[NA] Different "miles to empty" on every fill up

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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We rented a Fore Expedition to drive to Santa Fe last week.
Worst car ever by the way.

First time I filled it up, the display said "386 miles to empty"
Second time I filled it up, the display said "418 miles to empty"
3rd First time I filled it up, the display said "519 miles to empty"

Today I filled it up to return it and it said "360 miles to empty"

Why would the same volume of fuel provide different "miles to empty"?
 
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How did you fill it up for the first time twice?
 
It's called a guess-o-meter for a reason. What sort of calculus, science, and right-foot forecasting were you expecting?
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Why would the same volume of fuel provide different "miles to empty"?
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Hi.
You have a couple of firsts, I would guess one was intended to be third.
A couple of variables, this difference looks a bit much, but some cars will use your last average, and it can be very different as to how far back, add to that some fill up volume and you can get some difference.
This looks like too much but to some extent they all do that.
My Continental keeps the average until you reset it and or remove the battery, my Cadi resets every time there is a difference of 10 gals or more....
 
Well, it calculates it based off your most recent MPG average. If you drive more aggressively at one point and less aggressively later on, the miles to empty will vary. Other than that, it could be a bad ECU or the fuel senders are going bad, who knows. Good thing it’s just a rental! :)
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
We rented a Fore Expedition to drive to Santa Fe last week.
Worst car ever by the way.

First time I filled it up, the display said "386 miles to empty"
Second time I filled it up, the display said "418 miles to empty"
First time I filled it up, the display said "519 miles to empty"

Today I filled it up to return it and it said "360 miles to empty"

Why would the same volume of fuel provide different "miles to empty"?
Click to expand...

It likely calculates using the 23 (?) gallon tank times recent MPG obtained.


386 = 16.8 mpg

418 = 18.2 mpg

519 = 22.5 mpg

360 = 15.7 mpg

Not unreasonable depending on who was piloting, how fast, how many hills, and city vs. highway driving.
 
OK that makes sense.

For part of the drive, I was in that eco mod where I was trying to keep my foot in the exact spot to get the most fuel economy trying to stay above 22 MPG
For the rest of the drive, I just set the cruise control to 90 and was averaging around 15 MPG
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
OK that makes sense.

For part of the drive, I was in that eco mod where I was trying to keep my foot in the exact spot to get the most fuel economy trying to stay above 22 MPG
For the rest of the drive, I just set the cruise control to 90 and was averaging around 15 MPG
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Hmmmm. Looks like the math works!
 
As was mentioned, the vehicle is using recent fuel mileage and driving style to guess at remaining range.

Why was it the "worst car ever" unless you aren't used to driving full sized SUVs?
 
Surprising, I rented an Expedition in 2016 and it far surpassed the Suburban in quality and technology.
 
On my RAM truck, the MPG varies widely based on the driving. I'm well over 20 MPG on the open road, but down below 18 in local traffic. Both my RAM and my Toyota Tundra got better mileage than either of my Chevy trucks (Suburban and Avalanche).
 
Ford Expedition last week? Is the price of rentals still near insane? Seems a tad off peak season anyway.
 
I’m surprised a pilot that had to do cross country planning had this question. Have a bit too much to drink last night?
 
Clip4 said:
Surprising, I rented an Expedition in 2016 and it far surpassed the Suburban in quality and technology.
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I really don't like technology in cars. This thing was over the top with automation and other stuff that just drove me nuts. It kept taking over my phone without my permission. I literally showed my wife look I'm turning Bluetooth off on my phone and it just turns it right back on.

Seriously I am old school when it comes to cars the only thing I like is to turn on Waze and let the nice lady tell me which way to turn
 
one time I was in a suzuki rental car. THAT was by far the worst driving experience I've ever had. you couldn't give me a suzuki for free. well, u could, I'd have some fun with it and the car would be unrecognizable by the end of the day.
 
I recently had a tire pressure warning that alerted me that my right rear tire was low...found a screw in the tire. My wife's car has a HUD that she never uses. The first time I received a text while in my car, it scared the crap out of me...loud alert and then it started reading me the text. I do like the blind spot warning and seat warmer in cold weather :).
 
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Doug Reid said:
I recently had a tire pressure warning that alerted me that my right rear tire was low...found a screw in the tire. My wife's car has a HUD that she never uses. The first time I received a text while in my car, it scared the crap out of me...loud alert and then it started reading me the text. :)
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Sounds like the first time I found out the foreflight was updated to warn you when you are entering runways. Unfortunately, I was sitting in the back of an airliner at the time.
It's kind of annoying sitting in my office and my phone suddenly tells me I'm about to enter runway 5/23. I guess the GPS uncertainly causes it to think I'm moving toward the window (which is marginally closer to the runway).
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I really don't like technology in cars. This thing was over the top with automation and other stuff that just drove me nuts. It kept taking over my phone without my permission. I literally showed my wife look I'm turning Bluetooth off on my phone and it just turns it right back on.

Seriously I am old school when it comes to cars the only thing I like is to turn on Waze and let the nice lady tell me which way to turn
Click to expand...

I'm the same, Bryan. My Ram has about as much technology in it as I want in a car. My wife's new Alfa Romeo that we ordered, we specifically opted to not get some of the super whiz-bang tech features. It's more techy than I like but it will be good for Laurie. And I'll enjoy driving it when I get the chance.
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
It likely calculates using the 23 (?) gallon tank times recent MPG obtained.


386 = 16.8 mpg <--- Head Wind

418 = 18.2 mpg <--- Head Wind switching to a Tail Wind

519 = 22.5 mpg <--- Tail Wind

360 = 15.7 mpg <--- Getthereitis "Are we there yet?"

