Bad gas milage in a 2002 Ford Ranger 4x2 6 cylinder

[Jenny Dominguez]

I travel 55 miles to school and waste 1/2 tank..this isn't right..I got better milage with my 8 cylinder.. Can anyone tell me why this is happening...I just bought the truck be cause I traded my 8 cylinder for this 6 cylinder.. Feeling depressed..thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! The combination of winter weather & winter blended gas causes this to happen. It should be better during the summer.

 

[swshawaii]

Something's WAY off. Manual shows the 2002 Ranger short cab fuel tank capacity is 16.5 gallons, long cab 20 gallons. Using 1/2 tank for 55 miles is less than 5 MPG. Are you calculating MPG by the fuel gauge? Use the recommended "top off" method in the manual and report back. Also check for fuel leaks and stored trouble codes regardless whether or not the check engine light is on or off.

Calculating fuel economy (Page 263)
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/02ranog4e.pdf

 

[BrooklynBay]

My 1995 van only gets between 5 to 7 MPG with local stop & go driving (more stopping than going). Every block has a light or a stop sign. The engine has to rev a lot to take off as soon as the light changes or else several people will blow their horn. You get used to this after a while after seeing so much road rage.

 

[96firephoenix]

I'd be looking at your fuel gauge as the problem, not anything wrong with your engine. Especially if you just bought the car and haven't filled it up yet.

I had an old firebird that would read full until you had used half the tank, then when the gauge said you had half a tank left, that meant you'd used about 2/3 of the tank.