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  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    On my Sienna, I've calculated both on several occasions, and perhaps surprisingly mine is very accurate, usually within 0.1 mpg, and not always high, either.
  • BC_ATLBC_ATL Member Posts: 2
    I've had the car since new and regularly serviced by the dealer. Last month I noticed a sudden drop in fuel efficiency. I used to get 520+ miles on a tank now I can barely get 300!!

    I just had the car serviced for the 60k interval but the efficiency has not imrpoved. I keep the tires inflated to the reco level and only use gas from BP.

    The dealer said they can run a test but it would cost $200+ and take several days. They also said sometime the gas station changes their supply to an inferior quality.

    Has anyone else had a similar experience or knows what I can do?

    Thanks
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    was that just the one tank? or was it repeated fill-ups that returned that mileage.

    does the van perform normally? Is it sluggish, jerking, smoking, etc?

    Did you run the tank dry recently (gunked injectors) ?

    I'm assuming you're driving the same as before...i.e. you haven't started idling for an hour to pick up kids...or sitting idling waiting for bank/fast food/medication -- or anything else that is a convenience.

    Inferior gas? not sure a station would want to switch to that...

    Not being a mechanic...I'd initially think it's filters (air)...I'd start checking the cheapest thing first...

    Sounds odd for an 06...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Atl = Atlanta?

    It's not *that* cold there, is it? That could certainly explain a drop of 2-3 mpg or so, especially with short trips.

    My trip computer shows the average mileage drops for the first 3-4 miles or so of each trip I take now (it's been sub-freezing in the AM lately). Then it'll go back up once the engine is warm.

    So short trips could kill mileage, if the engine never reaches operating temps.

    Other questions - do you still see the ECO light come on when you coast to a stop, if you have VCM?
  • BC_ATLBC_ATL Member Posts: 2
    I had the car serviced last week and had the filters changed. I've checked the tires too and all is okay with them.

    I'm running my own test using another brand of gas and depending upon what happens I may go back to the dealer for a full diagnostics. I found some info on www.fueleconomy.gov that says it could be some things not normally checked by a standard service.
  • 96ODvn96ODvn Member Posts: 1
    30-32 MPG on non-stop freeway
    23-25 MPG rush hour stopo n go freeway
    20 MPG city stop n go
    has only 49K miles because mom just didn't like it and only used it when her other car was in the shop. What sort of mileage after 90K?
  • moparmtnmoparmtn Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Grand Caravan which now has 113000 trouble free miles. I get about 22 mpgs all around and 25.5 on the highway witth cruise set at about 69 mph. On a trip out west last year we covered 11998 miles loaded down and pulling a pop up camper and we averaged for the whole trip 21.9 mpg. :) I was extremely amazed at this especially with all the mountains we climbed... and use of E85. All of this was done on secondary roads. Using the E85 gave me a rough idle :confuse: but really did not notice much difference in performance then started to mix it about 50/50 and ran great throughout the midwest... :)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Took a road trip for a family reunion and hauled some seriously heavy loads, often luggage for the 17 people that were there.

    Mileage was usually around 24mpg or so. It was mostly highway but higher speeds than usual due to the 70 mph speed limits in Florida (I did 75 or so, but my dad was goin' 90 :surprise: ).
  • ninjaininjai Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport 3.8L V6, 7 seat.
    I was driving about 65 mph behind a semi truck. The truck broke the wind for me and I was able to average 33mpg.

    Normally I drive about 69 to 73mph and average around 27, maybe 28mpg.

    I always use cruise control because it saves the most on gas.

    I use 89 and sometimes 91 Fuel, also it helps to have an awesome air filter, so I got a K&N Air Filter ($45), not bad since it cost $25 for a standard air filter, plus they are not reusable. We need to save money everywhere, so investing into a $45 filter which is reusable, washable, and guaranteed for 1 million miles, you really cannot go wrong. Pays for itself after 3 tanks of gas at least. :lemon: :shades:
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Drafting large trucks definitely works. I've noticed that too, on the trip computer. They usually don't like it, though, and try to get you off their tail.

    Just be careful that you don't chip a windshield from debris they may kick up - that would cancel any savings you may accumulate.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    Recent trip to Ponce, PR from Trujillo Alto, PR about 90 miles each way. 1/3 mountain roads and the rest mountain highway. Lots of climbing up for miles and back down. Steep climbs, enough to put the van down to 4th gear about 90% of the climbs.

