Think I have a problem. Consuming way too much gas

[krisnet55]

From the time of purchase I have had bad MPG. At first I thought the car needed to be broken in, but at this point its been 10K miles and its the same. Im averaging 11-12 mpg!!! This is mostly city driving but just last week I drove from NY to PA for about a 2 hour drive and only ended up getting 13 mpg.
By no means am I an aggressive driver, mayyyyyybe sometimes here and there but for the most part my wife drives the car and I assure you she isnt no speed racer. I mean in order to average out 12 mpg you got to be constantly speeding and taking off aggressively all of both that I dont do. I have tried everything as far as driving, slow, fast, braking early, etc, etc.
I dont see any gas puddles or smell of any gas. I know its cold now but im thinking I should at least be averaging 16 mpg at worst.

Has anyone heard anyone else with such a problem? What can it be?

Its ridiculous, my E250 V6 got better mileage....

[friendly_jacek]

Show us how you calculate MPG.

[RTexasF]

Just not possible. I had a 460 cubic inch V-8 Mercury wagon that got that mpg. The problem you're having is not figuring mpg correctly.

[krisnet55]

I use fuelly now but was getting the same result when doing by hand. Even my dash is telling me 11.4. Guys I don't mean to be rude but I know very well how to calculate MPG. I'm a motorcycle mechanic/track junkie guy. In other words I'm in the whole mechanic, racing, engine performance thing.
I'm not saying my car just has bad gas mileage but rather saying I must have some sort of problem that's causing it. Maybe the O2 sensor, injectors, evap system, or??? Figured I'd ask because maybe someone had a similar problem.
Something is off

[RF Overlord]

I agree there's a problem alright. My luxo-barge Mercury Grand Marquis averages 20 MPG with mostly around-town driving.

You say "from the time of purchase"...was it new or used? If new, bring it back to the dealer. Also, is it an I4 or a V6?

[krisnet55]

It's a V6, bought new. The best I have ever gotten city driving has been 13.8 and that was driving like a 80 year old man.
I have looked all over google to see if anyone was getting similar gas consumption. Closest I found was around 16 mpg city V6.

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted by krisnet55

I use fuelly now but was getting the same result when doing by hand. Even my dash is telling me 11.4. Guys I don't mean to be rude but I know very well how to calculate MPG.

We have no way of knowing that from your initial post. If your MPG calculation method is correct, you do clearly have a problem. Surprising it took you that long to figure it out. While city driving with short trips and lots of idling can net you 18MPG in V6, hwy with decent speeds (under 85MPH) should be over 20MPG.

[krisnet55]

Originally Posted by friendly_jacek

We have no way of knowing that from your initial post. If your MPG calculation method is correct, you do clearly have a problem. Surprising it took you that long to figure it out. While city driving with short trips and lots of idling can net you 18MPG in V6, hwy with decent speeds (under 85MPH) should be over 20MPG.

Yeah it took me a while because I barely use the car. My wife has it most of the time. I ride a scooter to work which gets me 64 mpg, lol.
Thanks for the help

[Dr. Dyno]

Must be doing an awful lot of idling. Any engine problem that bad would show a code.

[Carbon]

Krisnet55, I suggest you compare the average MPG indicator with actual fuel consumption. You will probably find it to to be a little optimistic, but it can still be useful. Then reset it by holding in the select button until the MPG reads 0. Do your Driving. Check it. Reset it. Let your wife do her driving. Maybe you can identify the kind of driving that brings down the numbers.

NYC stop and go environment can be very hard on gas mileage. However your NY to PA trip test should have eliminated that aspect.

I suggest hooking your code reader up to see if there are any codes. Check tire pressure.