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Some questions... looking at buying a used 2013-2015 PIU

btsbarton

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Hi, new here, but interested in buying a used 2013-2015 PIU with under 100k as a daily driver. I currently have a 2015 Chevy Colorado, with 110k, it’s been good to me but I’m looking to get something else to daily drive. I like the fact the PIUs are AWD, have column shifter, HD brakes and cooling systems, vinyl floor, it’s designed rugged to take a bit of abuse.

What sort of gas mileage do people tend to get with the PIU? I know it’s no Prius but I’d hope it’s slightly better than my truck (3.6L V6 4WD crew cab long bed, 4” Lift, 32” tires...17-18mpg average)

When looking at used ones, is there a placard with all the factory ordered option codes somewhere in the car? Is there website with a list to decode these order codes?

Anything I should be aware of when buying a used one? Issues to look out for? Any features I would want to make sure it has?

thanks!!
 



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Welcome to the Forum.:wave:

Peter
 












Hi, new here, but interested in buying a used 2013-2015 PIU with under 100k as a daily driver. I currently have a 2015 Chevy Colorado, with 110k, it’s been good to me but I’m looking to get something else to daily drive. I like the fact the PIUs are AWD, have column shifter, HD brakes and cooling systems, vinyl floor, it’s designed rugged to take a bit of abuse.

What sort of gas mileage do people tend to get with the PIU? I know it’s no Prius but I’d hope it’s slightly better than my truck (3.6L V6 4WD crew cab long bed, 4” Lift, 32” tires...17-18mpg average)

When looking at used ones, is there a placard with all the factory ordered option codes somewhere in the car? Is there website with a list to decode these order codes?

Anything I should be aware of when buying a used one? Issues to look out for? Any features I would want to make sure it has?

thanks!!

my 3.7 is 19.8 mpg over 4,500 miles of mixed city and highway driving with hills and flat mix too (with snow tires installed the whole time)
paid 10k cash and have put 1k additional into mine plus some of my own labor (300 for windshield b/c i wanted less rock chips/200 in fluids/200 in labor at ford dealer/220 for new front struts/misc other)
great utility vehicle. looking forward to winter
i think they are mostly all optioned and upfit similarly - good luck trying to finds any records of service and such..
mine has sometimes harsh engagement into 2nd gear when downshifting on part throttle
definitely need to give it time to shoft into drive or reverse. if press gas too soon, harsh engagement
curious how it will do as plan on having it for a couple years minimum. thinking it should be a good choice and hoping to sell for over half of what i paid after
 






Hi, new here, but interested in buying a used 2013-2015 PIU with under 100k as a daily driver. I currently have a 2015 Chevy Colorado, with 110k, it’s been good to me but I’m looking to get something else to daily drive. I like the fact the PIUs are AWD, have column shifter, HD brakes and cooling systems, vinyl floor, it’s designed rugged to take a bit of abuse.

What sort of gas mileage do people tend to get with the PIU? I know it’s no Prius but I’d hope it’s slightly better than my truck (3.6L V6 4WD crew cab long bed, 4” Lift, 32” tires...17-18mpg average)

When looking at used ones, is there a placard with all the factory ordered option codes somewhere in the car? Is there website with a list to decode these order codes?

Anything I should be aware of when buying a used one? Issues to look out for? Any features I would want to make sure it has?

thanks!!

Sounds like you are making the right choice. For the options just run the VIN thru a VIN check and it should lists all the factory installed options. Also you can run the VIN thru Ford / ask the dealers to pull up the maintenance record. Many department have a good record kept at the dealer the fleet serviced in.

Here are some VIN checker I used
VIN Decoder - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
https://etis.ford.com (registration required)

Be aware just like you buying any used car, check as much as you can for both appearance and mechanical. If possible, ask to see the leftover of the decommission of police equipment. Some dealers / PD did a very rough job on decommissioning equipment (they want to preserve the equipment, rather than the vehicle). In mine, I have bared live wires and trimmed cables and hot glues everywhere and I didn't realize it until doing my own customization.


my 3.7 is 19.8 mpg over 4,500 miles of mixed city and highway driving with hills and flat mix too (with snow tires installed the whole time)
paid 10k cash and have put 1k additional into mine plus some of my own labor (300 for windshield b/c i wanted less rock chips/200 in fluids/200 in labor at ford dealer/220 for new front struts/misc other)
great utility vehicle. looking forward to winter

The mpg sounds amazing. I have been driving my 3.7 for 10k miles and never got more than 16 mpg overall (it reaches 18.4 MPG for a 800 miles road trip I made in summer, but it was 95% freeway speed). Does the winter tire boost or hurt the MPG / Performance?
 






[/QUOTE]The mpg sounds amazing. I have been driving my 3.7 for 10k miles and never got more than 16 mpg overall (it reaches 18.4 MPG for a 800 miles road trip I made in summer, but it was 95% freeway speed). Does the winter tire boost or hurt the MPG / Performance?[/QUOTE]

i guess i really don't know why you have worse MPG. the phrase "your mileage may vary" applies to many aspects of life, but i suppose so much more to times we speak of gas mileage - lol
FYI - I'm using the MPG readout on the dash so it's possible that an actual miles divided by gallons calculation would provide different results.
i pound a specific NYS route 13 each day between Ithaca and Elmira. Lots of variations but largely the same theme. this road is 55mph so i drive no more than 64mph, but usually less with traffic. when i get in town there are hills to climb and mild to medium traffic congestion. i do consider it mixed driving, but i'm not pushing wind like someone on a freeway at 75mph or higher. I'm using 87 octane and per the pump it has 10% ethanol content. I've changed all the fluids, but have not changed the sparkplugs - although the previous owner could have done so just before i aquired it - dunno. i have a push bar style grille and dual spotlights in the wind. I drive with gentle throttle application - nothing more than 3500 rpm as i climb through the gears usually
i expect mileage will improve slighty when i remove the winter tires (stock tire sizes too by the way)
is it possible you need an alignment?
anyone else have MPG to report for the 3.7?
 






Winter tires will have slightly negative effect on MPG but in my opinion that is far outweighed by their additional safety. Also, the readout on the dash has proven to be slightly generous. The best thing to do is use paper and pen the next time you fill up and see how that compares to the readout.

Peter
 






I used the mileage driven dividing the gas used (both from the IPC trip, and I only reset it once when I bought it) and did the math. Not sure if that makes any difference though. (maybe just because the road and traffic in CA is too bad...)
 






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