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Old 03-16-2011, 11:55 AM   #1
bobsals
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2010 F-350 Diesel Poor Mileage

Greetings, a good friend of mine just came back from Arizona and was complaining about his fuel mileage. He got just over 5 mpg towing a fifth wheel Cardinal fifth wheel. I was just wondering if anyone here has experienced that with the 6.4 Liter Diesel. If anyone here has had this problem and has found a solution we would be very interested in hearing from you.
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Old 03-16-2011, 12:52 PM   #2
Johnnyg
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Our 08 F350 gets about 8.5 on the interstate. 7.5 to 8 when running secondary roads.
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Old 03-16-2011, 02:14 PM   #3
bill maietta
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Last year i did a cross country and consistantly 10 mpg towing...
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Old 03-16-2011, 02:27 PM   #4
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Travelled across Canada, up to the Yukon, Northwest Territories and back. A total of 25000 KM, (15534 miles) with my rig. Averaged 11.8 mpg. Lower in the Rockies and higher on the level prairies and eastern Canada.
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Old 03-16-2011, 02:44 PM   #5
AJH
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Wow and I am complaining. I am getting around 12.8 MPG with my 2003 350 Diesel towing my 36' 2005 Montana crossed country and through New England. I guess I should be happy.

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Old 03-16-2011, 02:49 PM   #6
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How fast was he drivings? The 6.4s do don't get very good mileage but none of the trucks in that era get good mileage. If he is really only getting 5 MPG he has a problem. Has his truck thrown any codes, is it making oil? How did he check it? Is he relying on the gage on the truck, the lieometer? I have been going by the lieometer and have reported on this forum several times that I was getting 15+ miles per gallon only to find out last week that I was only getting 13 MPG.
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Old 03-16-2011, 02:55 PM   #7
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My mileage sucks compared to my '99 F-250 with a 7.3 Powerstroke. The '99 averaged 17 light, 9 towing. My '08 gets 11-12 light and 10 towing. I believe it's mostly due to the ULSD fuel we are forced to burn. From what I've read on the internet about today's diesel fuel, it has 15 to 18% less energy (or whatever is in diesel that burns) per gallon which means we have to burn more fuel to get where we're going. Also, the Diesel Particulate Filter, which captures unburned soot, is cleaned by injecting raw fuel directly into the filter and igniting it (regeneration process). That's fuel you paid for that never sees the engine. Doesn't sound so environmentally sound to me.
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Old 03-16-2011, 03:16 PM   #8
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5 mpg is low unless there was a head wind or there is something wrong with the truck.
The 2007 thru 2010 diesels get the worst mileage mainly because of the pollution control equipment. Especially the trap filter and how it gets cleaned.
The 2011 diesels have modified pollution control equipment that uses a Euria fluid to help clean the trap filter. The results is some better fuel mileage but still not to the older engines from 2006.
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Old 03-16-2011, 03:33 PM   #9
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mlh, I think he drives kind of fast. I'm sure that may be part of the problem but 5 mpg is really poor even for excessive speed. He had it in to ford a couple times and they can find no problems. I have a 7.3 and it gets a little better than 10 towing and around 17 solo. I may be looking for a new 2012 so hope the new ones have improved mpg.
Thanks for the responses guys.
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Old 03-16-2011, 03:49 PM   #10
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I owned a 2010 for about 7 months and traded it for a 2011 because the fuel economy was terrible. Got about 7 to 8 pulling my Monty. As for the 2011, and I love it. Getting about 10.5 with the 5th wheel now. Still not Great but I can live with it. Haven't towed the Monty in a while. Getting more miles on it should improve the mileage. Got about 21000+ on it right now.
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Old 03-16-2011, 03:57 PM   #11
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Something does not sound right... a few thing come to mind in addition to the above points made that I would check... for starters, is the fuel mileage poor only when towing?

First, what is the fuel mileage without the 5th in tow? Is it similar to other 2010s (12+MPG). If so, I would consider checking the 5th wheel brakes to make sure they are not dragging, tire pressure as well.

Second, if the mileage is poor without towing (say less than 10 MPG), I would say the truck needs a good look over. If Ford cannot find an engine problem, look at the tire pressure, brakes, bearing, etc, on the truck.

