I have been monitoring the mileage on my E for the past six fill-ups (2100MILES on odometer). The mileage has actually been going DOWN instead of up! And it hasn't gotten anywhere NEAR the sticker figures of "21-27MPG". AT last count I was getting 16.5 MPG (and that was mostly highway-without A/C) I took it to the dealer and they suggested re-testing the mileage according to their instructions which were to drive at 20 MPH for 30 miles and then re-fill the tank. It's just not possible to drive 20 MPH here in Florida! Anyway, wondered if anyone else is having mileage issues??? I am hoping it's just a factor of the low mileage and will change when it has it's first service but the dealer didn't suggest that would cure the problem. I have a friend with an Expedition who is getting better mileage with her A/C on all the time! HELP! :!:

My first few tanks were in the 12 range. But I was using my remote start because it was damn cold. The first tank without using the remote was 15 my last tank was 18. I am a little worried because the truck is a month and a have old with about 1400 miles on it. However, most of my driving is short trips. ( I have 7 min commute) This week I am taking a road trip so I will get a better picture of my current milleage.

Very unscientific, but full-tank to full-tank, my E (4WD EX Auto) was doing 23.3mpg during the break in period. Mixed driving but mostly highway.

I've been getting around 24mpg mixed for my 2WD 5SPD. I have 3500 miles on the car right now. You may want to check the tightness of the brakes, there could be excess drag that's eating up your gas.

23-24 mpg - 5 spd - ex - rush hour stop & go traffic - a/c running. Just hit 1100 miles.

That seems pretty low. I am getting around 24mpg mostly city driving in my 5spd fwd. On a recent road trip to Florida I got 25mpg going 75-80mph. When on 2 lane highways only going 60-65 I got 28mpg. The 20mph for 30miles sounds ridiculous. Keep bugging the dealer if it doesn’t improve. Good luck!

24-26 mpg 5sp EX stop/go commute, mixed city/hiway, 1800 mi.

Gotta love the 5-speed, much more fun and better fuel economy.

peace,
jdef

+/- 25 on mostly hiwhway driving after first post purchase fillup

Hank,

What is your commute like? Your driving style? Are you driving the auto or stick? :?:

01-26-2003*****21.284
02-05-2003*****20.325
02-14-2003*****22.889
02-16-2003*****21.392
02-26-2003*****21.995
03-06-2003*****18.204
03-10-2003*****23.272
03-16-2003*****23.258
03-27-2003*****19.577

5-speed, 2WD, EX, mixed city-highway, air off

It's in an unrelated post, but...

I have 800+ miles now. Since tank #1 I've been getting 19-20 mpg with mixed driving, mostly city. A/C usually on, EX 4WD automatic.

If it's unrelated to your driving style or terrain, sounds like something's out of whack. Suggest to your dealer they plug into the engine computer & check all settings like fuel mixture, timing, or whatever.

Any dealer can handle this if yours isn't willing. A warranty is a warranty, no matter where you bought it.

3/06/03 19.49 mpg
3/13/03 20.24 mpg
3/19/03 20.17 mpg
3/24/03 20.89 mpg
3/28/03 22.50 mpg
4/01/03 26.43 mpg
4/01/03 28.83 mpg

average = 22.65 mpg
Total miles: 1769
Total road miles: 542 (30.64% of total)

I keep my stats on a spreadsheet (if you couldn't tell!). The two fill ups on 4/01 were from a trip to San Antonio and back (from Dallas). Drove down there on the 28th, had a moderate tail wind, no a/c. Filled up on the 1st for the drive home and hit the freeway with a monster tail/quarter wind, no a/c.

We just bought our Element two weeks ago and we love it. On our second tank of gas we drove to Williamsburg, a 300 mile trip one way and made it on one tank. That figures 28 miles per gallon. We are quite happy with this. I should add that its automatic, 4WD and I ran the A/C for part of the trip too. The trip back came in at 24 miles per gallon since we took some side trips. I'm sure this will vary with my wife since she tends to drive more agressively than I. I accerlerate much slower than she does.

I have a 4wd EX and have had it about a month. I am only averaging 19MPG. Only one fill-up I calculated 20MPH. I would love to hit 24MPH. I am sad :cry:

I think I gave up some mpg to the a/c and the stick, but still in the lower 20's right now...

returned 24.7 MPG... No complaints here, it handily beat the 4 banger in my old Toyota PreRunner, which only got 21-22 MPG on the highway.....

I use mine for business, travel 235 miles per day and consistantly get between 26 & 28 mpg. Its a 2wd, auto with no air on.

