I bought this van because I drive a lot. I sold a 97 Ford Ranger that got about 15 mpg (gas). The fuel cost was killing me. I have about 2000 miles on the Sprinter. By the way, its a low roof, 118" passenger. I've been tracking my mileage and I'm not impressed. I understand that the engine needs a break-in period and that might affect mileage, but this seems wrong. I've been averaging 15 mpg. Now, most of my driving has been on the highway at a rather wimpy 80 mph. After reading the forums (before I bought), I was under the impression I would be getting about 21 mpg. THAT'S why I bought a Sprinter. Not because of stunning good looks (gag), or it's high performance (yawn), or it's awsome stereo (even talk radio sounds bad on that crappy thing). Before you ask, I have about 200 to 300 pounds of tools, etc in the back. Everything else is just like from the dealer. There are 2 bench seats back there. Big deal, THAT shouldn't make a difference. Any thoughts before I start thinking about getting rid of it?

HELP

 

Does ANYONE know what kind of mileage they're getting?

 

Can't comment on the US version,but that MPG is crap,never get less than 22mpg (imp. gal),and i batter the hell out of mine.try posting on http://sprintervan@yahoogroups.com,there are some helpful types on their (Bill Boyer to name one),gets a bit to technical for me,but have found you guys seem to have a lot more problem with your F/L,Dodge versions than we do with the euro Merc product,hope this helps.

 

Maybe you need new spark plugs already? (JKJK, I know diesels don't have spark plugs.)
That is interesting, though. Driving at 80MPH may account for 2-3MPG. Have you tried using differant fuel station (ie. if you use BP, switch to Exxon) to see if that makes a differance? Is the computer throwing any trouble codes? I know that amount of weight will not cause 15MPG, because I've talked to contractors that load bunch of weight in theres and still manage 23-ish MPG.
Other than slowing down (a couple MPG's), possibly changing fuel providers (perhaps another couple MPG, if you've been getting poor fuel), and having the computer checked for codes, I can't tell you what to do (I have no information about the diesel system on the Sprinter)
Well, when you find out what it is, let us know.

 

Ok, you guys have given me something to work with. I'd rather find out what I can on my own before I go back to the dealer. In today's world, 9 times out of ten, the "experts" know less than a well informed consumer.
I'll let you know what I find out.

 

Hi, I owned a 2004 Sprinter van 158" wb. converted to an RV and it gets 19.5 to 25 mpg depending on the speed I drive. 19.5mpg if I speed above 70mph. I found a problem recently with a fuel leak on the fuel pump input hose. You may be getting poor mileage from a the same leak. The leak on mine was in the rubber tube where it attaches to the front of the pump. Seems the clamp is not tight enough. You can't miss it the rubber tubes. Its right at the top front part of the engine.

An easy check is to look under the engine area for any wet spot on your driveway or anything dripping. Mine was dripping a drop per second on to the ground while the van was idling.

Again, I bought mine new (left over model) and it now has only 5k miles on it.

RT

 

I have an 06 loaded 158 inch, tall van with both A/C units. My wife was driving it when the check engine light illuminated and it went into default mode. Turned out to be the intake air temp sensor. It was replaced and everything was OK for about two tanks of fuel then the mileage began to deteriorate again. On my first long trip I was intially getting about 19 (no air-wintertime) which steadily deteriorated to about 15, pulling a small trailer (1200 lbs). I stopped and talked with the service rep at the Dodge dealer in Eureka CA (not a Sprinter dealer). Turns out the air temp sensor has been therough several revisions. He had one on hand which was the prior revision to the one my dealer had replaced, so I bought it ($35) and plugged it in on the chance things would be better for the trip. We finished the trip OK, though the mileage had begun to get worse, and I checked in with my dealer (Lynnwood Dodge, Seattle). The service rep said there was yet another revision out for the sensor . Rather than mess with putting the van in for another day, I just bought the latest and plugged it in. Immediately things got better, but the mileage was never better than a little over 20 mpg. I took it back again and the checked it out, reporting no codes. While it was there they changed the fuel filter (13000 miles) and the van ran substantially better, yielding 21.4 on the first tank. The second tank got a bit over 19 mpg. This is with the same to-from work mix of street and freeway driving, mostly at about 65 mph. I've never, ever seen anything close to the 23-25 mpg people report.

BTW, the earlier sensors had green or blue paint on the retaining clips, the latest one is just black-no color.

Anyone have any suggestions/comments? I've just added a K&N air filter to see if that will improve things.

Thanks

 

I drive 60K plus a year with my 03 158wb high top, and on a full tank I can get 560 to 600 miles. I use only Hess diesel, I'm easy off the start for two reasons 1. fuel consumption 2. these trucks will eat thru rear tires if you hammer down from a stop. I also try to keep my highway speed under 75MPH. I use only Mobile 1 0-40 every 6K miles, I don't dare run 10K like the stealership recommends. I have 170K on it right now and still runs strong. I say just be easy with the pedal foot.

 

I've had a couple VW TDIs and the one thing I strongly recommend against is the K&N as the oil can coat your MAF Sensor. We just bought a new '07 CRD from Lynnwood and our first tank was 18.47 mpg (not entirely accurate, since we did not do the first fill up,we'll know more after this tank with a B2 Blend) and the driving mix has been 30/70 (hwy/city). Based on this initialnumber andonceour engine isbroken in >50,000 miles we are anticipatingbeing in the 22-23mpg range. We drive in the slowlane and do btwn 60-65 on I-5, we have three kids so we aren't in a rush to get anywhere anymore.

FWIW, we also found that if we drove from our home in Snohomish County to my parents home in Pierce County with our VW TDIs we would get better fuel economy than on the return trip; I suspect itwas due to driving down grade most of the way one way and upgrade on the return trip.

I know I'm comparing apples (5 Cyl CDI) and oranges (V-6 CRD), so the numbers for fuel economy should not be compared.

TipsI recommed for good fuel economy with a diesel (I had a700+ mile tank on a bone stock'01 VW TDI Jetta with a 600lb load = 50.1 mpg):
- properly inflated tires
- proper engine break-in
- clean air filter
- clean intercooler (every 15k or so)
- clean intake (not as big of an issue with ULS from my understanding)
- clean EGR (not as big of an issue with ULS from my understanding)
- use of additives such as diesel-clean or stanadyne
- not driving like a Bat Out of Hades (I noticed CA drivers like to be the first across the intersection - "I live life 60 ft at a time")
- keep it over 50 and under 70 (unless chipped and equipped with larger injectors)
- ground effects are not just for looks (but do you really want that on your Sprinter)
- wax (not sure it'll help with a hi-top or super hi-top, but when you have theaerodynamics ofa brick with a wedge in front, every littlebit helps)
- windows up
- A/C off
- minimize lane changes

 

The first4 tanks in my '07 passenger Sprinter was between 18.23 and 18.67mpg. My last tank was 19.49mpg; I am not driving for fuel economy at this time.

My 18.67 mpg tank was with me towing 4800lbs; granted, it was only for 10 miles. However, the van was quite comfortable with this.