Post Your Van Gas Mileage Here

eyeblind

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that on my next trip--4th of July. Do you find the overhead computer to be close to your calculations?

marine2

It's hard to tell unless you drove the same way on a whole tank of gas. Then the computer would tell you how far you can go on a tank of gas. But if your driving some in the city and some on the highway, I don't think the computer is going to be accurate in helping you figure the average mpg.

I have had my computer tell me I'm getting 17-19 in the city. From 20-36 on the highway. What I really want to know is what I get on average for that whole tank of gas. I have only been able to do that once on a tank of gas with about 90% highway driving. It was over 25mpg. Almost 26. I think I could have gotten 26 if I hadn't had about 25 miles of it city driving.

fsmmcsi

Apparently, you can not compare the ratio of EPA mileage ratings, just the relative ranking (higher or lower).

My '05 Sienna, which is up to over 2,500 miles now, is rated 36% better city and 37% better highway than my '02 Mountaineer, but it only achieves 12% better mileage when driven the same way on the same roads with the same passenger and cargo loads.

I tried premium fuel, and it adds 0.1 to 0.2 MPG, hardly worth the extra cost.

The CE should produce a little better mileage, as it weighs the least of all Siennas.

eyeblind

This morning I hadn't driven the van since we got back, so I drove a 1/2 mile to the gas station and filled up the tank. I then did the calculations you mentioned. I got 25.4mpg. Still not bad, but 1.2 mpg lower than the reading on the onboard computer.

marine2

1.2 mpg off is not that bad at all. I thought it would be more than that. 25.4 isn't bad either. Did you say you had the A/C on?

I just filled mine up today. Set my tripometer to zero.I'll see by next week what it will get with mostly city driving as I no longer have to pick my grand kids up from school.

dennisctc

Just back from weekend camping trip with my Minivan. I drove from north of Detroit MI, to Moundsville WV (14 miles south of Wheeling)... 700 miles total round trip. On the way there, I towed my Coleman Popup tent trailer...about 3500lbs loaded...I got 17mpg to the campground. Since I'm going back there for July 4th, the owner allowed me to leave camper there. On return trip I got 25mpg. The last 15 miles to campground was up very steep mountain roads. Guess I can't complain since I have only 4500 miles on her so far?

marine2

On the way there, I towed my Coleman Popup tent trailer...about 3500lbs loaded...I got 17mpg to the campground. Since I'm going back there for July 4th, the owner allowed me to leave camper there. On return trip I got 25mpg. The last 15 miles to campground was up very steep mountain roads. Guess I can't complain since I have only 4500 miles on her so far?



Considering the weight you were pulling and the mountain you were climbing and what you got going back without the trailer, I'd say you did very well.

ts60423

Does anyone get better gas mileage with the AC on than off?

I have had mixed results trying to figure out whether the AC is more efficient than running with the windows down. Minivans have rear windows that allows air to flow through the vehicle, but it makes sense that opening the windows produces drag.

I do know that I can drastically reduce my engine temp running AC while in doing stop and go traffic since the second fan kicks on automatically.

I also know that crosswinds and speed also factor into the equation.

The Discovery Channel show "Mythbusters" did a test with identical vehicles on a test track and had no difference in mileage.

Anyone have any thoughts?

dilbertzzz

Hmmm.... If it makes no difference on gas mileage even on the highway, and since it might possibly cool off the engine to leave the air off (but is there really any advantage to that since it's designed for high heat?), and since the perceived gas mileage savings of open windows instead of air conditioning in stop-and-go traffic is probably more than offset by the increased health-care costs (not to mention discomfort!) of inhaling all those vehicle emissions; then I say put the windows down when you prefer it and leave them up with the air conditioning running when you prefer that. There really seems to be no definitive argument either way then.

Another consideration though is the noise level and the cumulative damage that can have on your hearing. I can attest to this since I have suffered hearing loss in my left ear at the wind-roar frequencies from the years driving highway speeds with the driver's side window down (in Spring, Summer, and Fall good weather, of course). This corresponds neatly to the frequency of the alarm on my clock. So, this morning for example, since I was sleeping on my right (better ear) side, my wife had to punch me to make me aware of the insistent trilling of my alarm clock. Without her then, I'm either going to be habitually late abed or a left-side-only sleeper!