Did a road trip up to Austin & then back to Houston. Used cruise control - 5-7 mph over speed limit with ac set at coldest and the fan set to just above the middle indicator and got 27.1 mgp. Pretty impressive.

Thanks for the replies everyone! (Great club this!). I am now getting 20MPG. (I have a 2wd automatic). I am not an aggressive "pedal to the metal" driver. I am in Florida so at least half of the time my A/C was on and the driving is mixed hwy. and traffic. This is lower than the advertised mileage. Planning a trip to the dealer to see if they can remedy this. Keep the posts CLEAN and FRIENDLY everyone! :D

Have had my SOP EX 5spd 2wd for 5 weeks now... just turned 2100 miles. Last check of the mileage was 24.80mpg. That is 95% freeway driving w/ AC on. Not too bad as it seems higher than most.

That is strange! I got 25 mpg on a trip mostly highway and driving here locally in San Antonio, TX. with the A/C going all the time I am getting 20-21. I have the EX 4WD Auto. I would get it checked out.

After two weeks of strickly "city" driving here in St. Louis (some days air on) I got 21.5 mpg on my first tank and 22.5 on the second.

We are going on a road trip this Friday up to Chicago for Easter....I am very excited to see how the E does on the Highway.

Will keep you posted!

Diane :)

Hi again! Just checked mileage again; this time 19 MPG :cry: mixed HWY and city driving with A/C on part time only. I think this is still too low?????

Could the MPG differences be due to the number/weight of the occupants. I've read a lot of height related threads with some folks measuring in at 6.3 and over. If one person drives to work with another 300 pounder, this person will have much worse gas mileage than someone who is 120 and drives alone. Especially in a car with such a low weight tolerance. A bit of a tongue in cheek suggestion, but it could have merit.

I drive the awd automatic ex, and I've been averaging 24 to 25 mpg in mixed driving (about 50/50 city, highway driving). Initially it was around 20 to 21 mpg when first purchased back in February, but I attribute the lower mileage to the oxygenated fuel blend that's sold in the northeast during the winter. I also max out at 65mph, even though the median speed on I91 is about 75. Haven't done too much driving with the a/c on, yet.

No 300 pounders in my Element (yet). Still getting disappointing mileage but haven't taken it back to the dealer yet. Good news: The Element was just chosen one of only 5 vehicles to get an award for front end 40 mph crash tests by the Association for Highway Safety!! Yea for us! Also Edmunds.com says that owner satisfaction for the E so far is 9.5(!). I'm right there with them (except for the mileage thing). :D

It would seem that my auto-trans EX's first tank gave me about 18 MPG... i.e. I went from 12 MI to 278 on the odometer in one tank. Mostly freeway driving. Not spectacular, but I guess we'll see what happens on the second tank. It's a 15 gal. tank, right?

Drew

[quote:8b7a4205f7="Drew"]It would seem that my auto-trans EX's first tank gave me about 18 MPG... i.e. I went from 12 MI to 278 on the odometer in one tank. Mostly freeway driving. Not spectacular, but I guess we'll see what happens on the second tank. It's a 15 gal. tank, right?

Drew[/quote:8b7a4205f7]

It's 15.9 gallons.

How much fuel did you put in to bring the tank back to full? My low fuel light comes on usually around 300 miles, but when I top up it only takes 12.5 gallons meaning there's still 3.5 in the tank.

It's 15.9 gallons.

How much fuel did you put in to bring the tank back to full? My low fuel light comes on usually around 300 miles, but when I top up it only takes 12.5 gallons meaning there's still 3.5 in the tank.

Yeah, you know, I'm not really sure... I should pay more attention on the next fillup and set the trip meter :)

Drew

:( Okay, I said it was 20-21 mpg but now that I am only driving to work and back, it is closer to 18. I am using just the regular unleaded gas which is what my salesman said to do. He told me that the Element didn't need to Super unleaded. And once you start using one level of gas not to change. Is this what everyone else is doing? Let me know!! I always used Super Unleaded in my Toyota Corolla. Thought it was supposed to keep fuel injectors, etc. clean.

I WISH I had a stick because you get much better mileage with a stick than with an automatic like I have! I just saw Motor trend magazine yesterday and was sort of disheartened to learn that the Cadillac "Esplanade"? gets between 21 and 29 MPG(!). And that's a big bus!
I still prefer my "E" aesthetically, and if I have to live with 19MPG I will. Maybe next year they'll make the E with a hydroien power plant....(just dreaming).Smiles to everyone! :lol: Happy EASTER!!!!

