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We have a 2002 Ford Explorer. Our daily commute is about 40 miles round trip. I figured we are only getting about 15 miles per gallon, city! What tips are there for better mileage?

I looked for other forums from people who have a Ford Explorer close to the same year but I couldn't find any.

Is my mileage way low? What is a good goal to shoot for? Thanks!

Sean

Hello and welcome to the club.

You should start by knowing your car’s EPA rating located at FuelEconomy.gov and make sure to read the article linked on the right hand side if this site “Beating the EPA”.

Make sure you air your tires up to the maximum pressure indicated on the tire’s sidewall.

Also, consider purchasing a ScanGaugeII. It is an invaluable source of information and will quickly pay for itself in fuel savings.

However, please be careful as Hypermiling is addictive

Check the mileage logs for Explorers (left hand side of this site) and other heavy metal - that will give you an idea of what to set as a goal - There is a fellow here with a 200,000 mile Suburban who gets an honest 20MPG combined HWY & city !

Hey , I just checked - there is a 2003 Explorer 4WD that is getting 25 MPG listed in the logs - he does a good job of describing his techniques - 25 MPG in a 4WD is pretty impressive stuff.

Yeah thats me.
Do you have an automatic or manual?
V6 I assume not the V8

I'm currently running 25 mpg (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=1509) in the 3 month competition.

I have the tire pressure at 50 psi.
I never let the rpm's get past 2000k, get a scangauge so you can monitor your IGN and TPS. I try to keep my IGN around 22-24 and my TPS around 33-35 these ranges will result 28-33mpg segments.

I have an automatic v6. I really have no Idea what tps or Ign is. I guess I have a lot of research to do. I'm not sure If I have the patience for this!! LOL

Tps is a certain kind of report that could get you fired from your job if you don't turn it in on time. ;)

Sorry for the terminology is a scangauge setting stands for Throttle position. You can do the same or better just read everything you can here and stay positive trying to make it work for you.