Jeep Commander Real World MPG

stever

"Over the course of 6,500 miles, 90 percent of them on freeways, the vehicle is averaging 14.4 mpg. Combine this with the 18 gallon fuel tank and you're lucky to get 260 miles between fill ups."

2006 Jeep Commander -- Passing Too Much Gas

Please let us know how your Commander is doing on gas. Additional info, such as your odometer reading, city/highway mix, driving style, etc. will also help others compare their mpg to yours. Thanks,

Steve, Host

papagreg

I'll let you know as I go along. The first tank gave me 15.7. Bit I only have about 350 miles on it so far. Once I get into 1000 miles plus I'll have a much better idea.
I do like this site.

jeeptonkatoy

Hey i have just bought a new jeep commander and on a average i am getting 15.4 miles to the gallon. witch is pretty good i think for around town. I haven't taken it on the hywy yet but it is going to the beach and mountains and disney before the end of the year so i will let you no how it does on the hywy.

jaguarjefft

My gas milage sucks. I get 12.7 on the highway going on cruise 60mph, 11.2 combined and 9.8 in the City. I have the Hemi 5.7 with the multi-displacement engine. I have filed a complaint with the FTC and am now filing a claim on the California Lemon Laws. Chrysler claims that it is my driving habits and not the engine. I am a cautious conservative driver and use my cruise control constantly. May be there is a class action that can be had against Chrysler

ed108

At 11,500 miles I am getting about 14 highway, 12 city, driving fairly conservatively, 65-70 MPH hwy. I think mine is pretty low given the 14/18 EPA rating.

Please update us on your suit.

jdsindy72

My mpg has been far below the sticker of 14/18 (have the 5.7L Hemi). Since purchasing in March, my combined city/highway mpg has averaged between 10.7 - 11.8, about 1/2 of my driving per tank being highway (and we don't have a lot of traffic in Indianapolis).
In the last month, I took two trips, one about 180 mi., all highway, the other, about 250 mi., all highway. The first, I fueled up with 89 octane, and got 16.7 mpg for that part of the trip (with 3 passengers + small luggage). The next trip, I tried 87 octane, and my mpg dropped to 15.8 (just one passenger and a few bags). My cruise was set on 72 both times. It seems you at least get closer to that elusive 18 Highway MPG with the higher octane, but I have yet to see it, and I'd LOVE to get over 12 mpg on my city driving! Maybe I'll contact the FTC too.....

jeepgcowner

I have a 2006 Jeep GC Overland with 5.7Hemi. I average 16.2mpg using 89octane all the time. I have gotten as high as 17.0 on long trips driving between 70 and 75 mph. It appears if you drive over 65 mph the MDS does not work and it guzzles gas. Seems obvious to me that MDS should have been set at 70 or 75 mph not 65 mph since most highway speed limits are now 70mph. That is a major engineering "brain fart"in my opinion. I experimented driving about 100 miles below 65mph and MPG only improved .8 to 17.8mpg. The vehicle is rated at 20mpg. I have never gotten close to that. Count me in on the class action lawsuit.

paturzo

back in february 06 i was in the market for an suv.. at the time i was driving a beautiful lincoln mark 8... the gas mileage on my lincoln was 9 miles per gallon.. i drove in to the dealership looking at the commander... the salesman right next to me as i was looking at the sticker on the jeep. so i saw the gas mileage on the sticker said 15/24... so i asked the salesman wow ! is that true ? he told me, yes it is.. by the way the commander that i am now leasing is the hemi... i now have 6500 miles on it. i have it for 7 months now.. i am averaging 9 miles per gallon.. the most mileage i ever got from this car was 17 miles per gallon.. i drove for 3 hours from new york to pennsylvania at a steady 62 miles per hour... i guess if the sticker in the showroom said 9/17 m.p.g., no one would buy it.. so chrysler has made a fool of me, and most of the other commander customers.. i wouldn`t even go to the dealership complaining... because they don`t really care.. they made their sale... thanks, anthony from ny

neumie2000

I just purchased a Commander with the 4.7 V8, and after looking at the Hemi model, no stickers on any of the Commanders said anything close to 24....if you still have the sticker, I'd be curious to see a picture of it if you could post it online....not sure where the confusion is, but no model that I saw had those kinds of figures on it....sorry for your experience...if you were expecting 24mpg, I have no doubt that you will be seriously disappointed....

rwalker07

First let me say that I love my commander.

