Can anyone explain why Wranglers have low gas mileage numbers compared to the Liberty? Given that the Liberty is a heavier vehicle, I would think the opposite would be true. I’m looking at the 2003 Wrangler SE with the new 2.4 L Power Tech DOHC I-4 engine and manual transmission that is rated at 18 mpg city/20 mpg highway. The 2003 4 x 4 Liberty with the same engine is rated at 20 mpg city/24 mpg highway. I’m ready to buy a Wrangler but this gas mileage question is bothering me. I’d also be interested in hearing what gas mileage you actually get with a Wrangler.
I think mainly the difference is the aerodynamics. Possibly, gearing comes into play also, but you'll notice the city rating is only 2 MPG different between the two vehicles, while the difference becomes 4 MPG on the highway, so I think that tells us that aerodynamics is the big factor.
If you want a Wrangler, then poor gas mileage is just something you will have to live with. To me it is WELL worth the sacrifice to have the fun of having a Wrangler.
I just did a little calculation to see the monetary impact of the difference between a vehicle that gets 15 MPG vs. one that gets 20 MPG over the course of a year, assuming a person drives 15,000 miles per year and a fuel cost of $1.50 per gallon. This worked out to be $375 more per year for gas on the one that gets 15 MPG. That's about a dollar a day, and I can live with that for the sake of owning a Wrangler.
If you have never owned a Wrangler, you just don't have a clue as to how much fun they are!
I have the Sport, which has the 4.0 I-6 engine, and until I started adding mods, I was getting about 18 MPG on mostly highway driving (I drive 27 miles each one way to work.). That was driving only 60 to 65 MPH.
I am down to about 14 or 15 MPH since going to mud terrain tires and adding armor for offroading (gas tank skid, rocker panels, steering box skid).
The lift is done! I got it back yesterday and all is well. It looks great and drives good. The suspension is a bit stiffer now and of course the speedo is off a little. I put on the Sport King 12.5 X 33's which are a BFG generic tire. I had these tires on other vehicles and I was well pleased with the performance and wear. Now that the lift is on I put on the "Goldzilla" registration plate. I didn't feel right putting it on prior to the lift. Along with the lift I put in an air horn by WOLO. I thought the factory horn was weak but this certainly took care of that. I stayed with the Canyon wheels. They had to adjust the steering stops and place a 1/2" spacer on each of the rear wheels. Nothing rubs yet. They said they used this setup on other Wranglers and all was OK. One guy I know uses the same setup and he wheels quite a bit with no problem. I have not had time to get any pictures yet. When I picked it up I had to go in to work. This morning I had to replace a dead battery in my daughter's Neon. It is charging now and when that is all done it's off to work again for 3-11 shift. I have to work 3-11 tomorrow too but if the weather is nice maybe I can get some pictures posted before I run off to work. I did have a chance to compare the speedo with my GPS. I ran it for some distance comparing the readings of the odometer against the GPS. It calculated out to be 8.2% off (reading low). As close as I can tell that is what the speedometer seems off also. For anybody who didn't know I had a Skyjacker 4" lift installed. It was the lift for the hardtop Wranglers with the "hydro" shocks. When you order the hardtop type lift it comes with slightly stiffer springs to help support the additional weight. Yup, everything seems great so far! Tom
Went to Turkey Bay, but I could find no other Jeeps to tag along with. Since I was without a rescue vehicle, I didn't do anything that involved much chance of getting stuck, and, therefore, did nothing that would put the locker to a test.
Hopefully this coming Saturday I will have some company on the trail and can see what that locker will do.
I did come up out of a dry creek bed with the tires spinning, and I made it. I have to believe that without the locker, I would have had to tackle that steep bank with a little speed instead of just being able to scratch my way out like I did yesterday.
I'm still real happy with the way Thelma behaves on the pavement with that locker. Very few undesirable side effects.
I'm sure that tsjay is right about the aerodynamics being a major influence on the Wrangler's mileage figures. I also have a Sport with the 4L engine. I get 20 mpg with almost all highway driving, staying at 60-65 mpg, without any wind. I can do 2 round trips to work under those conditions. If I get caught up with someone else's speed and find myself driving more than 70, or if it is windy, the mileage goes down a huge amount and I can only do 1 1/2 trips (75 miles one way).
