Fuel Economy?

[JDRogers]

I have a 2018 Limited 4WD with 10,000 miles on it. My gas mileage is no where near the stated numbers. I'm averaging 14.5 with combined driving. I usually see about 13 around town, and 17 on the hwy. The highest number I ever saw was 21, and that was on a fresh tank and a long downhill stretch. I do not have a lead foot at all, and have tried regular and premium fuel. Over 6,000 of the 10,000 miles is open road, and my average is still this low. The dealer flippantly told me I should not believe the EPA estimates since those come from the government, not Ford. Anyone else experiencing poor fuel economy?

 

[JExpedition07]

It can depend on driving habits, climate, elevation,etc. this is why they say mpg will vary

 

[Meeker]

In California I'd expect climate and elevation to be near optimal for fuel economy - that leaves driving habits and malfunction. Any chance you can post a video of your dash as you go from one light to another, or as you cruise on the highway? Put it on the instantaneous fuel economy and we'll see what it looks like... as you can imagine, everyone's definition of "lead foot" is different!

 

[TobyU]

I have a 2018 Limited 4WD with 10,000 miles on it. My gas mileage is no where near the stated numbers. I'm averaging 14.5 with combined driving. I usually see about 13 around town, and 17 on the hwy. The highest number I ever saw was 21, and that was on a fresh tank and a long downhill stretch. I do not have a lead foot at all, and have tried regular and premium fuel. Over 6,000 of the 10,000 miles is open road, and my average is still this low. The dealer flippantly told me I should not believe the EPA estimates since those come from the government, not Ford. Anyone else experiencing poor fuel economy?

This is exactly why I complain about the new v6 turbo engines and "technology".
My wife is a jack rabbit take off driver and her 2001 got what you are getting.

If hers was aluminum and lighter and had a 6 speed transmission I could only assume it would get better than it does. So the low hp BUT MORE than we have EVER wanted or needed 5.4 could still be in the new ones in my opinion....BUT the world is ALL ABOUT change and "improvements" and messing with crap because they are bored.

 

[dlcorbett]

Are your numbers hand calculated? Are you changing your drive modes as well? What are your speeds when driving on the hwy? City mileage is iffy but you can get 17 out her in eco mode and light takeoffs. Also, hwy speed drastically effects fe. Though mines is 2wd, it is wholly achievable to get rele good numbers, but i also know my truck enough to know when my numbers are gonna change. I wouldnt expect a 4wd to get much worse than mines. For reference, highest ive reached and maintained on the hwy was 30mpg avg 60mph and lowest was 19mpg avg 75mph. If your driving styles are changing but fe is not, there mayb something wrong with your fuel delivery system

 

[TobyU]

I wouldn't expect four wheel drive vehicle to get much less maybe two miles per gallon at most and not so much on a higher figure than a two-wheel drive.
There's not that much extra weight in four-wheel drive and everything should be, if it's designed properly, disconnected and the only thing turning should be the outer wheel bearing.

 

[shane_th_ee]

I’ve noticed that there’s a big jump in mileage once the engine and transmission are warm. We do lots of short trips and our average fuel economy (per the trip computer) is about 12...

 

[TobyU]

I've noticed a great increase on mileage at highway speeds coasting or going downhill therefore I'm only driving to Florida on my next trip and not coming back.

 

[jimz]

Your gear ratio makes a difference too.

 

[cmiles97]

Just a guess here. What percentage of ethanol in the gas? Ethanol has less energy per volume. The more ethanol the worse gas mileage you will get.

Also have you checked your tires air pressure? My mileage has gone down this winter. Sure enough my tire pressure was down but not enough to get a warning.

Also verify your gas mileage by manual calculation. Maybe there is something wrong the algorithm or sensors in the dash calculation?

My 17 EL with 6 speed is averaging 17.5 in mixed driving and having to warm it up in the morning here. I was averaging nearly 19 this summer. Had many miles on 55mph roads.

Forgot to mention the more above 70mph on the highway I go it drops the mpg significantly.

Your mpg is much lower than others with the 10speed on this forum.

 

[JDRogers]

Thanks, everyone! The mpg is from the on board computer. I look at it by tankful as well as the overall, and I watch the number while driving. With more than half the mileage on the hwy, and the other half mixed, I would think the average would be higher or more near the city estimate. We have been in 3 different states, so tried the different gas mixtures, and still no better results. I've also driven a lot in Eco mode, and maybe got 1 mpg better. Checked the tires, and had the dealer run full diagnostics. I spoke to Ford corporate and they said I had to start with the dealer to open a ticket with them. I know our gas in CA has a lot of additives, but I would not expect to be this much below the estimates. We live in southern California, so not particularly cold, and rarely drive in 4WD. My husband's GMC diesel gets above the estimates, and he does have a lead foot! Go figure! My 2008 MBZ GL V8 got better gas mileage than this. I love my Expedition - best road trip vehicle ever - but am disappointed in this aspect. Just wondering if I got the 1 in 100, or if it's a problem on all of the vehicles.

