2014+ Gas Mileage (MPG) Topic

KARNUT · July 7, 2018

Excellent post. Do you use your truck for work or is it a commuter? How many miles a week are you driving?

I'm averaging around 26 mpg...sometimes 25.5 depending on traffic. I realize the truck's computer isn't accurate but it's what I go by.

I set my driving screen to the fuel economy setting, it helps me understand when and how much I can let off the gas pedal and get into V4 mode. And when I can't. I've pretty much got it down to a science now. I'm finding I'm usually averaging 30 plus mpg unless I'm stuck in traffic or going up a hill.

I cant beat the cruise control on this truck so I pretty much use it all of the time in the highway - I set it at 67/68 - something where I can kind of "fit in" with the flow of the slower traffic, without causing problems. What I've found is that it's much more risky driving in the slower lanes than the high speed lane. The slower lane has the incoming traffic, which is a pain. And if you go over a lane it's even worse because you're sandwhiched in between two lanes. In the fast lane there's no one to your left and you have less traffic entering from your right (but it's something I've adjusted to).

I take full full advantage of this truck's ability to GLIDE. Man can it glide. Going down a hill? This thing builds up so much speed it's ridiculous...never have to touch the gas pedal. And then it glides half way up the other side (and with light throttle you're there).

I haven't tried redline products, I'm a bit cheap when it comes to oil. I'll use a full synthetic 0w20 but I change it at 5,000 miles (I don't do extended oil changes). I mean I'll buy whatever's brand name is on sale at Walmart (Mobil, Quaker State, Castrol, pennzoil). I realize they're all group lll synthetics but I've read that with 0w20 oil the manufacturers have to use some group llll just to get it within viscosity specifications. You ever hear of that? I've always read, if you have to chose between 5w20 and 0w20, always pick the 0w20, it's a higher quality oil.

My truck only has 7,500 miles on it (it's only two and a half months old), so I haven't tinkered with anything yet. I'm a huge huge maintenance guy though. I'll probably do a drain and fill on the tranny at 20,000. I'll do the transfer case and diffs at 30,000. I'll probably do the coolant at 70,000. I may do brake fluid flushes every couple of years. Thinking about installing a catch can. I have a bed cover I'm putting on next week. I've already done one Fluid Film treatment underneath, I'll be doing another one in November. People say the fluid film destroys the wax on the frame but I've seen zero issues with it (know lots of guys who've had their GM trucks treated). Winters kill trucks around here, it's a serious problem. GM wax starts to flake off after a year (or less), then it just spreads like wildfire. I'm going to try to stay on top of it (we'll see how that goes). If I can slow it down by 50% I'll be pretty happy I guess.

I'll be putting 30,000 plus a year on the truck, so it needs to hold up and get me decent fuel mileage. So far it's exceeded my expectations.

Just is case your unaware, the far left lane is not for cruising. It’s for passing, your supposed to match the speed of the car approaching from behind. I don’t speed, but nothing pisses a driver in a hurry more than some yo yo in the middle lane doing under the speed limit passing to the left not picking up their speed. They didn’t want to have to slow down in their lane but could care less about who they slow down. Johnny law is finally starting to enforce that law. Just looking out for you.[emoji106]

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EDL · July 7, 2018

On 7/1/2018 at 3:28 PM, Doublebase said:

My truck is an 2018, I bought it new two months ago. I hope it's updated. Who knows?

It was more of a problem with the route it chose to take me, and the adjustments it made along the way. It took a two and a half hour trip and turned it into four.

I usually use Waze, I don't question it because it usually saves me from some tough spots. I figured I could trust the GPS with the truck because it is so new, but this is what it did...first it took me right past the highway I would have thought we'd take. Then it took me right into RT93 into Boston (that's a nightmare). To make matters worse it took me OFF of 93 and had me go right through Boston - if you've ever driven through Boston you know one thing immediately after - you don't EVER drive through Boston. Especially during a Friday. So there I was...Government Center, then Boston common, then the theater district, then DORCHESTER. Then it tells me, redirecting your route...right BACK onto 93!! I was in trafffic for an hour and a half and I moved maybe ten miles before getting right back the way I was heading. It was like someone said, here let me dump you right into the center of hell on the way to where you're going. I just couldn't believe what had happened. If I had a holesaw with me I would have drilled the GPS right out of my dash and thrown it out the window. Thank god I didn't have one.

