Poor gas mileage

[Jako]

just had to look up how the epa numbers are calculated. It's unrealistic!https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-economy/28004-epa-fuel-economy-explained1.htm

Yeah the test leaves a lot to be desired. The idea behind it is to give the mpg in relation to other vehicles. It really may not apply to well to where and how you drive. Coming close to window sticker City MPG rating in New York City area - good luck.

With that being said I am averaging for 17,000 miles my window sticker of 17 average.

 

[SD Rebel]

Mine gets 13 with no E-Torque...so there is that.

And you take a 20% hit easily after you drive off the lot with another 10% per year usually....so that is right on track.

The only trucks that hold value are specialty ones like the Ford Raptor which sells for full MSRP usually.

Actually pick-up trucks have a higher resale value than any other segment after 5 years. The RAM is right up there, 2nd to the Silverado for full-size truck resale. The Tacoma being the highest of all trucks. But the difference between highest and lowest resale among trucks is only about 5-7%, all are excellent.

But you have to consider the built-in incentives on almost all full-size trucks. You can't compare resale based on MSRP, especially when most trucks are sold based on an average of $10,000 or more off.

My Rebel for example had a MSRP of $53,000, I bought it for $39,000 last year, it's currently worth that much now after 1 year. Of course with the current situation, that's likely to change.

 

[Longhorn$]

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.

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.

 

[Longhorn$]

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.

I’m getting the same in my 2019 longhorn with 35s on 22s 3.92. I run 93 octane but as the weather changes I went from 12mpg to around 14mpg but still not that happy with it

 

[Willwork4truck]

The owner's manual has a break in period, which is open to debate. Did you concern yourself with the break in period and if so what was your procedure?

Being of the “older set” I’ve been brought up with any engine having a break in, so yes, I/we varied the driving the first 500 miles, never used cruise and no real fast starts or long trips at a steady speed. Changed oil at 1,500.

After that it‘s been a lot of highway at “normal” speeds of 65-75 mph w/o cruise for an hour steady and the occasional around-town trip. No towing. It’s her truck so it doesn’t get worked hard.

 

[ktl5005]

Guys, it is a truck. If you seriously think you are going to get 20mpg out of a big, heavy gas eating truck you all are crazy.......

 

[Timeless]

Actually pick-up trucks have a higher resale value than any other segment after 5 years. The RAM is right up there, 2nd to the Silverado for full-size truck resale. The Tacoma being the highest of all trucks. But the difference between highest and lowest resale among trucks is only about 5-7%, all are excellent.

But you have to consider the built-in incentives on almost all full-size trucks. You can't compare resale based on MSRP, especially when most trucks are sold based on an average of $10,000 or more off.

My Rebel for example had a MSRP of $53,000, I bought it for $39,000 last year, it's currently worth that much now after 1 year. Of course with the current situation, that's likely to change.

Not sure what you are disagreeing with on my post? No one uses MSRP on any vehicle unless it is one that actually sells at MSRP or even has ADM.

 

[SD Rebel]

Not sure what you are disagreeing with on my post? No one uses MSRP on any vehicle unless it is one that actually sells at MSRP or even has ADM.

Sorry if it sounded like that, I was just piggying back and adding to it, I always like to crow about the great value trucks are.

 

[Jako]

Being of the “older set” I’ve been brought up with any engine having a break in, so yes, I/we varied the driving the first 500 miles, never used cruise and no real fast starts or long trips at a steady speed. Changed oil at 1,500.

After that it‘s been a lot of highway at “normal” speeds of 65-75 mph w/o cruise for an hour steady and the occasional around-town trip. No towing. It’s her truck so it doesn’t get worked hard.

