Abysmal Gas Mileage?

[BWilliams]

I've known for a while that I've been getting some pretty crappy gas mileage on my '05 X, but when i checked my Message Center for the first time in a while, I was getting 12.3MPG!

I normally don't drive too wildly: ~5 over the speed limit city, little more highway, so I'm not too sure why I'm getting such unbelievably low mileage -- I only drive like 30 miles a day, but I'd still like to at least get the 15 that the X is rated at.

Anyone got any ideas?

EDIT: I've got a V6 under the hood.

 

[TinwoodyII]

Maybe this can help explain. Remember that the message center counts all idling/stop lights, etc as 0 mpg and averages it in with everything else. EPA estimates assume that you are moving all the time. My 05 V6 gets 13.8 MPG in the daily traffic run, but gets 22 on the highway at trafffic speeds. I use the reset all the time to get current averages, since mine does not have an instant mileage number.
Bill W

 

[hlenoble]

The message center is not really an accurate way of getting your gas mileage. The only accurate way is to fill the tank and reset the trip odometer. Then when you next fill the tank you divide the miles driven by the gallons to fill the tank. That will give you an accurate MPG result.

Having said all of that, I am very disappointed with the mileage I get on my '03 XLT 4X4 with the tow package. I am only getting 15 MPG on the highway, driving between 70 -75 MPH. I have a new air filter, new spark plugs, use synthetic oil, transmission fluid, and differential fluid, yet I am still getting lousy mileage. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears.

 

[wharriso]

The message center is not really an accurate way of getting your gas mileage. The only accurate way is to fill the tank and reset the trip odometer. Then when you next fill the tank you divide the miles driven by the gallons to fill the tank. That will give you an accurate MPG result.

Having said all of that, I am very disappointed with the mileage I get on my '03 XLT 4X4 with the tow package. I am only getting 15 MPG on the highway, driving between 70 -75 MPH. I have a new air filter, new spark plugs, use synthetic oil, transmission fluid, and differential fluid, yet I am still getting lousy mileage. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears.

I get lousy mileage too. Once way to improve your highway mileage is to use the cruise control more often but if you are into making modifacations, from what I've been reading on this board, you need to get a KKM or K&M cold air intake, Gibson or Magnaflow catback, and a Bamachips perfomance tune.... hey, I'm just the messenger!

 

[aldive]

Have you determined the actual gas mileage? Not what the message center reports.

 

[BWilliams]

No, I haven't determined my "true" mileage yet, but I will next time I fill up.

As for mods, the X is stock right now because I'm not terribly mechanical, and I really don't want to foul anything up trying to install any mods. On that note, though, if anyone has any suggestions for a mod that'll bump my MPG a bit but isn't terribly hard to install, I'm willing to give it a shot.

Thanks.

 

[tipdrill]

cold air intake, or just a K&N drop in air filter.

I've got the K&N drop in. It was $50 bucks, but never needs to be replaced, only cleaned. Not sure about MPG gain cause after i saw the first reading i changed my driving habits.

 

[aldive]

No, I haven't determined my "true" mileage yet, but I will next time I fill up.

As for mods, the X is stock right now because I'm not terribly mechanical, and I really don't want to foul anything up trying to install any mods. On that note, though, if anyone has any suggestions for a mod that'll bump my MPG a bit but isn't terribly hard to install, I'm willing to give it a shot.

Thanks.

Take a look at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372&highlight=quest

 

[BWilliams]

I saw your post of yours a while back, aldive... that's really awesome. Did any of those mods have any major MPG impact by itself, or is it everything together?

 

[aldive]

I saw your post of yours a while back, aldive... that's really awesome. Did any of those mods have any major MPG impact by itself, or is it everything together?

Synergism my friend, synergism.

 

[BWilliams]

Hm.. kinda what I figured. Thanks Al.

