What's Normal mpg?

[Rhett]

Running a tank of super premium thru the injectors should do the job most of the time to clean the injection.

Not really.

Just felt like this guy made me feel pessimistic about gaining more fuel economy. What is the normal fuel economy for this vehicle, I'd think at least 18-19mpg city?

I *know* your truck, I have the exact same model and year and have kept meticulous records. Assuming it is 100% mechanically, your truck should get:

12 mpg is normal for winter in town driving.
13 mpg is normal for summer in town driving.

18 mpg is normal for highway.

If you run lots of 4x4 and hills, expect 11 mpg in winter town driving. The OHV engine was not designed for fuel economy. It was designed for torque and reliability, and it does well with those two things. The Explorer (with a frame and boxy body) was not designed for fuel economy, either.

 

[sabatosh]

Gasoline is the cleanest thing in the world, I clean grease off airplane parts using gas. The only time I see fuel filters get clogged up is on very old high mileage vw's over 30 years old. Fuel injectors can get some buildup if they are made for a fine spray and you were running cheap gas thru them. Fuel injector cleaner like techron you have to be careful with, because sometimes it causes more problems than it helps, eating thru fuel delivery system components.

Clogged fuel injectors is a marketing myth, it doesn't happen as much people want you to believe. The nozzles are more likely to errode with time, and leaky injectors is much more serious. I wouldn't risk my car for all the money in the world putting in fuel injector cleaner.

Aye aye aye, I had imagined that it has such a big engine, despite being a 6 cylinder, and heavy weight of the chassis, that it is not very fuel friendly. But I think it's just drinking gas, I don't even think it's getting the 13 mpg or 12 mpg. It seems like 30$ gets it 50 miles...I mean really bad mpg...it's only driven mostly a few blocks for her to go to work, and sometimes to the store, yet at least twice a week she's putting 10 or 5 in it.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

I appreciate all the tips everyone is offering and the low down on these trucks. VW's for how old they are have always had great handling and I think everyone should own one, they run great in the snow for all practicality and are sure roomy despite being compact. You can get big hp on them too if you know what you're doing.

I'd have to say you've got the same bias we do, only your's is towards VW's and our's is toward our trucks. I work at an auto parts store and from that knowledge, I can tell you that you'll be able to find a ton more parts for the Explorer and at a lot cheaper prices then you ever could with the VW. Other then the spark plugs and the oil pan gasket, I haven't found anything on these trucks that's that difficult to fix, relative to most other vehicles.

 

[sabatosh]

Well I already did the spark plugs and wires, it was hard to reach around that big stupid engine, and of course everything was siezed up having poor service in the past. I just don't like the way this oxy sensor plug is designed to be so unserviceable, I don't know what kind of trick the garage uses to get at it, but they must tilt the engine or get on top of it to replace them, it's rediculous, and I never run into such illogical problems with my VW. Everything makes sense when servicing it and you don't worry about general maintenance repairs like oxy sensors taking 4 hours to do.

 

[JDGREEN8513]

I get 17-19 city and 21-24 Highway. I replaced the o2 sensors last summer and noticed a big jump(1-2mpg) and I also filled the tires to the correct air pressure which helped. If all the major things don't seem to work my suggestion would be to try tuning some lttle things...ie tire pressure, alignment...hope this helps

 

[sabatosh]

What are the suggested tire pressures for the 94 Xplorer sport without load?

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

I get 17-19 city and 21-24 Highway. I replaced the o2 sensors last summer and noticed a big jump(1-2mpg) and I also filled the tires to the correct air pressure which helped. If all the major things don't seem to work my suggestion would be to try tuning some lttle things...ie tire pressure, alignment...hope this helps

Remember that you have the 4.0 SOHC engine, which is much more fuel efficient then the older 4.0 OHV. Adlive has gotten his 4.0 up to 33 mpg.

Suggested tire pressure should be whatever your tires say on the side. But the common pressure around here seems to be 35 psi.

 

[Christobal65]

Remember that you have the 4.0 SOHC engine, which is much more fuel efficient then the older 4.0 OHV. Adlive has gotten his 4.0 up to 33 mpg.

Suggested tire pressure should be whatever your tires say on the side. But the common pressure around here seems to be 35 psi.

thats if you have LT tires and the load range is designated and it will then tell you what to inflate the tires to so they can carry their max weight.

If you have the standard "P" tires the air pressure rating listed on the side of the tire is max inflation pressure, which is not the same as the reccomended inflation pressure. Reccomended pressure on explorers using the live axle is 32-35psi on all four corners.

