Taurus/Sable MPG-Real World Numbers

PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
edited April 2014 in Ford
With the price of fuel being what it is, the mileage you're getting is becoming more important. This is the place to discuss the mileage performance you're getting out int he real world.
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Comments

  • tkfitztkfitz Member Posts: 95
    in a 93 sedan with almost 200k miles. Do the wagons use a lot more gas? Might be buying one soon. I believe recent Taurus (sedans) should give at least 28 to 29 mpg.
    Highway mpg,of course.
  • beancounterbeancounter Member Posts: 31
    2000 Merc Sable w/ Vulcan V6 and 170K miles: I can squeeze out 29 mpg on the hiway using 93 octane. 28 mpg was the max I could get on 89 oct. The extra 1 mpg offsets the .10 difference in gas price. I had the entire fuel sys cleaned by my mechanic at 90K. Other than that, I really haven't spent any additional money on fuel additives. The major gas companies all advertise that stuff is already in their gas, and they adjust those additives from season to season.

    My best fuel mileage is during the Spring & Fall. Summer a/c drags down the mpg, but what are the reaons for poorer mileage during the Winter months? Is it the change in viscosities of all the different fluids and grease which in turn create more resistance on moving parts?
  • yustasyustas Member Posts: 31
    Went on the round trip, New Jersey-Boston-new Jersey, 490 miles total. All highway, cruise control on 65, regular gas. Car: 2000 Ford Taurus sedan with Duratec 3liter engine and 100000 miles on it. Got 29 MPG, which is pretty good, I think.
  • alexhenryjalexhenryj Member Posts: 4
    I also have a 1999 Taurus. I have the Luxury/Sport combination package that I bought in July '04 used with 89,000. With 137k on it now, I must say I am fully impressed with the mileage. I average right around 27mpg. I do drive like I'm running from the police though. Also, anyone else notice that the book says a 16gallon tank? I've never gotten close, the light come on I fill to 12 gallons, also, I've ran out of gas and then filled it with 14.

    There is an after market Ipod part which goes from the charging port of the ipod to the inputs of the cd-player, I haven't purchased it as I am a poor college student.

    -Alex :P
  • blaze07blaze07 Member Posts: 10
    Wow, you people are lucky. I have a 2000 Taurus SES with the Duratec engine, and I'm lucky to get 18mpg on the highway. I average 13 around town! I've replaced the air filter, put additives in the tank, I don't know what else to do. I am not a lead foot either. Maybe I'm just that lucky.
  • mdhtter256mdhtter256 Member Posts: 1
    I've been able to figure out my mileage. Sine my 1999 Taurus has a 12gallon gas tank I always fill up the tank as soon as I get the refuel light to come on or when the gauge is in the middle of the quarter tank mark. I basically use up 11gallons. With that I average about 222miles per fillup. My car has almost 111,000 miles on it. When I first got it, it had 89K miles. For the first few months I had it I was getting about 180miles per fillup. When I got the spark plugs changed, new fuel filter, and used chevron techron fuel additive my mileage increased to what I get now. I always change my oil filter and aif filter everytime I get an oil change. I also use the higher mileage oil.
  • waggiecamwaggiecam Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1997 Ford Taurus that is only getting an average of 14 miles to the gallon. I was going to replace the coil, plugs, and wires since the power is really going downhill as well. Do you all recommend that I replace those three items or what should I replace to boost my power and gas mileage? Also when I am idling or just start my car I have to at times rev my engine to keep it from stalling.
  • gman23gman23 Member Posts: 1
    I have an '04 SES with the DuraTec and get great mileage. The best I've gotten is just over 33...driving 55-60 back and forth to work on interstate but a little town driving. I consistently get over 28 and this spring without A/C been getting 30. I don't push it hard which makes a big difference.
  • trick29392trick29392 Member Posts: 2
    Any good easy to find additives anyone would recommend to help the mpg on a 2002 Sable? It's pretty poor, but then again I'm not expecting amazing performance I drive it pretty hard.
  • vito98103vito98103 Member Posts: 1
    My '97 has 130,000 miles and I regularly get 28-30 mpg on the highway, 24 overall.
    Getting 18-20 means something is very wrong: ARCO gas? (run a bottle of Techron through it - then Chevron regular), air filter, tire pressure, cheap oil?
    It's a nice car -- comfortable, good mileage and reliable and not expensive to buy or own (if I want to go fast I'll fire up the Ducati and suck the paint off just about anything on 4 wheels) - it's just a good basic car - no complaints
  • jmn1jmn1 Member Posts: 26
    I had a 99 Sedan, which got 9 MPG city.

