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New Car - poor fuel economy

J

JimBowy

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
10
Hey guys,
Just picked up a 1998 Contour 2.5L V6 Auto and after my first tank of gas I'm getting 20.5mpg with 80% highway driving at ~70mph.

It should be higher, shouldn't it? :shrug:

The car has brand new:
- Air Filter (and cleaned throttle body, IAC, etc.)
- Spark Plugs
- Wires
- Upper/Lower Intake gaskets (previous gaskets were leaking, causing a lean condition)

I can't think of many things that would make my fuel economy this crappy. The car runs great though, no check engine lights etc.

Any ideas on what it could be? There are no indications its running rich.

Maybe its the o2 sensors? How hard are they to change?

Thanks in advance - Jim.
 
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32 mpg highway

32 mpg highway

If you are going to own one of these, I would suggest investing in an OBDII interface, something more than just a code scanner. I have an interface that plugs into my laptop, lets me monitor engine parameters and run tests, worth it's weight in gold. My '96 2.5L gets 32MPG on long highway trips when it is healthy. I remember when my front O2 sensor started failing the car still ran OK but mileage decreased and there was no CEL, although eventually the CEL did light up. The scanner showed slow switching. I replaced all 4 and it was happy again, real PITA to replace the back one. I wonder, could a problem with the IMRC cause this? Maybe somebody just forgot to hook up the secondaries. Who did the previous repair?
 
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i changed the upper/lower intake manifold gaskets
everything was reinstalled properly and everything was cleaned

i might try bringing the car to autozone to have the codes read...
 
When my '95 V6 had just one spark plug missing, it got 17mpg; when replaced, ran smoothly and gets 25 now

Mike
 
Welcome.

Record the miles and gallons to fill up for a few times (maybe 4 or 5 times). Then post the results. One tank won't cut it.
 
I am very curious to see what your outcome will be as my '98 Se 2.5L ATX is currently only getting ~20mpg. Yes it is cold, but I think it's more than that. When consulting with my dad, who used to drive the car daily, he told me that he only got ~24mpg regularly and that was doing 98% hwy travel. I do a decent amount of city driving, but would expect a little more than I'm getting. My only code is a P0401. Suck test proved the EGR is functioning fine. I have an updated dpfe sensor as well as some cleaner for the TB waiting. I plan to switch it and clean it as soon as the weather gets a little more bearable. Last time I tried working on the car in the cold I managed to break one of the brittle vacuum lines. Yes, I did replace it already. :D

Keep us posted on your findings. :)

Chris
 
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tophe7d said:
I am very curious to see what your outcome will be as my '98 Se 2.5L ATX is currently only getting ~20-24mpg. Yes it is cold, but I think it's more than that. When consulting with my dad, who used to drive the car daily, he told me that he only got ~24mpg regularly and that was 98% hwy travel. I do a decent amount of city driving, but would expect a little more than I'm getting. My only code is a P0401. I have a dpfe sensor as well as some cleaner for the TB waiting. I plan to switch it and clean it as soon as the weather gets a little more bearable. Last time I tried working on the car I managed to break one of the brittle vacuum lines. Yes, I did replace it already. :D

Keep us posted on your findings. :)

Chris
Click to expand...

With the CEL on, your car is in the limp mode. In any case, I have been getting average 18 city, 22 highway on my 96 V6 ATX. Every now and then, it will be 15 city, 25 highway but for the most part.....
 
I thought I read somewhere in the archives that certain codes won't affect mileage. I thought that it might have been misinformation, but wasn't sure. I learned in school that as soon as the light comes on, your computer runs at only set parameters (limp mode). That cel has been lit for most of the cars life. My old highly-trusted mechanic would read it with his scanner, test it, and still find nothing wrong. He would clear it and a day, a week, a month later it would pop back on.

My new mission in life is to get that light off!!! :mad: :laugh:

Thanks Tony :)

Chris
 
Yup, get an average of a couple more tanks. ONe tank calc can be misleading. Do you have stock diameter tires? Taller tires make the odometer run slower.
 
I'm working on the second tank but it doesn't look like I'm going to get anything different. Stock diameter tires. Yes its cold here but the mileage shouldn't be this poor regardless.
 
poor mileage

poor mileage

Make sure your tire pressures are at least the recommended minimum. If they are low, it increases the rolling resistance of the tire, making the engine work harder to move the car, and thereby using more gas to go the same miles. I run 40 psi cold in mine and average 24 mpg in town. This is with E1s with 225/50/16 Dunlop Direzias.
 
I think some of you guys have set your expectations a little too high. The V6 might be of smaller displacement than most others but it is by no means an economy engine per se. Add an ATX and driving at 70mph and I wouldn't expect much more than low to mid twenties either. You will get others who say they get better but they live in other states at other altitudes and perhaps have different driving habits. There are too many variables to make a blanket statement on what your gas mileage should be.
Karl
 
Went through another tank - averaged 20.7mpg.
Still not impressed here... will do the fuel filter when I get a chance - don't think its ever been changed...
 
Automatics will get a slightly lower fuel economy. But not THAT much lower.

My modded V6 averages around 22 mpg, and I drive it like I stole it. Maybe 2/3 highway, 1/3 city.

I thought about your tires first as well. Pressure?
 
my stock v6 mtx is getting 20mpg highway at 75-80 mph and doggin the hell out of it in the "city" driving

GSTEIN come hook my car up i want 32mpg!!!!!
 
Mileage

Mileage

The wide variability in mileage everybody gets seems strange. I used to drive my 2.5L SE auto from Marietta, Ga to Jacksonville beach, Fl every week, 382 miles. Always filled up with 10 gallons at the border then used 2 more gallons getting to JAX beach for 31+ mpg. Right now I get less than 24 mpg highway, though, but I just worked over the engine and hopefully the mileage will be better with clean manifolds/new gaskets, etc. I do recall that a "slow" O2 sensor didn't cause a CEL but really cut into gas mileage, and really made the engine hot. Probably why my precats are shot.:cry:
 
gstein said:
The wide variability in mileage everybody gets seems strange. I used to drive my 2.5L SE auto from Marietta, Ga to Jacksonville beach, Fl every week, 382 miles. Always filled up with 10 gallons at the border then used 2 more gallons getting to JAX beach for 31+ mpg. Right now I get less than 24 mpg highway, though, but I just worked over the engine and hopefully the mileage will be better with clean manifolds/new gaskets, etc. I do recall that a "slow" O2 sensor didn't cause a CEL but really cut into gas mileage, and really made the engine hot. Probably why my precats are shot.:cry:
Click to expand...

wish i could be in the high 20s... heck mid 20s would be okay

i checked the air pressure, everything is good.
front tires are over-inflated to 36psi (Ford calls for 31psi)
Rear tires are at 34psi as per the Ford spec for my 205 tires

no check engine lights so i'm going to keep on driving. after this next tank of gas (later this week) I'm going to start considering an o2 sensor swap
 
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