By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
The EX is still impressive when I get a chance to drive it. I am glad we chose this van to replace our previous Grand Caravan.
I have 2002 Sedona EX, with sunroof & roof rack.
When driving over 70 MPH, wind noise gets somewhat bothering level.
Its not clear where it came from. I have tried removing cross bar in the roof rack, etc. Nothing really worked out.
I have heard about noise dampening materials sticking into inside door panels...etc. Have anyone tried this?
Recent trip from upstate NY to Birmingham Alabama was 2,800 miles in one week -- flawless.
The van has 2500 miles on it. I consistently get 17-18 MPG city.
No highway numbers yet.
Our 2002 EX has almost 13,000 miles. We are averaging about 19.5 mpg overall. That's on 87 octane. Typically 1-2 adults in the van with 100-400 pounds of other cargo (baby, dog, stuff). Our miles are just about 50/50 city/highway, and most of our tanks are some mix of both types. From what I can tell, on a straight highway tank we'd get about 23 mpg at 75mph. Straight city, we'd probably be around 16 mpg.
Otherwise, I'd seriously consider the possibility of a fuel leak that only occurs while the vehicle is operating (around the fuel pump, for example.) And that should be fixed tout de suite!!!
More oxygen should be good for fuel burn efficiency, but I'm not an expert. On the other hand, the denser air will create more drag on the vehicle surfaces, but not enough to notice in mpg unless 100mph is your cruise speed for sustained intervals. Obviously unlikely.
As for tire pressure, I imagine the drag created by 4700lbs of downward pressure on very under-inflated tires could have a dramatic impact. Not in this case, but nevertheless. I did recetly check mine over the weekend and they were between 30-32 cold all around so I fixed that.
Change gas brands? This is the time of year they change the gas formula. Unlikely, but worth a shot.
Finally, it seems to me that they should be able to monitor fuel flow and/or make sure the EFI is calibrated/functioning properly. That is computer controlled. This all off the top of my head without too much thought on the physics, so it's fwiw only.
mfbono, I'm not sure where you and your Sedona are located, but winter blend fuel is something to keep in mind. Still, your drop is too severe to be explained by winter blend fuel, plus you said it's been happening since September which means it occurred before winter blend fuels were even in the fuel pumps (unless you live in Alaska or something).
Steve, Host
In short, very little or no benefit to switching overdrive off during city driving. More trouble than it's worth, in my opinion.
Whether that accounts for a loss of 5-6mpg (assuming 16 city), I can't be certain, but we know it won't help.
As for O/D, in congested 30-50mph traffic, turning it off is probably a good idea (mass pike/128 on a good day, right?). It's also a good idea on hilly, windy roads, and/or poor traction conditions since the higher rpms will provide immediate engine compression braking/speed reduction when you release the accelerator pedal. Sometimes, a lower gear, like 3rd, is best for snow packed, modestly hazardous conditions.
bdaddy, your overdrive recommendation seems most sensible and concise. Wish I had said it that way myself.
If the traction is bad (sand, water, ice) neither brakes nor O/D are going to much matter, except ABS which will prevent wheels from locking up while trying to stop. When tires lock up, traction goes to zero and vehicle control is lost until another force is encountered. (With ABS, the tire continues to turn, which allows it to regain traction by momentarily alleviating the skidding condition that eliminates whatever traction is available between the tire and the road surface. I could be wrong, but in a skid, traction is replaced by friction only.
On the uphill, the increased RPMs will put the transmission nearer to its best torque range and without OD the vehicle will not shift away from that when still needed to get the load up the hill. That's where the gear hunting begins.
Traction is a direct function of tire and road surface, and speed. The gear in use by the transmission will have little to do with traction, per se.
Steve, Host
Consensus highway MPG seemed to be low to mid twenties (i.e. 21-24). Don't recall seeing much about straight city or overall figures.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host
The oil change occurred last weekend after 4 months and 1884 miles. Expect to post the lab results in a week or two. Using Supertech 10w-30 SL dino.
Soooo, we'll probably not make 9K by the one year anniversary, which means we could get 10 years out of the warranty.
Oh, and I only changed the oil b/c the weather was nice enough to fit it in. Who only knows when that'll happen again for awhile?
Our Sedona has logged 13,000 miles in its first 10 months, so we're on pace for 15-16k miles the first year. At that rate, we'll be out of powertrain warranty in 6-7 years.
"This oil was only in use about half the time of the previous oil, and wear is correspondingly
low. Nothing read very high in the last sample (considering it was a wear-in sample), and things look okay in this one as well. Wear and silicon should continue to drop as the engine breaks in. The viscosity was mildly low, reading more like a 5W/30, but we did not find any fuel, moisture, or
antifreeze that would have caused it. [Note: In case you're wondering what any means, the readings for these contaminants was officially zero.] It's not hurting anything, by any means. Check back next oil change to monitor wear. 3000 miles would probably be fine."
Meanwhile, there was an auction for a 2002 Sedona, with over 70,000 miles. Obviously, someone used "Buy it Now" and it is gone...but I found it in my "History" file.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1875085428&category=6289
We are going back to the dealer tomorrow and I think we will take the van. Are we in the ballpark price wise or should I try for a better deal?
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
Attitude: The van is great and I don't see million of them on the road like I do the Odyssey - I guess it's simply a self esteem thing. It makes me feel good to think - "I've got this great van and didn't pay nearly as much as you" type attitude. :-) Is it just me?
The other day I was at a gas pump and across from me was the owners of a Sienna and their's was a two tone - same color as mine. Well, I may have been imagining it, but I think they were jealously looking at my van (this stuff can really go to your head). My wife thought I was nuts after I told her that!
We are right at about 1950 miles and I have not been keeping track of the mileage, although I seem to filling up more than my previous '94 Plymouth Voyager. I will check back with mpg as now I keeping track and we are getting past that 2000 mile break-in stage.
Our previous Chrysler Town & Country with the 3.3l engine averaged 19.6 miles per gallon over the 96,000 miles that we drove it.
I hope our average goes up to the 17's somewhere by the time break in is complete but we are not arguing. So far we absolutely love the van.
$21,200 for EX with leather, ABS, delivery and power moonroof. Add tax and plates for a total of $23,000 out the door. I plan on giving them $3K cash and financing $20K - told them I'd pay 4% interest and they accepted.
Any comments on this deal? I had a tough time finding invoice pricing - edmunds lists N/A under invoice prices and the dealers numbers were lower then edmunds TMV so I didn't argue. Sound like I should go for it or do more negotiating? All thoughts appreciated.
$21,200 seems like a pretty decent price; hard for me to tell just how good without doing more research - which I don't plan to do, as I am already a Sedona owner! It's possible the dealer might go a couple/few hundred bucks lower, but not a whole lot.
Please clarify the options - leather, moonroof, and ABS. Does it have the rear spoiler or anything else? I'm assuming this van has an MSRP of just about $24,000.
Just to make sure - the $21,200 is an after-rebate price right? If the dealer is giving you a price of $22,200 before rebate on a $24k 2003 Sedona - that sounds pretty good to me.
Is there a trade-in involved in this deal? I'm also confused about the 4% thing - has the dealer agreed to provide 4% APR financing? That sounds pretty good.
At 16.5 mpg, your fuel economy is quite a bit worse than most other folks who have reported here. I hope you are doing mostly city driving or have a lead foot - those are the only things I can think of that explain the low number.
Me too!