    My 2001 SES Sedan gets 20/23, which, is not very good in my opionion.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Any new owners there to report back on real-world mileage with the new 3.5?
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Mixed driving with 60% Hwy and 40% town, I'm averaging about 22 mpg. Road Trip with 100% hwy was in the 26 to 27 mpg range. Only 1,500 miles on the car so not broken in yet. Should improve I would think.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    I'd hope so, since this is slightly below EPA. Thanks for your feedback, keep it coming!
  • desertrat5desertrat5 Member Posts: 85
    We have an AWD Limited. With only 1500 miles on it we are running 17-20 in town and 23-25 on the road. I suspect it will improve some - the engine seems to still be loosening up and providing more power. Hopefully that will translate into improve mileage provided we keep our respective lead feet under control.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    With AWD, those numbers sound right about where the EPA has them, I believe. The FWD version is listed at 18/28.
  • 777guy777guy Member Posts: 3
    We have a 2008 Sable with about 600 miles on it.. So far, I have gotten 22 and 24 mpg on two tanks. This is pretty disappointing to me even though the car's not broken in yet. The sticker said 28 hwy and I have a feeling that's never going to happen.

    By comparison, I rented a 2008 Milan two weeks ago and drove it pretty hard for three days. The Milan only had 20 miles on it when I picked it up.. When I checked the milage on that car it beat the sticker giving me 27 mpg.

    On a brighter note; I love the car. I handles well, rides well and I love the "Sync." Don't count on 28 mpg hwy as it probably isn't going to happen unless you happen to like driving @ 45 mph.. :mad:
  • godaddy1godaddy1 Member Posts: 15
    Ok. Some facts are needed here.

    What was your mix of city & highway?
    Do you cruise at 80 mph on highway?
    Are you an aggressive drier?
    Are you in a state where gas has higher concentration of ethanol?

    Nothing like buried the car on mpg issue before 1000 miles logged onto it. :confuse:
  • 777guy777guy Member Posts: 3
    Sure,

    95% of this driving was done on the highway @ 70 mph. All of the highway driving occurred with the cruise control engaged.... No ethanol in this part of Texas.

    The fist tank where I got about 24 mpg occurred in the flat lands and the second tank was in the Hill country going up and down some reasonably steep hills.
  • dmers1dmers1 Member Posts: 8
    We have had our 2008 Sable Premier FWD for 3 months now w/ 7000 miles. We made the change from Grand Marquis's (4) over the past 22 years to the new revised Sable in order to get a lot of good technology that was not offered in the G.M. cars (such as ESC, in-dash GPS, Satellite radio, Voice Sync, etc) The car rides good, but not like the last 2000 Grand Marquis LS w/ 131K on it. I think Ford did the best they could with FWD and torque steer is minimal. I miss RWD, but my wife wanted a bit smaller car so here we are. Most other FWD drives have poor back seat room such as Camry, Nisson, and others. I would have to buy a BMW 740i or Mercedes S series to get a RWD vehicle close to this car’s interior room. The seats are 3" higher off the ground which make entry much more ergonomic for us 57 year olds and much better for my wife's folks_ 84.

    Power is quite good for a V-6, 260 HP and it shifts very smooth with the 6 speed Automatic. The oil filter is located in a pretty good spot and I use my drive up ramps using 5W-20 oil every 7500 miles. I changed at 2500 the first time to get factory grit out of the engine as I tend to keep cars quite a long time. This car starts every time and never misses no matter what temperature__4-8 degree mornings for us.