Not unreasonable depending on who was piloting, how fast, how many hills, and city vs. highway driving.
Click to expand...
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I really don't like technology in cars. This thing was over the top with automation and other stuff that just drove me nuts.
Click to expand...

I just want back my manual HVAC controls in the car. Where I can move a knob to select how warm or cold the airflow is through the vents, regardless of the cabin temp.

And don’t get me started about the push-button, console mounted, transmission mode (PRNDL) selector in the Honda minivan we’re currently renting on a trip.
 
Ted said:
I'm the same, Bryan. My Ram has about as much technology in it as I want in a car. My wife's new Alfa Romeo that we ordered, we specifically opted to not get some of the super whiz-bang tech features. It's more techy than I like but it will be good for Laurie. And I'll enjoy driving it when I get the chance.
Click to expand...

I may start hoarding pre-2014 cars - about the last year for reasonably un-autonomous and still-anonymous driving.
 
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SixPapaCharlie said:
I really don't like technology in cars. This thing was over the top with automation and other stuff that just drove me nuts. It kept taking over my phone without my permission. I literally showed my wife look I'm turning Bluetooth off on my phone and it just turns it right back on.

Seriously I am old school when it comes to cars the only thing I like is to turn on Waze and let the nice lady tell me which way to turn
Click to expand...

You had to have paired your phone to it first, so technically you gave it "permission", lol. Wireless Android Auto is fantastic. Mirror my screen if wanted, excellent Spotify/Waze/Google Maps. Auto text message reading and replies, hands-free dialing/calling. All without ever having to take my cell phone out.
 
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kyleb said:
And don’t get me started about the push-button, console mounted, transmission mode (PRNDL) selector in the Honda minivan we’re currently renting on a trip.
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My mom liked the push-button transmission she had in the ‘60s…it was on the left side of the steering wheel, and we couldn’t reach it to accidentally shift into low at highway speed. :eek:
 
JoeSelch said:
I may start hoarding pre-2014 cars - about the last year for reasonably un-autonomous and still-anonymous driving.
Click to expand...

Yeah, our fleet is newer than it's ever been - 2017 Ram and this Alfa will be 2022. But I suspect that we won't buy another new car this decade, and maybe much longer beyond that.
 
So why did you put us through this whole "oh my poor little Traveler won't carry my growing family...come with me on my painful journey to buy a Comanche so I can take the whole family on long trips" if you are going to rent an Expedition? (sarcasm)

Unless of course it is down for maintenance; then you get a pass. Maybe I missed a post.
 
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Van Johnston said:
So why did you put us through this whole "oh my poor little Traveler won't carry my growing family...come with me on my painful journey to buy a Comanche so I can take the whole family on long trips" if you are going to rent an Expedition? Unless of course it is down for maintenance; then you get a pass. Maybe I missed a post.
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You can’t use a Comanche to take the family to Disney land.
 
kyleb said:
And don’t get me started about the push-button, console mounted, transmission mode (PRNDL) selector in the Honda minivan we’re currently renting on a trip.
Click to expand...

My dads army green 1953 Plymouth with the giant tail fins had that, except mounted on the left side of the dash. I thought it was pretty high tech at the time. Also the air force light blue 1952 shoebox Ford had the ignition key on the dash, on the right side where the kids could get to it. The state vehicle white 1963 Mercury had the ignition key on the left side where the kids could not get to it..

Not saying my dad was cheap, but I was somewhere around 14 when I found out how to get cars that were not army green, AF light blue or state vehicle white...
 
kyleb said:
I just want back my manual HVAC controls in the car. Where I can move a knob to select how warm or cold the airflow is through the vents, regardless of the cabin temp.

And don’t get me started about the push-button, console mounted, transmission mode (PRNDL) selector in the Honda minivan we’re currently renting on a trip.
Click to expand...

I honestly don't understand the attachment to the mechanical transmission selector. It takes up a bunch of space in the center console or blocks area on a column shifter. Why not just have a small dial or set of push buttons out of the way?
 
SoonerAviator said:
I honestly don't understand the attachment to the mechanical transmission selector. It takes up a bunch of space in the center console or blocks area on a column shifter. Why not just have a small dial or set of push buttons out of the way?
Click to expand...

The problem with the one in this Honda is the way they did it, rather than the fact that they did it. Just a poor implementation, imo.
 
My take home message from this thread:

"We need to make a cross country trip as economical as we can. Let's rent a Ford Expedition!"
 
Sac Arrow said:
My take home message from this thread:

"We need to make a cross country trip as economical as we can. Let's rent a Ford Expedition!"
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Depending on how much cargo and people you need to make that trip, it could be the most economical lol.
 
Sac Arrow said:
My take home message from this thread:

"We need to make a cross country trip as economical as we can. Let's rent a Ford Expedition!"
Click to expand...

That, and 90mph does wonders for gas mileage, especially when your pushing a big heavy brick that fast.
 
Sac Arrow said:
My take home message from this thread:

"We need to make a cross country trip as economical as we can. Let's rent a Ford Expedition!"
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting a shortfall in OP's Autonautical Decision Making, and a potential need for retraining? :D
 
Van Johnston said:
So why did you put us through this whole "oh my poor little Traveler won't carry my growing family...come with me on my painful journey to buy a Comanche so I can take the whole family on long trips" if you are going to rent an Expedition? (sarcasm)

Unless of course it is down for maintenance; then you get a pass. Maybe I missed a post.
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We've taken on a foster daughter so for awhile, we are a family of 5.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Depending on how much cargo and people you need to make that trip, it could be the most economical lol.
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I just needed the biggest car available for 5 people and ski clothes. Or little SUVs weren't going to make the cut.
 
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