Kia Sedona Gas Mileage

Claires · July 2006

With gas prices escalating, the mpg issue becomes more and more important. Share your actual mileage numbers with other Sedona drivers here.

geo · July 2006

Now getting 22-25 on Highway and 14-18 in town with a very short driving distance to work. George in Wisconsin

betht27 · July 2006

So far around 14-15 rural driving/small town, noticed approx 20 MPG today on turnpike only. Got better on my commutes to work with my 2002 than I am on my 2006. Very disappointed so far in the gas mileage. I guess that is why they call them estimates on the window stickers.

hrngffcr · August 2006

Some people report getting pretty good gas mileage, and some report getting very low mileage, below the estimated mileage on the sticker, all from the very same vehicle. Did anyone ever consider that maybe people's DRIVING HABITS could be a big part of that? For example, does the driver take off quickly from stoplights and then drive full speed up to 10 yds from a red stoplight before hitting the brakes; does the person tailgate so they hit the gas, hit the brakes, hit the gas, etc; do they look ahead down the road and leave space between them and the next car so that they can just take their foot off of the gas when traffic slows; on the highway do they drive 65, 70, 75, 80; do they use their cruise control or are they the types that slow down going up hill and speed up going down hill; do they keep a cell phone glued to their head so that they don't keep track of their speed? The list could go on. But all of that can mean a difference of several miles per gallon. Unless you know how each person drives, the gas mileage figures they give are meaningless.

Also, while I would not have believed this in the past, I have seen it with my cars that an engine is not really broken in, and you don't get your best mileage until the engine has several thousand or maybe even tens of thousands of miles on it.

akolive · August 2006

hrngffcr,
All very good points about gas mileage. And your very correct that bad driving habits can and will adversely affect it.
In our case, we never drive over 65, Alaska roads can't handle it and though my wife's driving isn't perfect, it isn't bad either.
However, the van is getting 4 - 4.5 mpg less than the bottom EPA figure. I agree motors / and the vehicle itself (disk breaks) do break in but it is my experience with the new motors (really don't have a break in period) is that at best one or two mpg increase. That still leaves our van well below the bottom EPA rating.
So what?
Well I used that rating in determining the purchase of the van. If they printed 15 mpg, I would not have bought it, I would have spend the extra $2K for the Sennia.
My two cents.
Peter

b9driver · August 2006

Well I used that rating in determining the purchase of the van. If they printed 15 mpg, I would not have bought it, I would have spend the extra $2K for the Sennia. >>>

My friend owns a new Sienna and he gets no better mileage than the Sedona and the Sienna has an obvious lack of power. We get about 22 MPG on the highway and 17-18 around town. You don't buy a giant mini van with a big engine and expect great economy, but the Sedona is just as good as my Subaru Tribeca was and it's quite a bit more powerful due to the torque.

RB

betht27 · August 2006

However, some people do buy vans and cars based on EPA estimates of fuel economy. Automotive dealers use them as a selling point. I understand key word, estimate. But to be off by so much is not acceptable, IMO. I owned a 2002 Sedona, with the same driving habits that I used when driving that, I get 2-3 MPG less with the 2006. We all know the 2006 is estimated to get more fuel economy.

akolive · August 2006

Very well put betht27.
I would be happy with the 17-18mpg that RB's friends are getting with the Sennia which is what the rating indicated. With the options and the price I figured the Sedona would be a wash with the Sennia over time because of what I figured (based on the rating) it would get in mileage. Not at @ 14.5mph though.

