What fuel mileage should I be getting with my 05 4.2L Reg. cab long bed 2 WD truck? I have about 6200 miles on it now and get 11 to 12.5 MPG in town. Is this normal MPG? Should I take it to the dealer and have it checked? The truck runs great and I'm happy and supprised by the power. I checked and their are no fault codes.
If the V6 mileage is this bad I might as well trade it for a super duity with a V8.

Thanks
Tstorms

 

Hello and welcome to FTE and the 4.2 forum!

MPG can be all over the place and it is hard to say if you have a problem or not.
I too have a 2005 F150 with the 4.2
Mine has Auto transmission and 3.55 rear end.

I drive it in a manner that lends itself to good gas mileage. i.e.: I don't drive with a heavy foot. I don't baby it and idle around town, but I don't mash the gas like I was in a hurry all the time either.

That said, my avg. mpg is quite a bit higher than yours.
avg: 16 around town and 20 on the interstate.

I have had 2 F150s with the 4.2 and I can say for sure that driving habits have a big impact on gas mileage, easily removing or adding 2-3 mpg.

You'll have to judge your own driving style. If it is aggressive then maybe what you are getting is "normal". If you take it easy and still get 11-12 then I'd start looking for a cause.

My guess, and its only a guess, and don't be offended: I'll bet you stay in the gas pretty hard.
That is based on 6 years of time here in the 4.2 forum and reading many posts regarding mpg.

Here's a way to check how "hard" you are driving:
Refer to the thread at the top of this forum re: using the odometer in test mode.
Set your odometer as described and drive the truck with the test mode in "tach". this will give you a digital tachometer readout in place of your trip meter.
Drive as normal and watch the tach to see the rpm range where your transmission shifts up . I seem to remember 2000 rpm is a reasonable point. The higher above that you are, the harder your are running the motor and the lower your mpg will be.
The shift points are low when the engine is not being worked hard. This gets up through the gears faster and helps increase mpg.

If you'd like a comparison, let me know and I'll record mine and post them here to see how they compare to yours.

Thanks and keep us posted!

 

I have a new 2006 reg cab long bed with a 4.2 L auto. I mainly do city driving and can get between 12 and 15 city. It depends on how "city" things are. With more frequent stops, the mpg are towards the 12 side. I consider myself easy on the gas and generally get about 13mpg, but as I said, driving this full size truck in the city,parking structures, large hills is hard the mpg. I also carry up to 400 pounds of sand bags in the back when we have a lot of snow. I think the winter formulation of gas decreased mpg and of course starting when the temp is 10 20 30 degrees sucks the gas for warmup, no I do not let the truck warm up, the book says start and go, so I do. But the engine still idles high till its warm, so a stop light also sucks the gas.

 

I did the test mode thing to check: my normal driving (on the easy side) I get shift points around 2000-2400 rpm.
Nail it and the shift points jump to the 4000-5000 rpm range.

And FWIW, I too tend to see a drop with winter formula gas.

 

Where is the test mode thread at the top of this thread, I do not see it? I'd like to see my shift points. Thanks

 

Its a thread itself.
Go to main 4.2 forum page.
It's about 3rd from the top.

 

I found it. Thanks. I ran the tach and I must be a gentle driver because I rarely went over 2000 rpm, in fact, I pretty much stayed in the 1600 to 1800rpm range. I did note that at 35mph the truck runs about 1500rpm as it is not going quite fast enough to make the next gear. I'm guessing the idle rpm is around 650 rpm. When I leave for work in the AM, it idles in the 800 to 900 range till warm, so that eats gas. I did get the truck to do a 2000 rpm take off, thats pretty fast!

I cannot wait for warmer weather because the winter causes the truck to consume so much more gas. As I said, I average 13.6 mpg city driving with the winter, hills, lights, not making the next gear, and some idle time. It must be a fact, getting that heavy truck off the line takes fuel. The number in the window is not exact. Although my ranger was the same as the window!!! Not this truck, but I have only 2000 miles on it, so I will wait till its broke in till I make a judgement.

I do use form 5/20 blended oil, its got a good price and my other fords love it. And not as costly as full synthetic.

 

Just checked my MPG this week, and it was about 15.5. An equal amount of highway and city driving. Not going above about 75. Oh by the way, its a 2000 regular cab.

 

I just did about 550 miles in my 2005 / auto transmission.

approx
50% interstate
20% city
30% 2 lane highway/backroads

exactly 20 mpg.

 

I've been using the digital tach to learn to be easier on my shift points to increase my mpg----I was already pretty easy on the truck getting it to shift around 1600 to 1700 rpm, but still mph is around 13.5. Today is around zero degrees and when you start that 4.2 up, it sounds like an old big 8----just sucking at gas. I have a stoplight just down the street, I almost need double brakes when its warming up.....sucking gas. Our gas blend is different also. I did all freeway last week, put it in cruise and got 16.5. So, I am not happy about the mpg but will wait for brakein and live with the truck............cause I love it and need it.

 

I have a 03 with 4.2 and 5 speed converted to E85-get 12-14 city and 18-20 highway. When I use gas instead of E85, I get 14-16 city and 20-22 highway. This is with 3.08 gears.

 

Oh and by the way, a tonneau cover-that added 2 mpg!!

 

I checked my driving habits by the tach and yes I do drive aggressive my shift points are around 3000 RPMs. This past tank I have driven it easy with a light foot and slow acceleration. WOOHOO I got 13.6 MPG. I dont understand why these trucks are such gas hogs. My 93 F150 5.0 V8 got better driving it normal. My family have always had Ford trucks but I may try a Chevy truck. Two frends with 2004 and 2005 Chevy trucks with 5.3 V8s get way better mileage.

 

I don't understand it either.
I remember a few times when I had my 2000 w/ 5 speed, I'd run it pretty hard and check to see the diff in MPG.
I NEVER got 13.8.
My worst was about 14 MPG.

I dunno' ???

 

I never,except for an emergency passing, hit 3000 rpm. I have kept the tac on for the last two weeks more or less learning the rpm shift points by the sound of the engine and I keep the rpm shift points (guessing) between 1500rpm and 2000 rpm. And yes, city driving has been as bad as 12mpg,and lately around 13.6 mpg. The window sticker said 16 city and 20 highway. I have driven fords for a long time and did get what the windown sticker said except for this truck. This is the first Ford which says in the owners manual not to take the mpg for awhile because of breakin,,,,,so we will see. I cannot understand why the mpg is so bad, a 6-cylinder, fuel injected, electronic ignition, 3.55 rear end, overdrive trans, middle aged driver who does not drive the truck hard.. My taurus has 130,000 miles on it, garage says the engine and tranny are in excellent shape.....so its not the driver (me)