I have a 2012 Grand Caravan Crew Plus with 20,500 km on it that I purchased brand new.

I am very concerned with the mileage I am getting. Both my wife and I drive the van very carefully as we are always actively trying to improve the mileage.

I am using Amsoil synthetic motor oil and have done 2 oil changes since I bought the van.

There was a transmission software recall in December of 2012 that I had done.

I check the tire pressure weekly to ensure its ok.

Current mileage ratings are as follows:

• Every tank of gas average = 19.21 MPG. 45 full tanks.
• Highway tanks = 21.91 MPG - driving no more than 10 KM over speed limit. Using Cruise Control whenever possible.
• City tanks = 17.79 MPG - lots of stop and go as most city trips are in the 2 km to 5 km range.
• Factory Oil = 19.39 MPG.
• Amsoil Snythetic = 19.33 MPG.
• First 10,000 km = 19.03 MPG.
• Second 20,000 km = 19.57 MPG.
• Before Recall = 19.033 MPG.
• After Recall = 20.16 MPG.

I have spoken to the Service Advisor at my dealership as well as the Service Manager and they have not managed to provide me with any help.

They all tell me that I should be getting 26 MPG+


My sales rep contacted the factory but nothing came from that.....



Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ross Anderson

 

You should be getting at least 25 mpg for highway driving. Within the city you should get 17 mpg-23 mpg depending on how you drive your van. You are already using a top notch synthetic oil. I am assuming you are using 5w-20 oil. Keep in mind that the winter fuel efficiency will be lower than the summer one.

One thing you might try to improve you gas mileage is by using a top tier detergent gasoline (chevron, Esso, Petro Canada, Connoco, Exxon, Mobil, Shell,...)

 

Any signs of abnormal tire wear? Does it pull to one side while driving? Have the wheel alignment checked. Dragging brake? Check temps on each wheel using an IR thermometer.

What are you doing to "drive carefully"?

 

No signs of tire wear.
No pulling to one side.
Have not checked alignment.
I have had the brakes replaced 2 times due to them being excessively squeaky.

Slow acceleration from a stop.
No excessive acceleration while moving.
Cruise control activated in the city whenever possible.
No more than 5km over city speed limits of 50 of more. Speed limit under 50.

We really try hard to get good mileage but the van is simply failing me.

RA

 

Might try to get the dealer to read your short and long term fuel trim data using a scanner. That will show what all the sensors are doing over a period of time and may reveal a culprit. The usual culprits for your symptoms are the upstream O2 sensor, MAP or ECT sensor.

http://www.obd-codes.com/faq/fuel-trims.php

> You can by IR thermometers at Lowes, Home Depot and many other places for $30-$100. It's a pistol shaped gadget you point at the wheel, pull a trigger and read the temp.

> Cruise helps mileage on flat roads but it's advantages fall away when you hit hills.

 

I will contact the dealer and ask them about the trim data. Something has to be wrong.

As for the IR thermo. I assume it best to drive around for a period of time to warm the tires up prior to testing....

Thanks again.

RA

 

Well, I think maybe the 10km over the limit takes you out of the spec to a degree. I do not think they test at speeds over the KM.

Maybe try it at the posted speeds?

 

I am getting average 11L per 100km average - mostly city driving, but get considerable better on the highway probably 9L/100km or better - no idea of the conversion - I just don't bother anymore, I know I can get WAY better mileage in BC and the parks where I drive 96-98km/h than the QE2 to Edmonton where I drive 115-118km/h and everyone passes you, I also have 21,000km - did you get the tranny reprogrammed? Just did that to mine - hopefully it doesn't effect mileage

 

I had the tranny reprogrammed in December 2012 and they did another update in March 2013.

 

Last night I drove to a nearby city to pick something up. Here are my mileage stats for this drive.

Filled up gas tank.
Drove 1.3 km to highway and then drove 124 km on the 401 at exactly 100 km/h with cruise control on. Its a fairly straight flat run so the cruise did not have to work excessively hard. I had the windows up, A/C off, I even had the radio off.
I left the highway and drove 1.2 km to my destination and never exceeded the speed limit.
I made the return 1.2 km run to the 401 and drove home. Same parameters as the first half. 124 km distance, 100 km/h, cruise, windows up, A/C off etc....
I turned off the highway and drove the same 1.3 km to the gas station and filled up.

1.3 + 124 + 1.2 + 1.2 + 124 + 1.3 = 253 km trip

248 km at 100 km/h - Windows up, AC off, Cruise on. (Highway)
5 km at 0 - 60 km/h - Windows up, AC off. (City)

Statistics:
253 km driven
24.998 litres of fuel. I did not top off. When the pump shut off I stopped fueling.
9.88 l/100 km

or

157.2 miles driven
6.604 US gallons of fuel
23.81 MPG

I would have expected a much higher number for this trip.

This trip is however the 2nd best MPG per tank of gas my van has seen.