Raising a wheel off the ground to make sure it spins freely is a nice simple way to make sure brakes, bearing, etc are all in good working order. We had situation last summer with our F550 Dump where the brake caliper on the front left froze up. With the wheel off the ground, it could not be spun by hand.. fixing this has the added advantage of improving our fuel economy...


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Old 03-16-2011, 04:03 PM   #12
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When I traded mine for the 2011 I told my dealer the poor fuel economy was the only reason I was trading. All the dealer could say was Ford just missed it on the 2010's. That say's alot I think.
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Old 03-16-2011, 05:03 PM   #13
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Could be a problem that the DPF is restricting on the exhaust system but it should throw a code. I am running a 09 dually long box CC 4X4 with 3.73 gears and have averaged exactly 10.5 mpg hand calculated over 6700 miles pulling the 09 3400RL (my lie o meter will always indicate about 20% above hand calculated numbers). My speed is 62 to 65 mph unless we are pushing a wicked head wind we'll drop to 60 mph. Empty we average 16.5 on highway at 67 to 70 mph which is 1900 to 2000 rpms. I keep a running log of mileages,fuel,cost,where, when, and oil changes inclusive of fuel filters.
I am running a DPF delete (straight exhaust) and a Spartan tuner tuned at 210 horsepower in addition to the 350. Exhaust temp runs at 680F pulling and no wind and 950F with a heavy head wind. Truck has 29,500 miles now with absolutely no power train problems. That DPF filter can create many headaches with restrictions, horsepower loss, high exhaust temps, plus diesel pushed into the oil system.
If that person is running 4.30 gears with the tow boss pkg. at 65 to 70 mph, it will burn fuel!!!
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Old 03-16-2011, 05:22 PM   #14
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I've had the same problems with my 6.4L. The truck averages 12 mpg empty - speed has no effect on the economy. I've also noticed that a 5,000 lb makes work extremely hard. I am at the end of my rope with this truck and am hoping to unload it this weekend.
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Old 03-16-2011, 06:30 PM   #15
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At 65 towing, my 08 gets about 11. Up 3 from when I did 70.
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Old 03-17-2011, 02:54 AM   #16
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My 2010 F-250 Super Duty gets 16.3 unloaded and 13.2 towing. I'm in flat country, run mostly Interstates and four lane roads, do little local travel, and tow at 62mph which is 1750rpm. All this according to the fuel computer. I have checked it on occasion and found it to be fairly accurate.
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Old 03-17-2011, 03:29 AM   #17
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My gas V-10 gets 8.5 to 9mpg pulling the 3000RK up and down I-5. 9 mpg at 57mph and 8.5 at 68mph. Gas price $3.65.

Running empty my top mpg on a 3500 mile trip to Ft Mcmurray and back down through Lake Louise was 14 mpg overall. Speeds in excess of 70 much of the way.
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Old 03-17-2011, 03:40 AM   #18
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5mpg is not right unless it is all up steep hils.We are +/- 23K truck and 06v 3400. We run 62/65 mph can count on 10MPg at the end of most every day excluding the steep mountains out west.
We do not drive in big city or heavy traffic solo and 14/16 is normal. IMO 10mpg pulling the indicated weight is not bad.. Our average pulling down to Florida from Northern Ohio was 10.6.

The faster one runs the lower the MPG..most any truck.
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Old 03-17-2011, 05:33 AM   #19
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Hi

My wife’s 2009 Duramax 3500 dully Crew cab and long bed. It gets 10.5 to 11.5 pulling the Montana at a GCVW of 23,100 lbs. and gets 15.5 to 16.5 empty. When it was new after the break-in of 500 miles as specified in the owner’s manual it was a lot lower than that and she was very unhappy about it. Then at about 30,000 miles between Seattle and Spokane it started improving and by 40,000 it stabilized at these figures. She has 52,000 on it now.

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Old 03-17-2011, 08:30 AM   #20
CamillaMichael
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Our 2010 F350 SRW towing a 3400 gets between 9.5 and 10.2 mpg on the highway...going from stop light to stop light, towing, we might get around 5 mpg.
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