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Jeep Wrangler Real World MPG

steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
in Jeep
How's your mileage?

Everything you wanted to know about saving gas in your Wrangler. (Strategies for Smart Car Buyers)
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  • durability05durability05 Member Posts: 142
    16 mpg, 50/50 highway/local, 50 percent w/airconditioning. driven 700 to 800 miles/month. 04 Wrangler X stock 3.07 gears , 5 speed w/ Canyon wheels and 30 x 9.50 x 15 Bridgestone Dueler Revos. I can get 17 mpg if I drive slower, but I rather drive normally.
  • twylietwylie Member Posts: 619
    15.5 +/- .75 MPG. Doesn't seem to matter if it's local or highway driving. 31" trXus MT tires, 3.73 gears, 5 speed, 4.0L
  • draggerdragger Member Posts: 1
    Wrangler Unlimited:

    Sign me up. Oh wait. I'm an American. No Diesel!

    Never mind.

    Maybe next year.
  • jeepernutjeepernut Member Posts: 5
    GIVE ME A DIESEL!!!!

    I'd consider the Unlimited if it had the CRD. I have the Liberty with the CRD and its just great...I need the mileage.
  • wendysingerwendysinger Member Posts: 18
    Hello...thank you all for your informative posts! I'm definitely a Jeep Girl and I love it, even with my daughters car seats in the back(though it makes no rational sense). I have an '06 unlimited, silver, 4" lift w/ 33's. The only issue that I'm having is with my soft top. The 2 bow is poorly designed. It just "sits" on the side bow, but is not fastened on. This results in one side of the 2 bow falling off; when I pull on it and put it back on, the other side falls off. My husband put some plastic fasteners on each side to keep it all together. The 2 bow seems too short. I have tried adjusting everything: velcro, etc. I believe that more people are having problems but no one really checks that area of their Jeep. Should I start a campaign to have a recall of that part? ;)
  • cdncoloradocdncolorado Member Posts: 1
    I had the same problem till i bent the bar slightly... now it works like a champ... One thing to know about owning a Jeep, well two, if you haven't had to rig it you don't own a jeep and Just Empty Every Pocket!!! Good luck :shades:
  • pkearpkear Member Posts: 26
    A lot to be said for the article. Before I got my jeep I was driving a vehicle that got 9mpg as long as I watched my foot on the pedal and used the cruise everywhere there was enough road between stop signs or lights. If I drove hard I paid by losing up to 2 mpg. I drive my jeep cautiously putting on the cruise much like I did in the other vehicle and have averaged 20MPG doing the math old school. This is a combination of city driving and two 200 mile round trips all in the space of three weeks. I have a 2007 4-door 3.7L 2wd with the 4.10 gear ratio and 18inch tires. I consider that excellent for almost any SUV especially a jeep. The best part is until now I never fit well in a jeep or any other small SUV being a big (not tall but Santa big) man. I am used to full sized trucks, suburbans and full sized vans all notorious for gas usage. Now that I am driving a jeep and getting better gas mileage I don't think I will ever go to anything else. Also keep in mind good mileage is all relative a Jeep will never beat a hybrid or small car but then again neither of those will do what a jeep does.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    20 sounds pretty good for a Wrangler - lifetime mpg for my minivan is just around 21 (and that's not automatically calculated by a mpg computer either, lol).
  • pkearpkear Member Posts: 26
    It's all in the driving and maybe just maybe I got the one built solidly on a Wendesday when everything including planitary alignment was just right. I know mileage advertized is averaged from several vehicles which makes it usually about right however sometimes it is slanted a little high. What this means is you can have one getting real good gas mileage while one gets fair while one gets bad mileage and still advertize a good to fair MPG on the sticker. That said it appears I got one with good mileage and hopefully a good driver to keep it up. :blush:
  • pkearpkear Member Posts: 26
    Well I have had a little more time with my jeep (almost ready for that first oil change) and I am still getting good mileage back and forth in town. This weekend I had to take a 200 mile round trip where average minimum speed was 55 and little to no stops. I filled up before and after so I could do the math and got a hair over 22MPG. That said I also experimented with a tank and drove it hard with hard acceleration an no use of cruise and it dropped it to a little less than 18MPG. All in all I consider that a big improvement over the suburban which got about 12.5 and van which was doing 9. We leave Thursday night for Palm Coast, Fla and it will all be I-95 at night down so I will calculate mileage and report back on what I got that leg of the trip however on the return I will most likely take A-1-A until it runs out then maybe 17 back to home and while I will keep track of mileage it will be more for the scenic route than gas savings so I can compare the two.
  • bft4x4bft4x4 Member Posts: 12
    2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Stock. 15 mpg. 70% freeway, 30% city. Driven 900 miles per month.
  • podedwardspodedwards Member Posts: 35
    A diesel engine will cost about $4000 more than a gas engine. Auto diesel may be lower or higher than regular gas but expect it to be essentially the same on average. If a diesel engine is used for long haul highway driving it might be expected to get 25% better mileage but with the way the average person drives it might only be 2% to 5% better or maybe the same. The taxes and insurance for a more expensive car is always more expensive and the illusion that diesels are less costly to maintain is a fiction unless the vehicle is driven many more miles than the average driver at highway speeds. The proper motor oil is more expensive and more oil is needed when it is changed. In reality, diesel engine oil needs to be changed more often (and requires lots more oil)than gas engines because diesels operate at much higher temps than gas engines which means oil change is absolutely critical to its life.In gas engines the oil lubricates while in diesel engines it has to lubricate and cool. More expensive oil filters are required because even modern auto diesel is not a clean as gas and the contaminants are caught in the oil.

