28MPG on the sticker? The gasoline EPA rating for the 2012 3.6L is 17 City, 20 Combined, 25 Highway, which seems about right and that's what should be on the Monroney (window sticker). E85 rating is of course much lower. 28MPG is not realistic. You will only see 28MPG if you drive off a cliff or maybe have ideal conditions (flat road, no traffic, no headwind).

As has been suggested, maybe the brakes are dragging. Unless you are driving like Mario Andretti at Indy, the 17/20/25 rating is achievable. Maybe a dealer scanner can read out instantaneous and average mpg, and compare to a similar van off the lot.

 

Yeh, My girlfriend never coasts. If she is not on the gas she is on the brakes. Really an experience to ride with which I avoid a great deal.

This thread needs to end I think. Good Luck

 

Exactly. The 2011+ 3.6L EPA fuel economy rating is the same as most of the old 3.3liter GC's sold for well over a decade and only 1-1/2 MPG better than the typical old 3.8L. A 5-10% improvement is nice, but not night and day.

The brakes have obviously been dragging and prematurely wearing out since almost new, so the engine thinks it's always going up hill, and therefore eats more fuel than most. When a brake pad on a Dodge GC has under 50% thickness remaining at 10K mi, that indicates to me that caliper is dragging (not releasing). This of course assumes some teenager isn't flogging it like a Mustang and the driver isn't resting their foot on the brake pedal with the brake lights glowing continuously. The left foot braking syndrome is quite common, perhaps one in 50 drivers use left foot braking and fail to lift it when applying gas. In these extreme cases where operator behavior is involved, the van would not be defective but economy would suk too. Toyota provides an alarm on the dash to notify left foot drivers that their foot is resting on the pedal.

However I'm guessing in this case a caliper or two has floating pin or pad track/spring issues causing a failure to release condition. This is easy to determine by monitoring uneven pad wear or jacking the corner and spinning the wheel by hand.

 

The brakes have squeeked since day 1. They still squeek. They squeek when it's dry. They squeek when it's wet. That's why they have been replaced twice. First time was at 2000 km and second time was 10,000 km.

I will go back to the dealer and again isn't this out to them.

 

Ross,

Squeaking or squealing brakes, when applied, are not a problem at all. That is just an annoying harmonic vibration caused by a hard, aggressive pad compound against the rotor surface. Race pads squeal like a pig when applied, but they do not drag at all when the brake pedal is released unless something is wrong.

However if the squealing and squeaking ever occurs when the brakes are NOT applied, then there's a very high probability that the brake making noise is sticking (dragging 24/7). There are some good ways to figure out which brake is stuck.

1) If they squeal when not applied, drive along a high curb, bldg or city wall with the windows open. Then turn around and drive the other direction. You and a passenger will be able to tell which side is squeaking and front or rear. Again, only concern yourself with squealing sounds with brakes NOT applied. Squealing with brakes applied is not relevant.
2) If they aren't squealing when not applied, feel the wheels right and left to compare temps. The right should always be the same temp as the left on the same axle. Never compare front to rear, that's not relevant at all. The hotter side wheel on a given axle has the stuck brake, period. Also your wheels should not get warm when you are cruising on the level highway, if you coast to a stop and check them. In this case of using no brakes at all, there would be nothing to heat up a wheel aside from a stuck brake. Try that.

It is sad to think of the hubdreds of dollars being flushed each year for stuck brakes. It is far more serious of an impact than an air filter or air pressure. Some newer cars have lifetime air filters that never get changed. Significant restriction does not result until you see 50K+ mi or so, unless you live in a dust bowl dirt cloud.

As mentioned before, the dealer tech will likely not find anything. They will just change your pads again and send you away with a free car wash and lollipop for your kid lol. This is why I do all my own work. I feel sorry for folks who are at the mercy of the dealership. My daughter paid $500 for a serpentine idler pulley job on a ford Focus. The part was $20. Recognizing the symptom and finding the right mechanic in short order is always key.

Good luck, hope this helps

 

Thanks for the advice. I will take a look at this on the weekend and respond.