All things considered then, I think that the advantages of air conditioning far outweigh any slim possibility of a gain in leaving it off. So, IMHO, you can enjoy your comfort guilt-free!

marine2

I have a brother in law that is so cheap that he thinks he will save gas by keeping his a/c on low instead of turning the fan on high. That would be ok I guess if we were back East, but not here in Arizona. I tried to tell him once he turns on the a/c and the clutch engages, it doesn't make any difference what he sets the fan speed, the compressor is going to run at the same speed and he isn't saving gas by running the fan on low. He may use a little more electricity, but he isn't saving on the a/c. He won't believe me.

He also won't turn on the a/c until everyone is in and the doors are closed. I told him he works the a/c more by doing that. I said if you turn on the a/c while people are getting in, you'll blow a lot of that hot air out while the doors are open. He still doesn't believe it.

dudleyr

Actually the compressor does run less often with the fan on low. The most efficient way to run an A/C is with the temp as cold as it gets (this does not effect the compressor) and with the fan as low as is comfortable.

He is certainly wrong about getting the hot air out. Just leave the windows down for a minute while driving, then close them and turn the A/C on.

jipster

He needs to hit the recirculation button when turning on A/C...this will cool the interior quicker.

dilbertzzz

He needs to hit the recirculation button when turning on A/C...this will cool the interior quicker.

But only after the greenhouse-effect-super-heated air in the vehicle is allowed to escape. If the vehicle is sitting in the sun and you recirculate without letting out the hotter-than-the-ambient-temperature interior air first, then you are working on the very greatest possible temperature difference to overcome. A combination of all these suggestions folks have given above (open the windows for a minute and then recirculate) will cool off the vehicle the fastest way possible IMHO. Where are the Mythbusters to confirm or deny?

marine2

Actually the compressor does run less often with the fan on low.

I thought that was only true with automatic climate control.?

dudleyr

Even manual A/C varies the amount of time the compressor is running depending on demand. The demand is just determined by the fan setting. Basically the A/C only has one setting - full cold. To make the air less cold warmer ambient air is added - this makes the process much less efficient and is why keeping the temp on max cold is more efficient.

With the temp on max cold you can still keep from freezing by turning down the fan, which in turn keeps the compressor from running as often (there is less volume of air being cooled)

marine2

Basically the A/C only has one setting - full cold. To make the air less cold warmer ambient air is added - this makes the process much less efficient and is why keeping the temp on max cold is more efficient.

This is what I have always thought. Once turned on, the A/C has but one setting, fully cold. You can cut down on the cold air blowing in by turning down the fan, or turning on the dial to allow a small amount of heated air to mix with A/C air.But as long as compressor is ingaged, A/C would be running at full force. If you increase the fan speed, you increase the force of A/C coming into the van. But as long as compressor is running, you'll use same amount of fuel no matter if fan is on high or low.

Max cold, cuts any warm air coming from outside the van from mixing with cold A/C .Allowing only the cold air to keep recirculating through the van.

Am I wrong on all this?

asa203

I can't seem to get even 19 MPG. I now have 1900 miles on my 05 Odyssey EXL. Driving about 70% highway and 30% city, the last 4 tanks of gas have gotten us 18.5, 18.9, 18.9 and 18.5 respectively. I have a 2001 Windstar that gets 21 in the same driving and the Ols Silhouette that we sold got 22.5 - 23. I also notice that when the Oddy goes into the economy mode and I let off the gas that there is a great deal of back pressure almost like the engine is hold ing the car back. It never seems like it is free wheeling or coasting and the RPM always stay up. On many hills, I don't even use the brakes because the vehicle automatically slows when you let of the accelerator. Has anyone else noticed this problem? I bought this vehicle to get better mileage and so far it is not living up to the biliing 20/28.

ts60423

Sounds like your brother-in-law has quite a bit of hot air to spare. Sounds like the perpetual heat exhaustion might have gone to his head.

I get the same mileage with it on high or low - and my Venture has two AC units, one front and one rear. I messed with it quite often in my travels over the week, about 2500 miles or so. Today reached about 94 outside, so it was pumping all day. Once the vehicle is moving, electricity is free and abundant - use it or lose it. I always keep my back windows open for a few minutes to draw out the hot air, which make a huge difference. I always thought that the AC clutch was either engaged or not, but it could be variable. I do know that AC is much more efficient at highway speeds as opposed to having the windows down. Or you could ask a good dealership - they should be able to tell you - get it in writing and you can do an "I-told-you-so" that will burn for a good long time! (what's family for?)

squest

My average for 15,349 miles is 22.22 mpg. Sometimes the calculations are better than the mileage shown by the computer, but most times they are less than the numbers on the built in gas mileage computer. However, the distance traveled is always right with the computer numbers.
I live in a rural area, with a lot of hills. Much of my driving is 14 to 15 miles per trip.
I have tried preminum, and mid-grade. The best mileage seems to occur using regular.

ts60423

There is a lot of information online about the different grades of fuel.