Yeah, I agree to an extent. Chrysler wants $250 to update the maps in their units. Forget it. For less than half that, you can go buy a TomTom with lifetime map updates. I never upgraded the maps in the Jeep and never really had any issues getting somewhere, other than the fact it had no idea where Youngstown, OH is.

I think this is one of those areas that vehicle makers need to wise up. With the multitude of free apps on smart phones, and cheap GPS units all with no charge for maps, I'm betting they don't get a lot of people pay $200+ dollars for those updates and for the prices new vehicles are going for, it should automatically update via Onstar or Uconnect on the fly, or at the very least allow users to just download updates to a thumb drive and upload them into the system themselves. I know there are some hacks you can do to use the maps from other providers, but I'm not going to mess with that.

Doublebase · July 7, 2018

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Just is case your unaware, the far left lane is not for cruising. It’s for passing, your supposed to match the speed of the car approaching from behind. I don’t speed, but nothing pisses a driver in a hurry more than some yo yo in the middle lane doing under the speed limit passing to the left not picking up their speed. They didn’t want to have to slow down in their lane but could care less about who they slow down. Johnny law is finally starting to enforce that law. Just looking out for you.

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I probably should have made it clear, I don't drive in the left lane cruising at 68 mph. I used to be a regular in the left lane when I drove a car that got 30 mpg highway no matter how I drove, now I'm only in it whenever I have to pass the guy in front of me.

But I do find it safer/less hectic over in that left lane, compared to the "slow" lane or middle of the highway. The speed limit on most Massachusetts highways is 65, you'll get run off the road if you drive 65 in Massachusetts. The bare minimum in the fast/passing lane is 75 (even that's not enough).

KARNUT · July 7, 2018

I probably should have made it clear, I don't drive in the left lane cruising at 68 mph. I used to be a regular in the left lane when I drove a car that got 30 mpg highway no matter how I drove, now I'm only in it whenever I have to pass the guy in front of me.

But I do find it safer/less hectic over in that left lane, compared to the "slow" lane or middle of the highway. The speed limit on most Massachusetts highways is 65, you'll get run off the road if you drive 65 in Massachusetts. The bare minimum in the fast/passing lane is 75 (even that's not enough).

Yea, I can relate. I usually drive 72 in a 70. I usually adjust 5 MPH ether way to be in neutral area running the center lane so I can bail if needed.

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Grumpy Bear · July 8, 2018

15 hours ago, Doublebase said:

Excellent post. Thank you. Do you use your truck for work or is it a commuter? Commuter. How many miles a week are you driving? 500? 600 at times.

I'm averaging around 26 mpg...sometimes 25.5 depending on traffic. I realize the truck's computer isn't accurate but it's what I go by. Good as anything as a reference. My DIC reads about 8-10% high FYI.

I set my driving screen to the fuel economy setting, it helps me understand when and how much I can let off the gas pedal and get into V4 mode. And when I can't. I've pretty much got it down to a science now. I'm finding I'm usually averaging 30 plus mpg unless I'm stuck in traffic or going up a hill. Eye's in on the system are valuable, agreed.

I cant beat the cruise control on this truck so I pretty much use it all of the time in the highway - I set it at 67/68 - something where I can kind of "fit in" with the flow of the slower traffic, without causing problems. What I've found is that it's much more risky driving in the slower lanes than the high speed lane. The slower lane has the incoming traffic, which is a pain. And if you go over a lane it's even worse because you're sandwhiched in between two lanes. In the fast lane there's no one to your left and you have less traffic entering from your right (but it's something I've adjusted to). Then I won't be in your way.

I take full full advantage of this truck's ability to GLIDE. Man can it glide. Going down a hill? This thing builds up so much speed it's ridiculous...never have to touch the gas pedal. And then it glides half way up the other side (and with light throttle you're there). I switch off the grade logic as well when the topography is suitable.

I haven't tried redline products, I'm a bit cheap when it comes to oil. I'll use a full synthetic 0w20 but I change it at 5,000 miles (I don't do extended oil changes (me either)). I mean I'll buy whatever's brand name is on sale at Walmart (Mobil, Quaker State, Castrol, pennzoil). I realize they're all group lll synthetics but I've read that with 0w20 oil the manufacturers have to use some group llll just to get it within viscosity specifications. (Not true but a well told lie is believable)You ever hear of that? I've always read, if you have to chose between 5w20 and 0w20, always pick the 0w20, it's a higher quality oil. (I don't know bout that Alexa).