    I averaged 22 MPG overall with 4 people, A/C on, and some extra gear and about 75 - 80 MPG except uphill in 4th which I averaged 65 - 70 MPH. I think that is pretty good considering the terrain. I usually get about 25 - 27 on flat terrain with a/c at 65 MPG

    Not as good MPG as others out there but much better power, comfort, and features especially to the Caravan.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Which model do you have? They come in LX and EX, right?

    I really liked the fluorescent gauges on the Entourage Limited but I don't think the Sedona got those, right? Prices were a lot higher for Limiteds when I shopped in 07, though.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    I have the Sedona LX. I did not want leather because of the climate I live in and powerdoors although nice are guaranteed to break. They never ever last. The gauges are not anything special in the Sedona but the vans drives very nice. Good power and fantastic safety, best in the industry. Don't forget you can add the nice options such as DVD and HID xenon headlight for thousands less then the dealer. This is what I did. 10.4" screen in the back hooked up to a Panasonic touchscreen in the front for less then a grand. A xenon kit cost only $160.00 Unless you really have to have the dealer options you will be better off going aftermarket. Oops that's you, you Sienna loving Toyota man... LOL. I believe the LX is also also about 200 lbs lighter then the EX.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    :D

    I'm happy with my choice, though love may be a strong word for a minivan. I prefer small cars, that's why I daily-drive a Miata. :shades:
  • dsrtrat2dsrtrat2 Member Posts: 223
    First road trip in '08 ODY EX-L with about 500 lbs. of people and stuff. Traveled from AZ east on US 60 to NM and then up to I-40 for 250 miles to US 54 through OK, TX, Kansas to I-35 to Des Moines. Somewhat the same on way back. My GPS said I averaged 60.9 MPH on way home. Average of 7 tanks of gas was 26.5 MPG with the lowest 24.7 and the best was 28.7 on 88 octane Phillips 66 gas.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    61 mph average? The gas pedal is the one on the right. :P

    Just jerking your chain, your reward was good mileage, so kudos.
  • plasticsman1plasticsman1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1994 MPV with 173,000 miles; I recently drove it to Key West and back
    to Stuart FL (about 500 miles roundtrip) I got 22.88 MPG with regular gas and that
    was with the A/C on!
  • plasticsman1plasticsman1 Member Posts: 2
    Our 2002 Cadillac Escalade with the small V-8 consistently gets 19 MPG
    on the Interstate when driving from West Palm Beach to Charleston SC.
    on Regular Gas. We will not go to a small car to get 30 MPG. It's just not
    enough of a savings for the safety and comfort that we would give up.
  • dudleyrdudleyr Member Posts: 3,469
    27.5 mpg in a 2006 Sienna with cruise set at 75 and a/c on.

    Why drive an Escalade if you want safety. Wouldn't something with a better rollover history be more appropriate?
  • zee4zee4 Member Posts: 2
    I have gotten 28 mpg on a 1500 mile highway trip.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    So on our trip to Serbia and Montenegro we rented for the month a 2004 Ford Galaxy with a 1.9L VW diesel engine paired to a 6 speed manual tranny. Amazing gas mileage!!! Not much power but it did the job in the mountains with 6 people and we averaged 43.5 MPG. Forget hybrid give me a diesel engine in a nice van....
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My mileage dropped recently when my brother and his family visited. We had the van full with 8 people and luggage/bags the entire time, and got anywhere from 22 mpg in mostly city driving to around 25mpg on trips.

    I'm sure the extra weight and the fact that we cranked the dual A/C to keep a car full of kids happy didn't help.

    With just the 4 of us we get at least 27 on trips, at times 30.
  • lavrishevolavrishevo Member Posts: 312
    That's not bad with 8 in the heat. Hey but did you see my post on the Ford Galaxy we had for a month. Over 43 MPG averaged! Incredible! Of course gas was almost $5.00 a gallon but can you imagine having this sort of efficiency in the U. S. Just a shame how limited we are in our engine selections. A 2.5 L diesel engine could power a Sienna or Sedona great with excellent gas mileage. Just a shame...
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That's cool, in Europe, right?

    Brazil gets most of its models from Europe, though I haven't seen the Galaxy there. They have a Ford EcoSport that is a whole lot smaller than the Escape, though.
  • gar_fanaticgar_fanatic Member Posts: 6
    I feel the exact same way!!! I'll take a diesel over a gas burner any day. My hubby's diesel F-350 4x4 crew cab one ton 6.0L diesel got 16-20 mpg over a 2000 mile vacation last week.

