I posted my MPGs earlier but while doing some running around today I found that if I get on the interstate and up to speed, then reset my overhead:

at 55 MPH - 22.3 MPG (awesome!)
at 65 MPH - 19.6 MPG
at 80 MPH - 15.9 MPG

No load, 700 Miles on the odometer.

I know thats with the overhead and my test runs were only 2 or three miles long but I feel much better about my new 600 now.

I am still only getting about 13 in town (acording to overhead).

If someone else would please try this and post here I would appreciate it.

 

It is intresting to look at the trucks in this post. All with bad mileage have the 48re trans. I wonder if that may be the culprit instead of the engine. However the 48re was used for 2004.0 models as well.....I think.

My 3500 6spd 4x4 SRW 3.73 last fuel mileage (hand figured) was 16.7 mpg. That includes some interstate, some back roads, some city driving, farm driving, and idling. The truck only had 700 miles on it when I calculated the mileage. The first tank got 16.5.

A couple of weeks ago I filled up and got on the intrestate. Drove 65 mph for around 40 miles. Overhead read 18.6 mpg when I got to my destination. The overhead so far has been fairly accurate. Usually around .4 lower than hand calculated. So that would mean the truck was getting around 19.0 mpg. I have yet to run a long trip on the interstate to check mileage. It will be intresting to see what happens. I am hoping the mileage gets better because currently the truck has only 1000 miles on it and is by no means broken in. Will be hitching a 9000 lb trailer to it soon. That should take care of break in.

I hope DC comes up with something to fix the mileage problems! The trucks seem great except for that.

 

Flame's truck seems reasonable and has a 48RE.

19MPG seems reasonable too.

Check out the poll on the TDR. While there are a good number of folks getting over 20, there are also a good number of folks in the teens. For highway mileage.

 

i just got a new 600,,had to called dodge customer sevice to find out if it was a 600,,couldn"t find 600 anywhere on the truck,,build date is 05/04 350 miles on it when i got it,comp showed 13.6,,,still does,,but i only put 50 miles on it so far,,reading all the threads about breakin i have opted for a hard breakin for mine, going to change the oil a 500 miles and then pull a empty 20 ft enclose car hauler down to tenn.( about 600 miles) and back,I hope I"m choosing the right kind of breakin,,,,,,I"ll keep u posted,so we all will know

 

Come on now, there is no need to exaggerate. The TDR poll shows that LESS THAN 6% of the 600 owners reported 20+ MPG. When you say "a good number of folks" that sure sounds better than "less than 6% of the 600 owners", but are you really being fair to the uninformed?

 

Sorry, I was refering to the *555* poll! Papaperk said he got 19, but had yet to run a long highway trip to be sure. Still he was really hoping DC did something to fix the darn mileage on his truck.

My point is simply that 19 isn't bad for either a 555 or a 600. Less than 50% of non-600 3G owners got better than that. So it's GREAT for a 600. But still good, from what I've seen, for any CTD, espically for a new one, that hasn't been broken in... and so on. What needs to be "fixed" on his truck?

I'm not sure the poll is really that valid. There are quite a few more 600 entries than 555 entries, for example. They don't take into account speeds traveled. But it's the best that we've got.

Sorry but IMHO to be truly fair to the uninformed you need to point out that not all CTDs, 600 or NOT, are out there getting 20-25MPG on the highway. It's been in the TDR FAQ for years, long before the HPCR engines, that average highway is 15-20 depending on truck and driver.

 

Truck now has a little over 1,500 miles. Mixed driving conditions but mostly mountain roads meaning 2 lane, curves and up to 6% or more grades. Overhead display worst mpg was 16.7 and best was 22.9. Hand calc at tank fills has averaged 17.7 overall. Running unloaded so far.

The best my Ford 351 ever got was 16 and that was empty going down hill. More likely it averaged 15 or worse. Towing a 5,000 lb trailer I was lucky to get 9 and more often 6 mpg.

Empty the CTD beats the 351 hands down and I suspect the same will be true towing. Plus I can probably cimb hills a bit faster.

 

I have a question for you guys....