    The only problem, I had was an out of adjustment cruise control switch on the brake pedal that would kick out the cruise occasionally. I took it to a nearby Ford dealer for a quick fix and that was it. I did buy the extended 6 year/100K mile warranty since I still remember the $1800.00 Sun visors that went bad with Home-Link/Visor lights wiring shorts that wiped out the Digital Dash (which I miss). I had the mechanic wire around for $80 each time on each visor instead, to bypass the visors. I will know more about this car in about 100K miles.

    The room in this car is phenomenal, especially in the rear seats and the trunk is large, though space is awkward, but still handles large suit cases for international travel quite well. The courtesy lights on this car are great and the interior controls grow on you after awhile. The plug-ins are plentiful for our Radar Detector, phone charger Fr/Rr, ipod, etc.

    This is the car Ford/Mercury is pushing as they neglect the Grand Marquis design. The price was quite good with $3000 rebates and trade. We ordered and waited 2 months to get the Sage color we wanted w/ Camel interior and light plastic wood.

    I feel this car is the precursor for the upcoming Lincoln MKS, which has a better looking C pillar, dished out chrome wheels, and a few more gadgets. My wife did not like the front end of that car on the websites we viewed. Our car had every option except the rear DVD player and it has plenty of toys to play with. We get quite a few compliments on the color and look of the car as they tried to make it look closer to the smaller Milan (mileage is not much better on the Milan than with the larger Sable).

    Overall, I would recommend this car to anyone who drives a lot of miles and hauls 3-4 people often, as well as drives it to work daily. I regret buying the extended warranty, but for the overall price I feel good about the purchase as this car goes to Chicago quite often (600 mile trips)

    Our mileage: We normally drive on Interstates about 65-75+ MPH regularly and do some town driving. I select regular gas w/o ethanol to avoid the 2-3 mpg loss, which I have tested. The weather is now cold in Southern Illinois which also cost about 1-2 MPG. If I keep my foot out of it, mileage does go up about 1-2 MPG.

    We get about 23-26 MPG on trips and 18-20 MPG going to work__5 miles away. (not much better than what we got on the 2000 Grand Marquis)

    Good Luck to all.
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Nice review. I got my 08 Taurus about the same time as you and have 6,500 miles on it. I live in Iowa so similar terrain and temperatures. I do use ethanol(never go much above a 10% blend) and my mileage has been the same as yours. As a matter of fact I never really get much under 20 in town.

    Zero problems with my car so far. The only thing I wish it had was a telescoping steering wheel like my Honda van has. I really like Auto Climate control on these cars.
  • dmers1dmers1 Member Posts: 8
    Yes, I agree on a need for a simple Tilt/Telescoping steering wheel vs the el-cheapo tilt it now has. I feel Telescoping steering will be on most cars eventually; it will take about as long of time as it took to get intermittent windshield wipers. "Bean Counters" at work.

    For a Ford, the heat does come on pretty quick, especially w/heated seats; and the Dual side/Auto temp is great...my wife can run the temp just as hot as she wants on her side. The fans are quiet.

    For perfection on the 08 Sable for me, it needs good telescoping/tilt steering wheel, get 2-3 more MPG, heated/AC front/rear seats, a little more work on interior sound noise--noisy Pirelli tires and wind, better looking c-pillar and dished wheels__ I am not crazy about the chrome truck wheels Ford likes to use on its cars. We have the 18 inch chrome. I guess Ford wants me to buy an 09 Lincoln MKS.

    Otherwise, the car is enjoyable to drive and has plenty of power when I need it. To me interior room is a luxury most cars do not have. I feel Quality Control is right at excellent. This car is about 3 years too late. This car is a well kept secret. Ford must be still unloading Montegos/500s to not be advertising this car.
  • 777guy777guy Member Posts: 3
    PF Flyer sums the car up pretty good. At 2200 miles on the meter, I'm getting 18-20 mpg around town/ 22-24 mpg on the road. There are a lot of things that I like about the car, too many to mention here.