My other car is a 2005 mercedes CDI E320. It gets about 25 miles in the city, 35plus on the highway.

I find myself driving the commander more often than not despite the price of gas.

My serious complaints are just two. I have never come close to 14 mpg in the city nor 18 on the highway. My overall average is below 12 which is insane.

My other complaint is the size of the gas tank. My chevy tahoe had a 26 gallon tank and the jeeps is too small.

I am literally filling it up every two or three days.

I realized when i got the jeep the mileage would be poor but this is not right.

RW

jthomp

You are right it says 14-18 I just bought mine. However at 200 miles I am only getting 6-11. I think everyone should go to the state attorney general web site and report this along with Chrysler and who ever else we can think of. I like the vehicle but I feel sooo misled in this matter, I would have chosen something else. I traded in a 300C SRT8 and its gas mileage was 19- 20 mpg all the time. Its Hemi was a 6.1 with 425 horse power, it should have been worse than this vehicle for sure. Somethimng needs to be done here. If I wanted a Hummers gas mileage I would have bought one. I am in on a clss action suit, but how do you start one.

neumie2000

I don't think you said what engine your Commander has (if you did, I apologize). Is it the Hemi? I have the 4.7, and I only have 700 miles on it, but I'm getting better than 6-11. Also, in your most recent post, you said "However at 200 miles I am only getting 6-11." In a previous post, I thought you said you had over 6000 miles on yours. Which is accurate? At 6000 miles, you should START seeing better numbers, and I think they should continue to improve until about 10,000 or so. Also, what kind of driving are you doing when you get 6-11 mpg? Are you stuck in city traffic or cruising the highway at 55 mph? I think we all need some additional details on your vehicle and your driving habits before we can tell if you have a problem.

Also, about the class action suit. I am an attorney in Pennsylvania. The problem that you are going to have with bringing any kind of suit against Jeep is that they do not put the mileage estimate on the window sticker, the EPA does. The only argument you have is that you are not able to obtain the mpg estimates that the EPA was able to reach, and that, unfortunately, is not Jeeps fault. Having said that, if I was only getting 6mpg in my Commander, I would be upset as well. Give us some more details when you have a chance.

jaguarjefft

I believe you are reading a few messages into one. I have from the beginning complained about my mileage. I have been geting 8-9 in the City (stop and go traffic) and 12-14 on the road (best when set on 60-65 on cruise control). Anything over 65 will get you 12-13. I do have the 5.7 hemi. Although the EPA posts the sticker, go to a dealership and look into the advertising all around the dealership and in the brochures and on their website, and on TV ads. There is no way you can say that Chrysler/Jeep does not promote the mileage. Regardless of what the EPA posts, Chrysler has the obligation to what they promote and sell. It is false advertising. As a lawyer you should be able to recognize this and file a class action for all of us. I am in California and and have considered using the lemon law. But, the car is functioning as normal and would not be considered a lemon. The State of California has suggested I start a claim against Chrysler and fales advertising with the FTC. Let's chat if you want to pursue for all of us who was screwed by false advertising.

neumie2000

I don't want to make this into a legal debate; however, while one could certainly argue that Jeep is using false advertising, I am confident that if you read the fine print, Jeep's advertising says that the Commander gets an "EPA estimated" 19 mpg...or something to that effect...and it probably also says that "Your mileage may vary." This disclaimer likely insulates Jeep from liability. The other problem that you will have is that others, including myself, are actually getting the EPA estimated numbers. If Jeep can prove some drivers actually obtain those numbers, the advertising is not generally false (they will claim that your driving habits are affecting your mileage), and your case is sunk.