My truck only has 7,500 miles on it (it's only two and a half months old), so I haven't tinkered with anything yet. I'm a huge huge maintenance guy though. I'll probably do a drain and fill on the tranny at 20,000. I'll do the transfer case and diffs at 30,000. I'll probably do the coolant at 70,000. I may do brake fluid flushes every couple of years. Thinking about installing a catch can. I have a bed cover I'm putting on next week. I've already done one Fluid Film treatment underneath, I'll be doing another one in November. People say the fluid film destroys the wax on the frame but I've seen zero issues with it (know lots of guys who've had their GM trucks treated). Winters kill trucks around here, it's a serious problem. GM wax starts to flake off after a year (or less), then it just spreads like wildfire. I'm going to try to stay on top of it (we'll see how that goes). If I can slow it down by 50% I'll be pretty happy I guess. Sounds like a solid plan.

I'll be putting 30,000 plus a year on the truck, so it needs to hold up and get me decent fuel mileage. So far it's exceeded my expectations. They will if you just try.

Grumpy Bear · July 8, 2018

Double-base. We live in two very different places. I driven in your area and my preferred driving style would indeed be uncomfortable for your area. Was in fact quite uncomfortable. It's worse than Chicago in my estimation and I'm close enough to there to drive that rats next if I wished to. I don't wish to. I take the train.

Fishtail8 · July 12, 2018

Just burned off my first tank commuting to my new job. 75% highway cruising at 105k. I'm happy a full-size truck with a 6.2 can pull off some decent numbers. Took 80L of fuel to fill up so there was some range left in it.

17 GMC 1500 CCSB 6.2/8spd.

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elchilero53 · July 17, 2018

On 7/1/2018 at 2:28 PM, Doublebase said:

My truck is an 2018, I bought it new two months ago. I hope it's updated. Who knows?

It was more of a problem with the route it chose to take me, and the adjustments it made along the way. It took a two and a half hour trip and turned it into four.

I usually use Waze, I don't question it because it usually saves me from some tough spots. I figured I could trust the GPS with the truck because it is so new, but this is what it did...first it took me right past the highway I would have thought we'd take. Then it took me right into RT93 into Boston (that's a nightmare). To make matters worse it took me OFF of 93 and had me go right through Boston - if you've ever driven through Boston you know one thing immediately after - you don't EVER drive through Boston. Especially during a Friday. So there I was...Government Center, then Boston common, then the theater district, then DORCHESTER. Then it tells me, redirecting your route...right BACK onto 93!! I was in trafffic for an hour and a half and I moved maybe ten miles before getting right back the way I was heading. It was like someone said, here let me dump you right into the center of hell on the way to where you're going. I just couldn't believe what had happened. If I had a holesaw with me I would have drilled the GPS right out of my dash and thrown it out the window. Thank god I didn't have one.

My 2014 Tahoe navy system did that to me while I was going to my kid sister's funeral back in 2016. I was driving past Madison WI looking for the I-90 bypass and the blasted thing took me right through the heart of Madison. It cost me an hour of extra drive time! Now, I only use it when I'm looking for a particular street. I updated my 2009 Tahoe nav maps and they were STILL badly out of date. My 2017 Silverado nav maps are also about 7 years out of date, so I use my Android smart phone and have the choice between Waze and Google Maps. Waze can be very annoying because it will redirect you to another route without giving you the bigger picture and a comparison of several routes, like Google. And Waze has been wrong on a couple of occasions but does warn you of hazard or the presence of police speed traps.

elchilero53 · July 17, 2018

On 7/12/2018 at 8:27 AM, Fishtail8 said:

Just burned off my first tank commuting to my new job. 75% highway cruising at 105k. I'm happy a full-size truck with a 6.2 can pull off some decent numbers. Took 80L of fuel to fill up so there was some range left in it.

17 GMC 1500 CCSB 6.2/8spd.

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Yes, indeed! Mine still does this on the highway at 65 -70 mph (105 - 113 kph) The best I ever got was 33.4 mpg traveling some back roads at 45-50 mph (72 - 80 kph). The 6.2L is awesome! I won't report the lifetime mpg number because I tow a travel trailer with it and that causes a much lower mpg number than I would get without towing. Towing a 6000 lb trailer I'm getting 11 - 15 mpg generally unless there are strong headwinds or crosswinds then it gets 9 - 11 mpg (yes I slow down).