I followed the break in as per owner's manual on page 293. I question if FCA really believes in this or they just play it safe. I'm pretty sure this is the same break in from my 2001 Dodge Ram SLT.
I would tend to believe if they took it serious it would be noted when you pick up the vehicle on the steering wheel or dash, page 293?????? - salesman had no clue and said there wasn't. The break in is also available from info contained from the vehicle.
No complaints - don't burn oil and happy with the gas mpg, amongst others.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I followed the break in as per owner's manual on page 293. I question if FCA really believes in this or they just play it safe. I'm pretty sure this is the same break in from my 2001 Dodge Ram SLT.
I would tend to believe if they took it serious it would be noted when you pick up the vehicle on the steering wheel or dash, page 293?????? - salesman had no clue and said there wasn't. The break in is also available from info contained from the vehicle.
No complaints - don't burn oil and happy with the gas mpg, amongst others.

I don’t think very many people will do anything to their new truck so damaging (driving over 100 mph or other excessive rpm’s) that a true old fashioned “break-in” is all that necessary. Even though, to help the rings seat and all that, it is still a good idea to vary your rpm/speed, don’t overheat/over-rev etc.

As far as the poster who said that we shouldn’t expect 20 mpg out of a truck, I respectfully disagree. Not for city mileage, not for a 250/2500, certainly not for towing or 75+ mph... however it’s reasonable now that a new 150/1500 driven sanely on the highway can hit 20 mpg. Rebel’s and Raptors don't thats true, but a Big Horn or XLT should be able to do that. My last 2015 F150 (2.7 with 3.55’s) did and my 19’ Limited non-ET 3.21 Hemi does.

 

[SD Rebel]

I drove my truck late last night, like 2am, so no traffic. I was able to average 20 mpg highway keeping just under the speed limit in the slow lane. I avoid this lane during the day because that's how you get your windshield cracked by a rock.

Also, I was able to maintain over 17.5 mpg on city streets, mainly because I stayed just under the speed limit and took longer than normal to get up to speed. This was possible because I had no one behind me to **** off.

So it is possible, even with a Rebel to get decent mpg if you can take the speed down a notch and accelerate very slowly. However, the second I drove normally, my MPG dropped like a rock, highway dropped to 16 mpg and city to 12 mpg.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I drove my truck late last night, like 2am, so no traffic. I was able to average 20 mph highway keeping just under the speed limit in the slow lane. I avoid this lane during the day because that's how you get your windshield cracked by a rock.

Also, I was able to maintain over 17.5 mpg on city streets, mainly because I stayed just under the speed limit and took longer than normal to get up to speed. This was possible because I had no one behind me to **** off.

So it is possible, even with a Rebel to get decent mpg if you can take the speed down a notch and accelerate very slowly. However, the second I drove normally, my MPG dropped like a rock, highway dropped to 16 mpg and city to 12 mpg.

Ha ha, when I read this I thought, sheesh, this guy was driving at 20 mph on the highway... then I re-read it. Let’s face it, the Rebel, with it’s factory lift, agressive tires and gearing, just isn’t “your dads Prius” (speaking as an ex-Prius owner for 6 years)...

 

[SD Rebel]

Ha ha, when I read this I thought, sheesh, this guy was driving at 20 mph on the highway... then I re-read it. Let’s face it, the Rebel, with it’s factory lift, agressive tires and gearing, just isn’t “your dads Prius” (speaking as an ex-Prius owner for 6 years)...

Lol, caught that, I meant mpg. Absolutely, I've owned leveled trucks on 33" before so I knew the EPA sticker was absolutely BS and didn't apply to this variant.

That being said, I was rather impressed with the mpg when I could drive it as slow as those drivers that **** me off when I'm behind them. Maybe they got the right idea

 

[AmostheDog]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I'm getting similar, disappointing gas mileage as shown in the third-party publications I shared. They felt compelled enough to highlight the poor MPG performance of the eTorque. My experience with the engine supports their results. Ford and Chevy don't seem to have any issue meeting their published numbers.

 

[SD Rebel]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I'm getting similar, disappointing gas mileage as shown in the third-party publications I shared. They felt compelled enough to highlight the poor MPG performance of the eTorque. My experience with the engine supports their results. Ford and Chevy don't seem to have any issue meeting their published numbers.

