04 Mpg Facts

[MJaynes]

hey guys, been reading tdr about a year now... thought i would chime in on this one. i have a swb 2002 h. o. with afe and gauges only...

4. 10 gears, quad cab,4wd,loaded toolbox,heavy duty rear bumper,stock 265 tires and 6 speed transmission... never have gotten below 16. 5

avg 18. 8 and sometimes as high as 20mpg... dont haul more than the ocassional load of wood or my john deere lawn tractor... got the cummins for durability and lack of noise on my ham radio rig. these numbers are hand figured and checked at every fill up since i bought it with 139 miles... now have right at 20,000 on it. i live in very hilly western n. c. near the blue ridge parkway... i'm glad to get this good of mileage as i saved many years to buy this one outright(payed off in the first 2 months)dont know why some have such low economy... maby the reflash can help... we should all be getting near 19-20 mpg empty with a light foot... by the way i have learned alot from you guys... keep it up,mike in w. n. c. i guess this should be in 2nd gen forum... but since ya'll were talking about it here i put it here

 

[MJaynes]

hey guys, been reading tdr about a year now... thought i would chime in on this one. i have a swb 2002 h. o. with afe and gauges only...

4. 10 gears, quad cab,4wd,loaded toolbox,heavy duty rear bumper,stock 265 tires and 6 speed transmission... never have gotten below 16. 5

avg 18. 8 and sometimes as high as 20mpg... dont haul more than the ocassional load of wood or my john deere lawn tractor... got the cummins for durability and lack of noise on my ham radio rig. these numbers are hand figured and checked at every fill up since i bought it with 139 miles... now have right at 20,000 on it. i live in very hilly western n. c. near the blue ridge parkway... i'm glad to get this good of mileage as i saved many years to but this one outright(payed off in the first 2 months)dont know why some have such low economy... maby the reflash can help... we should all be getting near 19-20 mpg empty with a light foot... by the way i have learned alot from you guys... keep it up,mike in w. n. c.

 

[GFritsch]

EXSTOKER,



Seen a couple posts with your problems. Sorry if I don't know your whole history. How many dealers have you seen regarding your poor performance?

Have they done the reflash?



I have a 600 on order. Have read more possitive then negative, but the true test of a product is how well the company stands behind (why I quit driving F brand).



I can't see a Cummins with this MPG w/o obvious signs ie: black smoke, or dripping fuel.



Certainly not questioning you, just trying to understand your bad truck.



I would raise hell with the Dodge

 

[GregTaylor]

sorry to hear abou the 04. 5's millage. starting to feel pretty good about the S. 0. i bought in 03. 24mpg if i try average 20 ish. and if i drive like a teanager i can only get down to 17. i think the SO is more effecient then the HO?

 

[SEmerson]

EXSTROKER have you thought about getting a 12v. I get 15-16 with my 3500 auto mixed driveing. I have got as high as 19. 5 on trips.

 

[GFritsch]

My 94 gets 17-20. Not expecting this kind of mileage out of truck that makes almost twice the power. I'll be happy around 16.



Read a test result in Trailer Life about a Toyota that they got 15. 7. It can pull 6K. I wonder how long it would last pulling at its max. Our trucks seem to last longer the harder we use them!



My 94 got better fuel economy after 10k.



I hope EX can find a solution. Those with the 555

motor have the same engine. It's got to be in the electronics. Should be solvable.

 

[hammersley]

If I keep mine under 60 MPH - she'll get 22+! I've tested it a couple of times - but it's darn hard to keep her under 60... ...

 

[EXSTROKER]

SEmerson.

want to trade, I would love to have that kind of milage...

altho just got truck back from trip. . pulling has not changed

but empty seems to have gone up 15. 8 cruis on at 63

tailgate down 60 mile trip weee haw

 

[EXSTROKER]

oh ya I have had the flash seemed to help rughness

but thats it

 

[thames1948]

I guess that means if the reflash doesn't help, I am stuck at 13. 1 freeway. This just stinks. This is the first time I ever bought a truck that the mpg's depended on luck! I am still going to take it to the dealer and have them ck it out . I will ask myself if I feel lucky before I drop it off.

