18.5 mpg with the 600

[bish777]

I have 4500 miles on my 4x2 600 now and on the last fill up it was 18. 5mpg, hand calculated. I did not think I got a good fill up but drove about 20 miles and put 1. 1 gal in the tank to fill it up again. I put Valvoline Premium Blue in the engine, and amsoil in the axle @ 4000 miles. 70% highway going 70mph, 30% driving around town. I have an early build, Jan 5th with no reflash. I have towed a 3500lb boat maybe 250 miles. I'm going to try to talk my friend into letting my tow his 8700 lb boat down to the keys next month, to do a little more breaking in.

Keep in mind I live in SE Florida, so its always 65-75 when it starts up, and has always run #2 fuel.

Anyone else getting 17-18mpg?

 

[klenger]

I get about 17 local driving empty. I have just over 3600 miles, about 850 of that towing our 10k 5er. Sometimes I wish I'd gotten the 4x2 since I almost never use 4WD.

 

[doldenburg]

maybe down hill with 40 mph tail wind.

 

[RankRam]

It's good to hear about the 600's getting respectable mileage. We need to do a poll on this, good vs bad mileage.

 

[klenger]

We need to do a poll on this, good vs bad mileage.

Done

 

[wyosteve]

Posted this yesterday, but will do it again since there seem to be so many "bad" mileage threads. Just did my first fillup yesterday. 35% interstate @ 65-75, 35% reg. hiway @ 45-65 and 30% in town. Hand calc. 16. 47. I'm pleased.

 

[CoastyAV8R]

I only have 1200 miles on mine so far but at 502 miles I hooked up our toyhauler (9000 lbs) and hauled it 275 miles. I think that has really helped with my mileage as far as getting the truck broken in. I have gotten 18 mpg driving 65-70 with a little rural driving thrown in since then. There may be some trucks out there that do get bad mileage but there are also some people who drive the crap out of their trucks and expect 20 mpg and when they don't get it, they say the truck sucks. The truck can take the abuse but your mileage will reflect it. I remember when I had my 01 HO, there were guys on the 2nd generation site complaining about mileage also. I think the 2nd gen will get better mileage if only because they put out less HP. It takes fuel to make HP. Granted there are things you can do that will help mileage and power but in general that's the way it is. This 600 is California emissions compliant which I'm sure may cut into the mileage as well but never before has Dodge been able to offer a truck like this to Californians. Having just moved from California, I know that is a big deal for Dodge/Cummins lovers in Cali...

 

[OHale]

Kinda where I thought this mileage issue was going to go, much ado about nothing... . To drive a lead sled with 600 foot pounds of torque and 20+ mpg is not a realistic expectation. 16-18 highway unloaded would make me quite happy.



Good info, thanks Klenger for starting a poll.



Still waiting for the boat with my little black 600!

 

[FlyBoy007]

BISH777



I am on the first tank of a new truck, but we live close to each other so I will keep you informed.



Regards,

 

[Caveman]

I have just over 1000 miles on my SWB 4x4 Auto. The miles are about 50/50 highway/city. I am still at 14. 3 MPG.

 

[Larv]

On my first tank I got 17. 0 hand calculated. About 75 miles fwy and the rest rural miles back and forth to town. Happy so far. Just got my jake brake installed today and am looking forward to my first tow. larv

 

[favord]

I really don't think the poor fuel mileage on the 600 is "much ado about nothing". It's very real for some of us and we're wondering why. I'm still at a best of 13 empty and average 8-9 mpg pulling a load which I think is unacceptable for a engine that's typically always done much better.

 

[thames1948]

I am going to the dealer today [ friday ] and see what line they will feed me. If nothing else maybe I will find out if they might have heard any rumors from DC about this lousy mpg's and if, at least are looking into it. To the guy that thinks that 4 or 5 mpg less is much ado about nothing, I can only say, the price of fuel is getting waaaaay up there, over 2 bucks a gallon here and with 34 gallon tank to fill I do believe I will be losing more then a few bucks with every tankful. 13. 2 has been the best so far with about 2000 miles and about 50/50 freeway, town

 

[OHale]

Originally posted by favord

I really don't think the poor fuel mileage on the 600 is "much ado about nothing". It's very real for some of us and we're wondering why. I'm still at a best of 13 empty and average 8-9 mpg pulling a load which I think is unacceptable for a engine that's typically always done much better.

favord,



13 mpg empty IS unacceptable. It wasn't my intention to minimize or dismiss the grief you are having with your truck.