I DRIVE HIGHWAY MILES MOSTLY, BUT I AVERAGE ABOUT 21 MPG
NOT BAD FOR THE SIZE OF THIS VEHICLE. I JUST CUT DOWN ON
BUYING TO-GO COFFEES AND ONLY BUY CD'S I ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE
SO I CAN BUY MORE GAS(NOT MOBILE GAS CO.) HESS IS BEST.

I KNOW SPELLING IS WRONG MOBIL MOBIL ,OK. :oops:

With the price of gas today you should be using reg unleaded.
Your main concern should be keeping the tank full(nearly full in
hot weather).By the way shut the motor off when fueling due to
the Elements vapor recovery system.
My element runs fine on reg unleaded, keep the tank full, avoid
gasoline additives and you'll be fine.

After re-figuring on my latest tank, I appear to be getting around 22 MPG.

What's the advantage to keeping the tank filled?

Drew

Have just turned 6000 miles and have been averaging 27 mpg. It's an auto trans, 2 wheel drive.[/img]

I have a Mystic orange ex 4wd, Im getting about 19 or so...I fill up and I can go almost 300 miles, combination city and highway. with ac on most of the time..and Im a heavy foot driver...but its better than the Mercedes I was driving, we will see if it gets better!

[quote:c6383a20bd="bigcitydjs"]I have a Mystic orange ex 4wd, Im getting about 19 or so...I fill up and I can go almost 300 miles, combination city and highway. with ac on most of the time..and Im a heavy foot driver...but its better than the Mercedes I was driving, we will see if it gets better![/quote:c6383a20bd]

So you're reckoning that if you can go 300 miles and the tank holds a bit over 15 gallons, that gives you the mpg? How much fuel are you actually putting in to bring the car back to full when you reach your 300 miles?

No, sorry, we've had this thread already - ignore me!

I've got nearly 13,000 miles miles on my Element and continue to be impressed with the mileage. As a matter of fact, I drove it 1,100 miles over a 16 hour period and got 25.3 mpg. The return trip was nearly identical. That was with the AC, and cruising at between 75-80 mph. Around town I've been getting between 21-23 mpg depending on how heavy my foot gets. If I were you, I'd be at the dealer raising a little heck.

Just to show what the order of magnitude we're talking about here is:

15,000miles per year at $1.50 per gallon

*******Yearly Cost******Difference per Mile
25mpg****$900.00******$-
24mpg****$937.50******$0.0025
23mpg****$978.26******$0.0027
22mpg****$1,022.73*****$0.0030
21mpg****$1,071.43*****$0.0032
20mpg****$1,125.00*****$0.0036
19mpg****$1,184.21*****$0.0039
18mpg****$1,250.00*****$0.0044

Yearly Difference
25mpg**$-
24mpg**$37.50
23mpg**$40.76
22mpg**$44.47
21mpg**$48.70
20mpg**$53.57
19mpg**$59.21
18mpg**$65.79

So, if you are getting 20mpg and you expect 23mpg, add up the differences between them to get the extra you are paying, which in this example would be 44.47+48.70+53.57 for a total of $146.74.

Sorry, couldn't figure out how to do tables in the post.

The disparity increases with the cost of fuel. But, don't spend hundreds of dollars to get 1 more mile per gallon with expensive modifications, if it isn't worth it. Also, consider the numbers before eliminating a vehicle from your consideration because of a 1 or 2 mpg difference.

Also driving style and other factors affect your results. They will of course vary. :D

Hi, I'm a new guy. I've owned my Satin Silver for 5900 miles and have 0 problems. My mileage at the last tank was 24.5 with the AC on all the time.I live in Florida and will use the AC every day. My biggest problem is waiting for some of the things on this forum to happen to me!. :shock:

Hi, I'm a new guy. I've owned my Satin Silver for 5900 miles and have 0 problems. My mileage at the last tank was 24.5 with the AC on all the time.I live in Florida and will use the AC every day. My biggest problem is waiting for some of the things on this forum to happen to me!. :shock:

After 1 month and 3K miles, I'm getting 23-25 mpg consistently. AC is on most of the time and that's probably in a 70% hwy/30% city mix. Compared to what I was driving before, I get about the same range on less gas. My wallet thanks me for not spending an extra 5 to 7 dollars for a fillup.

We are averaging around 20-21 mpg and to us that is a heck of a lot better than the 12 mpg we were getting with our Durango.

1st fill-up: 28.4 mpg, mostly highway @55-60mph during break-in period, no a/c but window open alot. not bad.

27-28 mpg freeway, 23-25 stop and go city- 5 spd - EX_2WD - a/c running. Just hit 1000 miles.

My 4WD EX is rated 21 City 24 Highway.

I drove 500 miles pure city, got 22 MPG. Lots of cold starts.