I know whaaaa.
My point is, I just wish those ratings were more accurate. With the 06 being a new model there was little in the way of other information to base our decision on.

betht27 · August 2006

4 cents more per mile to drive adds up fast.

redbluffian · August 2006

At 3800 miles we are experienced a best tank at 24.8 MPG while steady highway driving, a low of 17.5 MPG in town. We only use regular fuel. Our biggest challenge is to keep from enjoying the 240+ horsepower this van has, and we have found a direct correlation between how deep we put our foot into it and the mileage. Whatever the cost, the fun is worth it!!

notanotherkia · August 2006

I own a 2005 Sedona. I had the same problem with fuel milage and the dealer said it had to break in. Well at 35,000 miles I figured that was all the break in it was going to get, and I was just above 15mpg. I got so mad one day I open the hood and took the air filter housing off and went for a drive. Wow what an improvement on how it responded. I went to my nearest car parts store and bought a cone filter and a tailpipe piece. I stuck the airfilter on one end of the tailpipe and the other end put it to the intake manifold. I now get just a touch above 17mpg with a full 1200 lb of cargo plus my 200lb body. I think that is pretty darn good. I am talking going around town, lots of stop and go, and doing about 25mph. When I am driving around with not as much stuff but around town I get just above 18mpg.

smulvey · August 2006

A loaded Kia Sedona, in good tune, tire pressure up, good oil
change, good air filter , will get 20 MPG at high speed.

With the KN filter I could visualize 22 MPG.

The Sedona will most certainly cruise at + 85 MPH in the western states.

like the country western song says
"Don't aks me how I know."

Hey , the speedometer does work up to the farthest indicator.

redbluffian · August 2006

With 4,000 miles, our mileage varies between 17.8 MPG city and 24.8 MPG highway. Both are with regular fuel.

b9driver · August 2006

The Caravan is demonstrably more reliable and durable than the Grand Caravan - with mostly identical driveline components. Whether this will be true for the Sedona remains to be seen.>>>

This is more a result of how the Grand Caravan is used. People who buy a bigger van are likely to use it for carrying a lot more. It takes more than a few hundred pounds to effect service. On the other hand, I wouldn't trust any American Made van to be reliable after my family had two Caravans. Never again will I buy American. Never. And building better cars won't matter. GM and Chrysler OWE me at least 2-3 cars first. Think they'll pay?

Capt RB
NY

b9driver · August 2006

how many wine bottles & Beer cans have you lost out the Stern? First larger Boat I've seen without a Transom (of sorts) not counting the 12 meters. Plus, one of your pics must have been in winter, or delivery, I see NO Boom!! >>>

Thanks...she actually has an enclosed stern section. The pic without boom is from Spring launch. This is what we Kia drivers did in NY last night....
http://members.aol.com/bobsprit/images/lizjonsuzweby.jpg

Capt RB
NY

akolive · September 2006

I must eat crow, I don't know how I messed up my first two tanks calculations but the third and fourth tanks I got estimates almost exactally like yours (17.78 in the city, 24.5 on the highway).
I am very happy to be wrong on this one. Of course, there is a chance that there was something causing the bad mileage initially... anything is possible. Praise the Lord
Peter

betht27 · September 2006

Sure hope my mileage goes up soon, seeing roughly 16 right now on very rural driving, not much stop and go at all. 2000 miles now on the van. I've raised the air pressure slightly on the Kumhos to see if that improves it any.

syncdram · September 2006

Hi i wanted to reply to your post. I to have a 2005 kia sedona ex. with 8,700 on it. I averaged 15 mpg or worse. Then i came across the magic fuel additive. CLEAN STRIP ACITONE. You can buy this at any hardware store. Add in the amount of 2 ounces per 10 gallons in your fuel tank right after each fill up. My mpg went from 15 to 20 mpg.I was thinking about doing the same thing with my air filter for a long time. Cold air intakes usually decrease fuel milage and increase low end responce. I would like to know if after a few tank fulls of gas if your mpg went up on average or down. Syncdram

notanotherkia · September 2006

My milage has settled at about 17.5 in town and around 19.5 for highway. I will have to remember to buy this acitone stuff and see what it is like. Thanks for the tip

rie · September 2006

I have a 2005 Kia Sedona EX van that overall I have been very pleased with. My problem, 10 days ago, while at a stop sign, we were hit from behind and now the tailgate has to be replaced. We were to get a new one from dealer thru our body shop, but it is backordered for a month-ins. co. not wanting to pay for our rental that long-found a used OK shape 2004 tailgate at a salvage yard and had it sent to body shop. Have there been any problems with rust on this year Sedonas? What does this do to my warranty with Kia? IE-warranty on wiper, rear defrost, also? It has to be painted to match my van's color.

joanc · September 2006

Hello..
...Glad you guys are o.k. and that nobody was hurt, I'm presuming. Just out of curiousity (and I know this is kind of off-topic), how did your van do in your accident? Did it protect you pretty well..holding up as you thought it should? Just curious as we sometimes have our kids in the 3rd row seats! Thanks..

betht27 · September 2006

Update...