    Then there is the water separator which is very expensive to replace and has to be replaced more often if the engine is not kept running most of the time. Most all diesel engines have turbos to increase horsepower and turbos are notoriously hard to maintain.

    The primary function of a diesel engine is its capacity to move heavy loads because of its increased torque/horse power ratio. Better mileage is only accomplished by moving heavy loads over long distances.

    Modern gas engines are simply superb with great longevity, dependability and performance.

    As far as the fabled "they are going to diesel in Europe" line, examine why. Socialist governments dictate what refineries can produce and what cars can be built. The transportation systems of Europe and America are vastly different and for good reasons. Europe has lots of public transportation for which they are very heavily taxed-want to pay lots more taxes?

    No public transportation system in America pays for itself and is always tax payer dependent. And, most importantly, Europe is being strangled by their taxes are are seeking desperately to abandon them by electing more conservative governments.
  • mac24mac24 Member Posts: 3,910
    More expensive oil filters are required because even modern auto diesel is not a clean as gas and the contaminants are caught in the oil. Then there is the water separator which is very expensive to replace and has to be replaced more often if the engine is not kept running most of the time. Most all diesel engines have turbos to increase horsepower and turbos are notoriously hard to maintain.

    Good description of the average diesel, but I disagree with the part quoted above.

    I drive a very typical American diesel V8 turbo, and oil filters are cheaper than those for my Wrangler. The fuel filter is much more expensive ($13) but only needs changing every 6K miles, which is at every other oil change. As well as cleaning the fuel, that filter together with the design of its housing also separates any water, which can easily be drained. It's a very common system and no extra cost is incurred. Finally, a turbo requires no maintenance apart from regular engine oil and filter changes, and being allowed to spool down for a few minutes at idle after a long run.

    Modern gas engines are simply superb with great longevity, dependability and performance.

    I agree with that also..........100%! :)
  • sciguy85sciguy85 Member Posts: 45
    240 miles. 1st fill up. Combined town and highway 19mpg. Just town with air dropped it to 16 mpg. Not bad considering my Buick Rendezvous gets about the same in town and it has 25 less HP. After a few thousand miles it should do even better. Cross my fingers.
  • flokofloko Member Posts: 2
    Hi! Here in Austria, everyone wants to drive diesel. But I tell you what ... the Wrangler Diesel sucks. No power, no sound. Forget it!
  • theronrohrtheronrohr Member Posts: 51
    I pretty much agree also. Diesels have their pros and cons. I had a VW Golf TDI for 6 years. While I lived in the Boston suburbs I was happy with it. It got 40mpg and was cozy and comfortable. Then I moved to central Los Angeles and started to not like it so much. In city traffic it spends more time in its "grumpy zone" under 1500rpm where it has no power and makes a lot of noise - which I heard more clearly because I always had the window open. It is good in the mountains though but again once it gets up some steam. Its embarrasing starting uphill from a dead stop.

    Also in my case repairs an maintenance costs pretty much cancelled out the fuel savings. The thing I hadn't forseen was that because it was fairly rare parts and service know-how were also very rare and led to longer wait times for the 3 unexpected shop visits it had.