Would a cold air intake be a good place to start, then? I've gotta do something about this mileage, especially since gas prices are starting to pick up around here again. >.>

 

[Thelt]

According to my computer I am getting between 18 and 19 mpg. Most of that is not highway miles. I would make sure that you have enough air pressure in your tires, that makes a difference (go for about 35 pounds). I had a caliper go out and that created drag that hurt my gas mileage before I got it fixed. Run some fuel system cleaner though it when you fill up. Getting the transmission fluid and filter changed seemed to help mine some too. You driving style matters too, try not to launch too hard. Mine has the tow package and the 3.73 gears. I am not sure if that makes much difference.

I would try all the easy stuff before doing any mods. A K&N filter is a nice thing to have but it will make your vehicle a little noisier under acceleration and I used one on a Dodge Durango once with no increase in mpg. A free flowing muffler might help some.

 

[aerronog]

I think you should check the inyection system, oils and tite pressure (mine is 38 psi on all four), that mileage is pretty low!! i have the 4.6 V8 and have got that mileage y very VERY heavy traffic, tipically i get from that to 22.5 Highway...
Good

 

[Pinshooter13]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but get your foot off the pedal! I realize that 5 over in the city isn't much, and 70 to 75 isn't that fast, but the estimates probably weren't calculated that way. Try driving with an eggshell between your foot and the accelerator for a week. Then check your milage. Be honest with yourself, and you'll notice a huge difference. Around here, you'll also get left behing in traffic....

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

You guys are actually making me feel better about mine! Since all the naysayers keep spouting that running a FFV on E85 will absolutely kill your MPG, seeing that the gas-burners are getting almost identical MPG to me, it's a breath of fresh air! Last weekend I took a little road trip to the northern part of the state (twice actually...race got rained out Saturday, and had to go back Sunday), and averaged 16.6 MPG overall, with no real changes in my driving habits.
Sure, the potential for getting better mileage on gasoline is probably there, but with the price of E85 currently ~75 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline, it's still more economical to use it. Based on what I'm seeing in this thread, the difference probably isn't all that significant though. Other gas-burners have told me they average around 17 MPG, and that they too were a bit disappointed in the mileage their Explorers are getting.

I also discovered that my message center's MPG reading is about 1 MPG lower than the real calculated MPG. My message center was reading 15.4 MPG, but when I verified it with pen and paper, I came up with 16.6 MPG. I top my tank off right up to the filler neck, so there's absolutely no discrepancy in the amount of fuel refilled that could have affected my calculation.

 

[Pinshooter13]

It will be amazing, and sorrowful, when we realize we are the first species on the planet to burn our Food Supply for Fuel....

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

It will be amazing, and sorrowful, when we realize we are the first species on the planet to burn our Food Supply for Fuel....

We can eat other things than corn, you know. Us humans are omnivorious creatures, are we not?

 

[BWilliams]

Man, this thread died a while ago.

Anyways, a few small things that I've done since this I started this thread: new battery (reset the PCM, I'm guessing) and running 89 gas instead of 87. The M/C's telling me 14MPG, but a rough estimate of my actual milage (keep forgetting to record it and actually calculate it out, but I always look at my odometer when I fill up) would be around 16, and that's doing mostly city driving now, since classes are out. No performance mods to it yet -- lost my job a while back, so I had no money for the truck.

 

[03xbox]

I have the V8 with 3.73 gears and the message center is consistently telling me I get 23-24 mpg highway. In the city i get around 17mpg. It's all stock, no mods what so ever. But, I set the cruise at about 65mph on the highway.

 

[EasyRhino]

Not sure how to get folks to recognize that the message center is not an accurate indicator of gas mileage. That includes my wife. Good thing is that mine reads low so it helps her to keep her foot out of the gas as much as possible.

I keep detailed records of my Mustang mileage, so I can even tell when there is a need to investigate the need for service.

We used to keep detailed records on the o2 Limited (its not rocket science or that hard), but she would rather guess at the mileage. Oh well.

(rant off).