Higher octane will not give you better gas mileage unless your vehicle calls for it, or unless your vehicle suffers from ignition problems. You also need to take into consideration whether or not your fuel has alcohol in it or not. Here in Southern Illinois, our 89 octane is cheaper than the 87. The alcohol added to the fuel to raise the octane is cheaper than gas, so lower price and higher octane.

Though the alcohol supposedly helps keep the engine and injectors cleaner and lowers emissions, it will also reduce your gas mileage. Your car will run better on pure gas, and raising the octane will only resolve engine ping.

There are too many factors to accuratly gage your mileage. Use your "instant" mileage to tell you what you are getting at that time, and use it to adjust your driving habits to increase your gas mileage. You would be amazed at some of the simple things you can do (or not do) to stop wasting gas and easily exceed the EPA mpg for your car.

garandman

The Quest will adjust to higher octane. Nissan gives horsepower ratings for both regular and high test. It's something like 242 on high test and 238 regular. I doubt the mileage would be any different unless you were working with extremely high load - fuel vehicel, roof box, hills or towing, and high speed. Even then you liekly wouldn't recoup the cost of the high test.

The alcohol added has lower energy than gasoline per unit volume, so it's not too surprising the mileage goes down.

wisblueyedgirl

Just returned from a 460 miles round trip to milwaukee, wisconsin....the Van consistantly got 27 MPG all highway driving. Not to bad for a van with 190,000 miles! love my van! looks great, runs great! very little work ever done to it except minor repairs! definately would recommend buying a nissan!

lukec

I just bought a used 1996 Ford/Windstar/GL/Mini-Van/3.8 L engine for my wife. We do not plan to register & get a tag & Insurance till the 1st of July.
My question is what type of gas miliage can we expect to have ?

ts60423

Isn't the Nissan Quest the same as a Mercury Villager?

jipster

Up until 2002 the Nissan Quest was the same thing as a Mercury Villager. In 2004 Nissan went solo.

fish8

We have about 1400+/- miles on our '05 T&C Touring and are getting almost 16mpg with mostly around town driving. Is this normal? How many miles does it take to "break in" this van/engine we love the van, but was hoping for a little better gas mileage. Heck, it's not much better than the tahoe we got rid of.

dennisctc

We have about 1400+/- miles on our '05 T&C Touring and are getting almost 16mpg with mostly around town driving. Is this normal? How many miles does it take to "break in" this van/engine we love the van, but was hoping for a little better gas mileage. Heck, it's not much better than the tahoe we got rid of.

I have 2005 DGC SXT with 4800 miles on it.

I'm not sure break in, but always thought it was about 10k miles? I'm getting about 19 driving round town, short trips etc.. From day one, I've been getting 24-25mpg on Highway.

marine2

We have about 1400+/- miles on our '05 T&C Touring and are getting almost 16mpg with mostly around town driving. Is this normal? How many miles does it take to "break in" this van/engine we love the van, but was hoping for a little better gas mileage. Heck, it's not much better than the tahoe we got rid of

I also have a 2005 DGC, 3.8 engine. I have around 4,500 miles on it. My first tank got 16.10. I go from that to around 18mpg city. Throw in a combination of city/highway driving and I can get a little over 19mpg. All highway, I can get a little over 26mpg.

I had also hoped to get better, but these are heavy vans and when I think about it, I didn't do much better in the city with my six cylinder Dodge Dakota and it was a lot lighter. Plus, I was never able to get over 20mpg on the Dakota on the highway.
City driving can kill mileage. Especially if your sitting at long lights or idling waiting for someone. The a/c also drags it down. See if you can time your lights better so your not stopping for a lot of them. Starting up from a dead stop is what really sucks up the gas in these heavy vehicles.

fish8

I am interested to see what kind of mileage we get when we go on vacation in July. We will drive around 350 miles from Atl to Fl. Hope to get in the mid 20's.

