dodge caravan fuel consumption

I have a 2003 dodge caravan with the 3.3 engine and the fuel consumption
seems a bit high to me based on my previous experience with two caravans , I
have been using about 15 litres per 100 kilometers which comes in at under
20mpg , have any other caravan owners seen this and have they improved
things with a visit to the dealers , any help would be appreciated ,

geoff

 

"geoff stanley"

| I have a 2003 dodge caravan with the 3.3 engine and the fuel consumption
| seems a bit high to me based on my previous experience with two caravans ,
I
| have been using about 15 litres per 100 kilometers which comes in at under
| 20mpg , have any other caravan owners seen this and have they improved
| things with a visit to the dealers , any help would be appreciated ,

I have the same experience. I have a spanking new Grand Caravan with a 3.8
L engine. Long haul highway mileage is on the order of 17.5 mpg tops. In
town is much much less. I'm attributing this to new engine break in.

the ones I rented last year (02/03 models all with 3.3 and 3.8 L engines
consistently gave 20-23 mpg at the same speeds over the same roadway. (
travel this route every 4-8 weeks all year long)

 

Very normal. these are not light vehicles (especially if you have a
"grand"). If I remember right the weight spec on my 99 T&C is 4900 lbs. That
being said add people cargo wind etc. you have a fairly thirsty vehicle. BTW
looked at the avg. fuel consumption indicator on my T&C recently and it was
at 15.8 mpg under mixed driving.
Larry

 

In a mixture of various types of commuting, both slow in-town and slightly
faster A-road use, my 3.3l UK specification Grand Voyager gives me about
15.4 miles per US gallon or 19.25 miles per UK gallon. Motorway use returns
23 miles per US gallon or 28.75 miles per UK gallon if I drive reasonably
gently.


Regards

Gerald

 

| I have a 2003 dodge caravan with the 3.3 engine and the fuel consumption
| seems a bit high to me based on my previous experience with two caravans , I
| have been using about 15 litres per 100 kilometers which comes in at under
| 20mpg , have any other caravan owners seen this and have they improved
| things with a visit to the dealers , any help would be appreciated ,
|
| geoff
|
|

Winter driving doesn't help. My 1997 Grand with the 3.3 typically gets about
18-19 mixed and 24-25 highway in the summer time. The max I ever got was 28 on
a trip to Myrtle Beach (flat terrain). Got over 500 miles on that tank and
still had a quarter of a tank left. Knock off about 2MPG in the winter. Short
trips are the worst in the winter as well...

 

What are your driving conditions and habits? I drive mostly highway
with some in town driving and get about 23 in the summer and 21-22 now
that it is cold.

If you drive mostly short trips, in cold weather or in town, then 20
isn't out of the question at all, IMO.


Matt

 

Is there an oversized tank available on these? I think the tanks in
both of my Grands are 20 gallon (I have a 96 and 03). 3/4 a tank at 28
MPG would get me only 420 miles. I've never heard of a van with a
larger tank.


Matt

 

| James C. Reeves wrote:
| > | > | I have a 2003 dodge caravan with the 3.3 engine and the fuel consumption
| > | seems a bit high to me based on my previous experience with two caravans
, I
| > | have been using about 15 litres per 100 kilometers which comes in at
under
| > | 20mpg , have any other caravan owners seen this and have they improved
| > | things with a visit to the dealers , any help would be appreciated ,
| > |
| > | geoff
| > |
| > |
| >
| > Winter driving doesn't help. My 1997 Grand with the 3.3 typically gets
about
| > 18-19 mixed and 24-25 highway in the summer time. The max I ever got was
28 on
| > a trip to Myrtle Beach (flat terrain). Got over 500 miles on that tank and
| > still had a quarter of a tank left. Knock off about 2MPG in the winter.
Short
| > trips are the worst in the winter as well...
| >
| >
|
| Is there an oversized tank available on these? I think the tanks in
| both of my Grands are 20 gallon (I have a 96 and 03). 3/4 a tank at 28
| MPG would get me only 420 miles. I've never heard of a van with a
| larger tank.
|
|
| Matt
|

I think the most I've ever put in the tank is about 18.x gallons, so it isn't
any larger than normal. They used to offer a larger that standard tank (14gals
standard I think back then) back in the 80's, but I don't think they did in
1997.

The gauge was registering around 1/4-full at fillup. Went from near Baltimore
to North Myrtle Beach and drove around North Myrtle Beach for a day or so
without getting gas. What ever the fillup numbers were (and that was 5-6 years
ago, so don't remember) the mileage came to around 28 point something. Never
got that again, so was a anomaly. I was packed full gear with three kids and
running 70-75MPH. Go figure. I will say that, for what ever reason, I almost
always get better numbers on the vehicles I've driven than the "ratings" state.
That doesn't happen for most people.

The biggest point though is that this time of year is very hard on
mileage...especially if most trips are under 10 miles. The engine probably
doesn't even get 10-12MPG during those 1st 2-3 miles of a trip when the temp is
10 degrees.

 

Our 2003 TC EX 3.8 gets consistantly 19mpg-US 20K mi on the odometer.
Maybe 20 - 23 on a hwy trip. The EPA sticker said 20city25hwy. Just put in
a K&N filter and hope this helps improve things a little bit.

 

We have a 2001 Grand Caravan 3.3 L engine.
While I don't have specific consumption figues, I too believe this is
one thirsty beast, even on long highway trips. Thought it was just our
van, in a way, glad it's "normal".