Hello
I bought my 00 RL for the luxury but also figured it would get great gas mileage. This one has some drivetrain issues but I have hand calculated 15 mpg avg over a full tank with mainly expressway driving (80 mph one way 70 mph the other) with a little city driving. Is this normal for winter months? I would have guessed it would get 20 mpg but maybe I am driving too fast running late for work always . My 06 Explorer Ltd 4x4 4.6L could get 17 mpg avg so I am thinking something ain't right.

 

Winter time you'll get high teens. Best I ever got in my RL was 25 mpg during a summer road trip. It realistically gets 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. Partly due to engine tuning and mostly gearing.

 

I average 17-18 mpg( or about 250 miles per tank) and the most I ver got was 22 doing about 70-75 on the highway for a couple of hours.

 

I get 280 a tank

 

240 per tank, except once I went about 50-55 on a beach highway road for a bout 120 miles and got great mileage, probably about 24-27 mpg. Never been close to that since then.

 

96 RL with 183K avg 17MPG with Continental DWS tires lol

 

I can average about 20-21 with 80% highway. Only use premium and get fuel at BP or Shell only.

Mike

 

That seems pretty low, how are the tires/pressure? I don't do much winter driving, but get about 20 mpg with about half freeway/half stop n go.

 

If hes doing 70+ mph then its not too far fetched. The more over 55-60 or so you go the less mpg you will get. Its gearing related.

 

I guess so, kinda depends how you drive too, I don't really mash the gas driving around city streets. Just cruise and coast around 50, and on the freeway and put it in cruise around 75mph.

 

I guess I drive like an "Old Guy", even though I don't consider myself to be that old. Ease on the gas, ease on the brake. Tire pressure right around 40PSI in my snow tires. Bout ready to bolt up my 18's, but waiting on the snow to stop falling from the sky.

Mike

 

i normally get around 19-20 mpg on my 00 RL here in Atlanta. on summer road trips to Birmingham of DC i normally get around 24 mpg.

 

new onwer....driven 2 tank fuls now. keep in mind our capacity is 18 gallons.
iv done 285, and 299 to tank. 15.4 gl and 16.8 gallon the next time. i can do over 300.
75/25 freeway and city driving.

 

Update: After getting timing belt, water pump, balance shaft belts, idle air controllers (2x), and 3 O2 sensors the car avg's 19-20 mpg mixed driving with 80% highway (going 80 mph to and 70 mph from). Made one 200 mile trip at 70 mph and got better. I just changed the very old oil to Mobil 1 synthetic and the engine runs smoother so ill check on next tankful. I was getting 280-290 miles on a tank until the light comes on.

 

^iv noticed that at initial fuel light turning on there is 2 gallons remaining. and from my experience about half a gallons later (~10 miles) it will go off...stay off a few miles and relight up again. (slowly becoming bright from a low dim) I assume this is ideal to "catch" the light on, as some may not notice a constant light on...with it coming on and off its grabbing more attention. I am totally ready to push past 300.

 

Yeah I noticed the same on mines...interesting.

 

Best mpg ive ever gotten with my 2000 RL is 26, all highway cruising from south carolina to ohio at about 77. Before I left i dumped a can of seafoam in the tank, maybe that had something to do with it?

 

^seafoam in the gas tank does start to work immediately thru the injectors. it is likely the cause of the mpg. 26 is impressive.

 

3rd FULL tank in ownership. used lucal fuel treatment for the first time...
and now im sitting at 313. light FIRST came on at 301. I will gas up and see how close to 18 gl i am. last fillup was 16.8 g with 299. All along its Mostly freeway driving, hitting 90 mpg regularly. driving with a heavy foot around city as well. im fairly impressed.

 

WOW you all must have some magic RL's; I'm getting 15 mpg with a mix of city and highway.

 

I get 18 city and highway. I pump about 12 gallons a week and drive for about 215-240 miles.... I know I can get much more but I would not like to see haha

 

^^with an 18 gallon capacity. i would push it a bit further. iv emptied my inbox/shoot me a pm now

 

I came here to find out that RL owners had figured out how to get 22 mpg average. NAHHHHHH!!!! We loved our 98 RL, but premium fuel, 18mpg, and expensive tires and timing belt was coming up, so we sold it. Now I'm thinking again about a 2004 RL.

 

I'm coming from a 2000 Toyota Corolla... this mileage is starting to hurt! I put $30 in it a couple days ago and it's already on E again

Sucks that I drive probably 80+% city, stop & go traffic in my 16km commute. Gotta get this baby on the freeway!

 

The MPGs aren't horrible. My daily mileage is about 65 miles now. 90% of it is at highway speed so I'm getting on average 20mpg. I have access to a 09 impreza that gets 26+ but I enjoy driving the RL more and think its worth the extra.

Can anyone recommend a injector cleaner? I've put 32k on the car but never used it before. It would probably benefit from it greatly.

 

I highly suggest browsing around www.bobistheoilguy.com 's forums, they have a subforum for fuel additives:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...dditives:_Gaso

Lots to learn

I just filled my RL for the first time today, took $70 of midgrade (50L). I'll drive er til she's empty and fill again to get an accurate MPG figure.

 

Someone mentions "a can of sea foam in the gas tank," I want to give this a try but not sure if is going to hurt the engine.

 

Ive never had seafoam cause problems. Its the only fuel treatment thats ever given me results as well and its been around for ages

 

Does anyone else's RL barely get to the "F" on the fuel gauge after filling up? Mine never did hit full, and after only 65 miles it's near dipping under 3/4 full.. Since this is my first full tank I'm hoping that the gauge doesn't move as much when it's near half, but I'm worried!!

 

You think that's bad, wait till you get excited that when you start getting close to empty you think they car, as wonderful as it is will remind you that you have to fill up. And even with less than 1.5 gallons in the tank, that little light never comes on. Chances are it's not the bulb, either.

This drives me nuts because the only way to replace that sensor is to drop the fuel tank, which is tons of work.

 

I got 330 miles on a tank once on a highway road trip. I ran on the gas light for almost 30 minutes. I was almost sh-crapping myself near the end hoping I'd make it to a gas station. But I probably still had a gallon or two left in the tank. I think reserve is 3 gallons and the 3 gallon mark comes when the light comes on and STAYS on. I was doing 80-85mph for a good 1 hour stretch of the trip too.

 

I get about 16-17 MPH all city driving.

 

I average about 21 commuting in rush hour freeway traffic. Typically 330 miles per tank.