Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Poor fuel economy? Poor gas mpg, mileage, milage.

Hello.

I'm new here, and a new owner of a 1998 Ford Contour SE Sport and I really like the car. It is exactly what I was looking for.

Problem is, I'm 23 years old, and I cannot afford to have purchased a car that has a major problem.

I would like your advice so I can address the problem right away with the dealer if there is one.(Well, complain at least)

I have searched the forum for a general idea of possibilities but I'm not very car savvy and I would like to ask some simpler questions.

My last car was a Honda Civic CX hatchback and I had really decent fuel economy. Now, I am getting about 350 KM per full tank of gas which to me is not so good. However, I am not used to the bigger engine. I drive the car pretty good I think... I change gears at about 2500 rpm... I think I drive it really easy. 70% City, 30% hiway driving. I bought the car from a dealership, it was supposed to be "reconditioned and good as new". 68 000 km and counting.

1)So far from what I have said; does it sound as though I should be gettng better mileage?

2)If there is a problem, what would be the top 3 most expensive problems and the costs?

3)I am completely non car technical, and like most of us I am looking to spend as little as possible but in the end whatever it takes I suppose to keep this car in top shape... where should I start in diagnosing the problem? (If there is one)


Any discussion is appreciated, thanks in advance.


Keywords to help future searchs:
(I had a hard time finding info I was looking for)
poor, bad, terrible, gas, gasoline, mileage, milage, mpg, tank, gusiler, gussler, fuel, economy

happy new yr and welcome aboard...which engine do u have? the 4 cylinder 2.0 zetec or the 2.5 duratec v6???...my only experience is with the v6 and from what i can tell the car just gets not so great mileage in the city...im guessing i get somewhere around 18 give or take in the city but on the highway now i've been getting 31-37 mpg lately...biggest change was tires on the front...before the new tires i was getting if lucky mid to high 20's on the highway

my city mileage is still relatively poor but i think a big part of it is how i drive...im a madman

You could change the fuel filter, put in something like Techron fuel system cleaner, change the air filter, and make sure your tires are inflated properly.

As far as "reconditioned and new" from a dealership...don't count on it.

You may also want to look into replacing your spark plugs and possibly the wires too.

None of these should cost you a ton of money.

Welcome to the CEG!

mondala, I get about the same during the winter and about 450 to tank in the summer.

I think most has to do with winter gas. Where do you get it from? Techron is near impossible to find here, try some Marvel Mystery oil. It is cheap and worked for me.

Don't sweat it.

For some reason (not just picking on you) everyone has this thing for "per tank". 350km = 217.5mi, if a full tank is 16 gallons then you are getting 13.6 miles per gallon. That is horrible even in really cold weather. Unless you let your car warm up for 15 minutes before you drive, there is something wrong. My Crown Vic gets 18 mpg at it's worst.

Maybe you should double check.

Yeah...even though my tanks holds 15.4 gallons and it says E, I usually only can fill up with about 13 gallons. Usually get about 300 miles out of that 13 gallons.

300/13 = 23.1 MPG City/Highway driving


Just replaced fuel filter. Will see if I get any improvement.

file this into your "quality is job 1 folder"
The fuel tank capacity was misprinted in the owners manual of the 98 and newer contours. The figure supplied is 15.4, however the true capacity is 14.8.
Not to say that this will drastically change anyones mpg figures, but I make it a point to state this whenever someone posts about fuel economy.