Just the last couple days I drove 720 miles highway, got 25 MPG, 70-80 MPH most of the time.

I think the ratings are pretty accurate, I'm up by 1 MPG, but I always do a little better.

I seem to be stuck at 21 mpg. I would be interested to see how others are calculating their mileage, because we seem to have a 19-21mpg group and a 25+mpg group. hmmmmmmmm

http://www.cycleshopfx.com/guestbook/img/smilies/nonod.gif

2WD EX, Auto. Mostly in town driving. 1950 miles, average MPG is 19.5. I have a heavy foot, and the AC is always on.

22.2 mpg mixed

My SOP EX 4WD AT has 3,600 miles and is averaging 24.5 to 25.8 combined mileage. :D I've had her for 6 weeks and am VERY pleased with her appetite for regular unleaded! My first tank served up 19.2 mpg but as she went through the break-in period I noticed a marked improvement on each subsequent tank-full. :o

I average over 500 miles per week. Of this, 300 is highway and 200+ city so there is a pretty good mix. I use cruise on the highway with the average speed set at 76 mph.

The only loser I've found is my local gas station. I used to fill up my Ram 1500 Long-bed twice a week (35 gallon tank!). When I came in, they could close for the rest of the day as they made their sales quota in one shot! :shock: Now I still fill up twice a week, for around $12 to $14. I love it :twisted: but the gas station would like me to go back to the Dodge!

Not a chance - I'm in my ELEMENT now! 8)

I drive through the city every day to work, and on the highway home. I never get less than 18 mpg, but have gotten as high as 25. I should preface all this by saying, my last vehicle was a Nissan Pathfinder that got 11 mpg.

15k miles on E. Averaging from 24.3-25.7 depending on whether or not I'm a law abinding citizen going 70-75, or public enemy number one going 75-80. There's quite a bit of rush hour traffic in that calculation as well.

My first tank which was mainly city driving was 20.5 miles per gallon. My next tank was a combination of bothe city and freeway and I got 21.8 MPG.

I have been keeping track of my mileage since I bough the "E". On three fillups, I am getting progressively better mileage. Note that I am calculating on the Imperial gallon, not the US gallon.

27.474 - Down to the Empty symbol - Mixed city and highway driving
28.016 - Halfway down - County highway driving
28.851 - Down to the empty symbol - Mixed city and highway driving

I expect to get over 30 mpg soon. This is a nice change from my Chevy S-10, which had probably less than 25 mpg on average.

I have an EX 4 wd. I was getting no better than 21 mpgs no matter where I was going or at what speed. I installed Aquatune's Injection set and at 55 mph got 35.5. 60 mph I average 32 mpg at 65 mph I get 30 and at 70 I get 28 tp 29. This is without a/c. I have now got 10,000 miles on mine and just went to Yosemite and back this weekend. I averaged over the entire 940 miles with a/c and the mountain driving 28.4 mpg. This is with a/c!!! and going over the grapevine!!!
I have kept accurrate records since the first day and have complete stats from 2500 miles on with the water injection. I contacted Nick at Aquatune and sent hime the egr chamber cover which he drilled and tapped for me and I now am injecting into each runner separately. My car is peppier and gets great mileage.
I will start to be a dealer for him as I have never encountered a product which actually lives up to its claims. He guarrantees a 25% increase but with the new setup I never get less than 40% over without.

22.2222222 mpg with warming up of engine prior to every trip.

Hi, Hank! I have the 4 wd EX and my first 4 tanks were showing about 15-17 mpg. I was getting upset!! Now I am at 2000 miles and am getting 20 mpg in the city with A/C on all the time (hot here in San Antonio, TX). I am getting about 25 on the highway. I was getting concerned, too, but Will encouraged me to be patient. Good luck! There are some good articles here, too, about not gunning it a lot and your driving style can hinder your gas mileage.

We pick up our E this week. You know what gets me though. I look at a vehicle that is basically a civic with poor aerodynamics, but still think she should get upper 20's city, low 30's highway. Just my opinion.

But what gets me the most is we are turning in our leased 1999 Sienna. It just turned over 60,000 two days ago. My wife has driven probably 55,000 of those (I am subject to highway hypnosis on any trip longer than 45 minutes). I asked her the other day what kind of milage has she gotten. She had no idea. 4 years 55,000 miles and absolutely clueless :x :x :x :x :x :x :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: I almost popped a vein. She teaches AP calculus and in the last 4 years only 2 of her students did not pass the AP exam. And she can't calculate gas milage! If I live to reach 60 it will be a major miracle.

I started a spreadsheet to help me calculate gas mileage. I started my records at 830 on the odometer, and my first recorded tank of gas netted me 22mpg, all city.