Poor gas mileage

[sojourner]

Thanks for everyone who shared thier gas mileage. Now, can any one tell me why I might be getting 14.6 mpg in an 03 Tbird with 13000 miles on it? I am using 93 octane with mostly highway and some city. I use criuise control on the highway at 79 mph. The dealer said a lot of people are complaining of gas mileage with their Fords, and that it might be the winter grade of gas. Is this B.S. or might something else be wrong? Thank you.

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Poor gas mileage

IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA THAT USES OXYGENATED FUEL IN THE WINTER!

HOW WILL OXYGENATED FUEL AFFECT VEHICLE PERFORMANCE?
Because the addition of oxygenates to gasoline increases the octane rating of gasoline, vehicle performance will generally increase somewhat. Because the performance increases, gas mileage may drop but usually only by less than two percent. Cold temperatures and wintertime driving conditions tend to lower gas mileage by more than this amount.
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[Sweet T]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Are you the only driver?

[FUN X 3]

Re: Poor gas mileage

If you're mostly highway, some city, you should be getting at least 20 mpg.

[sojourner]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Yes, I am the only driver. Thanks for asking.

[werewulf]

Re: Poor gas mileage

has it always done this, or did it just start? driving over 70 will whittle your mileage a bit, as will low tire pressure and a dirty air filter. ive studied fleets of police cars over the years. some would run like a champ from day one and others would be slugs, no matter what you did to them. ive found that sometimes my driving can be a bit spirited, ie raphid acceleration and i really pay at the pump. this gas deal really works on my budget. i have noticed that right after payday, i tend to push on the accelerator more because i have a few extra bucks for gas. toward the end of the month, my gas mileage is at least 5 mpg better, because i ease on the gas pedal to save gas. i live in the country and get between 17 and 23 mpg, and it all depends on my driving habits. its the same with my motorcycle. i can get 42 mpg if i ease on the throttle and 30 if i have to pass a few slow pokes.

[RakkWarrior]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Hmmm I will admit I do drive a littel fast at times, however, I have taken note that with the K&N AirCharger CAI, and Performance Exhaust I am getting anywhere from 14.75 to 15.75 mpg city/highway commuting. I dont know if this is because I drive aggressively or because of the performance increase. Additionally, I'm not sure if the Xcal would help either. I hear of people getting 17/23 mpg, I guess it has to do with driving the speed limit on a consistent basis, which I am not prone to do. Yet even when I baby her along, like werewulf said, "usually at the end of the month" (when traffic is making their quota for the month) I slow down to the speed limit, do I still see the same kind of mpg numbers. So I'm at a loss too...

I am a little dissappionted in the car's mpg performance because I had a 1991 305/TBI w/ performance holley carb, headers, exhaust and ram air induction and still could baby better mileage out of her than I can out of this one...

[My Raven]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Bernard, my personal experience with The Raven is that it has always gotten poor gas mileage in town: 14 to 15 on average. On the highway however, it averages about 24 mpg at speeds of 70 +. The majority of driving is in the city.

[Chuck]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Joe, I would take it back to the dealer and let him know. Since you have an '03 your warranty is about to run out so you might want to get it in there before it does.

[BobH]

Re: Poor gas mileage

I'm not sure how much city driving you are doing. I do a lot of highway driving and average about 2000 miles a month. My 05 Bird has 14,660 miles and averages a consistant 23 mpg with a lot of 70-80 mph cruising.

[bottomtime]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Bottomtime here - for whatever it's worth, when my '05 had only about 600 miles, I took a trip from Florida - Ohio - Florida, for a total of about 2,200 miles, and it was loaded with everything that I could stuff into the small trunk. My overall mileage for the entire trip, cruising the Interstates, from about 70 to 75 mph, averaged about 26 mpg. I was very pleasantly surprised!! I use 100% synthetic fluids, (before I left) from motor, power steeting, ATF tranny fluid, and rear gear oil - Amsoil, and nothing changed except a K&N air filter cartridge. That's it!

[Tyrod]

Re: Poor gas mileage

After I changed out my Ford synth blend oil to full synth Mobil1 my mileage went way up. I'm now getting well over 20 - 25 mpg combined, even with spirited driving. I won't credit it all to the oil. Some of it may have been the engine finally breaking in. Mileage for the first 5000 miles really sucked at about 13-16 mpg. I'm even getting 20+ mpg in my 05 GTO and I alway drive that car with spirit. The GTO came from the factory with Mobil1 and it will always get Mobil1 as well as my bird.

Oh yeah, I don't have to live with oxygenated fuel here in Florida.

[Debbie & Steve]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Interesting, Tom. Did you change the oil yourself? We presently get a combined mileage of 22.3. We only have 4900 miles on the bird and getting ready to take to dealer to get our free oil change at 5000 miles. I know that the engine has not been "broken in", but hope that the mileage might improve in time. We only use Shell V-power gas also. Don't know if that makes a difference, but on previous threads last year, there was quite a discussion on gas and its pricing (post Katrina). I know a few 'bird owners that have switched to putting in regular gas (87 octane) and their mileage went down a little bit. I am too worried about the lasting effect on the engine though.

[Tyrod]

Re: Poor gas mileage

Interesting, Tom. Did you change the oil yourself? We presently get a combined mileage of 22.3. We only have 4900 miles on the bird and getting ready to take to dealer to get our free oil change at 5000 miles. I know that the engine has not been "broken in", but hope that the mileage might improve in time. We only use Shell V-power gas also. Don't know if that makes a difference, but on previous threads last year, there was quite a discussion on gas and its pricing (post Katrina). I know a few 'bird owners that have switched to putting in regular gas (87 octane) and their mileage went down a little bit. I am too worried about the lasting effect on the engine though.

No, I buy the oil & filter then pay a guy $10.00 to change it. I use Mobil 93 octane gas in all my vehicles, not because I have a preference for Mobil gas, but because it's most convenient.

[TXBlueBird]

I’d like to resurrect this discussion. I acquired my 2004 the end of June. I’m delighted with it but I’m only getting 11-12 mpg. Now admittedly, it’s mostly short trips on city streets with AC, so I’m not expecting optimal mileage, but this seems poor. I’ve used “top tier” 93 octane. The computer is not showing any codes. I did replace a very dirty KN with a conventional air filter. I maintain my tire pressure at 32 psi, slightly higher than the posted pressure. The dealer I purchased it from changed the oil and filter and I presume they used spec but I have no way of knowing. I think I’m a mild-mannered driver. At least I’ve always gotten mileage close to spec in other cars. I’ve run a can of Seafoam with each of the past 3 tanks of gas with no discernible change. The clock just tuned over 46,000.

Before I go to my mechanic, yell “Help!” And hand him my credit card, is there anything else I should consider.

Thanks,
Duane