marine2

A little advise I read a few weeks ago. When driving the highway, try and use the cruise control as much as possible. But when climbing or decinding mountains, don't use the cruise control. Climbing the mountain will cause the vehicle to kick into a lower gear more than doing it yourself. Coming down, it sort of holds your engine back. Of course if it's a real winding road, keeping the cruise on going down, might be better. Just don't use it at all climbing.

richdebdan

Hi there , after reading your message about fuel consumption, i thought i would tell you about my sedona L.
We have now been a proud owners of a KIA SEDONA L, 2901cc Turbo Diesel Powered MPV, for 6 months, we love this vehicle to bits, its a joy to drive and travel in.
We live in the UK, recently we decided to go to Germany by road, total round trip of some 1500 miles, after the journey we decided to do a fuel check. after doing the calculations it worked out that we are getting 47.6mpg from this car. I feel that your mileage seems ever so low compared to ours.
Only had one problem with this car, and that is that the bottom radiator hose split causing it to loose all its cooling liquid, the engine magagment system kicked in and would not allow you to drive the car, as the throttle is what we call drive by wire, meening there is no throttle cable so you can not accelerate, it would only idle.
after replacing the hose we had terrible trouble replacing the lost cooling liquid,
Could not get the system bled, we have now learnt that there are two heater matrixes in the veh. the rear heater system was causing the system to air lock.There is a certain way to refill the cooling system, you must get the front end up higher than the rear to allow the air in the rear matrix to flow up and out otherwise the system will continually to blow all the water back out.
By the way this car is 2001 model with 40.000 miles on the clock.
This is a UK speck vehicle.

wiscy

New Sienna is great to drive but I'm concerned about the low mileage. We averaged 16MPG with the first tank that included 100 freeway miles. Part way through the second tank we seem to be getting 14MPG on this one with mainly city driving and climate control running. We use regular unleaded.

It only has 370 miles so some break-in is needed but I never expected mileage this low.

I just checked and tires (17" wheels) are all about 33psi when cold.

Any other owners see mileage this low on their new Sienna? BTW, anyone know how to clear the AVG mileage meter after each tank?

marine2

We live in the UK, recently we decided to go to Germany by road, total round trip of some 1500 miles, after the journey we decided to do a fuel check. after doing the calculations it worked out that we are getting 47.6mpg from this car. I feel that your mileage seems ever so low compared to ours.


I never heard of any minivan getting mileage like that. How did you get that reading?

dennisctc

I never heard of any minivan getting mileage like that. How did you get that reading?

He forgot to mention it was with 2 horses pulling him!!! :P

attilauy

Would conversion help? metric (kilometers per liter) vs English (miles per gallon)? This reminds me of the Mars explorer(?) that blew up because of metric and English problem by NASA rocket scientists!

If not, maybe you are right. But I suggest at least FOUR horses, the minivan is heavy heheheh.

hw4

Got the 05 XLE Limited AWD recently, the first two tank of gas got about 15-16 mpg mostly highway driving.

It is a bit dispointing since Toyata's claim is 18/24. But what the heck, as long as i do not smell fuel leaking.

It is good to know that mine is not the only one that has lower mpg.

marine2

Would conversion help? metric (kilometers per liter) vs English (miles per gallon)? This reminds me of the Mars explorer(?) that blew up because of metric and English problem by NASA rocket scientists!

That probably would do it. Better yet, the world could change from metric, instead of us having to change. That only seems fair.

dardson1

For some reason, people seem to believe Honda or Toyota can engineer a 2 ton+ minivan that can get to 60mph under 9 seconds and achieve econo-car milage. My 18 month experiment moving from an American gas-hog SUV to a PC (2001) and loaded-up Sienna, proved disappointing. I bought the pricey Japanese minvan for a reason. . .plenty of room with the promise of 19/24MPG. O/C as I am, I recorded every tank not relying on the trip computer but dividing miles by fuel purchased. Typically, I got 16ish in town and 20+ hwy. Funny thing, my current Tahoe that weighs 10% more gets 10% lower milage. I manage 15 around town and 19 hwy in my 5000lb SUV. Perhaps the laws of physics have not changed . . .moving a heavy vehicle around with plenty of power requires fuel. My curiousity is how Chevy gets such conservative numbers while Honda/Toyota manage very optimistic ones.

dudleyr

The 01 Sienna is not as efficient as the new body style. The new one gets 2-3 mpg better on the highway.

dtownfb

I would not be concerned about the low gas mileage on only your second tank. It took unitl 7-8k miles on my Quest for me to see 25-26 mpg on the highway. Each engine breaks-in differently. Some are lucky to see great gas mileage right out of the blocks. Others have to wait until 10k miles.

