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Poor gas mileage

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4timeRamOwner

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I've seen reports of others getting poor gas mileage in their 5th Generation Rams. Mine is horrible. Has anyone else gotten a dealer to figure out what's wrong with this truck?
I've had my truck in the shop twice now for this issue. The Ram technicians are not able to find anything wrong with the truck.

It is a 2019 ram 1500 limited 4x4 crew cab with eTorque engine. Fuel economy is supposed to be 17 city, 22 highway.
I have the active suspension, and every option imaginable. 12" touch screen (which I would not recommend after living with it).
I only get 12-13 mpg city and 15-16mpg highway.
I have the 3.92 rear axle with anti-spin diff.
Eco mode almost never turns on in this new truck.
I have no performance options other than what the truck came with.
I have 12,500 miles on it now.

My 2016 ram quad cab with 5.7 hemi 4x4 got 20mpg or better consistently on the highway thanks to the eco mode.
I should be getting at least within 1 to 2 mpg of what is stated. My 2016 truck promised 20mpg and I got better.
I drive conservatively. I drive mostly highway. I don't idle the truck.
I thought the eTorque would be the way to go. I would not recommend it.
I've owned 4 of these trucks, each one better than the last, until this latest one.

I was given a loaner 2019 Ram 1500 with the Hemi, crew cab, same as my truck, but no eTorque option. I towed a trailer with that loaner truck for 250 miles and averaged 19.5mpg in tow/haul mode. It was the same year as mine 4x4 with the crew cab and hemi, and it got much better gas mileage. The only difference is mine has the eTorque, and this loaner did not. I can't get gas mileage that good in my truck, when it's empty and riding steady at 65mph on the highway. When I tow, I get 12 on the highway.

Something is wrong with my truck that is not wrong with all of them. Has anyone else experienced this and have you gotten it properly fixed? I'm at the point where I'm fighting with my dealer and I need to tell him what it is. He has put the OBD tester on it and says it has no codes.
 
4timeRamOwner said:
12-13 mpg city
Click to expand...
With Eco mode and start/stop activated, that is a low number. As others have stated on other threads and I agree with after practicing, don't baby that hemi when accelerating. Get quickly up to speed and try to learn the pedal pressure to stay in eco mode as long as possible (if fuel savings is your goal). Also, keep in mind we are in the winter fuel blend season and the fuel will get less mpg than summer blend.
 
Jtr said:
Also, keep in mind we are in the winter fuel blend season and the fuel will get less mpg than summer blend.
Click to expand...

Not all areas of the US have winter fuel, no telling if it is a factor where the OP resides. Also if he was running winter fuel mix, he is at +12,000 miles, average should be several MPG higer.

@4Time, have you tried non ethonol fuel and see what you get? you also have a very heavy truck with all of the options, FCA sent the lighest least optioned truck to get the 19/22/17 averages
i blend 87 (10 gallons) top of with 89 non ethonol. my last fuel up netted 18.6 MPG hand caclulated.
 
Jtr said:
With Eco mode and start/stop activated, that is a low number. As others have stated on other threads and I agree with after practicing, don't baby that hemi when accelerating. Get quickly up to speed and try to learn the pedal pressure to stay in eco mode as long as possible (if fuel savings is your goal). Also, keep in mind we are in the winter fuel blend season and the fuel will get less mpg than summer blend.
Click to expand...

I've got start/stop activated, and I have shut off all of the safety systems that may cause the truck to brake on its own, for instance, the collision warning brake assist is disabled. The rear collision brake warning brake assist is also disabled. I haven't been using the active cruise control either because it brakes as needed. I've been driving like a grandma for the last 3 months trying to see if I could come somewhere close to the fuel numbers that are on the sticker. I am nowhere close. I've seen others on this forum with the exact same complaint I have. My truck is at the dealership and has been for the last 5 days trying to figure this problem out. I'll post what they tell me, but I believe they are going to tell me they couldn't find anything wrong with it. I'm hoping someone else got to the root of the problem and can give advice on what needs fixing. Is it the eTorque motor that is dragging? Is the main computer improperly programmed? I would sure like to know.
 
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Goatmann said:
Not all areas of the US have winter fuel, no telling if it is a factor where the OP resides. Also if he was running winter fuel mix, he is at +12,000 miles, average should be several MPG higer.

@4Time, have you tried non ethonol fuel and see what you get? you also have a very heavy truck with all of the options, FCA sent the lighest least optioned truck to get the 19/22/17 averages
i blend 87 (10 gallons) top of with 89 non ethonol. my last fuel up netted 18.6 MPG hand caclulated.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I don’t have access to non-ethanol fuel anywhere close to me. I’m in Richmond Va. pretty temperate climate here.
 
