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Vans & Minivans Chrysler/Plymouth Voyager, Dodge Caravan Chrysler/Plymouth Voyager-Dodge Caravan Real World MPG
40 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2008 at 1:13 PM
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Replying to: shipo (Feb 09, 2008 12:03 am)  It is not the transmission or engine oil that is the problem, it is the differential oil and the grease. After changing things out this summer, I hope it will produce a more tolerable 16-17 mpg next winter. As a reminder, this is an AWD van with 178,500 currently on the ticker. The sub 5-mile trips of stop and go are the culprit. In those conditions the van is scarcely even warmed up by the end of the trip. Just as an example, my Subaru has an instantaneous MPG readout. When the engine is cold in the morning, the readout will max out at about 20 mpg driving at a steady 55. When it is warm, it reads out about 35 mpg over that same flat stretch of road. The average economy over a tank is right at 26 with that car. If I was running it on short errands every trip, it would definitely be under 20.
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Replying to: xwesx (Feb 10, 2008 7:40 pm) I learned to turn a pretty fair wrench from a dude that did his apprenticeship before WWII, and he told me that back in his time, the transmissions (all manuals in those days) and differentials were all treated to two fluid changes per year, one for the summer months and one for the winter months. Geez, I was even tempted to do that to the New Process 4-Speed in my 1970 Challenger after I moved from San Diego to north-central Michigan back in the late 1970s. I remember wrestling with that sucker when trying to switch gears following a cold start was lots of fun. Best Regards, Shipo |
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I've been reading the posts on this forum with interest! We just purchased an '06 Grand Caravan at the beginning of January, with 23,000 kms on it (approx 14,000 mi), and have found that we are only getting 10 mpg with city driving!!! We traded in our 2000 Chev Venture for the Dodge, and the increase in fuel consumption has blindsided us. Our Chev got 18 mpg in the city and around 25-28 mpg on the highway. We haven't had the Dodge on a roadtrip yet, so have no idea what the highway consumption is - but, as I type this, the Dodge is at our mechanic (who we bought the van off of) and he is running diagnostics on it today to see if he can figure out why our fuel consumption is so poor. From what I've read, it sounds like there is a good chance that he won't find anything - but, should I suggest that he check/replace the oxygen sensor, even though the light isn't on? or will his diagnostics pick it up if it is "weak"? Love the van, but going from $50 in gas a week to $70+ is going to break the bank!! 
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Howdy, We just bought an 08 caravan and we're wondering about the city mileage. We're only getting around 13.5-14.0 mpg. The van has less than 2500 miles on it, but it's been consistantly around that. Is that to be expected? We would have seriously reconsidered it if we knew that was going to be the mpg. Any thoughts or tips on improving the mpg? Thanks in advance. |
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This is my 1st post. Next week, I am getting an '06 Dodge Caravan SXT to use for courier work. It has 50,000 miles on it. Carfax shows regular maintenance was performed. Are there any tricks I can do to improve gas mileage? I mean, is there a chip or any aftermarket device? What other mods can I do to improve the performance? Thx, Todd
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Replying to: xpatch (Apr 30, 2008 11:12 am) Best Regards, Shipo |
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Replying to: xpatch (Apr 30, 2008 11:12 am) My previous van was a 93 with a 3.3 and the mileage computer When my muffler went I replaced it with a Dynomax super turbo and my mileage at a steady highway speed increased in the range of about .5 mpg. I know that this is very un-scientific but I am planning to do the same to the 03 that I currently have which now gets just under 24mpg highway. mcondon
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Replying to: mcondon (Oct 27, 2008 5:47 am) Think about it, when you're tooling town the highway your engine is operating at something like fifteen to twenty percent of its rated output, and that means that the demands on the induction and exhaust systems of your vehicle is extremely low. Personally I'll bet that the pressure difference inside a good condition OEM muffler and that of the Dynomax when at highway cruising speeds is virtually non-existent, and that means that the difference In fuel economy will be virtually zero as well. Best regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Oct 27, 2008 7:30 am) Also, although the motor is only putting out fifteen to twenty percent of it's rated output it was still turning 2000 to 2500 rpm at highway speeds which seems to me to be putting out a significant volume of exhaust. Am enjoying the conversation mcondon
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Replying to: mcondon (Oct 27, 2008 11:29 am) Actually, the RPMs of the engine have very little to do with the amount of exhaust. In fact, if you're descending a hill and have the throttle closed, the engine will shut off the fuel injectors and there will be virtually zero exhaust coming through the exhaust pipe, regardless of the engine RPMs. What does determine the amount of exhaust is the throttle setting, and that's a pretty linear equation. If you're running at about 20% throttle, then your engine will be producing about 20% of its max rated amount or exhaust regardless of engine RPM. Best regards, Shipo |
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