With gas prices the way they are, I really hope you are able to find a dealership willing to look into your problem. Good luck!!

jaguarjefft

The 4.7 liter engine should get you much better gas mileage...engine for engine and I hope with that engine you are getting close to the 19 MPG's.....The EPA ratings are based on averages with ranges specified (so they can get by with the "vary" ratings). The Commander is rated at 16 to 22 on the road and 12-17 in City with the average being 19 Highway and 15 City. If I (along with everyone else as nobody has claimed close to range mileage on the Hemi)is getting 25-40 percent lower than the bottom range of the EPA mileage, then there is either a categorical mechanical problem limiting efficiency of the car to perform significantly below its rated worst or Chrysler is purposely deceiving the public. I had choices when I purchased my vehicle...I was led to believe that I would get about 17 on the highway and around 13 in the City which was acceptable to me...not 9 in the City and 12 on the road.

guest

we had a choice to buy any s.u.v. we wanted. when we walked into the showroom and saw the commander we pretty much liked the new look. then we looked at the sticker..the gas mileage on the sticker that was falsely advertised made the commander even more attractive... so i guess chrysler can write anything they want to make a sale and get away with it.. so now i have a $250.00 gasoline bill on top of my lease payment.. chrysler doesn`t care.. i`m thinking of writing an article in a couple of the new york newspapers about our problem..one more thing guys.. when i`m driving on the highway 10:30 pm when it is very dark outside i`d like to put the cruise control on. please tell me how i can activate the cruise control in the dark.. should the steering wheel be lit up ? thanks, ant

neumie2000

I suddenly feel like I'm the attorney who represents Jeep....but I'm a little confused. Jeep has nothing to do with the EPA estimates that are placed on the sticker of the vehicle. By law, EPA must produce the estimates. Now, we can all agree that the EPA tests do not represent modern day driving, but that is not Jeep's fault. Nearly every other vehicle manufacturer has the same problem....customers are not able to obtain the EPA numbers (there are exceptions). This is not a problem unique to Jeep. Yes, the gas mileage for the Commander is poor, especially if you purchased the Hemi. However, you (and I) purchased a SUV that weighs in excess of 5000 lbs. and is shaped like a brick. Also, many choose to purchase an engine with in excess of 300 horsepower. Why are we surprised that we don't get good gas mileage?

About the cruise control switches on the steering wheel...they do not light up...an obvious error Jeep's part.

jaguarjefft

I think you should make as much noise as possible. Write in anything you can. As far as the cruise control....use your left thumb on the steering wheel...top is cruise on bottom is cruise set....don't need lights on to activate.

jaguarjefft

Just being an Attorney we have a desire to jump on you...lol..sorry.....Every car I have purchased I do not take the EPA as gospel but as a guideline...usually you can get within the state range (and usually at the lowest of the range). Therefore, if I look at the sticker, I will see a range of 16-22 with the ave 19. I know it is highly unlikely I would get anything close to 19, but 16 is do able in moderate conditions. I have purchased over 22 cars in the past 15 years. I am quite comfortable with the EPA's misinformation. My expectations were to get 11-12 in the city (15 stated) and 15-17 on the road (19 stated)...I am getting 9 in City 12 on Highway (with cruise at 65....MDS does not turn on and save you money until 60 and turns off at about 67) The problem here is that Jeep/Chrysler goes far out of their way to sell you the car by stating the great gas mileage on nationwide advertising. They go way beyond any other manufacturer to exploit their gas mileage (with the exception of Toyota and Honda). I made my purchase and spent $1000's more to get the better gas mileage on the Hemi...this was false advertising.....as an average of 19, I have yet to find one person to get close to the 19 (an average...BS!!!!!!). So as an attorney, you may technically think they have the right to treat us buyers as doormats, but I think it is time to step up and say enough is enough. Since it now cost an additional $20 to fill up above and beyond the expectation (that is $2600 per year more than what was budgeted), it is enough for us to make noise and not just accept the fact that Jeep can say anything they want

clarkkent

OK ,you have had your say. Now, how do we know how you drive? You may be the best or worst driver (as far as gas milage) in the world.