Only you, the user, can make the decision if the lousy gas mileage is worth it. I love my Wrangler, but I have another vehicle for my daily driver, because of it's lousy gas mileage. I really dislike the Taco and can't wait until I can afford to dump it, but can't quite get over the extra cost in gas to go with just a Wrangler. I think that for me (because of the miles I drive) the extra gas would not be all that much less than the car payment.
By the way, tsjay, thanks for sending some moisture this way. When I got up this morning the yard was damp, the day is cloudy and there's a hint of fall in the air!
Man, what a beautiful day! The temperature is about 80° and the sun is shining.
I'm taking advantage of this nice weather and waxing Thelma Jane. I just took a break to eat some lunch, and I thought I would say hi to everyone before going back out to finish the job.
With her doors off, there isn't a lot of sheet metal to wax. There isn't much on a Jeep anyway, though, come to think of it, even if the doors were on.
When I hand washed her this AM, I washed her engine compartment for the first time ever. I sprayed "Simple Green" fully concentrated on eveything under the hood and then sprayed it all down with the garden hose. I covered the air intake snout to keep any water from getting in there. The results were pretty good, but I should have wiped things down with a sponge or a rag. There's still some dirt in there, but it looks much better than it did.
Peter Egan, a columnist for Car and Driver once wrote an article where he intimated that the measure of a man (or woman) is in the number of cylinders he/she owns. I thought it might be fun for us to count our Cylinders.
With the Lincoln, Windstar, and Wrangler, we got 20. Add to that a chainsaw, Lawn Mower, Blower, Weed eater, Leaf Vac, and Chipper/shredder, my Cylinder count totals 26.
Egan had a friend into airplanes (couple of Allison V16's) who had over 100....
Thought this was a funny subject...
Ever hear of the Torque and Recoil club? OK thats another subject for different day!
I thought it might be fun for us to count our Cylinders.
I have a bowl of pennies across the room with perhaps 5,000 of them. Now pennies are cylinders too (short cylinders but cylinders nevertheless) so I suppose I measure up quite well! Top that! ;-)
I'm saving up for an SUV but it may take a while - looking forward to the 2020 models!
TOM, thought u were a jeep prurist now The jeep was suposed to stay dirty now. Now, Dont u get like me & keep that jeep clean. The others will talk about your too. Well.. we got rid of isadore looks like Lili is following the same path. We we never see the sun again.
That's what I have been tryin' to tell ya! You can wheel that Jeep without forgetting all about how it looks. I still take real good care of Thelma Jane. Dirt washes off!
My thoughts on my new vehicle are that I would like to 4wheel once or twice a month. It seems there is a place called paragon within a couple hours from me. And there seems to be a lot of trails with different levels. I would first take a off roading course at that park to test out my skills and the vehicle. So the point is , is the sport worthy of the tougher trails or would the rubicon be best? Also my wife may drive at times and is not a stick driver, but could be taught, do you lose a lot 4wheeling in an automatic or are you considered a wannabe?
I've been all over the house three times, and counting everything, I'm still at seven.... Steve Host SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
I don't think you lose anything with an auto for 'wheeling. Some prefer the auto because you are less likely to spin tires (not a good thing). Others prefer the 5 speed because you can specify which gear you want. I prefer a MT but that's just me. I burned up a couple of Nissan auto trannys when I moved to the mountains. The sport is very trail worthy - read tsjay's posts about his experiences. As you find yourself doing more you can always modify it. Since my interest in 4WD is to get me places I wouldn't otherwise be able to get to, the Sport is fine.
I don't have much for cylinders - we don't own a lawn mower or a chain saw, or even a hand saw. So just the 10 (the Taco and Wrangler). Don't suppose a 6 round magazine for a .22 Ruger counts...