    The one thing I hate about the car is that the coat hanger hooks are just too small to work well. When I go to pick up my cleaning, I usually wind up hooking the hangers around the head rest to keep them off the floor.

    :shades:
  • capellacapella Member Posts: 20
    We drove around 900 miles recently through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois -- almost all 4 lane, limited access highways, generally going between 62 and 66 MPH. The trunk was fully loaded and there were 4 people in the car. I do not drive with a heavy foot and I use cruise control when I can.

    We left during very cold, clear, windy weather (it was 20 below Fahrenheit), and for a while the mileage (according to the trip computer) was around 23 MPG. As it warmed up, the mileage improved, so that by the time we reached our destination, the average MPG was around 25-26 MPG for the first 450 mile leg.

    The mileage on the way back was better. The weather was warmer, and there wasn't much of a headwind. For one stretch (150+ miles) in fairly flat country we got over 30 MPG (I verified this with the odometer reading and gas used between fill ups). As the weather turned colder and the country became more hilly, the car got between 27-28 MPG.

    Mileage in town is nothing great (16-20 MPG), but we live where it's quite hilly. Also, the weather has been cold so that doesn't help.

    The car has under 2500 miles on it now (after the trip). Perhaps the mileage will improve as the car breaks in and as the weather warms up. But so far it's been what I expected.

    Anyway, it looks to me as if the new EPA estimates (18/28) are pretty accurate if you don't drive with a heavy foot.

    The Taurus has a big enough trunk that we could fit a snowboard and a pair of skiis and 3 large suitcases, a large duffel, another duffel, and other stuff in it. The car is a great highway cruiser and it doesn't get blown around much if there's crosswinds. My wife reports that it handles well in the snow.

    Incidentally, I have noticed that really cold weather causes mileage to dive no matter what the car. I recently rented a Nissan Versa for a week and it got less than 18 MPG (mainly in town) during a deep cold snap (EPA estimate is around 26 MPG city). You have to warm up the car, and the heater always is going, and the car has to work so hard during cold conditions.
  • walterquintwalterquint Member Posts: 89
    The Taurus's mileage is clearly disappointing. Sure, it's a massive FWD car with many features. However, it should easily pull 30mpg hwy, and 20 overall. It does not.

    Point is, it should get at least 15 percent better mileage than the antique Crown Vic. Not too much to ask.
  • capellacapella Member Posts: 20
    >>Point is, it should get at least 15 percent better mileage than the antique Crown Vic. Not too much to ask.<<

    I think it does do that much better, and then some. The EPA estimates for the 2008 Grand Marquis are 15/23. 18/28 for the Taurus/Sable certainly is 15 percent better that that, isn't it? And depending on your mix of city/highway driving, 20 MPG overall easily is attainable.
  • 0311vn0311vn Member Posts: 47
    Desertrat: I don't think with modern car engines there is any 'break in' factor as there was said to be when I was a kid in the '60s. (Have you ever read anything what you term "loosening up" of an engine?) I suspect that AWD will get less fuel mileage than two wheel drive. I see you live in Colorado Springs. My Focus radiator fan unit went out while I was in Colorado Springs en route home in 06. I ended up spending several days in Colorado Springs while my Focus was at Phil Long Ford. I would like to believe that Phil Long Ford did the right thing for me, but that $670. bill for a radiator fan unit had me wondering if they did me right or did me in.

    My wife and I have Colorado Springs on our B list for possible relocation sites from San Diego, if we ever decide to leave here. CO has plenty of good driving country. Last time there were discovered Pagosa Springs where we stopped for a soak.

    Is AWD that much of a plus when driving on snow? How does it handle different on dry pavement? I've never had AWD. Feel free to contact me via private email if you like... Al
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    Replying to 0311vn #32: I live near Denver, and I'd say AWD is occasionally useful, but front-FWD with our standard traction control is plenty good enough on snow and ice. On dry or even wet pavement, AWD has almost no benefit.