My last tank I got 17.4 MPG rural driving. Havent had it really in town or on the highway that tank. So it is getting a little better but that may be to raising the tire pressure to 37psig per tire.

rie · September 2006

Thank you for your concern. My daughter was in the 2nd row directly behind me, my husband in the passenger's seat, I was the driver and we all got some neck, shoulder, rib, and back pain and 'soft tissue' bruising-me the most. But nothing life threatening-noone was in the 3rd row, but the van was not damaged up to the seat area-damage to liftgate below the glass and all bumper parts have to be replaced and damage to rear floorboard where we put groceries that they couldn't see 'til removed liftgate & bumper. It's still at our body shop-my husband talked to them and they did manage to find a new '05 liftgate out of town, so they're painting that now. I seldom have my kids in the 3rd row. We were stopped at a stop sign when hit by a 4 door(dual cab)pickup. I gather we were his brakes. I really like my van, and think it did a great job of protecting my precious cargo (my family). It could always be so much worse! It was good that we were sitting up so high, too; I think there would have been so much more damage if we had been in a car. Sorry I couldn't help more on the 3rd row info-no damage to it, but don't know if the neck-back, etc. stuff would have been better or worse for a passenger there.

joanc · September 2006

Thanks for the info and glad you guys are ok! We love our van, too, and it sounds like yours did a good job of protecting you. Hopefully you'll never have it put to the test again..

dpugh · September 2006

Purchased the van three weeks ago and have 3300kms and are averaging 38.4mpg.. that is the combined urban/highway driving. As the diesel engine settles down this should improve. Very happy so far!!!

betht27 · September 2006

Now up to about 18 MPG, rural driving. Have about 2400 miles on the van, going to give it another 1000 or so then get first oil change. Some minor problems with the vibration on the tires and a noise in the driver side door. Now that the mileage is getting better, we are quite pleased with the van.

jim314 · September 2006

Purchased the van three weeks ago and have 3300kms and are averaging 38.4mpg.. that is the combined urban/highway driving. As the diesel engine settles down this should improve. Very happy so far!!!

Great fuel economy!

Is this miles per Imperial gallon (used in Canada, UK and I suppose other British commonwealth countries)? 1 galUK = 1 galC = 1.201 galUS or 1.2 for most purposes. If so, the US equivalent is 38.4/1.2 = 32.0 mpgUS, which is great!

Personally I prefer the European system of giving litres of fuel required to go 100 km or L/100 km. There are two reasons to prefer the European system:

(1) It uses the metric system so you don't have to worry about which gallon is being referred to.

(2) Expressing this as fuel use divided by distance (instead of distance divided by fuel use) tells people more directly what they want to know.

But the conversion is easy. Divide the mpgUK value into 282 to get L/100km. And do exactly the same thing to do the conversion the other way--divide the L/100km value into 282 to get the mpgUK.

For converting between mpgUS and L/100km in either direction divide the one you have into 235 to get the other.

So if your van is getting 38.4 mpgUK this is 282/38.4 = 7.34 L/100 km.

And if your van is getting 32.0 mpgUS, then it is getting 235/32.0 = 7.34 L/100 km.

