04.5 M.p.g.

[Huntercrg]

Butch, at dishman dodge in spokane, "home of the Gonzaga Bulldogs" Go Zags, says it might be some resistance in the CAT, and that the reason owners are getting better mpg is that they are pulling or hauling a load and are heating the CAT up and getting it burned out a bit. That makes sence to me, after my first oil change I`m hooking up the boat and headed to the Snake River steelheaden, and when I return I`ll punch it up to 70mph up the Lewiston Grade, that should warm the Cat up a bit. Hunter

 

[thames1948]

one would think DC knew about the big difference in milage from the earlier years from testing they do. We aleast should have been told about this so we wouldn't have to find out after plunking down the big bucks. I guess in a perfect world DC would find a way to correct the problem,but we all know what happens after they get our money. That being said, other then that I love my truck!

 

[Huntercrg]

the first tank I got 15. 1mpg, empty. The second tank I went 130 miles empty with the tailgate down and picked my jet boat up at Lewiston Id. and pulled the boat [4200#] back up the lewiston grade to spokane, and then filled up. 12. 4mpg hand calculated. round trip and I took it real easy. Great truck and like it alot but I hope the mileage comes up a few tics. Hunter

 

[favord]

Almost up to 4000 miles now with at least half of that towing horse trailer. Mileage is a little bit better and approaching 10mpg towing at even 70mph. Bucking side/headwind today and got 8mpg hand calculated during a 150 mile run between fillups. Pretty darn poor.



My 98. 5 never got real good mileage, typically around 10-11 towing, but at least I could haul ass doing it. Kinda sucks getting worse fuel mileage and going slower.

 

[MVaden]

Averaging 11. 5 by hand and 10. 3 on overhead with no load and a little over 1400 miles.



On a trip from Dallas to Sulpher Springs last week (all highway miles) I got 13. 1 by hand calc. and 12. 2 on overhead.



I sure hope this gets better because one of the reasons I bought this truck was for the better fuel milage that diesels are supposed to get. By the way this milage is not as good as I was getting with my 03 QC HEMI.



My truck is a 04. 5 2500 4x4 automatic 3. 73 quadcab short bed.

 

[thames1948]

If this is the only eng they are going to offer and they don't do something to fix this bad milage, the word will get out and I believe people will pass on the new 600 and look elsewhere for a new truck. If I had known about it, DC would have sold one less truck.

 

[thejeepdude]

Man, give 'em some time to fix it. I'm about to order an 04. 5 in spite of the bad mileage reports. I trust that they'll get it fixed reasonably quick and 17-20mpg will be the norm as it always has been. It's still the same 5. 9L motor it always was, they just have to iron out the new software to meet MPG expectations while still being within EPA standards. Not enough hardware has changed to convince me of otherwise, however it is unfortunate that they started out on the wrong foot. It wouldn't surprise me if by the time my truck gets here in 2-3 months they have the problem ironed out... and let's contemplate worse case scenario... even with crappy MPG, the 600 is still the best engine option out there that you can order in a brand new truck!! I sure wouldn't switch to a powersmoke or duracrap just because of this.

 

[CShelley]

15. 25 hand calculated over 580 miles interstate and mountain Hwy various speeds Portland to Reno from dealer to home. 15. 0 on overhead

smooth no vibrations coming up on 1000 miles time to tow.



2k4. 5 2500 qc 4wd auto swb towpkg antispin

 

[doldenburg]

I made my trip mn to western mt. 2500 mi round trip. 11. 5 mpg. head wind both ways and 80-85 mph a lot of the time. i can do 14. 5 if i baby it under 60 with no fast starts. not good-7000+miles now.

 

[thames1948]

I hope DC is listening and finds a way to fix this. It's a shame because everything else about my truck is perfect. Maybe I will try the reflash for the 600 and see what happens.

 

[PKitchen]

Regarding the flash that keeps being mentioned, will newly built trucks already have the flash? If yes, after what build date? Or is it standard procedure for the dealer to install the latest flash when they are prepping the vehicle?

 

[DS88]

PKitchen,



I have the same question as you, do they update engines that are on the shelf so to speak, do the dealers do it automatically or is it up to the consumer to request it?



I found out through the Insight web site that my truck is enroute. The order went in on 3/1/04, the truck was D1 on 3/5/04, was released from the plant in Saltillo (KZ) on 3/16/04 and as of 3/23/04 the truck is on a railcar in Veracruz. It should arrive in Newark NJ on 4/5/04 and be at the dealer on 4/12/04.



The wait is now in the brutal stage. I'm anxious that:

A) it's complete/correct in terms of what I ordered,

B) the appropriate upgrades/reflashes are done,

C) the truck doesn't have the dreaded vibration problem and

D) they did a decent job putting it all together.

 

[DS88]

Oh BTW, I ordered a 3500 4X4, Quad cab, long bed, SRW, 6spd. 3. 73.



Thanks,

 

[Udaloy]

Originally posted by DS88

I found out through the Insight web site that my truck is enroute. The order went in on 3/1/04, the truck was D1 on 3/5/04, was released from the plant in Saltillo (KZ) on 3/16/04 and as of 3/23/04 the truck is on a railcar in Veracruz. It should arrive in Newark NJ on 4/5/04 and be at the dealer on 4/12/04.