    My windstar, I'm lucky to get 16 mpg.

    Give me a diesel any day!!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Highs and lows for me, almost back-to-back.

    We spent a week in Ocean City, and my son was in camp, 140 blocks away. With a traffic light every 3 blocks, the stopping was brutal, I feel like my brake pads must need to be changed. Probably the worst city traffic I've ever driven in, and my Sienna returned 20.4mpg.

    Filled it up on the way home, though, and drove speed limits since the MDX following us didn't seem to keep up if we sped. Any how, did that with light traffic on the way home and average a phenomenal 31.3mpg!

    :shades:
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    Took an extended vacation to the desert southwest from Wisconsin in late April, driving our 2006 Grand Caravan. Overall fuel economy was 23.44. Best tank was 26.58. Worst tank was 20.99.

    Several legs of the trip included extensive mountain driving during which the fuel economy interestingly didn't suffer much. In fact the worst tank was on the drive west from St Louis to Tulsa. We must have had strong head winds during that stretch. We generally kept the speed on the freeway stretches at the speed limit of 70 or 75 mph in the western plains.

    I am pleased with the mileage, given the size of this vehicle. The 3.3 V-6 had all it could handle in the mountain driving, and if I drove in those conditions on a regular basis, would consider a larger engine version, but in our normal fairly flat daily driving, it is just fine. No vehicle problems during the trip whatsoever. It is only now at 31K on the odometer.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    To and from the beach.

    Going there I had to haul paver base, 30 bags the first time (~50 lbs each), 25 the 2nd trip. Still managed ~26mpg.

    Coming back we had no load and my wife drove - she averaged 28.5 mpg.

    Still loving this engine.
  • marine2marine2 Member Posts: 1,155
    I just got back last week from a trip to Ohio, from Arizona and back. About 2100 miles one way.

    I have a 2005 Dodge GC with the 3.8. We carried four people plus luggage. I averaged about 23mpg on the trip. Mountains didn't seem to bother the 3.8 one bit. Although I turned my cruise off when climbing them and coming down. I think it helped my mileage doing that.

    I have gotten as high as 28.41 mpg - to 19.8mpg. I checked it with a calculator and over head computer. They were pretty close to each other.

    I did get stuck several times in road construction where I had to sit and idle. Happy with what I got with the load I had on.
  • wataugalakewataugalake Member Posts: 2
    Well, coming home from work last night my T&C went into "limp-in mode" which means it would not shift out of 2nd gear. My commute is 60 miles one way so I went by way of the secondary roads instead of the interstate for safety reasons. Found out though that when I shut the car off and restarted that the computer reset and I could shift up to the higher gears until slowing down which would cause it to go back to limp-in mode. Then further investigation revealed that if I put it in neutral coming to a stoplight or slow down, the transmission would still shift to the higher gears and so the last half of the commute I was able to do 55mph at around 2K rpm. I have 225,000+ on the old beast so I cannot complain. Waiting for a read out of the transmission code to see what the diagnoses is going to be...... I get around 23.5 mph on the highway. Now the choice will be how much to spend on this car or buy a used with less mileage.... :sick:
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    See if a cheap fix can let you milk a few more miles out of it. That van owes you nothing, though. :shades:

    22.0 mpg out of my Sienna, probably for several reasons:

    * bitter cold here lately
    * no long trips
    * mostly around town driving

    That's close to my worst tank ever. :(
  • zweedledeezweedledee Member Posts: 1
    I am consistently getting 10 mpg with this van. New oil/filter and new air filter, and tires at correct inflation. I don't drive crazy because I have 3 small children in the back seat at all times!
    This is awful, I feel violated!!
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    Do you also check your trip computer for average mph? In our 05 Quest we can get as low as 15mpg when our average speed is below 18ish mph.

    I can get 26mpg on the highway (if i stay within the speed limits)...if you idle all day...say picking up children then you're getting 0 mpg.

    Of course something could be wrong with it...but if you sit there like we do then you're not going to get good mpg...in anything.
  • hjc1hjc1 Member Posts: 183
    Are you kidding :=) Thats great mileage...... your pulling over an est. 7500 lbs @ that speed. Check out car reviews on the so called CUV and SUV cars ..
    they are in the same mpg range or worse .

