The service manager and the shop foreman both state there is a new fuel mileage test capability in the WDS system for the 6.0 only. They want me to bring in my truck so they can test it.

Any techs out there can call the hotline and verify this information?

 

First question I would ask is, "Will it involve ANY ECU reprograming, or flashing? If the answer is no I would be ok with it. Of course, nothing in life is free, so my next question would be, "Where is your diesel pump for my free fill up"?

 

Yes, the WDS does have instant and average MPG capabilities.

 

FORDTECH1
That is not a new feature for the wds is it.

 

Thanks Fordtech1, I am taking it in tomorrow morning. Apparently Ford has recognized there is an issue with fuel economy and reduction in acceleration performance after the Oct flash according to Cuastomer Assistance and the Ford Area rep.

I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow.

 

It depends on how often the dealership updates the software. No it is not new at all, but some dealers may have just found or downloaded it.

 

Do dealers keep the old flash around in case they need to go back to an older flash?

 

Tadashi, I was referring to an update to the WDS software, not the PCM in the truck, but to answer your question, no the reflash of a PCM erases the previous software. The MPG test does not involve reprogramming the PCM.

 

I went to the dealer this morning. The diesel tech hooked up his WDS computer. We went for a ride. They are right on the interstate 35. We went up the highway about 5 miles and back. He had me get on it and run WOT. He said boost and everything was running fine. It had an average of about 17.5 mpg. Since I was getting 16.5 prior to the Oct flash for local city driving with some stretches of 55, I don't think 17.5 is all that good for just highway. Everything else seemed normal. The tech said thanks a lot and let him know what my mileage is like. So no adjustments or updates. I will check with the service manager and find out what the next step is going to be.

 

I had a fuel consumption test ran on my on Feb 16. Same concern poor fuel mileage..... My mileage results were similar to yours - once the repair was made. Explaination below.

I was getting 6-8mpg city and 14-16 highway. Took truck in for poor fuel economy.

Service advisor wrote my request up as "Customer requests a Fuel Consumption test"

Tech brought the truck in, said he coud "hear" a bad injector. He took the truck for a drive with the WDS and it reported 14-16 highway. Tech found a DTC code "#5 injector performance Low DTC P0275" and upon further testing the injector failed a cylinder balance test. Upon replacing the "Poor performing injector" they tested again. WDS now reported a mileage of 17.5 to 18.3.

Couple things to note:
1) My mileage has been much better ever since although I would say that the WDS fuel consumption test like the overhead meter is a little optimistic (optimistic by .5 to 1.0 mpg)
2) When the tech did the fuel consumption test on my truck he took it on a 25-30 mile drive each time.

Overall: I was very pleased that the service advisor and techs took my concerns seriously and offered to run a fuel consumption test vs just blew me off like others seem to have been and said that is the way it is........

By the way, I'm now averaging just over 11mpg city and around 17 highway. Less then I had hoped for, given all of Ford's hype, - my 7.3L averaged a little better - closer to 17.5 highway. On the other hand I only have about 3,000 miles so far - hopefully it will improve. My overhead before never read above 17 - now it has on brief ocassions -with the right conditions- touched the 20mpg mark. Hoping the average will creep up towards that mark.

On Edit:::: Forgot to mention. I'm also running the October flash.

 

I am not buying that I am within the "normal" range. I was getting 16.5 prior to the Oct flash all around driving. So what would I be getting today if the Oct flash had not lowered fuel economy? Would it have been better than what I have today? Yes I am doing midrange for vehicles with the Oct flash where they lowered the efficiency. Leave it go long enough and people will tnik it is normal.

 

I agree the WDS is not very accurate, Atleast for the short runs.
I had mine done and the WDS reported 14/9 on the HWY/City and over
a tank I actually get about 16.5/13 HWy/City.

 

The WDS is extemely accurate....but we are looking at an average here guys. I could probably make the thing read whatever you want...higher with A/C in the vent position, lower with heavy takeoffs, etc. It is a tool to give the dealer a guideline as to the vehicle's fuel economy.

 

I have learned while documenting my fillups and watching the overhead for a while after the fillup. Alot of things come into play as to what your overall average mpg will be. How many times take-off from a stop, how long the truck idles, the uninterupted distance that you travel daily to help balance the stop/starts. In comparing the fuel mileage of one truck to the other ... the usage would need to be the same. A buddy of mine was continuously getting better mileage than I was. After scratching our heads for a while and really watching the two trucks we determined that the average mpg difference was because his daily commute was about twice as far as mine and he had more constant speed traveling to overcome the stop/starts than I did.

 

I'm getting 17.0 to 18.0, mostly highway@ 80 MPH, Predator @ 65, K&N, Power Service and a lead foot.

This seems comparable to most others. If Ford finds a way to improve on that, let me know.