In this thread alone I note radically different mileages between owners with almost identical vehicles and driving habits. There appears to be something specifically wrong with spedific vehicles, not all. I don't believe it is a fundamental design flaw or all would be having the same problems. What I meant to write was that the contention that the 600 is basically a poor mileage engine and that we shouldn't buy them in protest is 'much ado about nothing. ' Forgive me for not articulating that better.



Frankly, your mileage (and others) is so low that I think you have a genuine warranty issue that D-C must resolve. There has been a great deal of advertising that promotes not just equivalent mileage but "improved efficiency" and better mileage. For your vehicle that advertising was false.



I haven't lost sight of the fact that when my truck gets here I may have the same issue. 13 mpg will not be accepted by me either.



I truly hope that your truck will be 'made right' or replaced with one that is.

 

[thames1948]

Ohale

you say that warning people about the lousy mpg's on the 600 is much ado about nothing. Well, I disagree with that because, even if some of them are getting decent mpg's a person shouldn't have to ask themself when they go to buy a 600, do I feel lucky today, or maybe flip a coin to see if they are going to get a good one? Wow what a concept to sell 40,000 dollar trucks.

 

[OHale]

Originally posted by thames1948

Ohale

you say that warning people about the lousy mpg's on the 600 is much ado about nothing. Well, I disagree with that because, even if some of them are getting decent mpg's a person shouldn't have to ask themself when they go to buy a 600, do I feel lucky today, or maybe flip a coin to see if they are going to get a good one? Wow what a concept to sell 40,000 dollar trucks.

thames1948,

With all due respect, I never said that. Warning people and the issue of mileage are two separate concepts.



Please refer to my post prior to yours and I think you will find my opinion better explained.



On a more positive note, you could have bought a PowerStroke in which case you would have a lot more coins to flip..... Most of those owners over on thedieselstop would be glad to only have mileage as an issue. To them, mileage would indeed be 'much ado about nothing. . ' They had every right to expect a reliable truck for their money. Ford has had to buy back a record number of light trucks due to the new 6 liter Navistar (Detroit Free Press article. )



Overall, if you have owned a Dodge diesel before you will see a trend over the last 10 years, that the magnitude of the problems with these trucks is less over time. My '95 3500 is still a strong truck but is absolutely primitive compared to a 3rd generation Dodge after only 9 years of evolution.



As an aside, what would Shakespeare think about being quoted in the year 2004 in a diesel truck internet forum anyway?

 

[Sherman]

Have a friend that has a 3 month old ford 6. 0 the truck broke down 600 miles from home with a load of horses. I went and picked up his horses and finished the trip for him,the cam shaft failed,seems as there is a hydraulic motor that drives the cam shaft in order to get variable timing. The Ford 6. 0 is the vary resean I went for the 04 with cummins,when you are broke in the middle of nowhere gas milage doesn't mean much!!!

 

[rpouliot]

I bought my 600 back at the beginning of March, and I have written down all the mileage data since my first tank of gas. Once I hit 5,000 miles or so, I will post the results. The quick summary is that the truck started out at 13 mpg, and gradually climbed up with each tank. On the last tank, with mostly highway driving, I was getting 17. 3 mpg, and I am just under 3,000 miles. I also have the run time at each fillup, so it should show the break-in curve.

 

[TFerring]

I'm calling my dealer tomorrow. I picked up my 04 600 about 3 weeks ago. I have just over 1500 miles and I am not seeing any increase in MPG with each tank. I filled up yetserday and only averaged 12. 1mpg. I have been trying to drive and put miles on her to get it broke in. Mostly in town with about 500 miles interstate and rural roads. I know it's still new and low mileage but hell I was getting that in my 02 5. 9L! So I'm not too thrilled. I don't think the truck has had the flash done yet. So I am going to talk to them about it..... I don't know if it will help. And see if they have any other ideas!

I'll let you know what I find

 

[Hokey]

600 mileage

I have had to make 3 trips to the same place in two weeks the first time i drove 70 mph 2000 rpm and got 17. 6 mpg, next trip I drove faster... 2200 rpm and got 12. 6 mpg, this last trip I drove 65, 1800 rpm and got 19. 8 mpg. these are all highway mileage not pulling a load and an empty bed. I have less than 1000 miles on the truck and hope to get better. I am happy with this but , this is my first Diesel and I am used to big block gas engines mileage. So this is exciting to me.