    I have an '05 Freestyle with FWD and love it. Remember AWD drops your MPG and also lowers your acceleration. This forum will answer the question if the newer TaurusX and Taurus owners are getting as good MPG as I have now. In comparison, with virtually the same vehicle (Freestyle vs. new TaurusX), it looks like the old V6 with CVT tranny gets a couple more MPG than the TaurusX, although these new whipper-snapper hotshots get 23% more power (205hp vs. 260 hp). In this time of high gas prices, I'm happy to get better MPG and live with 205hp, 0-60 times of 8.5 seconds, vs. 260hp and 7.5 seconds for the newcomers.
  • coldcrankercoldcranker Member Posts: 877
    0311vn: About my direct experience with Phil Long Ford service dept., I have gradually noticed that they are not ethical. Also, a friend of mine at work as that opinion. Your suspicions abut Phil Long may be true. Phil Long has many dealerships across many brands near Denver/ColoradoSprings, and they are powerful, with questionable service dept. tactics.
  • 7milehi7milehi Member Posts: 28
    Is anyone really getting 28 or better MPG in the 2008 Taurus? I put about 30k miles a year on my auto mostly interstate driving at 70-75mph. I like the 08 Taurus but MPG is getting important with gas headed to $4 a gal.
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Actually on my last tank, I was running right at 28 mpg with 3/4 of the tank burned, but then got into town with stop and go and it dropped down to about 26 by the time I filled up.

    It looks to me like the warm spring weather is definitely helping. City driving sucks the mpg down fast. If you drove nonstop on the hwy, I think you'd see 28 pretty easy.
  • ronsmith38ronsmith38 Member Posts: 228
    I have only a little over 800 miles on my 2008 Sable, and am getting a little over 20 mpg with mostly town driving. These cars (Taurus/Sable) seem to be very sensitive to the "heavy foot" syndrome, especially around town. Consumers Report only got 12 mpg with their tested 2008 Taurus. The tester must have had a very heavy foot.
  • 7milehi7milehi Member Posts: 28
    I rented a 08 Taurus SEL yesterday from Hertz. I proceeded to the nearest gas station to completely fill the tank even though it was showing full. After the 3rd auto cut-off and 2.4 gal. later I was sure I had a full tank. I then drove the Taurus for 171 miles and re fueled prior to returning the car. I again went to the 3rd auto cut-off when re fueling and it was 5.52 gallons added.

    This gave 30.8 miles per gallon, needless to say I was impressed. 90% of those 170 miles were interstate driving at 70mph with no heavy acceleration at any time.
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    Just returned from an over 4500 mile trip west from Wisconsin to Denver, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, the Tetons, Yellowstone, the Black Hills and home.

    Our 2000 Taurus with Duratec, for the whole trip averaged 27.6 miles per gallon. Best leg was just under 31 mpg across Wyoming. Worst was 24.5 which was mostly Denver city driving and a jaunt up to Central City. There was a substantial mix of stop and go siteseeing and semi-mountain driving, of course in and around Yellowstone and the Black hills. On the freeway legs of the trip, we generally kept speed at 70, though occasionally ran at 75.

    The Taurus drove well, with no problems, and I am still pleased with it, now at almost 74,000 one owner miles.
  • jontyreesjontyrees Member Posts: 160
    "The tester must have had a very heavy foot. " - or he left the emergency brake on!

    Couple k miles in here on a 2008 Taurus FWD Ltd, and I'm seeing ~22mpg in mixed city driving, (stretches of highway, some stop'n'go, some short trips around the 'burbs), 27.5mpg at 76mph on flat freeway, ~24mpg at 83mph on flat freeway. All with the a/c on - this is Texas and it's hot already.

    I'd have to drive like I just robbed a bank to get 12mpg
  • desertrat5desertrat5 Member Posts: 85
    Hi Al,

    We bought the AWD because of the 2006-2007 winter here in the Springs. Of course we bought the after the winter was over and this past winter was not nearly as severe. So I don't have many words about AWD in the Taurus. Our other vehicle is a 2005 Lexus RX330 with AWD and I can say that during that bad winter I was very happy to have it.