When you go out and do a few milage tests with all the equiptment and spend $100,000 of your own money for the tests, then come back with the results and I'll listen to you as much as I'll listen to the EPA.

CK

jaguarjefft

Clark, I have a cabin at a lake about 255 miles north of LA that I travel to every other weekend. 220 is highway. I get on the highway, and put on the cruise control at 65-69 and leave it for about 90% of the travel. I do not overload the vehicle nor do I tow. I can't get over 12.8 (up from 12-12.3 when I am off the MDS). For maximum mileage I am very cognizant of staying under 2000 RPMs. If I go over the 2000 RPMs them the mileage will be negatively effected. I not only use the computer on-board, but I have an extensive record of mileage to filling that I manually have used from the close to the beginning. I don't need $100,000 in equipment to know excatly how the engine is responding to conservative driving conditions since highway 99 in central California is flat and perfect conditions for long cruise control use. I can't get over 240 miles before I am on empty. In 9 months, I have over 22,000 miles on it....thus most of the mileage is highway.

Since most of the posts on this site as well as many others are also claiming similar crappy gas mpg's, I would bet that 19 is not an average that may vary from, but closer to 14 is an average....and Jeep has no right to advertise nationally that 19 is an average...I would bet you can't find one person who gets 19 mpg on the Hemi (again this is not the max but an average suggested mpg)

stever

Lots of links in the Edmunds Fuel Economy Guide. There are some, ahem, stranger tips in some of the hybrid discussions around here (try a search for hypermiler). Note that coasting out of gear is illegal in most states.

guest

do you think that jeep/chrylser has an idea that they`re hurting their customers in their pockets ? i hope they realize that they will be losing repeat customers. my lease is up in 20 months and i doubt that i`m going back to any jeep showroom for another dose of take my hard earned money and throw it in the garbage... i`ve been driving for about 22 years now. i have owned only american cars because i want to support my own people.. if the american car companies won`t take care of me, i guess i`ll have to go foreign... maybe the honda pilot... better gas mileage. and much more roomier.. and to top it off the pilot is much cheaper to lease or buy.. i hope to hear something from jeep/chrysler that can make me make some sense out of this whole gas mileage situation... the dealership keeps sending me questionaires to fill out about how wonderful the dealership treated me.. i do not fill it out... what am i going to say ? oh yes, the staff is wonderful.. they screwed me without the vasaline.. everyone is out for themselves... ok guys, i guess i vented enough.. looking forward to reading your messages... thanks, Ant

jthomp

I never posted anything before so you must be confusing my post with someone else. I only have a couple hundred miles on mine, its a hemi 5.7 and I drive with my cruise set at 70 for 30 minutes to and from work, the best Im getting is 11 on a good day.

jthomp

I was also the one who wrote that I traded in the 300SRT8, which was a 6.1 hemi. Its gas mileage was actually better without the displacement system. I chose this commander with the diplacement system because the sales person and manager told me the diplacement system would give it better than average fuel economy for a V8. I feel the 4.7 may have been a better choice. I do feel deceived. Im not stupid, I know the epa is just that, and estimate, but it is so far off its ridiculous. They should not brag up the displacement system so much if its usless. Obviously the 4.7 is doing better. I bought my SRT8 knowing it was going to get poor gas mileage and was pleasantly surprised, however at least if it would have been bad I was prepared and even had to pay a 2100 dollar gas guzzler tax when I bought it. I did and was fine because I was not mislead, it was an educated choice. This was not a choice, it was misrepresentation, by the company and the EPA.

stever

I never posted anything before

There's a post on 9/19 that appears to be made by you, but we have a couple of mystery posts in this thread so there may be a bug floating around. Sorry for the confusion.

paturzo

ok, i put on the a.c. today.. nothing but warm air came out of the vents.. anyone else have a problem yet ? thanks, ant

gskut

This Forum would be more helpful if people posted type of engine they have and the mpgs. It seems to me there maybe alot of apple and oranges being compared

tidester

It seems to me there maybe alot of apple and oranges being compared

Spectrographically, apples and oranges are nearly indistinguishible so the comparing apples and oranges defense should no longer be considered valid.