 

[Boose]

Are you running premium? I see a SIGNIFICANT increase in MPG with premium fuel. Definitely enough to offset the extra .60 per gallon. my 2017 EL 4x4 gets as good as 22-23 on the highway as long as I keep at 70 or below. We average 16-17 as it's mostly around town. My 05 averaged 13-14 at best.

 

[dlcorbett]

Id tried this: take it on like a 50 or so mile loop with a good hlf n hlf mix of city and hwy. Record all of your vehicle info like oil life tire pressure and etc on your phone. Next, before you go anywhere, go to your default screen in your tach(should be the one with 4 quadrants for distance, time, avg fuel, and distance to empty) and reset it. After that immediatley go to your instant fe screen and start driving and see what instant gas consumption meter is doing. Do not pay attention to the avg number on this screen as its the life avg of the vehicle and wont change much. The gas consump meter should be pretty accurate to your foot, low if your gassing it or at high speeds, high if you braking,coasting or driving at moderate speeds. You should also be able to control it pretty easily as well. When your done the drive, change back to the default screen and look at your avg figure to see what it did for the 50 miles. If it looks too low, its recorded so take it to your dealer. I did this at first because mines wasnt getting anywhere near the sticker numbers but i waited till 5k mi and got an oil change. Took it on a road trip and was surprised to see about 24 mpg hwy. Ever since it does better every road trip. Since urs is dbl, it shouldve been broken in.

 

[Boose]

These motors, want about 10K miles minimum to get the best economy. Prior to that they are a little fat. There is definitely a break in period it seems.

 

[Julian]

I have a 2018 Limited 4WD with 10,000 miles on it. My gas mileage is no where near the stated numbers. I'm averaging 14.5 with combined driving. I usually see about 13 around town, and 17 on the hwy. The highest number I ever saw was 21, and that was on a fresh tank and a long downhill stretch. I do not have a lead foot at all, and have tried regular and premium fuel. Over 6,000 of the 10,000 miles is open road, and my average is still this low. The dealer flippantly told me I should not believe the EPA estimates since those come from the government, not Ford. Anyone else experiencing poor fuel economy?

my guess is that is a bit lower than average. Temperature, time idling, speed, winds, roof racks, altitude, and altitude changes effect milage a lot. Put it on a dyno and run the same program as the government and you'll probably be able to get closer to the stated numbers.

I've compared my milage to the dash on the expedition, an elantra, a c230 4matic, and an XF R-sport, and find the dash is slightly optimistic on all of them by about 1mpg.
IF you want to compare, fuelly is a good idea of what a lot of others are getting around the continent.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/expedition/2018

I came out of a ford focus (25mpg mixed) to my expedition (12mpg mixed). The size is worth the extra gas hit.

 

[Paddler]

I have been getting excellent mileage in mine since new, about 20MPG mixed driving. Hand calculated. This tank is down a bit as we had to use 4WD due to snowy roads and my wife drives a bit faster than I. At 19.2MPG right now, but at 65MPH it will get ~24MPG. I've seen as high as 26MPG. Heavily loaded with the largest Yakima Sky Box on top, driving 75MPH en route to Canada we averaged 18-18.5MPG, even driving around and through fields hunting geese.

 

[crazyjerry]

I am getting about 11 to 12 mpg on 97 expedition in town, i just fill it up and keep it moving. when the weather gets better, we will going to arizona and then i will see what my mpg will be.

 

[TobyU]

Are you running premium? I see a SIGNIFICANT increase in MPG with premium fuel. Definitely enough to offset the extra .60 per gallon. my 2017 EL 4x4 gets as good as 22-23 on the highway as long as I keep at 70 or below. We average 16-17 as it's mostly around town. My 05 averaged 13-14 at best.

Are you getting the approximately 30% increase in mileage with premium you would need to offset $0.60? I will agree premium usually yields a couple miles per gallon mower but I have never seen it actually equal out to the same price in fuel forever become a better price per mile.
The biggest problem is how the industry and gas stations have gotten together to rip us off on the grades of fuel. It used to be $0.05 extra for each one and then just a few years ago it was $0.10 extra. Now almost every station you see is $0.30 extra. There is no justification for that. Just greed. Are the people buying premium Ashley subsidizing and keeping gas prices lower for the regular great users? I doubt it. They can keep that crap.

 

[Paddler]

I don't think running premium fuel helps mileage much, most cars will compensate for lower octane fuel:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a14425998/premium-gas-fuel-benefits/

 

[theoldwizard1]

Running premium definitely helps when towing !