    I have two issues with the Taurus - one is the fuel economy even tho the car performs as advertised. The other is the driving position. I cannot find a position that is long term comfortable. If I get the seat and peddles adjusted for arm comfort my right leg is mashed agains the console. If I move the seat further aft to get my right leg comfortable then my arms become uncomfortable. A telescoping wheel would fix the problem.

    Other than that the car is great - roomie, quiet, tight, responsive - and trouble free so far. So I have not had to test Phil Long's maintenance facilities for other than LOF etc.

    Colorado Springs is a beautiful place - the air is relatively clean, the people are friendly, and the scenery is outstanding. But the wind does blow and it does get cold in the winter. And the other thing that most people don't realize - it is fairly far above sea level - we live at about 6700 feet. If you or yours has any issue with the heart or lungs - try it before you buy it!
  • capellacapella Member Posts: 20
    Yes, you can get 28 mpg with the Taurus.

    We just got back from a 1200 mile road trip in Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. It was mainly highway driving at around 65 mph, but we also drove maybe 100 miles in cities, including some rush hour stop and go, and for a few hours we were driving over 70 mph in order to make a deadline. Had headwinds coming and going!

    Even with all of that, we got 28.2 MPG for the trip. The car was very comfortable -- it's a fine highway cruiser with lots of room.

    If you drive conservatively, 20-22 mpg in town and 30 mpg on the road is doable.
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    I hope the guy at Ford who made the decision to not have telescoping steering in the Taurus and the Focus is the one of the first to get laid off this summer.

    The MKS has electric tilt/telescoping steering. I hope a manual telescoping will make it into the new Taurus.

    Mark
  • rogerb34rogerb34 Member Posts: 30
    87 Sable Vulcan 29 mpg freeway. 18 around town.
    05 Sable Duratec 30 28/18.
    Vulcan is a 9.3/1 compression ratio. Means it won't efficiently use 93 octane.
    Duratec 05 is 10.5/1 and it will efficiently use 93 octane. Not worth the premium price.
    Duratec computer (PCM) will map timing for octanes 93, 89 or 87.
    MPG freeway depends on speed. Drag increases as the square of speed.
    Ex. 6 squared = 36, 7 squared = 49. Drive at or below limits will improve mpg vs warp. Inflate cold tires to cold tire AUTO manufactuer recommendations. MPG will vary seasonally due to use of ethanol in gasoline. E10 max unless FFV.
    Upstream oxygen sensors determine how much fuel is injected. They are consumables and should be changed at 100k miles or when mpg decays. 95 and newer OBDII may have two upstream of the cats and two downstream. Upstream are critical to mpg. I recently replaced upstream bank 2 (front) 05 Sable for $42. Bank 1 is difficult but I will do if necessary. Based on Car Chip voltage and fuel trim readings.
  • ronsmith38ronsmith38 Member Posts: 228
    One of the 2008 Sable reviews on this site by a new owner indicated the digital gas mileage read-out was about 4 mpg higher than what he calculated. Has anyone else experienced this on the Sable or Taurus?
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Not on mine. It's right on or if anything slightly under what I get for actual mileage. I track closely because I use the car for work.
  • capellacapella Member Posts: 20
    On our '08 Taurus the digital readout is very close too.
  • 7milehi7milehi Member Posts: 28
    I know some will try to argue but on average I'm getting 4-5mpg less when using ethanol blended fuel in my 08 Taurus. For a while I kept wondering why my mpg would vary so much driving basically the same route and driving style. Then I started to pay attention where I was buyuing my fuel and here are my facts. When filling up with 10% ethanol gas I will get between 21.5 - 24 mpg. When filling up with non-ethanol gas my mpg will be between 26 - 29 mpg. This is based on 8 tank fills, I now avoid ethanol blended gas.
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    I track my mileage closely and have found that ethanol takes 1 mpg off on average and maybe 2 at most(that's at 10% blend). Usually gas with ethanol is cheaper to buy so I think it's a wash going either way. I think it's a small price to pay for cleaner exhaust coming out of your tail pipe.
  • mdennishmdennish Member Posts: 16
    I can get 30mpg at 75mph on level ground with the cruise control on.
    I achieved 32 mpg on a Interstate with a downhill grade.
    I get 28mpg going up grades and on winding roads
    Allof these mpg's where with 1 passenger and 2 suitcases.
    I have not checked the mpg in the city as of yet.
  • pilotcar_dougpilotcar_doug Member Posts: 2
    Have you had your 0-2 sensors checked? Autozone (and others?) will check your codes - maybe give you a hint on the stalling (which my '87 wagon did at times - but I didn't know what to do at the time). I drive about 80K per year for my job - I will post separately on that subject and my fuel mileage. Generally, replacing the air cleaner will help power, and what you have done should help, but 14 mpg seems very low to me - I get between 18-22 mpg fully loaded (4200# GVW) with a 12" x 60" sign mounted on my roof at 55-70 mph driving hard on my '96 with the 3.0 12-valve.
  • pilotcar_dougpilotcar_doug Member Posts: 2
    I have owned both an '87 wagon and a '96 sedan (both 3.0 12-valve)