 

[JDGREEN8513]

wow 33...that is pretty amazing. I guess I still have some work to do.

 

[barnieman]

From my excell-sheet: 17,5 m.p.g. overall average the last year (europe: 7.5 km / liter). On a trip to Paris, the Explorer ran 23 m.p.g..

 

[woodychitwn]

I think we're all biased against our vehicles, we fixate on the things we like and ignore the things we don't. I have a friend who's gone through 3 new VWs in the past 4 years. His Jetta spent more time in the shop than on the road. He traded it in for a Beetle, which had tons of recalls, and began to literally fall apart at the seams, so he returned it for a Golf which shares problems with his previous two VWs. But somehow he still swears that VWs are the best cars out there. Personally, I get in the thing and feel like I'm sitting on the street, perpetually clenching every time we drive over a manhole cover, or swerve around a pothole. And you think the Explorer's engine takes up too much room? The engine compartment in a New Volkswagen doesn't leave enough room to get your hand in, much less a tool of any sort. But if you find that, "easy to work on," good for you. Personally, I like being able to see the road below or the sky above when I'm working in my engine compartment.

I don't mean to berate or criticise, but a little more understanding on your part would be appreciated. I wouldn't join a Volkswagen forum just to talk about how superior my truck is. I'd ask my questions, use the SEARCH function to find the hundreds of other threads regarding my issue, and I'd thank everyone who offered their assistance.

 

[explorerguy27]

WOW! My 98 5.0 X get around 20mpg on the freeway and about 15 in town. I always average about 16.5 -17.5 mpg.

 

[Rhett]

WOW! My 98 5.0 X get around 20mpg on the freeway and about 15 in town. I always average about 16.5 -17.5 mpg.

Doesn't surprise me. A lot of 5.0's get better mileage than 4.0 OHV engines do. I have heard of people doing a 4.0 --> V8 swap and end up getting the same as, or better mileage than before.

 

[Rhett]

it's rediculous, and I never run into such illogical problems with my VW.

I worked on a VW Corrado before. That was not the easiest vehicle to work on, kind of cramped in places. An Explorer -- no--any truck--has TONS of room to work compared to that.

 

[Eneurb]

20 mpg... downhill towards a magnet factory.

 

[off-road97Xplor]

Yea like Rhett said, I dont see where your getting that working on an Explorer engine is so cramped compared to to a VW?!? The only thing thats difficult is if your check engine light comes on and it reads O2 sensor 1st one Right bank. Thats the only O2 that I needed to replace on my 97 X. Its on the exhaust manifold and I felt it impossible to get out. Had to bring it to shop. Other than that everthings cake.

 

[bates]

Maybe you got a fuel leak. I only get about 11 but I floor it a lot. I don't really know what you expected, a 3 ton vehicle uses a lot of gas unless you try really hard (like al).

I personally hate VW's but this is a ford explorer forum so thats never really been a problem here.

As for practicality, it's the only reason I still own my Ex. I can carry my friends down the highway, and still carry everything I need when I get to my destination. I've used it for work, put the seats down and carried 6 foot ladders and such. I've never been stuck without trying, and it's fast enough for it's purpose (if you want to go fast, get a hotrod, be realistic) and it's great offroad.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

3 ton?? Not quite, my '97 weighs in around 4200 pounds.
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/spec_Exterior.aspx?modelid=1105&trimid=-1&src=VIP&tab=2&sub=3

 

[sabatosh]

Well, I'm just being honest, I don't wanna flatter the Fords or insult the owners. Just in my experiences I haven't seen the attraction to this car and the engineering for servicing things like O2 sensors doesn't seem as friendly as I'd expect. But I guess that's part way the fault of the previous owners neglecting maintenance, not persay Ford's fault for being short sighted. Maybe a mix of both, but Fords are simple and reliable a lot like the old VW's.

With the lean towards fuel economy, who can resist putting down something that gets 10mpg???? Anyhow I appreciate the helpful information here and comments, I'm just not a truck person anyhow...

VW's are tricky in another sort of way....and the new ones don't have a reputation for being reliable I'll definately agree because of outsourcing to mexico. They are the econobox of high class cars..hehe But I still prefer the great rack and pinion handling and compact go kart zip they have.

 

[thewishkah]

correct me if im wrong but isnt the 02 sensor in the exhaust pipe sticking out before the cat? if not then what is it? I avg 9 mpg with new intake, tune up, and can of seafoam, but I wouldnt get rid of the X for that it would take alot more then that maybe like a blown motor or something.