Is my gas mileage right???

[Michaelhudd]

I have a 1998 Exlplorer Sport and im getting on average 210 miles a tank! Is that at all what any of you are getting?

 

[aldive]

You are indeed on the LOW side.

 

[Hoppy]

I have a 2000 XLS 4 door SOHC and babying it in semi-highway and city driving I filled up 60 litres @ 460 km's. Which equals about 15.8 Gallons @ 285 miles. About 18 MPG.

 

[aldive]

I have a 1998 Exlplorer Sport and im getting on average 210 miles a tank! Is that at all what any of you are getting?

You really need to report mileage as MPG not miles per tank.

 

[marragtop]

The 98 Sport has a 17.3 gal tank (4dr has 20.8gal). At 210 miles, you are only getting 12.1 mpg. Something is definitely wrong. How many miles are on it, and how long since a major tune up?

 

[Pensa]

We just got back from a 1600 mile round trip and mileage was 22.3 miles per gallon. Driving speeds were between 70 and 75 MPH.

This is with a 95 X with 214,000 miles on it. It has four wheel drive and is rock stock, no mods of any kind.

I would say you have a problem. Gearing may have something to do with it, at 70 MPH I am only running 2100 RPM. I have seen others post they are turning much higher RPM's at that speed.

 

[Michaelhudd]

I just bought it last weekend and it has 118k on it. The previous owner is my step family and i can tell you just by knowing them that they NEVER took care of it. When I took ownership of it, the oil had not been changed in a year and 4 months! it was about 5k overdue. Im trying to figure out what i need to do to get it back to normal. what is a good MPG to shoot for?

 

[zonianbrat]

Sounds like there is definitely something wrong with your MPG. I do agree with Aldive you need to calculate your mileage in MPG. Just incase there is something wrong with your gas guage. If in fact you are getting such bad mileage I would start looking into a major tuneup with plugs, wires, fuel & air filters etc. You should also make sure to check the pressure in your tires. If they are low it will drop your mileage considerably. Driving habits are the biggest culprit though. I assume since your posting here you dont floor it at every stop sign/red light. Another thing you could do along with a tuneup is to clean out the throttle body with throttle body cleaner. I recently drove from Ft. Collins Colorado to Midland Texas twice in my 98 XLT 4.0 SOHC with about 400lbs of equipment. First time I averaged 20.6 mpg. In between the two trips I switched my motor oil to Mobil 1 full synthetic, bought a new air filter and cleaned the throttle body. The second trip to Texas (both times I took the same route and stuck to the speed limit and drove respectively) I averaged 24.1 mpg. I am quite pleased with the results. I am not saying that doing the things I did will increase your mpg by 3.5 mpg but you never know. Keep us updated on what you come up with.

 

[marragtop]

I'd say 15-16 city, 19-20 hwy. Consider doing plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter to start with. How are you calculating your miles? Did you fill the tank completely up and run it dry? Don't necessarily trust figuring mpg out by reading the gas gauge.

 

[Michaelhudd]

You really need to report mileage as MPG not miles per tank.

sorry, that is what we here in Texas usually say, but ill take note and list it as MPG next time.

 

[Michaelhudd]

I'd say 15-16 city, 19-20 hwy. Consider doing plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter to start with. How are you calculating your miles? Did you fill the tank completely up and run it dry? Don't necessarily trust figuring mpg out by reading the gas gauge.

I work for AutoNation as a body shop estimator so i have equipment and stuff avalible and we ran some tests on it and as far as plugs and wires go, they looked pretty good. I just can't figure out if my gas gague might be broke or something. I shift between 2500 and 3000 at most and don't ever floor it. Im just lost.

 

[aldive]

I work for AutoNation as a body shop estimator so i have equipment and stuff avalible and we ran some tests on it and as far as plugs and wires go, they looked pretty good. I just can't figure out if my gas gague might be broke or something. I shift between 2500 and 3000 at most and don't ever floor it. Im just lost.

How is the fuel filter? Have you checked Fuel Pressure?

Have youscanned the O2 sensors for function?

Any CELs illuminated?

 

[Michaelhudd]

How is the fuel filter? Have you checked Fuel Pressure?

Have youscanned the O2 sensors for function?

Any CELs illuminated?

Thats an idea, I need to check the fule pressure. As far as CELs and O2, I have to replace one O2 and no CELs have illuminated

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

I just bought it last weekend and it has 118k on it. The previous owner is my step family and i can tell you just by knowing them that they NEVER took care of it. When I took ownership of it, the oil had not been changed in a year and 4 months! it was about 5k overdue. Im trying to figure out what i need to do to get it back to normal. what is a good MPG to shoot for?

for what? city or highway?

in city i'd shoot for 18-19 at least, on the highway maybe 24-25.

read Aldive's thread, Quest for 30, it's in his signature. it'll help you A LOT in some mods for better mileage.

 

[96_explorer_xlt]

I have a 96 XLT with 231,000 miles and it gets 23-25 on the highway and right around 19 in the city.

 

[ThePhoenix]

remember the XLT and the sport are two different animals. I am getting 19 hyw and 15 city, which is what I think is around average for a stock, higher mileage sport