I own a 2002 Jeep Wrangler X that runs very rough on normal roads (no off roads). It sounds like there is a "miss" in the engine. This problem has existed since "Day One" with only 10 miles on the odometer. Dealer said that there is no problem. I have owned many cars, including another Wrangler, and none sounded this rough unless there was a problem. Engine light does not come on but there has to be a problem. I drove another 2002 Wrangler that sounded quieter and ran smoother. Are there engine problems with these Jeeps?
Nope, I haven't heard of any engine problems with the Wranglers. I don't think you'll find a single post in here about a Wrangler that has a missfire in the engine. I hang out other places too (sorry, Edmunds), and I have seen no posts about it in those other message boards.
Now, you talk about a rough ride, and I wonder if that might be due to excessive tire pressure, an out of balance tire, or something like that rather than a miss in the engine? Are you relating the rough ride to an engine problem, or are you saying that you have two different problems, a rough ride AND a missfiring engine?
Whatever, I am sorry you are having problems and hope you get them fixed to your satisfaction. Good luck. Please keep us posted, OK?
MANY people prefer an automatic for wheelin', but I think most of those guys are rock crawlers out west. There are raging debates going in many message boards about which tranny is better for wheelin', an auto or a stick.
A Sport is fine for wheelin', but a Rubicon has many features that would cost you a fortune to add to a Sport. Heck, an SE is fine for wheelin' for that matter.
I think I told you in a previous post, a Rubicon is truly an amazing value for all the goodies that you get. There is absolutely NO WAY that you could buy a Sport and add all the stuff that a Rubicon has and come out even close money-wise.
One of the very best things that you could do is get a good, experienced wheelin' buddy or two to show you the ropes. I was very fortunate to have found some great guys to lead me on the trails and bring me along without getting me in over my head.
Good luck! Hope you get just the right Jeep for your needs.
I shouldn't have to worry about finding some other Jeeps to hook up with this weekend! There's a Jeep club from near St. Louis that is having an outing Friday thru Sunday at Turkey Bay.
I checked out their web site and saw that there were 39 people signed up for it!!!!!
Now, if the weather will just cooperate...
I hope I can go topless and doorless this weekend. Would hate to have to put that top and those doors back on.
I am taking Friday off as a vacation day, so that I can wheel with those guys.
V6 and a lawn mower with so little compression that it barely counts as a full cylinder ;-)
Tom, I thought you were hooked before but now you've really gone hook, line and lockers. Steve Host SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Congrats on the 119k mark! You're now showing me that Wranglers can last for a long time. I'm still holding at 104k - been saving my pennies for the roof. My roofer is out on disability and I'm trying to find another one (something not easy when you live out in the middle of nowhere and there is enough work where everywhere else). I figure the cost is going to go up, so I haven't been playing much. Hopefully that will change at the end of the month (heading for the Sierras then, but the weather might not cooperate).
I think that 92 Dodge Cummins should count for more than the 6 it has!
"Nope, I haven't heard of any engine problems with the Wranglers. I don't think you'll find a single post in here about a Wrangler that has a missfire in the engine. I hang out other places too (sorry, Edmunds), and I have seen no posts about it in those other message boards."
"...- been saving my pennies for the roof. ...(something not easy when you live out in the middle of nowhere and there is enough work where everywhere else). I figure the cost is going to go up, ..."
You need to convince the roofers that the air is fresh and coffee plentiful up in the mountains. Tell them it is like a getaway!
I checked out some, but not all, of those posts from your search results, and they were mostly for Liberty's, Grand Cherokee's, and older Wranglers, like YJ's. The TJ's that I saw were 97's, which is before they went to the distributorless ignition. Some of those guys had been playing in mud and/or water just before their troubles started.
I don't think there have been enough cases with newer TJ's to say that there has been a common problem with them.
my wife wont go any where nere my jeep when it's going offroad .i wish so would come . when ever we let my friends stupid girlfriend come all she dose is sleep .and wine all the way home becouse it's cold .
yesterday at work i got to use my new front bumper . we all have to park on the street and there was this one junk car someone left in one of the good parking spots . [a bad spot is the no parking zone ] it's been there for like two weeks . so i had everyone parked by it move there cars so i could push it out of the way. after that i showed them the photos of my jeep driving on the mazda RX-7 . i told them to never box me in .