    I'd say in the end if you really do drive a lot of miles then get a diesel but average drivers should probably skip. Don't forget in Europe tax policy makes diesel much cheaper than gas.
  • sciguy85sciguy85 Member Posts: 45
    07 Unlimited X 4 door> Strictly city 14, all hiway 18.5 into the wind, 20+ with the wind. Mix 18-19 MPG
  • guy21guy21 Member Posts: 129
    07 X 2 door 6 speed > 300 highway miles @ 65 mph = 22 mpg
  • sciguy85sciguy85 Member Posts: 45
    07 Unlimited, 4x4,6 cyl, auto, 2000 miles on the clock, overdrive off, 2300 lb trailer, 17 highway/rural/stop and go.
  • juslookingjuslooking Member Posts: 9
    I also have the CRD and it is a POS. EGR valve is 500 buck fix, the fuel filter is 35 bucks, the oil is 27 bucks a gallon it takes 7.5 quarts to fill it with oil, the tranny fluid is 7 bucks a quart and it takes 14 quarts to fill the tranny, they put the same powertrain behind the CRD as is behind the Hemi and that is also a POS tranny and a bone head move.
  • waterboy33waterboy33 Member Posts: 1
    Hello, thanks for the great info on your Jeep. I do not yet own a Jeep, but I am looking into buying a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Your post caught my eye because I REALLY want to put a 3" lift and 33" tires on it. I know the gas mileage is all ready not the best. Could you tell me how the big tires and lift affected your mileage? I've read all I can about Jeep's MPG and don't think 18-20 MPG is so terrible. I'm afraid a lift and big tires will push it below what I'd like to go.

    Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, have a great week.
  • wendysingerwendysinger Member Posts: 18
    I have an '06 Unlimited w/ 4" lift and 33's. I get about 14 mpg but have been told that I might get better mileage if I change the gear ratio to help move the larger tires (and heavier rims). PS...I love my Unlimited vs. a regular Wrangler because I can fit my St. Bernard in the back.
  • erickplerickpl Member Posts: 2,735
    Keep in mind, if you regear and go with larger tires, you'll also need to verify or swap your speedometer gear to accurately reflect speed and mileage travelled.

    I had 4.10 and 30's on my TJ. I went to 4.88 and 33's. Speed and mileage was the same and I didn't have to change the speedo gear. If you don't change it, it will give you an inaccurate reading of speed and mileage travelled/MPG.

    -Paul
  • edf4edf4 Member Posts: 65
    I own a stock 2007 Unlimited X 4x4 with 17,500 miles. It has the 6 spd manual, 17" wheels and the 4.10 gear ratio. On regular gas, I average 17 mpg city and 19.5 hwy. This is as good or better than some of my friend's luxury/performance cars, but their cars take premium! :)
  • jabonejabone Member Posts: 15
    06 Unlimited Rubi 6spd stock - on recent trip tanks averaged between 18-22. One thing that made a huge difference was putting the tire pressure exactly at the specifications. When my tires are even a few (no more than 3) pounds low I lose about 2-3 mpg hwy. Also, in decent hills, I don't use cruise control... if I have luggage etc and the Jeep seems to struggle keeping speed, the accelerator just goes to the floor... instead I just maintain throttle position and let the speed scrub off 5 or so mph.
  • florman1florman1 Member Posts: 1
    I put in a new dist/cap/rotor/wires my gas milage went down 6 MPG don't know what to do ?
  • mac24mac24 Member Posts: 3,910
    .........don't know what to do ?

    Put the old ones back?
  • erickplerickpl Member Posts: 2,735
    You sure you ran the wires from the plugs to the right points on the cap? If you don't put em in in the correct order, you WILL have issues, the least of which is reduced MPG.

    -Paul
  • edf4edf4 Member Posts: 65
    The lift and 33" tires will reduce your gas mileage, but unless you re-gear, it will only be about 10% less. Go larger than 33's though and you will need to re-gear and then your mileage will suffer a 20%+ drop.
  • 96gc1owner96gc1owner Member Posts: 54
    Odd no one has posted here since 2009?? Anyway, I just purchased a 2010 JK Rubicon 2 door, soft top, automatic with stock size BFG Mud TAs and 47K miles on it. After a 1500 mile trip, I averaged 19.7 to 20.5 MPG driving 65-70 MPH with the A/C for about half the trip. :D
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    2012 Jeep Wrangler: Fuel Economy Update for May
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