Edited July 27, 2018 by elchilero53

Doublebase · July 18, 2018

17 hours ago, elchilero53 said:

My 2014 Tahoe navy system did that to me while I was going to my kid sister's funeral back in 2016. I was driving past Madison WI looking for the I-90 bypass and the blasted thing took me right through the heart of Madison. It cost me an hour of extra drive time! Now, I only use it when I'm looking for a particular street. I updated my 2009 Tahoe nav maps and they were STILL badly out of date. My 2017 Silverado nav maps are also about 7 years out of date, so I use my Android smart phone and have the choice between Waze and Google Maps. Waze can be very annoying because it will redirect you to another route without giving you the bigger picture and a comparison of several routes, like Google. And Waze has been wrong on a couple of occasions but does warn you of hazard or the presence of police speed traps.

Sorry to hear about your sister, can't imagine going through that.

Regarding the gps...I haven't tried google maps, I'm not sure if I can with the iPhone using my cell server (Verizon). I'll have to check. I do use waze; it will sometimes have you detour off your route to save only minutes, which I find can be a real pain. For the most part I trust it enough to not do what the gps on the truck will do. I have been using the truck gps on shorter/more familiar areas, to kind of get a sense on what it wants to do. My overall impression is that it is kind of numb...no intuition to avoid any obvious trouble spots. And it is slow to change a route. I'll have to see if it has settings that can improve it for what I'd prefer (less traffic, not always the shortest route, quicker adjustments). I'm not holding my breath...and I'm not exactly looking for perfection here, I'd be happy if it could do what waze does. Then again I could try the Apple play on the car and maybe try using waze through the navigation screen.

Jacoby · July 18, 2018

Super jealous of you guys. I just bought a 17 CC 4x4 with 7” lift and 35’s and my average is around 9mpg in the city and I’ve had a best of 13.4mpg on the highway. I know the lift and tires are hurting me for sure. The tires especially. It’s got some absurd mud tires on it. Probably gonna switch em out for some all terrains and that should help me gain some mpgs hopefully

Shivanibhutani22 · July 20, 2018

Very useful thread. Thanks to start it

elchilero53 · July 21, 2018

On 7/18/2018 at 6:05 AM, Doublebase said:

Sorry to hear about your sister, can't imagine going through that.

Regarding the gps...I haven't tried google maps, I'm not sure if I can with the iPhone using my cell server (Verizon). I'll have to check. I do use waze; it will sometimes have you detour off your route to save only minutes, which I find can be a real pain. For the most part I trust it enough to not do what the gps on the truck will do. I have been using the truck gps on shorter/more familiar areas, to kind of get a sense on what it wants to do. My overall impression is that it is kind of numb...no intuition to avoid any obvious trouble spots. And it is slow to change a route. I'll have to see if it has settings that can improve it for what I'd prefer (less traffic, not always the shortest route, quicker adjustments). I'm not holding my breath...and I'm not exactly looking for perfection here, I'd be happy if it could do what waze does. Then again I could try the Apple play on the car and maybe try using waze through the navigation screen.

Thanks for that. It was a major shock for us all and a very sad time.

The maps on your iPhone are from Google Maps (which is nothing more than a compilation from different map sources); the maps on my iPad are from Google. Using the Apple Play on your truck should make the maps and navigation available to you. Before I had my Android set up on the truck thru Android Auto, my wife plugged her iPhone in to charge it. Apple Play immediately launched and connected her phone to the console screen. Yours should do the same thing.

I'm waiting for the new heads-up display to appear. Nothing like a new distraction in the middle of your field of view to make driving more challenging than it already is for most people!

elchilero53 · July 21, 2018

On 7/18/2018 at 10:06 AM, Jacoby said:

Super jealous of you guys. I just bought a 17 CC 4x4 with 7” lift and 35’s and my average is around 9mpg in the city and I’ve had a best of 13.4mpg on the highway. I know the lift and tires are hurting me for sure. The tires especially. It’s got some absurd mud tires on it. Probably gonna switch em out for some all terrains and that should help me gain some mpgs hopefully

You might should find out what the gearing in the drive train is. I sounds like you bought an off-road truck geared for steep grades, sandy/boggy areas and impressing chicks rather than commuting and driving around town. New tires probably won't help much at all.

ftwhite · July 23, 2018

Trip from Redmond, WA to Redmond, OR. Averaged just over 20mpg over the whole trip. Good flat spots got 25mpg. Mt. Hood and Santiam pass cost some serious gas at about 14mpg.