just wondering if anyone else has had this problem, within the last few months my gas mileage average has gone from around 14 mpg around town to about 9-10 mpg around town. even on the highway its almost tough to hit 16 (i was averaging 19-21 mpg) my driving style hasnt changed, but it really doesnt seem to matter how light i am with the pedal. just looking for some reasoning. ive been running mobil 1 in the truck since around june. im driving an 04 dodge ram quad cab 4wd w the hemi and closing in on 50,000 miles. the truck is pretty much stock, with the exception of a K&N drop-in filter.

 

Do you fill up or fill 1/2 to 3/4? Did that change, IE did you fill up and now you only go 1/2 or 3/4? I assume you are going by the overhead reading?

 

It's the winter blend of gasoline .The government held it back until The middle of December this year now the oil companies are making up for it. The fuels will get better after march 15 th. This happens every year now.

 

The overhead readings aren't always accurate. I'd make sure you do a hand calculation with the odometer and the amount of fuel burned since the last fiil up. If you get the same number you might want to take it in to a mechanic to be checked out. Continuously decreasing gas mileage or a big sudden drop can mean many possible things mechanically.

Silver Eagle,

Winter blend of gasoline? Where do you live? I've never heard of this difference in blend mandated by the government. I also really doubt that it would cause such a large change in efficiency without a 20/20 or Dateline public outcry type story. I've never seen any major drop in fuel economy during the winter with any of my cars since I've been driving. I've lived in both Georgia and Ohio.

 

i use both the overhead and hand calculations, i fill the tank when the guage gets around 1/2 full, been doing that since ive owned it.

 

The winter driving may be part of the reason, it also may be time for a tune-up. decreasing gas mileage is often the first thing to let you know that a tune-up is due. Also make sure you check tire pressure as underinflated tires can cause lower gas mileage, and it makes them wear out faster.

 

I have heard of a winter blend of diesel fuel, so it wouldnt supprise me if they
do the same with gas.
did you do the key check to see if you are throwing any codes??

 

I would have your truck looked over to see if if does in deed need a tune up.

 

Hard to do a hand calc if you are only filling E to 1/2. I also noticed that when you fill all the way the first 1/4 tank burned your over head reads higher milage than you are actually getting. Once under 3/4 is is more like what you get, but the lower the tank gets then the lower the reading says for MPG on the over head. It gets to a point that it says you are getting less than you really are. If you run from full to empty I am sure it is close, but running from 1/2 to near empty it would read less than you are getting.

 

Yep.............need to brim the tank and take odo reading, run for a while under different road conditions, city/highway/snow if applicable, to get an acurate reading for mixed driving.
Brim the tank and check odo again.
Do your hand calc and................
Voila.............there ya go, a realistic MPG figure.

I guess that should be a [sm=boohoo.gif], as we all know what we get for mpg on Rams. Still we knew that. The price we pay for happiness eh?

Al.