11.3 mpg, this can't be normal!

[16EBBOY]

I recently got this 2006 Explorer Eddie Bauer V6 with 69,000 miles. I'm a highschool student so my daily drive is usualluy to and from home and school which is about 3 miles. I drive with the Average MPG screen on to see when it changes. We just changed the spark plugs over the weekend and replaced the stock with Bosh Ir Fusions. I am going to manually calculate the gas mileage when ever its time to fill it all the way up. I just dont see how this could be possible, yes sometimes in the morning i do have the heat and defroster on full blast and seldomly do i let it idle in the parking lot.

 

[edwx]

I don't know much about the Bosh's. I usually stick with the Motorcrafts or Autolite XP's.
I would also change the air filter, and the oil. Also reset the mpg screen. The least I get with my V6 XLS is 16+, and that's in the winter. Usually 19+ in the summer. I do mostly highway miles though.

 

[jupiterak]

Do away with the bosche plugs. They're not favored very well in 4.6 and 5.4L Fords.

 

[16EBBOY]

Yeah, my dads likes to stick with the highend brands since he uses bosch in my moms car, his truck has glow plugs and his other car has low miles so theyve never been changed. The air filter is very clean and new surprisingly and the oil was freshly changed about 100 miles ago. Im thinking that the mpg calculator is just way off.. is the the miles to empty also accurate?

 

[16EBBOY]

Oh, yeah i heard about the bosch plugs not being favored in the V8 engines but we tried it anyway, and mines a V6 so we didn't think there would be a problem.

 

[civil86]

I'm not surprised at that fuel consumption if your most of your driving is within 3 miles. Our 2003 EB 4.6 ranged from 10 to 20 mpg, depending on the type of driving. 10 was common for short commutes.

 

[ZO6_Vette]

My wife can get 11.3 MPG in a PRIUS going downhill with a 50mph tailwind.

 

[aaronajb1981]

Dont believe the computer. it will also say your average mph is like 30 when you have been going 70 for 3 hours straight

 

[Beastb15]

I wouldn't be surprised by that at all. With my wheels I average 13-14 mpg in my daily commute to and from work. My drive is approximately 15 miles with 2 being city miles and 13 being on the highway.

There is a huge decrease in mpg if I increase speed from 55 to 65 and an ever bigger decrease if I increase from 65 to 70.

 

[moscar80]

wow, I guess I should be extremely pleased with the 23mpg I'm getting with an 01 4.0

 

[deuce07]

i'm getting 10-11mpg in hawaii.

 

[KPSquared]

The computers are mostly useless.. Good for an average but not all that accurate. (at least in my experience) I have been keeping track in my '08 Mazda 3 for 10 or so tanks now, and the "average mileage" always rates a few MPG better on the car computer than I'm actually getting.

Just do a few manual calculations when you fill up with fuel. Make sure you keep track of several tanks then you can get a real average... although if you're only 3 miles to school, your probably not filling it all that often...

 

[Threnners]

My 06 was averaging 12mpg when I bought it from being on test drives. A month into my daily commute (85 hwy/15 city) I was up to 17.9mpg, and that's what I average today. I'd venture to say your driving pattern is tanking your mileage,not any specific vehicle problem.

 

[4Doors]

I'm not surprised at that fuel consumption if your most of your driving is within 3 miles. Our 2003 EB 4.6 ranged from 10 to 20 mpg, depending on the type of driving. 10 was common for short commutes.

I agree. 3 Miles isn't enough to fully warm the engine, so you're going to get worse mileage. I live and work in a very small town, and my office is 2 miles from the house. I consistently get terrible mileage on tanks when I stay in town (but on a positive note, a tank of driving in this small town will still last about a month...). As soon as I get on the highway I'm up to 20+.

 

[Rngrs3910]

10-15 mpg for a 3 mile commute on city streets/traffic lights/stop signs doesn't seem too far off. Have you reset the Average MPG since you bought it, and then a few times since, and continually get this reading?

 

[spikedog]

Only 3 miles at at time. Hmm. You are probably still in closed loop operation, as the O2 sensors aren't warmed up enough to kick over to open loop control of the air/fuel mix. Closed loop is a rich mix.

My only suggestion is to clean the mass air flow sensor. Can't hurt, might help, just a spray can of MAF cleaner to buy. Sweet ride for a high school student!

 

[ZO6_Vette]

Only 3 miles at at time. Hmm. You are probably still in closed loop operation, as the O2 sensors aren't warmed up enough to kick over to open loop control of the air/fuel mix. Closed loop is a rich mix.

My only suggestion is to clean the mass air flow sensor. Can't hurt, might help, just a spray can of MAF cleaner to buy. Sweet ride for a high school student!

You have it backwards when in closed loop system is using O2 sensors.
Also O2 heaters put the engine in closed loop rather quickly.

 

[ericautopart]

By what you said your seeing about 209 miles per tank? No, that doesn't sound right in any situation. How many miles are you getting per tank when the fuel gauge hits E? My 98 is usually around 260 when it's at E and I KNOW I can squeeze more out of it. So you may want to look into something.

 

[16EBBOY]

well sunday we took my truck to church and my mom drove it for the first time. our church is about maybe 10-15 miles away from home and as soon as we passed my school the mpgs started going up. i didn't go up to much but im now at 11.7. Right now im on exactly half a tank and ive gone about 135 miles or 150 if i recall. Ive been driving on this one tank of gas for the past two weeks so thats pretty good, i realized i burn a quarter tank each week. so next time i gas up ill be sure to do a manual calculation. Im somewhat relieved we didn't wait longer to get a V8 because id probably be getting 9 or 10 mpgs with my short driving course/distance.

 

[Henders]

gas Milage

I own a '06, 4.6 and yes for a 3 mile trip, 11.4 mpg is about right. I lived in NY and my job was 3 miles away. I had 5 stop lights to pass through. The start and stops KILL gas mileage! The type of gas also affects mileage. On the Highway, I normally get around 18-21 MPG depending on the temp/wind/terrain...if I'm towing my camper (about 6000lbs) it gets around 8-9MPG. When you reset your trip computer, reset ALL the modes (trip A/B, AVG MPG, GAL USED... As for the AVG MPG indicator, it is not exact, but does give you an idea of what your doing. You can use the information do determine if something is going bad, like you normally get 12 MPG, and then suddenly you are getting 9 MPG. Then you look at did my driving change or is it the same. If it's the same, then you may have a problem, like a dirty filter, oil or low tire pressure. I normally don't look at my MPG until I refill my tank, since many things effect its reading (idling...). I normally just keep it on Miles till Empty or turn it off completely. Good luck with your EX and enjoy it, remember it is a V8 so your gas mileage will not be high.