How accurate is the mpg dash reader?

[supermario]

Hello, I'm just curious how accurate is that dash reader that
Give you the mpg reading?

I just bought a 04 Expy 5.4 4x4 and I went on a trip to Laughlin and it only got 13mpg's. I know its not a gas saver but my 97 4x4 expy with 180k miles got 16-17mpg hwy.


The expy seems to be running fine. I had properly inflated tires, However they
Are 285 70 17s, so would the bigger size tire drop the mpg's THAT much? The Expy has 126k miles on it and I saw the carfax, it was dealer services its whole life.


I'm going to add a Cai, tb spacer, exhaust and maybe tuner after all is done. I hope that can get me up to 18-20mpgs

Thanks any info appreciated!!

By the way, I LOVE the truck!!

 

[bedrck46]

when was the last time the plugs and coils were changed? Fuel filter? Air filter?
In order to find out how accurate the dash reader is I would reset it Fill up and then take a long ride and again refill and do the math and compare it to the dash reader. You may also want to check out the odometer miles driven as compared to a reading from a GPS.

 

[Sierra Lima1470]

I have actually found my on board MPG very accurate! I always compare the manually calculated MPG to my computer one and it is almost always spot on! A healthy 11.8 MPG average for me.

 

[alaskanexpy]

remember unless the speedometer has been reprogrammed your not getting an accurate account of actual miles traveled.

 

[tojohnso]

I've found my computer in an '11 EL to be over-confident. The calculated actual MPG is within 1 MPG lower than what the computer reports. In your case, however, I'd make sure you reset the MPG when you filled up the tank. Doesn't sound like you did unless you hit some heavy traffic.

 

[EightIsEnough]

With pretty worn Goodyears my 2006 was 1 mpg under calculations. With new Michelins it is with a 1/2 mpg. I get 14-15 around town, 16.5 on WV mountain highways, and 18 on Carolina flat highways. That is loaded with a family of 8 on a trip.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[metaldrgn]

Compensating for tire size only makes it about 13.5mpg. From what I've seen online on multiple sites, the second gens(03-04) do worse on mpg than the first gens or it's close.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Hello, I'm just curious how accurate is that dash reader that
Give you the mpg reading?

I just bought a 04 Expy 5.4 4x4 and I went on a trip to Laughlin and it only got 13mpg's. I know its not a gas saver but my 97 4x4 expy with 180k miles got 16-17mpg hwy.


The expy seems to be running fine. I had properly inflated tires, However they
Are 285 70 17s, so would the bigger size tire drop the mpg's THAT much? The Expy has 126k miles on it and I saw the carfax, it was dealer services its whole life.


I'm going to add a Cai, tb spacer, exhaust and maybe tuner after all is done. I hope that can get me up to 18-20mpgs

Thanks any info appreciated!!

By the way, I LOVE the truck!!

Mario,

When driving on the highway with the dash screen displaying the MPG, press and hold the reset button until it zeros out (about 3-4 seconds). The computer will then start to recalculate the mileage from that point and you will get an accurate picture of your MPG at highway speed. If you haven't reset it it averages your mileage over the past 500 miles so if it was mostly city driving it will not be accurate for highway mileage.

 

[FordandPolaris]

Compensating for tire size only makes it about 13.5mpg. From what I've seen online on multiple sites, the second gens(03-04) do worse on mpg than the first gens or it's close.

I can't see how that is the case. I have experience with two 2nd gens in the family, and 3 1st gens, and the 2nd gens definitely do better in fuel economy than the 1st gens. I think it has much more to do with condition of current parts than overall platform.

 

[gulfman]

I have a 2003 Expedition with 32,000 miles. My around town mpg is 12.5 to 13. Expressway & Turnpike is 17 max. Flat land towing my 5,200 lb boat is 12mpg, hilly terrain is 10 mpg.
Bob

 

[tojohnso]

I have a 2003 Expedition with 32,000 miles. My around town mpg is 12.5 to 13. Expressway & Turnpike is 17 max. Flat land towing my 5,200 lb boat is 12mpg, hilly terrain is 10 mpg.
Bob

Did you type that right? You have an 11/12 year old Expedition with ONLY 32,000 miles?

 

[gulfman]

Did you type that right? You have an 11/12 year old Expedition with ONLY 32,000 miles?

That's correct. I had a company car and only used the expedition to tow my boat. Before that, I had a 89 Bronco with 16,000 miles that I sold to buy the expedition. Before that, I had a special addition 85 Bronco II with 4 captains chairs that I sold with 10,700 miles on it.
Bob

 

[tojohnso]

That's correct. I had a company car and only used the expedition to tow my boat. Before that, I had a 89 Bronco with 16,000 miles that I sold to buy the expedition. Before that, I had a special addition 85 Bronco II with 4 captains chairs that I sold with 10,700 miles on it.
Bob

That's incredible! I hope you tell your insurance company how little you drive the truck so they give you a discount for low miles.

 

[GJarrett]

My readout is also fairly accurate but a little optimist. It's less than 1 mpg off on the high side. This is better than my Ford Explorer which was consistently 10% optimistic.

 

[Zylfrax791]

I have a 2004 with the 5.4 motor. On flat ground with the cruise control set at 55mph it stabilizes out to 17.8mpg. I just drove a round trip from Lake Oswego Oregon to Carlsbad California and spent around $414 on gasoline. Its the first time I ever took it on a long trip and it pulled the Grapevine and Siskiyou's real well.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I had my 05 on short 20 mile run. I reset the MPG readout and clocked 16.7 MPG at 70 MPG turning about 1800 RPM. The terrain was relatively flat but some hills.