Nevertheless, your point about listing engine type along with gas mileage is valid and suitable.

tidester, host

her_hhr

Hi new to the site, excited to be here....lol...well I am considering the v6 model anyone know what the "average" is for this model?
Gosh, I am glad I didnt get the Hemi after reading these posts..any info would be appreciated.

kmh2468

I've got a little under 5k miles and I average about 16 MPG in 60/40 of city/hwy driving.

rcf8000

I own a 2006 V6 Commander sport. Just went past 10,000 Mi. All is well. Gas mileage better than sticker est. V8 and heavy right foot not a good combo for MPG

gengle

Our '06 hemi Commander gets poor gas mileage. One cause is that it will not shift into final overdrive below 72 MPH.
The dealer checked 3 other Commanders on the lot and they
shifted in at 64/66 MPH range. Since most people do not
count the up-shifts they are not aware that they are not in overdrive. For sure my wife had no idea and still doesn't really care. She loves the car. I think it is a pig. I found the problem because the RPM/MPH ratio was so high.
Chrysler says that the learning (idiot) transmission can not be changed and are satisfied with their incompetence.
I suggest that you watch the tach for a "drop" to make sure
that you are actually in overdrive.

neumie2000

My Commander goes into overdrive well before 72mph. In fact, it goes in well before 60mph. One thing to watch is that most cars will not go into overdrive until the engine has reached proper operating temperature. When you travel on the highway, is it normally shortly after starting your vehicle? If so, what you may be experiencing is a shift to overdrive once the Commander has warmed up. If anything, I think my vehicle goes into overdrive a little prematurely. Good luck!

blabla

i have a V8 and it gets terrible gas mileage. I fill up every five days. I did my own calculation when I first got the SUV and i got 13 mpg when i did all of the calculating. i got rid of our yukon xl because of the gas mileage, but i feel like we are getting worse

jklightner

Is my average with the 4.7L V8. Currently at 25,000 miles
A little worse than my 94 GC with the 4L straight 6, but I wanted the higher towing capacity.

drez22

Hi all,

I recently bought a 5.7 hemi commander used with 4700 miles on it....I love my commander, but I too only avg 12.5 MPG and i drive 80% freeway. I thought my tank held 21gallons, but it doesn't seem like it. I thought I might have a lemon, but it looks like their ad was false..I can't ever imagine getting 18 MPG. Please contact me if anyone has good ideas.

jaguarjefft

Sorry Drez....you got suckered just like the rest of us...great vehicle.....crappy milage.....I found that if you slowly accelerate up to 62 mph on the highway (keeping the RPMs under 2000 as you come up to speed, and then maintain the speed between 58 and 62 without going out of that range for a long period), you can get the mileage up (keep in mind that the multi-displacement system will kick in during a very very very limited range). I have already tried the lemon route and Chrysler won't acknowledge it saying that they do not have the equipment to test mileage use and that the engine is working to perfection. They only publish what the EPA (an independant agency) reports. Good luck and if you want any further info don't hesitate to write

75coug

I have yet to get as much as 10 mpg in the Commander. It is very disappointing, and despite loving the vehicle generally, I now wish that I had purchased something else. The 14 mpg that I get in a Dodge Ram 4x4 with the Hemi blows away the Commander.

kogden1

I recently purchased the 2007 commander with th 3.7 v6. I too feel mislead. The sticker was 16/20. Real world driving yieled about 13.4mpg. I am trying a k&n air filter. It seems to be working (according to the real time avg on the computer) but I will repost to confirm results on next fillup (currently looking like 15.5+mpg).P.S. I traded in my 02' Ford Explorer Sport 4.0l v6 which no matter how hard i drove rarley dipped below 17mpg and easily got 20-22 on the highway at 60mph-70mph+. I did not even think I would have a problem going with a newer smaller 3.7l engine. (J.E.E.P - Just Empty Every Pocket)

75coug

Has anyone else had any success increasing mileage using a K&N Filter?