I went in awhile ago and one of the things they did was a TSB software flash for the "cooling fan running excessively". It helped a bit but not much (maybe .5 mpg or so).
 
Definitely should be better. You are driving probably the heaviest 1500 truck.
 
4timeRamOwner said:
I've got start/stop activated, and I have shut off all of the safety systems that may cause the truck to brake on its own, for instance, the collision warning brake assist is disabled. The rear collision brake warning brake assist is also disabled. I haven't been using the active cruise control either because it brakes as needed. I've been driving like a grandma for the last 3 months trying to see if I could come somewhere close to the fuel numbers that are on the sticker. I am nowhere close. I've seen others on this forum with the exact same complaint I have. My truck is at the dealership and has been for the last 5 days trying to figure this problem out. I'll post what they tell me, but I believe they are going to tell me they couldn't find anything wrong with it. I'm hoping someone else got to the root of the problem and can give advice on what needs fixing. Is it the eTorque motor that is dragging? Is the main computer improperly programmed? I would sure like to know.
Click to expand...
I hope you can get to the root of the problem but I drove mine like grandpa for awhile and once I let it go a bit (especially with initial accelerating) I noticed a positive change. Others with your gear ratio have noticed less mpg but I think you are on the lower end of what I've seen.
 
Mine gets between 16 to 18 mpgs, and drove a 4th Gen 4x4 crew cab loaner for few days and was averaging 19 to 20 mpgs.

Another thing I have noticed with the 4th gen at the traffic lights, the avg mpg doesn't drop that quickly compared to 5th gen.
 
I'd say it's most likely the weight and the gear ratio you have, though I'm not ruling out a mechanical/software issue contributing to it. The DT is a porker, especially when you kit it out with all the bells and whistles. Your DS was most likely substantially lighter, as was the DT loaner. Don't underestimate the weight difference between a lightly kitted DT and a fully equipped DT, it's easily a 500+ lb difference.

I've got an almost fully loaded V6 and have been disappointed by its mpg, too, but I'm cognizant that I'm driving a quite heavy truck.
 
Agreed! My 2019 has the Off Road Package and sport edition so that could be why I only get 16 to 18 and instant drops in MPG at traffic stops.
 
My 19 Laramie Sport has the same Hemi/392 gears, e Torque etc, truly stock and although basically brand new (2k miles), it gets basically the same mpg as my 17 2500 truck with the 6.4 gas motor. I can baby it and get 15mpg but this thing is just the same as the old truck. I've never bought a truck for good gas mileage but this sorta confusing. The old truck is a beast, sits 4+" higher, has bigger off road tires and weighs a bunch more with a much bigger engine yet the mileage is similar?
 
I have 15,000 miles on my 19 Limited and am seeing the same kind of poor mileage. Worst part is I only have the 3.21 gears so I'm really annoyed. I think there is something wrong with the eTorque but the dealerships seems to think everything is fine. We have a handful of 19 and 20 bighorns at work that are loaded up as much as you can on a bighorn without eTorque and they are all getting 5+ more MPG than what I am seeing.
 
Mine is definitely a porker...4x4, ORG, BUG, AT tires, etc., all add weight and rolling resistance. As much as I would like good fuel economy I bought a 3 ton truck. I don't race around any more (that was my younger years) and am mindful of my speed. If I do mostly highway I am in the 16s for mpg but it doesn't take much to drop me into the 15s with some errands around town or even the 14s if I'm in traffic more than usual.

I came from a 2003 Ford F-250 diesel getting 15 mpg overall. I was hoping for a little more than that with a 1500 and all the new technology so was little disappointed that I get basically the same mileage. Economy was not a high priority on my list but steady 16-17 mpg would have been nice.

I still consider it an improvement as oil changes are only 7 quarts now (instead of 15 qts) and I change oil at 10K miles instead of 5K.
 
Last edited:
SacRebel said:
I'm getting the roughly the same mpg as the OP. Taken the truck in several times and they always say everything checks out ok.

At this point, I'm just waiting for someone to file a class-action lawsuit against RAM for grossly misrepresenting the EPA numbers.
Click to expand...
I'm getting similar to OP as well (actually less lately)...

The problem is; while some of us have uncommonly low mpg, many have reasonable numbers.

I'm convinced there is an issue - and the discrepancy is not driver related or anything relating to how the trucks are outfitted... Some of these motors are getting much worse mileage than others.
 
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