For comparison, my 1989 Dodge Caravan 2.5L 5-spd manual often got 29 mpgUS on the highway. This is 235/29 = 8.1 L/100km.

dpugh · September 2006

hi jim, the figure of 38+mpg is the US mpg as opposed to the British Imperial Gallon system. I am currently stationed in Germany hence the use of kilometers and not miles. I purchased the European Carnival (Sedona)as I really wanted the Diesel engine I have to come clean and admit that i did the conversion on line at:

http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/litres_per_100k

I am gonna bring the car back to michigan at the end of my tour. Its gonna be interesting to see how much longer the diesel engine lasts in comparison to the gas van. Be glad to send you photos if you want them??

jim314 · September 2006

So did you calculate the L/100km value or does the van have a computer that does that automatically? 38.4 mpgUS is equivalent to 6.12 L/100km. That is great mileage. What is the transmission? Does it have a/c? Who makes this diesel engine? What's the horsepower and torque?

Volvo makes some 2.4L 5-cyl diesels that get this fuel economy or better in the V70, but they are not currently available in the US. Volvo doesn't offer any automobile diesel in the US. The Volvo UK website claims 51.4 mpgUK (5.5 L/100km, 43 mpgUS) for the highway fuel use with a 6-speed manual tranny, and claims 44 mpg UK (6.4 K/100 km, 37 mpgUS)with a 6-speed "geartronic" automatic.

Will you be allowed to import this vehicle to the US without making additions to qualify it under the latest US EPA "tier and bin" limits?

dpugh · September 2006

The van does not have a computer, the oem installed units are inaccurate to say the least. It has a 5 speed manual transmission, aircondioning as standard. The kia salesman told me that Kia builds the diesel engine themselves, i think there was a lot of borrowing from hyundai and D/C on this one, although its hard to pin anyone down

Its crazy that volvo which is a Ford daughter company does not offer diesel in the US. That being said, the oil companies are not happy with the impact of Bio Diesel and the subsidies that it currently gets. Time will tell. I have the EPA hurdle to cross. The van is fitted with a Diesel Particle Filter which is 'next generation' in terms of adhering to environmental regs. I have to look into that issue asap. But then i can always try and put canadian tags on it

jim314 · September 2006

Do European countries limit the number of imported Japanese and Korean vehicles by using import duties or other means? I haven't kept up, but I thought this was the case at one time.

The US used to limit the importation of Japanese cars under by "voluntary" restrictions, but this was say 20 years ago, before the Japanese built so many assembly plants in the US. But I thought the European protectionism of their domestic auto industry was even greater than in the US. How common are these Kia minivans in Germany?

smulvey · September 2006

I think you can import a car once as a car collector, under the loop holes in the EPA/ NHTSA regulations. They allow collectors to bring in one car per family. If you want to bring in a bunch of them you have to setup a shop and modify the engine to meet the tests they apply and then submit for testing. The specialty car guys do that for the italian cars.

dpugh · September 2006

thanks for the information, sure good to know. I am gonna get my brother to look into further whilst I am over here. Thanks for the advice.....

dpugh · September 2006

There are no limitations on the number of imported vehicles, from anywhere worldwide. The EU polititians in their wisdon calls it free trade or healthy competition, depends how much spin they want to put on it at the time. In Stuttgart Daimler Chrysler is laying thousands of workers off...Kia are building a prodction facility in Slovakia (eastern europe) to cash in on the sweat shop wage costs. Similar to NAFTA, the EU Free Trade Area is all about making products cheap in the 3rd world and selling them expensively in established markets.

Each individual country within the EU has its own Sales Tax or VAT, Germany is currently 16.5% rising to 19.5% next year.

The germans are similar to the french, very patriotic. They buy mercedes and VW as its a status symbol that must be adhered to at all costs, after all what would the neighbors say with a kia on the driveway????

ramblin · September 2006

2004 Sedona EX
High of 22mpg on longer trips and 18mpg average with mix of highway and lower speed diving on secondary highways. 5% stop and go driving.

Average highway speed 65mph, secondary roads 40mph.

A low MPG of 14.5 which is only happened a couple of times. Lots and lots of AC use this summer.