marry

I have the 06 Commander 5.7 Hemi. Using different gas types I have found the Shell VPower to give the 18 to 19 miles per gallon highway. I do a lot of highway driving on a daily basis, 30 miles each way to work and at least three times a year drive from NJ to FLA. The drive to NJ/FLA I can even inch out 20. Local I am looking at 14 mpg. I have definately found the type of gas used helps. BP I get the worst mileage.

blkcommander

I have a new (Leftover) Jeep Commander 2006 with about 3500 miles on it. It is equipped with a 4.7 L and has 3.73 rear gears. I drive this truck most of the time at 6.000-11,000 feet altitude in Colorado and use wimpy 85 octane fuel. I have been averaging a consistent 18 MPG and have gone as low as 16 and as high as 20. My salesman has the same truck and says he gets 14MPG? I am gentle on the throttle but I drive the speed limit + 5MPH.

tomn04

I have a new Jeep Commander Ltd with the 4.7 and the gas mileage is sad! I got much better mileage (3 MPG) in my 2004 Durango Ltd with the Hemi. Does anybody know if the Vortex cyclone help improve the mileage?

stever

Save your money.

Gas Saving Gizmos & Gadgets

Check out the Fuel Economy page for ideas on how to save money on gas.

harvey44

This board is hysterical. My COMMANDER gets crappy mileage? Hello? Did you look at the thing before you bought it? That BEAST must weigh well over two tons.

I'll put my wife's Civic up against it and blow it away by every measure except maybe towing, and cargo. Actually, I bet my wife could beat the damn thing to 0-60, winding it out in second. Probably get better mileage doin it too.

Sorry to troll, I couldn't resist.

75coug

I did not expect this beast to get good mileage, but I thought that it would do better than my 1999 Durango 4x4 with the ancient 5.9 liter V8. The Durango gets 14 mpg combined city/highway, and the Commander doesn't come close to that figure.

neumie2000

If you read the "complaints" carefully, I believe owners are disappointed over their inability to achieve the EPA estimated mileage. I agree with you that noone should even look at a Commander if they are looking for a fuel efficient vehicle. However, if you purchase a Commander believing you can live with 19 mpg on the highway, but are only able to achieve 15-16, I can certainly understand the disappointment. Your comment that your wife's Civic compares favorably to the Commander is interesting. A Commander is purchased for cargo capacity, four wheel drive capability and towing capacity. To say that your Civic "blows it away by every measure except towing and cargo" is like saying a rifle is better than a tank because it is easier to carry. In an accident between a Commander and a Civic, which vehicle would you rather your wife was traveling in??

jaguarjefft

I'll take my 5.7L hemi against any Honda Civic straight off the line and I'll kick [non-permissible content removed] on it....but it will cost me dearly in fuel.....Harvey44, I think you missed the boat in understanding our thread here....we all know that the Commander is not going to average 19 and 16....but given the extraordinary amount of bragging Chrysler is doing on its commercials, you would think that we could at least average close to 16hwy and 13 City (since noooooooo one should or can trust the EPA's lies)....not 13 and 9 actual.... my original inquiry was to identify if I was unique with the poorer results or if it was standard. Apparently, even with a downward adjustment, the EPA had much exaggerated results and Chrysler salespersons should not be telling people that EPA estimates and vary slightly, BUT TREMENDOUSLY, when in this day and age of corporate gas company rip-offs, we are concerned about our purchases and should be told the truth. Chrysler LIED to most (not some) of us owners.

harvey44

I didn't read very carefully. I just thought it was funny that there was an MPG forum for the commander. Comparing it to my Civic was a joke, but I do think a race would be fun.

I remember reading a article in one of the auto mags about using the commander for a trip out west. While the vehicle is supposed to be made for adventure, the writers were in the desert and had 300 miles to travel on one leg without access to gas. They had to have it towed on a flatbed for nearly 100 miles as they didn't have the range to make it.

YMMV

Harv

stever

260 miles between fill ups was the magic number for the one that was in the Edmunds fleet:

2006 Jeep Commander: Passing Too Much Gas

Average fuel economy was 14.1 (lots of commuting in LA traffic and lots of different drivers). link