Oh BTW, I ordered a 3500 4X4, Quad cab, long bed, SRW, 6spd. 3. 73.



Thanks,

I have a couple questions. What is the web site you refer to? My buddy has a truck on order (2/11), and it's been forever with no word from DC or dealer. When I went to order mine two weeks later, the dealer told me it would be at least a three month wait. How are you getting your truck so quick? What state do you live in?

BTW, Your truck is, more or less, exactly what I want. I'm not having much luck finding one on a lot.

 

[NSperduto]

I would take those dates with a grain of salt, my truck sat on the rail car for 2 weeks at least before it got on the ship, then it sat in teh rail yard in Baltimore for another two weeks waiting for a car carrier from the dealer to come get it.



Nick

Originally posted by DS88

PKitchen,



I have the same question as you, do they update engines that are on the shelf so to speak, do the dealers do it automatically or is it up to the consumer to request it?



I found out through the Insight web site that my truck is enroute. The order went in on 3/1/04, the truck was D1 on 3/5/04, was released from the plant in Saltillo (KZ) on 3/16/04 and as of 3/23/04 the truck is on a railcar in Veracruz. It should arrive in Newark NJ on 4/5/04 and be at the dealer on 4/12/04.



The wait is now in the brutal stage. I'm anxious that:

A) it's complete/correct in terms of what I ordered,

B) the appropriate upgrades/reflashes are done,

C) the truck doesn't have the dreaded vibration problem and

D) they did a decent job putting it all together.

 

[zippinbye]

The reflash TSB states nothing about poor MPG, just roughness, hesitation, white smoke, etc. Mine has none of that, but the MPG sucks and I'm disappointed by the power with a 10,000 pull. Not much better than the Powerstroke it replaces! 9. 5 MPG with that pull, best unladen freeway MPG 16. 6, average is around mid 13's with combined city/highway. 3500 SRW 4x4 Quad Cab Auto w/ 3. 73 anti spin, 1200 miles on the clock. MPG hand calculated. Computer off by up to 2 MPG in both directions. It is a fine truck in every other way, but I would not have purchased it knowing the lack of fuel economy. Very disappointed with my first Dodge after years of aversion. Perhaps I was right all along and should have bought my 20th Ford! Alas, I will give a chance for a fix before writting my critique in stone. I'm simply not buying into the theroy that MPG will improve vastly with some miles on the clock. A more likely 1 or 2 MPG improvement would still fall way short of expectations.



Now, the question. Has anyone taken their truck in on this TSB soley based on poor MPG? I hope it works, will inquire with my dealer today.

 

[Turbo600]

I have almost 2000 miles on my 600, It started out at 13-14 mpg

and now gets 15. 5 consistently around town mixed with 65-70 on highway.

I do believe d/c will come out with a fix My old truck 1995

4x4 auto started out at 22-25 mpg and got worse as I bombed it

but still got a high of 20 if i stayed out of the pedal and got what i get now towing my 32ft gooseneck under 10k about 5 mpg lower while towing.

 

[favord]

Has anyone been in to a dealer complaining soley of their fuel economy?? If so, what response did you get?



I'm to the point I want to do that but I've been very unimpressed with the local dealer service dept. and have sworn off ever going there again. Will go out of town to another that seems more service oriented if it sounds like there is something they can offer regarding the poor fuel mileage. Everything else on the truck is spot on so far.

 

[MVaden]

I talked to the service manager at Randall Noe Dodge in Terrel Texas where I purchased the truck. I told them that I was having problems with the milage and that I would like to take it in for the reflash and see if that would help.



She ask me what kind of milage I was getting and I told her 11 in town and 13 on the highway.



She says "that sounds normal to me, and it should get a little better after it gets more miles on it". I ask her what is a little better and she says "a 1 or 2 mpg increase".



I told her that I had never owned a diesel before but i had been around them and driven them before and that I knew they were supposed to get better milage than that.



Her final reply was "well dodge does not guaranty milage and there is nothing we can do for you on this issue, if you have any other problems then please give us a call".



I was really impressed with the sales staff when I bought the truck and I got a great deal from them, they beat every other dealers price by hundreds of dollars. I'm not sorry for buying there but I'm not impressed with the service manager.

 

[DS88]

Hello Udaloy,



The web site I used I actually got off this site from another post. It's pretty cool:



http://insightnl.extra.daimlerchrysler.com/inl_dealer/Dealer_LOGIN.jsp



I put in my dealers code which is 44540 - Huntington NY Dodge. This number I got off their computer generated print out of the options I wanted. Then I clicked on "vehicle trace" in the top left corner. Then I put the dealer code in again on the box that comes up and it shows all the stuff going on at that particular dealer. I sifted through the listings and found mine. I went over to the dealer and they confirmed it for me. I live in NY on Long Island.



I have no way of knowing how accurate the site is in terms of dates. Reading through some of the other responses I suspect that I shouldn't be getting my hopes up.



The truck selection on my local dealer lots was pretty thin. It made sense for me to just order what I wanted. I got it at invoice minus 2400 and 0% for 48. I wanted the side curtain air bag which no dealer orders anyway.





Thanks,