That diesel and 32mpg sure sounds nice. I wonder if Kia will break out of the mold and offer a diesel in the USA?

stevenfjl · October 2006

I have 950 miles on my 2006 KIA Sedona EX and am averaging 11.5 MPG overall. I drive about 80% city and that's killing the mileage. On the highway I can see as much as 28 MPG and if that were the whole story I'd be thrilled with that. Unfortunately, in city driving I'm only getting between 6.6 and 9 MPG. I've never experienced anything like this. The dealership and KIA claim that I have to break-in the vehicle. Now, I understand the need for break-in but from what I have seen I can only expect to get about 10-15% increase in mileage during a 5000 mile break-in period. That only adds about 1 MPG to city driving. In the meantime gas is costing me a small fortune. I calculated that if all things stay the same that it will cost an additional $13,000 over a 10 year vehicle life, to fuel this puppy. That's above and beyond the EPA ratings for the cost of fuel. After a lot of trying to get the dealership and KIA to listen to my plight I got a KIA factory representative to go for a fuel consumption drive with me and the results bear out my stated mileage. However, after the rep gave the results to some engineers there is no agreement on the possible causes and the only recommendation is to continue to break-in the vehicle and test it again after it has 1500+ miles on it. I'm glad to have gotten the recommendation to see if mileage improves, but certainly it doesn't take a genius to see that the mileage isn't going to improve any significant amount for city driving and that it would have to improve by about 10 MPG just to be in the ballpark of what should be the expected city mileage. In the meantime I'm shoveling out a lot of extra dough for gas that shouldn't be necessary. My driving habits are not the culprit since I don't jackrabbit start, tailgate, ride the brake or have any other fuel eating bad habits. The tires have been inflated to the rated 44 psi and there is no heavy load placed on the vehicle.

Does anyone have any possible explanation for such a wide mileage gap between highway and city and such horrible mileage in the city in general. Any help is greatly appreciated. :confuse:

Thanks in advance.

notanotherkia · October 2006

only one solution. Hope it gets stolen. I have had the exact problem but my dealership said it was my driving habit. I put a cone filter on it and that seemed to improve it to around 15 in the city. The biggest problem these vans have is they weigh in at around 3800 pounds. You have to literally baby it off of the stop light until you are about 35mph.

dpugh · October 2006

Hi Folks, well the engine has settled down, currently getting approx 34.3 mpg, an even mix of urban/highway driving. Kia says that using Bio-Diesel will invalidate my warranty so I have to stick with the petroleum based diesel. Not happy about that, but will look into it further. Kia could not give me a reason why, which would have been nice. Take care

jim314 · October 2006

Does Kia not approve of even low levels of biodiesel in petrodiesel, like B5? One of the big uses of biodiesel may turn out to be an additive at a few percent to improve lubricity of ULSD, ultra low sulfur diesel. A secondary benefit of biodiesel might be as an "oxygenate" to decrease emissions similiar to the use of ethanol in gasoline.

The energetics of production of biodiesel and the fact that its production from purpose grown crops competes with the use of arable land for food, for animal feed, and for natural wild vegetation, means that biodiesel can not supply a major part of the world's diesel fuel needs.

dpugh · October 2006

I came accross the clause in the vehicle handbook that states: 'any use of biodiesel, irrelevant of quantity/mixture will invalidate the kia warranty in full with no exception'. leaves little doubt for interpretation, and, the service desk at kia told me the same thing. Even from an enviornmental stand point it would be doing my little bit for the environment, even mixing it as B5 like you suggest. Lets see what reply I get from Kia HeadOffice, if any??

mluhring · October 2006

New 06 owner here. I have only driven around 750 miles so far and my driving has only been city driving with short spurts of highway driving. My mileage has been 17.5 so far looking forward to it getting a shade better. My old pontiac montana would get 20 in the city and 26 on the highway. The new sedona is much nicer though.