Uh, Lili ain't my wife. Lili is Hurricane Lili, and the remnants of her will be over our wheelin' area this weekend.
That's why I put the top back on Thelma Jane.
My wife never goes wheelin' with me. I took her one time and didn't even do anything the least bit risky, but she was convinced we were gonna die, and she has never been back since.
Hello fellow Jeep owners. Man, I just love these vehicles. My wife currently drives a 2002 Sahara. I've been kicking around the idea of purchasing a Rubicon. What's so special about the Rubicon? All information (positive or negative) are welcome. Thanks,
Comments
......i have a 1997 big foot edition wrangler.......
If you want a Wrangler, then poor gas mileage is just something you will have to live with. To me it is WELL worth the sacrifice to have the fun of having a Wrangler.
I just did a little calculation to see the monetary impact of the difference between a vehicle that gets 15 MPG vs. one that gets 20 MPG over the course of a year, assuming a person drives 15,000 miles per year and a fuel cost of $1.50 per gallon. This worked out to be $375 more per year for gas on the one that gets 15 MPG. That's about a dollar a day, and I can live with that for the sake of owning a Wrangler.
If you have never owned a Wrangler, you just don't have a clue as to how much fun they are!
I have the Sport, which has the 4.0 I-6 engine, and until I started adding mods, I was getting about 18 MPG on mostly highway driving (I drive 27 miles each one way to work.). That was driving only 60 to 65 MPH.
I am down to about 14 or 15 MPH since going to mud terrain tires and adding armor for offroading (gas tank skid, rocker panels, steering box skid).
Hope this helps.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
-twylie
Looking forward to those pics!
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Hopefully this coming Saturday I will have some company on the trail and can see what that locker will do.
I did come up out of a dry creek bed with the tires spinning, and I made it. I have to believe that without the locker, I would have had to tackle that steep bank with a little speed instead of just being able to scratch my way out like I did yesterday.
I'm still real happy with the way Thelma behaves on the pavement with that locker. Very few undesirable side effects.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Only you, the user, can make the decision if the lousy gas mileage is worth it. I love my Wrangler, but I have another vehicle for my daily driver, because of it's lousy gas mileage. I really dislike the Taco and can't wait until I can afford to dump it, but can't quite get over the extra cost in gas to go with just a Wrangler. I think that for me (because of the miles I drive) the extra gas would not be all that much less than the car payment.
By the way, tsjay, thanks for sending some moisture this way. When I got up this morning the yard was damp, the day is cloudy and there's a hint of fall in the air!
I'm taking advantage of this nice weather and waxing Thelma Jane. I just took a break to eat some lunch, and I thought I would say hi to everyone before going back out to finish the job.
With her doors off, there isn't a lot of sheet metal to wax. There isn't much on a Jeep anyway, though, come to think of it, even if the doors were on.
When I hand washed her this AM, I washed her engine compartment for the first time ever. I sprayed "Simple Green" fully concentrated on eveything under the hood and then sprayed it all down with the garden hose. I covered the air intake snout to keep any water from getting in there. The results were pretty good, but I should have wiped things down with a sponge or a rag. There's still some dirt in there, but it looks much better than it did.
Well, back to work.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
What do I do?
When I get near my gas tanks I hear a great sucking sound...
With the Lincoln, Windstar, and Wrangler, we got 20. Add to that a chainsaw, Lawn Mower, Blower, Weed eater, Leaf Vac, and Chipper/shredder, my Cylinder count totals 26.
Egan had a friend into airplanes (couple of Allison V16's) who had over 100....
Thought this was a funny subject...
Ever hear of the Torque and Recoil club?
OK thats another subject for different day!
I have a bowl of pennies across the room with perhaps 5,000 of them. Now pennies are cylinders too (short cylinders but cylinders nevertheless) so I suppose I measure up quite well! Top that! ;-)
I'm saving up for an SUV but it may take a while - looking forward to the 2020 models!
tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories
thought u were a jeep prurist now
The jeep was suposed to stay dirty now.