If you really want to be anal about this, get a small spiral notebook to keep in the glove compartment and record the mileage for each tank of gas. This is the most accurate way of keeping track of your gas mileage. I do it for my Quest and my Intrigue. I would not rely on the computer for your gas mileage.

partsman

Getting 18 city and 29 highway -sounds like all minivans get about the same mileage

marine2

I was getting about 18-21 mpg in combination city.highway driving, up till this last tank. Then I only got a little over 17.mpg. I now have to use the a/c full time here in Phoenix. Not sure if I will see any better until it cools down some.

garandman

bought the pricey Japanese minvan for a reason. . .plenty of room with the promise of 19/24MPG. O/C as I am, I recorded every tank not relying on the trip computer but dividing miles by fuel purchased. Typically, I got 16ish in town and 20+ hwy. Funny thing, my current Tahoe that weighs 10% more gets 10% lower milage. I manage 15 around town and 19 hwy in my 5000lb SUV. Perhaps the laws of physics have not changed . . .moving a heavy vehicle around with plenty of power requires fuel. My curiousity is how Chevy gets such conservative numbers while Honda/Toyota manage very optimistic ones.

Beats me. We have an 05 Nissan Quest with 9,600 miles on it. Average mpg for the first 6,200 miles was 22.4mpg. We recently got one tank of 25.5 and one of 26.5 (428 mi, 16.1 gal). Mostly highway, as you might imagine, at speeds of 75-80.

My experience is that a lot of SUV owners are in denial. I know two guys who both have Suburbans. One says he averages 16 mpg and gets 20 mog on the highway. The other one says he averages 12 around town, 16 on the highway and has never gotten higher than 18. Go figure.

ntbill

With 4000 miles on it, I got lot better mpg than this winter. When I bought it in February, I got 15 mpg on highway. Now, at about 4000 miles on it, I have between 23 and 26 mpg on highway. 26 mpg, can you imagine the difference with 15 mpg? It's a lot cheaper on fuel right now (compared to February) and I'm very happy.

stevedebi

"I never heard of any minivan getting mileage like that. How did you get that reading?"

1. Imperial gallons instead of US gallons?
2. Diesel engine, which is not available in the US.

wantecon

My 04 Sedona averages about 13-14 mpg. Once we got 17.49 mpg on a hwy trip. Can't imagine ever getting over 20. It's never happened. Did Kia inflate these numbers??? In all other aspects I love this van. I didn't buy it for economy but it would be nice to acheive the mpg that it's rated for. It only has 7,000+ miles on it. My husband put in 3-5 extra pounds in tires to see if it would make difference and for a while we removed one back seat (3rd row.) The seats are very heavy. That didn't matter either. The last fill up we got 12.57mpg . The A/C has been on a lot but that's still no excuse. My big 93 VW Eurovan got 18 with A/C use!! We now leave the van at home on the weekends and we take his 97 VW passat TDI which gets around 45 consistently. To me it's a big waste of a new vehicle that we bought for us and the kids. I wish diesels were available in the U.S. I hear oil prices are going to top out next year at $100/barrel. Already at $60/barrel. So as I look forward to $3 and $4/gallon gas prices in the future i will maybe look for a family vehicle that I can afford to drive.

dilbertzzz

run during the NBC Wimbledon coverage (Honda is the primary sponsor) asserted that the 2005 Odyssey had made a lot of improvements "and improved gas mileage" too. Obviously, they haven't been reading this forum!?! :confuse:

Either that or they meant that gas mileage was "improved" from the point of view of the oil companies! :P

jc9799

We have a new MPV, 2 weeks old.
On our first tank, I got about 18 1/2 mpg in combination city/hwy driving. I usually can get the ave. difference in city/hwy EPA estimates, so I'm hoping the MPV will give me about 21 combined after the engine loosens up a bit.
When the low fuel light came on, I drove the van probably another 30 miles. (Probably not smart not knowing how much reserve I had) When I did fill up, I found I was still about 2.5 gallons from empty.

jipster

hey jc9799...how about posting in, Mazda MPV:Prices Paid & Buying Experience?
Congrats on your wise purchase.

tamu2002

On our 2nd tank, we got 20 mpg for mostly highway driving. The number on the computer has been slowly going up from 19 mpg to now 20. Hope the upward trend continues.