I was looking to put a K&N air filter in, but so far they don't make one for the 06. I bought an 05 filter in hopes that it would fit, but no luck with that. It seems there are not very many aftermaket parts available for the 06 sedona yet. I am sure that will change soon.

rgochoa · October 2006

The computer on my 06 Sedona read 21.4 mpg. I actually do get this. However, the range to empty never goes higher than 330-340 miles to empty. The vehicle is supposed to have a 20.5 gal capacity; the readout to empty should indicate in excess of 400 miles to empty--according to my highschool math it should read 440 miles to empty. No help from dealership.

akolive · October 2006

Simply fill the tank up to full, reset your trip meter, run to near empty and then fill back up the same way. Take the total miles from your trip meter and divide by the amount of gas it takes to fill. That will give you your exact mpg.
Hope that helps.
Our 06 gets 17.5 - 18 mpg in mixed driving conditions.
Peter

rgochoa · October 2006

Thanks for input. I will try reseting process to see if this corrects the range. I get 21.5 miles per gal on my Sedona, so I am not concerned with the indicated mpg factor on the computer, only on the indicated range to empty.

fishbreath · November 2006

Hi, I'm new and this is my 1st post. I bought an LX last month and on the 1st full tank I got 24.4 MPG mostly highway. On the next tank mixed bag of driving I got 18.5 MPG.
I too bought from Keystone Kia and was very happy.
I'm having a hard time finding accessories. I want vent visors,running boards, and a cargo mat to fit the back up to the back of the front seats. Can anybody help, thanks in advance.

joanc · November 2006

Hi..you might check out koreanautoimports.com
I haven't purchased anything from them yet, but plan on buying some rear tail light covers for my '03...good luck.

dpugh · November 2006

I got the nose mask from the kia dealer as an original accessory for $94. Most of the other accessories you listed are available from ebay. Kinda fun biddin n stuff....

rgochoa · November 2006

Very pleased with my 2006 Sedona. Have had it for 6 months and now have 11000 miles. Computer mpg reads 23.2 miles per gal---very close to what I achieve. The miles to empty will never read higher than around 330 miles to empty. The fuel capacity is supposed to be 21.5 gals--getting 23 or so miles to gal should read over 490 miles to empty. Dealership states it is only an "estimate". Baloney. My 2005 Ford Explorer has a computer and it is pretty accurate. Maybe Kia lied and the Sedona does not have a 21.5 gallon tank. Would appreciate any feedback.

ramblin · December 2006

47K 2004 EX. 60% highway 40% city. Averaging 18.5 mpg most tanks. High 22 mpg low 15.4 mpg.

I try to avoid buying gas when I am in St.Louis. But I do buy it three or four times a year when I can't avoid it. I'm sure it is some sort of oxygenated blend that is forced on them and seems to return very poor mileage. 10 to 15 percent MPG below other gas I buy.

Am I nuts or not?

navyair · December 2006

http://digg.com/mods/Acetone_In_Fuel_Said_to_Increase_Mileage

a good discussion on this here.

bluedevils · January 2007

One selling point for us moving up from 2002 to 2006 Sedona is better fuel economy, but I worry that the EPA ratings - which were too pessimistic on the 2002 based on many owners' comments -- are way too optimistic on the 2006. I don't see how the 2006 can realistically claim to get 25 mpg highway when it is only a bit lighter than the 2002, has a more powerful (and similar from an engineering standpoint?) engine, and same/similar transmission.

We routinely get 22-23 mpg in straight highway driving in our 2002 Sedona and 18mpg with mixed city/highway, and I suspect we wouldn't do any better in a 2006.

I've already read the posts in this forum about fuel economy but was hoping to drum up a bit more discussion and/or pull a few more lurkers out of the woodwork.

www.fueleconomy.gov has a great feature where owners can post their real-world mileage, but there are very few data points from 2006-2007 Sedona/Entourage owners.

Consumer Reports got 17 mpg overall, which is lower than one would expect from a vehicle rated 18 mpg city / 25 mpg highway -- even though the EPA ratings are usually a little too optimistic.

Looks like the edmunds.com 2006 Sedona Long-Term Test Vehicle got 19.5 mpg during a 1,000-mile family trip, "which isn't great considering the EPA rating is 18/25 mpg."

Kia Sedona Gas Mileage

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