After reading all these posts about mileage, I conclude that the majority of people go by thier computer.

If this is the case, then why didnt anyone look at it during the test drive? Would you have still bought it if the comp told you it was getting 12mpg during the test drive????

I am fixing to be in the market for one. I can assure you that I will drive a few miles during the test drive, and monitor the computer. If its low, then I'm deffinately passing on it.

Am I thinking right here? or am I off base?
I will be in the market for a 2wd 3500 DRW QC nv5600.

 

I think the best way deal with the MPG issue is to let prospective 600 purchasers know that many new 600 owners have been disappointed to find they are getting much lower MPG than they expected especially when compared to 555 owners. With that said, the prospective 600 purchasers can decide whether or not the MPG issue is important to them or not.

 

I think the best way deal with the MPG issue is to let prospective 600 purchasers know that many new 600 owners have been disappointed to find they are getting much lower MPG than they expected especially when compared to 555 owners.

Sorry, but it's not that cut and dry.

Compared to which 555 owners? Is it expected that all CTD's get 20+ MPG out of the box?

If you were buying your 555 expecting >20MPG empty, you're betting that you and your truck are in the top 1/2 of that survey. So you buy it, it's a 555, and you get 17. Is it reasonable for your 555 to get that mileage? Are you disappointed? Does DC need to fix your 555?

How is that any different than buying a 600 that gets 17?

Both are disappointed. But for some reason the 600 owner more so? Because it's a "new" motor with emissions controlls, and that must be the cause. Not the simple fact that the original expectation is unreasonable?

From what I've seen 600's seem on average ~2MPG down from 555s. Yet the average mileage still seems within the FAQ suggestion of 15-20MPG.

 

Good point made here...I did look at the overhead while test driving it, it had 14.8 mpg, with 290 miles on it as a dealer trade.

What I didn't know was exactly how to operate it. I know now if I were test driving one, I would:

Note what it was reading before I test drove it.
Reset it imediately and watch it for a few miles normal city driving.
Reset it again and watch it on a hiway test drive at different speeds.

I must admit when I was test driving mine, my testosterone level was pretty high and really did not pay that much attention to the overhead.

 

I think fuel brand is important, Shell, Texico, etc , and if you are useing a winter blend or summer blend fuel. I know mine will drop at least 1 mpg durind the winter blend time.

 

Okay, I give up. You're right, all of the reports out there that don't support your view about the 600 MPG issue were fabricated by a bunch of lying trolls with nothing better to do than discredit the 600.

Can you spell "rationalization", and I mean to the extreme!

 

all of the reports out there that don't support your view about the 600 MPG issue were fabricated by a bunch of lying trolls with nothing better to do than discredit the 600.

Are these the same trolls who report less than stellar mileage with their 555's?

Sorry man, I don't want to get in a big fight about tihs.

I'm not saying there aren't some people getting low mileage with their 600s.
I'm saying that there are some people getting low mileage with *ALL* CTDs.

TDR FAQ's state that. The polls on the TDR show that.

And I still think that the 19MPG highway PapaPerk reports, for any very new CTD of any type, seems respectable, not broken.

And I also think that DC needs to fix the trucks of those who are just in the toilet. 12MPG is their best on highway? Something is wrong there. No different than many other CTDs that gulp fuel when broken.

I expect my auto trans 600 4x4 to get the same MPG as your 4x2, 555, six speed. Oh wait, that would be STUIPD of me, which I'd think is what you would expect!

You want me to rationalize...Let's see...a "good" MPG I've seen is ~23. Drop 2 for the 4x4, drop another 2 for the auto, drop 2 for the 600, and drop 2 more for my lead right foot....I'm down to 15MPG! Maybe I'll beat that!

 

I just got a 10.4 mpg reading on this last tank (all city driving, unloaded) and best I ever got was 14.6 all highway. 1800 miles on the odometer. I was accepting mileage around 12-14, but 10 mpg is totally unacceptable. If I had read that during the test drive, I would have bought a 1500 w/hemi.

Build date 03/04 (California truck). 48RE Tranny.