 

[RankRam]

Originally posted by EXSTROKER

SEmerson.

want to trade, I would love to have that kind of milage...

altho just got truck back from trip. . pulling has not changed

but empty seems to have gone up 15. 8 cruis on at 63

tailgate down 60 mile trip weee haw

Is it a six speed?

 

[ceastmen]

hey guys,



just some questions, then some info.



I would like to know 3 things:



1. Which TSB # you are refering to?

2. What is the TSB description?

3. Is the TSB specifically targeted at poor fuel economy.



I have a 04. 5 CTD 600, Q-Cab, Long Bed 4x4, AUTO, Loaded with approx. 1600 mi on it now.



I'm averaging ~15 MPG (hand calculated - console says 14. 8), and I agree this is poor. I would expect an improvement of about . 5 - 1 mpg as the engine breaks in, but not much more than that.



Can any of you help with my questions?



Thanks!

 

[MVaden]

TSB # 18-007-04 issued on 2/24/04



-White smoke during no load operation

-Engine stumbles or misfires during accelaration

-engine running rough after cold starts



No it is not specificaly for bad mpg, but some guys are getting better milage after the reflash.

 

[ceastmen]

Thank you!



It appears to me it will have no effect on fuel economy other than if your engine was misfiring it would improve the economy because it fixed the misfire etc...



The TSB should not be advertised as a way to increase economy because it only increses economy if you had a problem with a rough running engine in the first place.



Can anyone dispute this?



Thanks All!

 

[FParlee]

guzzlers

Exstroker has a point,



Some people are getting better mpg than others. There has to be some common ground.



Mine had the hesitation and white smoke. Had the re-flash and it fixed the problems. Seems like a little less power and same mpg. Right around 12. 5 mpg. I have complained to the dealer. They were going to call DC "STAR" and get back to me. Never heard a thing... ...



There have been issues with pinging/knocking. This has turned out to be bad injectors for the most part. And it seems to be a problem with early build engines. My build date was 1/5/04, and I'm trying to get them to test the injectors because of the mileage and pinging. The people that have had the ping and knocking and who have pushed DC to action get new injectors and the problems go away.



So how about we try going around the room and stating mpg/any engine problems and build date. You know, like: "Hi, my name is Bill, I have an 04. 5 with bad mileage, (state hand calc mpg here) and my build date is 01-06-04. "



Let's get this 12 step program moving. The first step is to admit you have a problem... . The other eleven steps are stopping at all the diesel pumps between your house and the dealer to make sure you have enough fuel to get there. (Has DC bought stock in aux tanks recently?)



Fred

 

[FParlee]

Knock-knock, whose there? Not your MPG.....

Sorry, one more point.



As Ceastman says, you'll only get better mpg if there was a problem that was fixed by the re-flash. Better running, more efficient, more mpg. I like it!



I put forth to the community, IF this is an early engine build date problem with injectors that are leaking, this would cause the pinging/knocking as the engine worked against itself, AND FLUSH A GOOD BIT OF YOUR MPG DOWN THE HOPPER TO WHERE THE 6. 0 P****S***K*'s ARE MADE!



In the posts that I have seen on more than one site, it was stated that the bad injectors are not closing all the way, and leak fuel at all times, not just when pulsed to open.



Fred

 

[MVaden]

Hi, my name is Mike and I have an 04,5 with bad milage (up to 13. 7 now with no load and driving like grandpa, 2300 miles on it)my build date is 1/14/04 with an engine build date of 12/21/03. Engine ser. #57134426

 

[favord]

I'm up to 5k miles, just got back from 1000 mile trip with horse trailer and got 9 mpg. 6 spd. 3. 73's, 2" front level, 33/12. 5/17's, flatbed. Sensible driving style. No pinging, knocking - runs smooth with OK power.



Build date?? Where to find this?

 

[EXSTROKER]

Hi. my name is exstroker and I have a prolblem WAAAAA

ok im beter now I might have the pinging ... if you mean some times it sounds like an older 24v sometimes it is quiet ...

sometimes not... maby this is the link the noise is the fule

flushing out... so does every body with bad milage have

odd engine niose from time to time????

 

[MVaden]

EXSTROKER. my truck does not make any odd noises and it runs great, it just has rotten milage.