Lincoln Aviator Real World MPG

stever

Please report on your Aviator mileage here.

Include your odometer reading, city/highway mix, driving style or anything else you think may help others compare their mpg with yours. Thanks!

Steve, Host

clarksalmo

I have an '04 with about 36000. Around town, I get about 12.7, straight highway I've gotten a best of 19.8 on a 1200 mile trip. With a city and highway mix of about 60/40 I average about 14.8. I do drive fairly aggressively.

mongo1

I have an'04 as well. Just got back from a 3500 mile roadtrip from Fla to Mass. Combined driving mileage was 19.8. This was averaged over a combination 2500 miles Interstate and 1000 miles local. I have towed with this vehicle several times with a 2000 lb. camper. Averaged 14.8 hwy and 10 local. My around town average is 14.8. Hope this helps.

mw3000

my mpg is about the same as previously noted, but i was curious if there is a computer chip availible that may increase this dismal #.

qx4speed

i have a 2003 Aviator and it averages 10 miles on local streets and about 15 on the highway.
I am really upset because i was misinformed about the information i received from LIncoln stating it gets 12 city/19 high way. LIE LIE LIAR!!! there should be a lawsuit for this.
Does anybody know if there is a way to disable just 2 cylinders to save on gas.In that way it runs as a V6. is is possible btw ?

mw3000

I get the 12 or so city. while you get 10 are you running premiem gas (91)?. And disabling 2 cylanders seems to me like a bad idea. if it was a proven fix everyone would know about it and do it. These SUV's are pigs on fuel!

tidester

disable just 2 cylinders

It may be possible but the rods and crankshaft aren't designed to handle such an off-balance load.

GM, Honda and Chrysler have "displacement on demand" in some of their vehicles using a sophisticated variable cylinder management system with redesigned drivetrains. It's not just a simple matter of disabling a couple of cylinder!

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

akirby

You were not misinformed - you misinterpreted the information. The EPA estimate is done by the EPA per the EPA test cycle developed by and administered by the EPA. Ford/Lincoln has absolutely nothing to do with it other than providing the vehicle. If you read the sticker carefully you'll see that the EPA estimates are not necessarily indicative of the MPG you will experience. That depends entirely on your driving environment and driving style.

racerx8

Hey gang,
I average 14-15mpg around town and if you're doing a lot worse than this I'll tell you what I've done to bring it up. As you know there's not a lot of aftermarket parts for a car they just made for 3 years but I did a couple of easy ones to increase mileage.

First check tire pressure, get nitrogen in them if you don't have a compressor, nitrogen bubbles are larger and don't leak out like air does, so you have to check less often. Even a couple of pounds off can reduce mpg by 10 percent.

K&N air filter, will help the engine breath a lot better, this along with Zmax engine treatment has given me 3mpg increase in all the vehicles I've tried the combo with (last car was a 99 Vette and got the same increase). Also if you're in a hot climate like me I'd grab water wetter as well, this reduces the surface tension of the fluid in the radiator so your engine runs cooler, which is always a good thing. When changing the air filter, get a can of mass air flow sensor cleaner and use it at the same time. If that gets dirty (and few mechanics clean that during normal service) your power and mileage can pay the price.

On the flip side, avoid those cans of fuel treatments that claim to increase MPG, there's nothing wrong with a name brand fuel injector cleaner, and if you've got some miles on the vehicle I'd grab a bottle of that also, but Zmax comes with it so pass on it if you're getting that anyway, it will be in the box. If you're due for an oil change soon, get it done and ask them put the Zmax in at the same time, and odds are they will check the air filter, so if you have that they will pop that in at the same time.

The total for these things are about $100 and with todays gas prices it's short money. Takes about 20 minutes to do with a screwdriver. I have seen a Superchips tuner for the 2004's but I've used these in my Lincoln Town car and also the Vette, and they increase power a little and reduce MPG by about 2 so be warned.

quemfala

It's interesting that anyone would believe that a 310 hp V-8 engine, in essentially a "truck", could hope to achieve high mileage numbers. I think that it's a 5-speed transmission and because it's a "truck" isn't geared for economy. Newer SUV's now have 6 or 7 speed trannys. A vehicle that I had been lusting after had been the Cadillac SRX. 320 hp, good torque and 6-speed tranny. Even that shows manufacturers numbers of 13 city and 20 hwy.

If I ever would have feelings of "guilt" or needing to be "green", my solution is to let my wife drive. She betters my numbers by about 15%. I get 12 & 16 while she gets 15 and 19 or 20. That was in Florida -- no hills! All bets are off if you start climbing the mountains north of N.C. and into Virginia, West Virginia and Pa.

One other thing that we will do occassionally is to mix the octanes at the pump. I believe that LIncoln recommends 91 octane, you can mix the grades and arrive at 91 octane and save a few pennies.

Good Luck!

Life is Better at the Beach!

geasea

the aviator has a SVT motor, you can't cut off two spark plugs that is NONSENSE. look under the hood, it is what a cobra had...... it is backed off to 285hp from much more. I doubt a chip will help or just reprogram the one you have but keep the original program... a K&N works marginally if you keep your foot out of it. Wives get 2 miles per gallon better or at least .7 in an aviator. 89 octane works fine, I have never used 91 in 45000 miles. Nitrogen in your tires does not lighten the wheel but does keep deflation from happening. So my toyota tundra with 381 HP does get 1 mile per gallon more than the aviator but with 6 speed tranny and a couple of years technology and non AWD in 2wd you win. Rolling resistence of the AWD cuts off more than a mile per gallon. Drive slower, stick on the hiway, or don't drive, you still have a lincoln. I always found myself driving it slower like an old man's muscle car. My ford 150 had the whole K&N cold air and duals and got scary with power (like the toyota is) but was 11 MPG. Since I don't get free navy planes to fly anymore I do like to stomp the gas for 5 bucks or so and hear a real motor. The Aviator and Toyota Tundra do sound like a Nascar. No muffler replacement needed, just hear the internals.

medic8

With a K&N air filter and a magnaflow cat-back dual exhaust I get 19 to 23 on the freeway. (23 if there is no head-wind and I am driving about 65-70)20 or less if driving 80 or driving into the strong Oklahoma winds on the way back to Houston.
2003 2WD Aviator.

notessharp

Driving around nyc I'm getting 11.1 mpg. When i first got the vehicle i was getting 10.1 for a year and a half. I tried the lucasgas treatment and it boosted it to 12.5 mpg for a week,after that it went back down to 10.1. After changing my spark plugs to some brand new motor crafts,I'm no getting 11.1mpg,and its been a good three months now. Hey,something is beer than nothing.