Now, Dont u get like me & keep that jeep clean.
The others will talk about your too.
Well.. we got rid of isadore looks like Lili is following the same path. We we never see the sun again.
KEEP JEEPIN
ROLL TIDE
BAMA!!
C ya
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
;-)
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Gasoline once a year gets most of them.
Wrangler Sahara-6
BMW 528i-6
BMW 318ti Club Sport-4
Pathfinder SE(AKA Gojira)-6
Benelli Mini-Enduro-1
International Harvester Cub 154 Tractor-4
Dixon ZTR Estate Mower-2
Bunton Push Mower-1
Bunton Push Mower-1
Homelite Chain Saw-1
Poulan Chain Saw-1
Shindaiwa String Trimmer-1
Stihl Leaf Blower-1
Stihl Hedge Trimmer-1
Stihl Chain Saw-1
Total cylinder count: 37
If so, is it one, or can you count each chamber?
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
See how far I've come???
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
I don't have much for cylinders - we don't own a lawn mower or a chain saw, or even a hand saw. So just the 10 (the Taco and Wrangler). Don't suppose a 6 round magazine for a .22 Ruger counts...
Now, you talk about a rough ride, and I wonder if that might be due to excessive tire pressure, an out of balance tire, or something like that rather than a miss in the engine? Are you relating the rough ride to an engine problem, or are you saying that you have two different problems, a rough ride AND a missfiring engine?
Whatever, I am sorry you are having problems and hope you get them fixed to your satisfaction. Good luck. Please keep us posted, OK?
Welcome to the board.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
A Sport is fine for wheelin', but a Rubicon has many features that would cost you a fortune to add to a Sport. Heck, an SE is fine for wheelin' for that matter.
I think I told you in a previous post, a Rubicon is truly an amazing value for all the goodies that you get. There is absolutely NO WAY that you could buy a Sport and add all the stuff that a Rubicon has and come out even close money-wise.
One of the very best things that you could do is get a good, experienced wheelin' buddy or two to show you the ropes. I was very fortunate to have found some great guys to lead me on the trails and bring me along without getting me in over my head.
Good luck! Hope you get just the right Jeep for your needs.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
I checked out their web site and saw that there were 39 people signed up for it!!!!!
Now, if the weather will just cooperate...
I hope I can go topless and doorless this weekend. Would hate to have to put that top and those doors back on.
I am taking Friday off as a vacation day, so that I can wheel with those guys.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
37!
Anybody top that?
Or a v8 car with a dead cylinder? LOL
Tom, I thought you were hooked before but now you've really gone hook, line and lockers.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
What is the club's name? There is a club near where I live called the Mid Rivers Jeep Thing. Is that the one?
Steve
Garden Tractor 2, Riding Mower 1, Push Mower 1, Stihl #25 Chain Saw 1, Stihl #17 Chain Saw 1,
Poulan Chain saw 1, Poulan String Trimmer 1, No Name String Trimmer 1, = 41
mtngal Old Red has hit the 119k mark
Walt
I think that 92 Dodge Cummins should count for more than the 6 it has!
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Steve
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
You might want to check here. I found 19 topics on quick inspection. http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=1896&sortby=&sortorder=
Tom, just because you don't want to see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
:-)
You need to convince the roofers that the air is fresh and coffee plentiful up in the mountains. Tell them it is like a getaway!
BUMMER!
Stupid Lili has invited herself to our wheelin' get together this weekend, so I thought I'd better get prepared,I still haven't put the doors back on. Just couldn't stand that in the same evening when the top went back on. Guess I'll do that tomorrow night.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
I don't think there have been enough cases with newer TJ's to say that there has been a common problem with them.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
That's why I put the top back on Thelma Jane.
My wife never goes wheelin' with me. I took her one time and didn't even do anything the least bit risky, but she was convinced we were gonna die, and she has never been back since.
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?
Show us!!!
Steve
They come from the factory with 31" tires.
About all a guy would ever want to do to one is get a bigger lift and bigger tires.
Welcome to the board!
Tom
Have you hugged your Jeep today?