times you have to come to a complete stop in the daily commute, average speed, etc
 






I don't have a sport track but since your fuel econonmy was similar to mine i felt i would chime in. I have the 4.6l V8 and I really do get the exact fuel economy rating ford said I would of 13 city and 18 highway. I have seen as high as 20 highway but that is extreme and maybe 16 city but that is seriously pushing it.
 






Sorry to revive an old thread (but at least I didn't start a new one!)
I have an 07 4.0 V6 ST. Until I read all the posts above I was thinking something was wrong with mine too lol - I commute only 9 miles Mon-Fri.... stop and go. and stop again type traffic. I'm lucky to get 13.2 mpg. If I drive like I WANT I get more like 13/12.9 lol

I thought about changing the fuel filter - has anyone seen mpg improvement by changing that?
 






It has been rumored that if you are nearing the life span of your oil that the motor will tune down and deliver worse mileage. I have no evidence that this may be correct but it is worth thinking of if you are nearing time to change oil.
 






Sorry to revive an old thread (but at least I didn't start a new one!)
I have an 07 4.0 V6 ST. Until I read all the posts above I was thinking something was wrong with mine too lol - I commute only 9 miles Mon-Fri.... stop and go. and stop again type traffic. I'm lucky to get 13.2 mpg. If I drive like I WANT I get more like 13/12.9 lol

I thought about changing the fuel filter - has anyone seen mpg improvement by changing that?

your getting exactly what you should. At roughly a little over 4500lbs you really can't expect to get 30mpg on a stock motor. Stop driving "like you want" and drive smoothly and slower. As a test this past week I started driving 62mph on the freeway. Guess what? I am getting almost 4mpg higher. Rocket ship starts and constant stop and go like you describe I too would get about 11-12mpg. Change your driving style and your mpg will go up.
 






Wow,
Just traded in the 98 F150 4X4 and was hoping for better than 13MPG on a twd, smaller V6. I'm averaging 13 on a 2010 with 27K on it. I was disapointed but didn't have the cash to anti-up for a F150 Eco-boost.
What can we upgrade to get better MPG on these vehicles(Other than Driving style)
Ted
 






What can we upgrade to get better MPG (Other than Driving style)

The best bang for the buck is a cat-back exhaust. I picked up 3 mpg on the highway, city mpg is no different than before (i.e. 14 mpg). I have a Gibson and it went on pretty easy. Fresh synthetic fluids in the whole driveline (engine, tranny flush, t-case, axles) will help a teensy bit. There is nothing you can do that will make a huge difference.
 






As mentioned above, driving habits make a difference. I've changed mine since my last post in this thread (not that I was a crazy driver before) and I am getting 14.0 now. I also had my oil changed about a week ago. And I am also driving several more miles a week now because my wife's car was totalled back on 2/22 - other driver ran a red light (long story short).
 






13 seems very average for me here in FLA. with no hills or off-roading. Even with the Bed cover off.
 






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