97 ford taurus mpg issues

:banghead: I am having some issues with my 97 ford taurus. In town I am getting around 14 mpg (220 miles to the tank). On the highway I get about 28 mpg (450 miles to the tank). I do not understand why the difference is so big. I do not tend to drive like a maniac, and usually I start and stop smooth. We do 90% of our driving in city and rarely go about 45 mph. Our car does sometimes jump out of park which may be part of the problem but I don't know. We are pretty good about maintenance and have followed up on the normal stuff, oil changes, alignment, new tires, etc. etc.

Any ideas anyone? Input would be appreciated!

http://www.autobarn.net/maairflsecl1.html You can find it at some auto parts stores. New product so not in all parts stores yet.
Testimony from previous thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=685579&page=2

MAFS - mass flow air sensor I imagine in your intake ducting somewhere. On my 03 Vulcan it's in the intake tube. Strange yours gets such lousy mileage in town and does exceptionally well on the road. I get 20 in town and about 22-23 on the road.

MAFS has tiny thin wires not to be touched by anything but the spray. Follow directions on the can and should be good to go there.

Mine calls for 30 lbs in the tires so be particular about tire presure.

". . .does sometimes jump out of park which may be part of the problem but I don't know." Big safety issue there so I'd get that fixed immediately. One of our tranny experts will have to tell you if that would cause poor mileage.

Welcome to the forum!

Have you had this car long enough to know if it ever got higher in-town fuel economy than it is right now, with you driving it the way you are driving it now? Also, did you recently switch fuel stations, and are you using Ethanol?

In addition to cleaning the MAF sensor, you may want to consider checking or replacing the coolant temperature sensor. There will be a coolant temperature sensor that the PCM uses to adjust timing, EGR control, and air/fuel ratio, as well as a coolant temperature sender that controls what the gauge in the instrument cluster displays. So, the gauge could be reading absolutely correctly, but the PCM thinks the engine temperature is way off.

As for the transmission jumping out of park, you may want to explain that more. I don't recall reading about that being an issue on the Taurus, so a more detailed description of what is happening may aid the transmission gurus on what's going on.

-Rod

I have a 97 Taurus and yes they dont really do well in the city driving.But recently I drove my taurus all the way from Indianapolis,Indiana to Collinwood,Tennessee and didnt even need to fill up for gas until I reached Franklin,Kentucky which is on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.I still have almost a full tank of gas.

Yes, definitely get the MAFS cleaner! :grinyes: Whether it's the problem or not it will still help you in the end. It made all the difference in the world for us. As far as using th cleaner to clean your MAFS, first of all don't be intimidated by it. It's a very simple part to clean IF you respect it and take your time. Simply unplug it, remove the screws and carefully pull it out. Hold it ONLY by the base where the wires used to be pluged in at. Spray it with the MAFS cleaner and wait 30-40 seconds while it soaks into the dirt on the sensor. Repeat this 5-6 times and let it dry thoroughly for around 5 minutes. Do NOT touch any of the thin wires with your fingers and do NOT try to clean it with a Q-tip or anything else. Only allow the spray to touch the sensor. After it's dry simply re-insert it and screw it back in. Attach the plug and you're all done. Shouldn't take longer than 20-30 minutes tops for the whole proceedure :)

As for the car coming out of park, I don't see how that's possible unless something is grossly wrong with the tranny because you should have to apply the brake before you can put it into any gear. Until you get it looked at I would make a habit of using your emergency brake, which is a good habit to get into anyway. Regarding the milage; that will all depend on how often you have to stop and go. The more redlights and stop signs - the worse your milage will be in the city.

MAF and maybe 02 sensors