BAAAAAD gas mileage

[Steve D]

Hi eveyrone...newbie here on the forum. It's a great looking site with a lot of good interaction. Thanks for letting me post a question...

I recently (last week) bought a very clean, 1998 GMC Jimmy one-owner, from a local dealership. It has the 4.3L V-6. My wife loves everything about the truck except for the gas mileage. We've owned it less than a week and have around 185 miles on a full tank and it already needs gas. It's sitting between a 1/4 and 1/8 tank right now. A co-worker said she had the same year Jimmy, outfitted almost identically to this one and she ranged from 19 - 23 mpg, depending on her driving habits.

Why would this small vehicle burn through gas so quickly? The owners manual says 16 - 20, depending on highway or in-town miles. My wife is a very easy driver and never makes sudden stops or jack-rabbit starts. The weather is still cool here in Texas, so she doesn't use the A/C and it seems to be running very well. But it took nearly a 1/4 tank of gas to go 24 miles to where I work this morning.

Any ideas anyone?


Out of gas in Texas...

 

[Molson02536]

Hi eveyrone...newbie here on the forum. It's a great looking site with a lot of good interaction. Thanks for letting me post a question...

I recently (last week) bought a very clean, 1998 GMC Jimmy one-owner, from a local dealership. It has the 4.3L V-6. My wife loves everything about the truck except for the gas mileage. We've owned it less than a week and have around 185 miles on a full tank and it already needs gas. It's sitting between a 1/4 and 1/8 tank right now. A co-worker said she had the same year Jimmy, outfitted almost identically to this one and she ranged from 19 - 23 mpg, depending on her driving habits.

Why would this small vehicle burn through gas so quickly? The owners manual says 16 - 20, depending on highway or in-town miles. My wife is a very easy driver and never makes sudden stops or jack-rabbit starts. The weather is still cool here in Texas, so she doesn't use the A/C and it seems to be running very well. But it took nearly a 1/4 tank of gas to go 24 miles to where I work this morning.

Any ideas anyone?


Out of gas in Texas...

What is the engine temp reading on the gauge. Best fuel economy for the Jimmy to have is to having the engine run a 190'F. If its running colder then that, the ECM will compensate for it by running it richer and advance to its max.

A dirty air filter will also cause you poor gas milage and replacing it is not that much so try to replace it every 8000 - 9000 miles which is an average of every 3rd oil change.

Keep us posted

Molson02536

 

[ferretx9]

There is a chance your gauge is off a little bit .
You need to fill it up to the max , drive 100 miles , stop and fill it again and then do the math to get a correct MPG