2010 2.3L 4 cyl. XL Regular cab MPG

Fordfan65 · May 25, 2016

I'm sure this has been brought up many times, but what is the actual mpg of a 2.3 ranger? I've been doing test runs with my truck. My tank holds 12 gallons. I fill it up and set my trip meter to 0.0 then drive for a almost a whole week and so far I've tried medium gas and get 300.0 to 340.0 miles on a tank. I mostly do highway to get to work 6 days a week. Is this normal. I have done this test about 5 times and I just filled up tonight and I'm trying it for the 6th time and see what happens. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. I thought that rangers get 20-26 mpg.

stmitch · May 26, 2016

Sounds about right. If you're driving 300 miles on 12 gallons, that's 25mpg. IF you're driving 340 miles on 12 gallons, that's 28mpg.

22-26mpg is about normal for a Duratec/auto transmission truck. Most Duratec/manual transmission trucks can get fuel economy in the high 20s or low 30s but there are tons of variables that affect fuel economy. I usually drive about 400 miles between fill ups this time of year, but I'm pretty easy on it.

Also, I don't know what 'medium gas' is, but your truck was designed to run just fine on regular unleaded. Spending more for a higher grade isn't usually worth it.

Make sure you're calculating your mpg correctly too. I think you are, but it's not really clear from your post. To calculate mpg:
1. Fill tank
2. Reset trip odometer to 0
3. Drive
4. Refill tank
5. Divide number of miles driven (trip odometer) by the amount of fuel the pump says you added.

Don't just assume you have a 12 gallon tank, and use that number for calculations. That will give you the wrong answer. Also, no Rangers came with 12 gallon tanks. Regular cab trucks had 17 gallon tanks, while extended cab trucks had 19.5 gallon tanks.

Fordfan65 · May 26, 2016

Yeah I meant I get the gas between regular and super. I can't think of the name for it but yeah I calculate it the same way. I think it's odd that my truck will only take 12 gallons when it's almost on the line at empty. I'm not sure why but the I can never get more gas to pump in at any gas station I go to. Why can't it hold 17 gallons?

RonD · May 26, 2016

I would assume because it shows empty with 5 gallon left in the tank.
You could throw a 5 gallon can of gas in the back, insurance, and drive it for another 100 miles, so 400-440 miles on Odometer and then fill it up.
Check gauge level as well, empty could be at a different place from your view of gauge, automotive gas gauges are not precision instruments, they show general levels of fuel in the tank, airplane fuel gauges tend to be a little more accurate for obvious reasons, lol.

Avoid overfilling gas tanks these days, the EVAP systems can be damaged by over filling.

stmitch · May 26, 2016

Yeah, I'm with Ron here. Your gas gauge is probably off. Is your low fuel light ever coming on, or is the gauge needle just on E?

If you don't trust your gas gauge but know how many miles you get per gallon, you can multiply that by the number of gallons in a full tank to determine your range, and then just make sure you fill up when getting close to maximum range. So 25mpg X 17 gallons in the tank = 425 miles of range. My gas gauge typically shows pretty empty around 400-425 miles, but if I calculate fuel economy I'm getting closer to 30mpg, so my range should actually be more like 510 miles. I just don't like to push it that far.

Fordfan65 · May 26, 2016

Yeah my gauge seems to be working. I look at the gauge straight in front of me. Maybe there is just that little bit left to make it to 17 gallons. I've never had the gas so low that the low fuel light has come on though.
I've been using the gas that's a little more expensive because if I don't I can notice a huge difference in power loss when I use regular and it makes hill climbs harder and I live where there's a lot of hills and a lot of highway driving and on ramps and things like that so people always flip out and flip me off and tailgate me and pass me when I'm trying to gain speed to get on the highway and make hills. But I live in Massachusetts near cape cod so that's also another reason drivers get mad.

RonD · May 26, 2016

The Power in a gallon of gas is the same whether it is 87 octane or 93 octane.
Octane is a heat rating, 87 will self ignite at a lower temp than 93.
Self ignition causes pinging/knocking which lowers power, it can also damage engines.

You have the 2.3l Duratec engine in a 2010
It will have a Knock Sensor
When running 87 octane if the Knock Sensor detects pinging/knocking, this detection happens before you can hear it, then computer will advance spark timing more so spark ignites the air/fuel mix before it can self ignite.
This advance in spark timing lowers the power you get from the engine.
So you are running 89 or 91 because of pinging/knocking

2.3l Duratec should only be 9.0:1 compression ratio, so should be fine running 87
Has there been any codes, EGR codes to be specific?
Is the engine running warmer than usual?

Fordfan65 · May 26, 2016

Well it's actually running cooler because my coolant was on add and the temp gauge was at half way between Hot and cold, now it's a little less than half. I haven't plugged in my scanner to the computer but I might soon to see if there could be something wrong. The only thing I've done to the engine is change the oil 3 times with Pennzoil high mileage and a Motorcraft filter and the 5th oil change I used Motorcraft synthetic and a motorcraft filter. For some reason I noticed a huge difference in power loss with the synthetic than the regular oil, and also using regular 87 gas. That's why I use a higher grade gas also.

Fordfan65 · May 26, 2016

But I have noticed better Mpgs with the synthetic oil. I was getting 25 mpg with regular 87, and Pennzoil high mileage. Now with the synthetic I get 28 mpg but I'm also using a higher grade gas.

Fordfan65 · May 26, 2016

I've change the air filter after every 15,000.

RonD · May 26, 2016

Could be your knock sensor is causing the issue.

If your scanner can do live data check KS 1(or 2) NSE, it means Knock Sensor Noise
While driving it should always be 0.00

Really no reason for you to notice power difference on that engine between octane levels.

Yes, many report better MPG with synthetic oil, but some don't, it would make sense to me but, I am wrong alot.

pjtoledo · May 26, 2016

Fordfan65 said:
Yeah my gauge seems to be working. I look at the gauge straight in front of me. Maybe there is just that little bit left to make it to 17 gallons. I've never had the gas so low that the low fuel light has come on though.
I've been using the gas that's a little more expensive because if I don't I can notice a huge difference in power loss when I use regular and it makes hill climbs harder and I live where there's a lot of hills and a lot of highway driving and on ramps and things like that so people always flip out and flip me off and tailgate me and pass me when I'm trying to gain speed to get on the highway and make hills. But I live in Massachusetts near cape cod so that's also another reason drivers get mad.

the 2.3 duratec in a regular cab truck is no slouch. it should easily get up to speed and take on any hill. they rev past 6000 rpms and make power all the way up.
the empty line on mine is 14 gallons. of course here in Ohio we are allowed to rock the truck and keep pumping, none of that first click and you're done garbage.

what gear ratio? what type of tires? what size tires? manual or auto? do you have a cover or cap on the bed? all that makes a big difference.
tires can change gas mileage a lot, going from all-season to dedicated winter tires drops my mpg by about 3. having 500 lbs of tools in the back only cost me 1 mpg.
no matter what combination, hiway mileage was always at least 24. with summer tires and empty it peaked around 29.

2010 2.3L 4 cyl. XL Regular cab MPG

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