I totally agree about FCA should not have "blanket" EPA stickered most of their models with the same mileage ratings. Such as a Rebel with the same mpg as a Big Horn in the same configuration, but with different tires and gear ratios. No way a Rebel with 33" tires and 3.92 axle is going to match a street tired 3.21 axle truck.

That being said, it's the EPA and the system of certifying them is a big part of the issue, there is something lost in translation there. Also, Ford is notorious for being very off the EPA numbers, especially with their Ecoboost motors, even a class action lawsuit regarding it. I owned a 2015 2.7L Ecoboost before, great motor, got me 18 mpg mixed, but never close to the EPA numbers. Not sure about GM.

 

[AmostheDog]

Here's the published reports again for anyone interested in reading up on third-party testing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpIfBcULiD8

https://youtu.be/FM7g-NiXK-s

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1127549_fca-has-the-highest-percentage-of-hybrids-but-the-lowest-fleet-mpg-why

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-2020-ram-1500s-fuel-economy-is-drastically-worse-than-advertised/

https://5thgenrams.com/2019-ram-rebel-highway-mpg-test/

 

[JF19Longhorn]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I'm getting similar, disappointing gas mileage as shown in the third-party publications I shared. They felt compelled enough to highlight the poor MPG performance of the eTorque. My experience with the engine supports their results. Ford and Chevy don't seem to have any issue meeting their published numbers.

Coming from a bunch of Ford's I can comment to this one: (winter - summer mpg)

- 2012 F250 6.2L 6spd Auto CrewCab 3.73's would avg 15-17 mpg (unknown)
- 2013 SVT Raptor 6.2L 6spd Auto 4x4 ExtCab 4.10's would avg around 14-16 mpg (12-16 EPA)
- 2015 5.0L 6spd Auto 4x4 CrewCab 3.55's would avg around 17-19 mpg (15-21 EPA)
- 2017 3.5L (GenII) 10spd Auto EcoBoost 4x4 CrewCab 3.55's would avg 15-16 mpg (17-22 EPA)

Now my 2019 RAM, granted only 3k miles on her, is avg 14-15mpg on the same exact 38 mile (25% city 75% hwy) commute...

 

[Cravenfan]

For the love of all things holy...why does this thread continue? MPH test are done by manufacturer, in perfect world conditions, most likely downhill, with a tailwind. Things do slightly improve after about 5k miles.

If you wanted a truck and are worried about gas mileage, you should have bought a Honda Ridgeline.

The power, sound and feel of this Ram, full sized truck kills...kills my old GMC Denali. I couldn't be happier paying $1 more (now with gas as cheap as it is, maybe 50 cents more) a day in gas to beat BMW's off the line at the stop light, then drive off onto a dirt road, never to see them again.

Nothing wrong with the truck...just your foot, on the floorboard. Giddy up!

 

[AmostheDog]

Some folks are okay with the mpg and that's fine...one less thing to worry about.

But, acceptance of a wrong doesn't necessarily make that wrong acceptable. Some people (including myself) expect delivery of RAM's promised performance. It this wasn't a valid case, experts like TFL and 5thGenRams.com wouldn't feel the need to show the gross under performance.

If people are happy with their mpg then no need for them to continue with the thread. If others are bothered by mpg being 5-6 below advertised levels and the mis-marketed specifications, then this is the thread for them. I can easily see this turning into a class-action suit like one one RAM paid out in 2017 with the Eco-diesel for the same issue.

 

[CrazyWorld]

This. 3.92 axle ratio in Rams have been natorious for terrible gas mileage for the last decade. I have the Bighorn Hemi with Etorque...with 3.21 axle ratio....averaging 24 mpg (75% highway). Axle ratio makes a huge difference with Rams for some reason.

Sure not my experience....20 to 21 mpg most of the time...great for towing....I love my 3.92.