    I completed a 2700 mile trip in my Entourage (same as Sedona) and averaged 23.3 mpg. I never got less then 20 mpg in city driving. Your mpg should improve with more miles but not with that load.
  • redpearlredpearl Member Posts: 14
    Recently completed a CA to NJ cross country trip of 3,400 miles including side trips. Averaged 27.1 mpg with A/C the last 3 days. It was 91 degrees on arrival in NJ. Still subjecting the van to the terrible roads here in NJ and have not calculated MPG. Will post on departure in 2 weeks.
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    That is fantastic mileage...at what average mph is that?

    I find that anything over 65mph cuts into my mileage significantly (05 Quest SE).

    65mph 25ish mpg
    75mph 22ish mpg
    82+mph 20mpg

    All highway of course...extra stops and idling is a killer too :)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sounds great.

    We have not taken many trips lately, but my last tank broke 26mpg.

    Now that summer is coming we expect to get back to road tripping, and I expect mileage to go back up. We've been getting anywhere from 22-24 mpg in mostly around town driving lately.
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  • redpearlredpearl Member Posts: 14
    Average mph was 70 eastbound.
    Return trip to CA in progress and mpg will be lower. Hauling more weight, A/C on constantly with the heat/humidity and slighly higher mph.

    Will post in a week or so.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'm happy to get back in to the upper 20s now that the temps have warmed up. Even with A/C the last couple of tanks were near 27.
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    You should post your year/make/model/trim when you post a mpg...Sienna right?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    07 Sienna LE, FWD. 2GR V6 engine.
  • redpearlredpearl Member Posts: 14
    Just tallied up the stats on our recent cross-country trip from CA to NJ and return.

    Eastbound: 3,390 miles at 27.1 MPG. Avg speed 70 mph mostly interstate; no A/C. Side winds Ohio, PA.
    East coast : 1,850 miles at21.4 MPG. Mix of turnpike and local driving; A/C.

    Westbound: 3,330 miles at 24.2 MPG. Avg speed 75 mph, mostly interstate; A/C. Back hauling 500 lbs. +/_ cargo incl. 12 vdc fridge and 2 full coolers. Constant high winds.

    Total: 8,570 miles at 24.5 MPG.
  • van123van123 Member Posts: 14
    We averaged about 70 miles per hour on a 550 mile trip this weekend. After the fill up we got 25 miles per gallon with the AC on the whole time. Interstate 79 and 80 in Pa.We love our Odyssey for these trips! :)
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    You mean your trip comp showed 70mph as an average for your entire trip? Or the speed limit was 70mph and that was the speed you drove most of the way?

    70mph is a tough average to maintain for a trip...one pit stop for us kills this average :)
  • kannarajeshkannarajesh Member Posts: 2
    From Auburn,MA to Gaithersburg, MD approx 440 miles
    maintained 63-65 mph. A/C on and off. Very light on pedal. Lifted foot off the pedal in the downhills. 60 mph uphills. No stomping the pedal.
    Filled the tank before hitting hwy. Reset average mpg indicator.
    The indicator showed 30.6 mpg when I arrived at dest.
    I was averaging 32 mpg up until George Washington Bridge traffic few mins.
    Fantastic for the size.
    The best mileage spot is 64 mph

    Same distance aggressive driving I got 24.5 mpg.
    75 mph.
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  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Amazing, congrats.

    I have the same van...for me I do best around 50-55mph.

    It shifts to overdrive at about 46mph under light loads, but at 50-55 it stays in 5th gear more of the time.

    I've broken 30mpg only a couple of times in my '07. I'm too impatient and increase speeds most of the time.
  • pathangipathangi Member Posts: 10
    2010 Odyssey bought on 08/13. I haven't filled the gas till now.

    I see the meter going one point above E. I am surprised to the mileage is just 188.

    I am not sure whether the dealer filled in the gas for full. After few minutes of delivery, i saw the gas level came down one quarter.

    I drove most of it local miles.

    How much can I expect for mileage. Do i expect little early on the performance. What should i do exactly to check the mileage.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    It probably wasn't completely full, so ignore the first tankful.

    Zero the odometer each time you fill up. Then you can calculate miles on the trip odo/gallons need to fill it back up, starting from the 2nd tank.

    High-end models have trip computers that estimate the mileage, but some are optimistic.
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