Fuel economy - Vulcan Taurus?

[stodge]

Just wondering what you all get for fuel economy from you Vulcan Tauruses. I'm getting about 10mpg around town with a heavy foot and 13mpg (approx) with a light foot. This seems awfully low. I can't get more than 400km per tank around town. Sorry for the mixture of units! Mine is a 2000 SE with 50000km.

[KimMG]

When was the last time you had your car tuned. Check the air filter. Sounds like your car is running rich. Check the fuel lines. Leaking fuel can contribute to poor fuel economy.

[stodge]

I had it tuned and fixed within the past two months. It's had several repairs already and a full tune up. It's had so much work that I'm not sure what else can be wrong to cause this.

[joe92k1500]

I have an 01' Taurus vulcan 55kmi. I only get about 240-260 miles out of 3/4 of a tank. Thats half highway and city miles, with a heavy foot. When i first got it i used to get 280mi.

[stodge]

Ok that's about 400km from 3/4 of a tank, while I only get that (250miles or 400km) from a full tank. So my consumption is down at least 25%.

Also, you're probably getting around 333 miles per tank, or approx 18.5mpg. I'm getting a maximum of 13mpg per tank around the city.

(These are all projected estimates......)

[TomV]

I have a 97 G with close to 90,000 miles on it and getting well over 20 mpg.

You mention having a tune-up within the past few months. I would take it back to the shop and explain your concerns about the fuel consumption. With the price of gasoline these days you cannot afford such poor fuel economy. The proper test equipment should be able to pinpoint any engine-related problems.

[stodge]

I did take it back, but they found nothing wrong. I have no way to prove or disprove this as it would cost me money to get a third party to look at it.

[stodge]

Could it be that the fuel gauge is giving me incorrect information? I re-filled the tank tonight. The gauge was showing about 30% left in the tank. But the gas pump showed that I had put in 35 litres (a tad over half a tank). I kept filling the tank until it would click every time I tried to add more, so I think it really was full.

Is there some little device in the tank that sends info to the gauge on how much fuel is left? Could that be broken?

Thanks again

[Willyum]

Tires properly inflated? 40 in front 30 in back? Wheel alignment? Driving habits have a lot to do with it. Warm up your car before driving off or leave it parked with the engine running? Spend a lot of time at red lights? Drive like grandma or a taxi driver? Anticipate red lights in advance? Drive near the speed limit or have to pass that car ahead of you, just because you can?

[TomV]

Originally Posted by stodge

Could it be that the fuel gauge is giving me incorrect information? I re-filled the tank tonight. The gauge was showing about 30% left in the tank. But the gas pump showed that I had put in 35 litres (a tad over half a tank). I kept filling the tank until it would click every time I tried to add more, so I think it really was full.

Is there some little device in the tank that sends info to the gauge on how much fuel is left? Could that be broken?

Thanks again

Even if the guage were broken that should have nothing to do with how you calculate your gas mileage. The number of gallons at a fillup divided by the number of miles since your last fillup is the mpg. The guage is not used for the calculation. It is way too inaccurate for that.

If you do not notice excessive reving of the engine or more drag from brake components then there are not a whole lot more things left besides the engine to investigate. I think you should be getting 20 mpg. If you are only geting 13 then you are losing money, lots of it. In a year of driving 12,000 miles you spend money for 600 gals of gasoline for the 20 mpg model. You spend money for 923 gals, an extra 323 gals. Here in Maryland gas is $1.80 per gal, and that translates to $581 per year in extra gas money because it would cost me money to get a second opinion to fix my car. I prefer to spend it on gas instead.

[Gravesubject]

Stodge:
I have a 2000 SE with the Duratec and 59K, and it averages 20 MPG in around-town driving. It gets as low as 18 when I leadfoot it and once got almost 30 MPG on a long, steady highway trip.

Has your fuel economy decreased over time? The oxygen sensors on my '94 Explorer went bad about 105K miles and really crapped the fuel economy. These are fairly easy to replace and cost about $60 USD each. With only 31K miles on the odometer, your Taurus shouldn't be in need of new oxygen sensors, but it might be worthwhile to check into it.

[hain84]

my taurus gets around 21- 29 mpg. I do mostly highway driving but when i stay in town at my grandparents it usually drops to around 18- 23. I usually get around 300 miles or so out of a tank. It just depends you driving style too.