Taurus 2003 fuel economy

[road_rascal]

The EPA mileage stickers are only estimates, and I think they're grossly overstated. The EPA is in the process of revising its mileage estimates:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

[aholland1970]

Originally Posted by shorod

I'd start by adding a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to your fuel tank and see if that makes a difference. For the $3 or so, it certainly won't harm your fuel economy and may possibly fix your fuel economy.

Did any of the shops that looked at your car connect a scan tool to the car and monitor the O2 sensor readings in datastream mode while driving the car and perform the I/M Readiness checks?

-Rod

Rod, I did try fuel injector cleaner. They hooked it up to the computer and one on the highway. When they road tested it they reported 29.4MPG. They laughed when I took it in and said I use to get 23MPG. I spoke with a guy last night that has the same car and said it gets 23 city and 27 highway. Don't know about the o2 test.

Anthony

[aholland1970]

I'm not happy with the 16+ when I use to get close to 22 mpg city. We drove the car for almost two years and know how far we use to go on a tank of gas, not how much it cost, but how far.

The guys at the dealership told me I wouldn't go as far on $10.00 as I use to. I am an electrical engineer and can do basic math and the number use to be roughly 22-23 now they are 16-17mpg.

Anthony

[letsrace]

I've got an '04 with the Duratec...friend has a '05 with the Vulcan. This past weekend we both drove our cars on a road trip. On the tank home we checked the exact mileage....my Duratec 28 mpg his Vulcan 28.5...mixed highway driving 2/3 freeway 75+ the rest 2 lane.

On the highway I rountinely get 28-30 mpg....if just me in the car...not loaded down. If I have 4 people and luggage 24-25 is very realistic.

Overall the car is just great. The only thing I gotta find a solution to is a way to keep the back end of the pavement with a full load in the car.

[mwt878991]

Originally Posted by letsrace

Overall the car is just great. The only thing I gotta find a solution to is a way to keep the back end of the pavement with a full load in the car.

You can do a couple of things.

You can use the SHO Jar springs or you can loosen the pinch bolt on the rear struts and drive the struts up.


Mike

[redcar]

my 01 gets 24 on average, and thats with most of the miles highway, just as a note my Yukon XL with a V-8 gets 15-19 same type of driving. My old Lumina with 150K, was getting 27-30. I'm also a little disappointed with what I'm getting with the Taurus also. But hey, I want the safety of the bigger car so you can't have it all.

[tenacious e]

Originally Posted by redcar

But hey, I want the safety of the bigger car so you can't have it all.

same here. i thought about smaller cars or 4cyl but they just didn't feel right. i traded in an '00 ranger 3.0 5spd for my '05 taurus about a month ago and noticed slightly better mileage than i got on the truck but nothing to get excited about. i'll take the extra room and safety for my family over a couple mpg any day.

[escort0526]

I would disagree with the post about escorts and contours. My 01 sel (when it runs) has 75k gets about 25-28 mpg, which I think it pretty good for a car that heavy and a foot as heavy as mine has to contend with. However, my '93 escort has double the mileage, gets 35-38 mpg, has never leaked or used a drop of oil and I still drive it when the taurus isn't running. So overall, though I'd agree the taurus is safer, it's biggest safety feature is that it doesn't go anywhere. So tune up your taurus, clean the fuel injectors and lighten up on the pedal.

[escort0526]

I would disagree with the post about escorts and contours. My 01 sel (when it runs) has 75k gets about 25-28 mpg, which I think it pretty good for a car that heavy and a foot as heavy as mine has to contend with. However, my '93 escort has double the mileage, gets 35-38 mpg, has never leaked or used a drop of oil and I still drive it when the taurus isn't running. So overall, though I'd agree the taurus is safer, it's biggest safety feature is that it doesn't go anywhere. So tune up your taurus, clean the fuel injectors and lighten up on the pedal.