    '87: Bought with 34K, sold with 165K. Used this one a lot as a family car (4 kids) to here, there, everywhere, and back again. Averaged 23-24 mpg and when I took the car on business trips, 28-29.98 (never could break 30!) Had the same stalling problem as on other post here - never got it fixed.

    '96: Bought with 93K, at 107K started a Pilot Car business with this car (what I had at the time). Started out (with a 12" x 60" sign on top of my roof to add wind resistance) getting about 24 mpg running about 3 car lengths behind an oversize load. The shock came when I started leading the load - down to 18-22 mpg! Returning home with the sign down got me around 25-26. I added a 'Condensator' to my PCV line, which takes the heavy oils out of the PCV stream to the intake manifold and keeps the engine from having to burn them (bad for mileage). Hard to tell how much it improved things. Then I started using 3 oz. of acetone per 10 gals of fuel, which I feel increased mileage about 7-8% (in an actual non-scientific test). Switched to synthetic oil, 20W50 Castrol. New results: about the same with the load, but better 'deadheading' (driving without the sign up) get around 25.5-27.5 with the lowered sign on my roof and between 29-32.5mpg with the sign stowed inside the car. I keep my tires inflated to 34-36 psi, use cruise when I can, and carry lots of stuff with me (4200# gross weight with me inside). I now have over 284K and still running strong. . . . brag, brag, I know
  • rogerb34rogerb34 Member Posts: 30
    The reason Ford products do not excel at mpg is CD = Coefficient of Drag.
    For example, my 05 Sable LSP Duratec 30 V6 weighs 3,360 lbs and has a CD of .32.
    A Ford Fusion 4 cyl weighs 3,320 lbs and has a CD of .33.
    A Toyota Camry LE 4 cyl, weighs 3,280 lbs and has a CD of .28.
    It is very expensive to reduce drag. Drag ranks no 2 behind engine friction as a gasoline consumer.
    If you want to increase mpg significantly current car, slow 5 mph or at least not more than speed limit.
  • woodturnerwoodturner Member Posts: 2
    I have been using acetone for six months. My best mileage with acetone has been 38 mpg on a 420 mile trip. I drive 55 mph. My car is a 2007 ford taurus. I average 30-32 mpg city and highway. I think I can get as much as 40 mpg on the same trip,420 miles. I am going to try it a month from now.
    I am a retired mechanic and have been very happy with using acetone in my car. It runs great using 2-3 ounces of acetone with every 10 gallons of regular,87 octane.
    No 10% ethanol gas. Using gas with ethanol will cost you 2-3 mpg.
    Ethanol is not good on any car or truck unless it is a flex fuel. All parts of a flex fuel car or truck are made to handle ethanol.
    Ray
  • woodturnerwoodturner Member Posts: 2
    You are using to thick of oil. 5-w-20 and if you run 0-w-20 synthetic it would be the best.You engine has small oil holes. It also takes more horse power to move 20-w-50 oil, even if it is synthetic.

    Ray
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