My 2006 Ford Escape XLT problem

[HiVx]

So, i bought a used 2006 Ford Escape XLT, 4cyl, 2.3L engine with 42K miles on it. Right now it is at 46K miles. My problem with it is that it only does 16 mpg. Though when i looked this car up, it was said to be doing around 21 mpg on the 4 cyl model. Does anyone know what my problem can be?

Thanks.

edit: also, at some points when i slowly release my brake pedal, the car gets jumpy and shaky as if it wants to go forward faster.

 

[HannibalX]

Any chance you can let someone else drive it for a week and compare mileage results?

 

[HiVx]

my dad drove it and it was the same for him, i drive conservative(meaning i dont have a heavy foot) and then i drove how my dad said to, to keep it at good mileage, and he was getting kind of ticked when he drove it, because it passed every test and its in great condition, and there is no visible problem.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

injectors or catalytic converter?

 

[HiVx]

i know it has the catalytic converter. what are the injectors you are talking about? (noob on cars lol)

 

[HannibalX]

Stuck/gunked injectors would throw a CEL. Bad cat might not throw a CEL, but acceleration would be terrible and depending on how bad the clog is acceleration may not be possible past a few MPH.

No CEL? How do the tires look? Even wear across all of them?

 

[HiVx]

ok the acceleration on this car is shit, for lack of better terms, and the two front tires when we got them had like a fully gone chunk out of the tires, so we had them replaced.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Does the car run worse when it's warmed up?

 

[HiVx]

if i think about it, i think it does, when its cold it has like a faster accel, but when it warms up , its a bit more sluggish.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Sure sounds like fuel injector to me.

 

[HiVx]

but my dad said he poured in the 'fuel injector cleaner' fluid into it. and wouldnt any of these errors show up with like a check engine or some sign? he says the cpu might be fucked up.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Could be lots of things. Fuel injector cleaners don't do much in my experience. The check engine light should come on if the injector is that gunked up but they're called 'idiot lights' for a reason. The black box could indeed cause a problem. Checking the fuel injector isn't too bad though.

 

[HiVx]

how can i check my fuel injectors?

 

[LTC8K6]

Could be a thermostat, or a coolant temp sensor maybe.

How is the air filter?

Fuel injectors are unlikely, imo. You'd know if they were faulty or dirty.

Acceleration is supposed to be slow for that combo. 11 seconds, I believe.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Get a Chilton manual for the car or take it to a mechanic. Either way, it's not too expensive.

 

[HiVx]

Could be a thermostat, or a coolant temp sensor maybe.

How is the air filter?

Fuel injectors are unlikely, imo. You'd know if they were faulty or dirty.

Acceleration is supposed to be slow for that combo. 11 seconds, I believe.

see the thermostat is fine but idk about the coolant temp sensor.

 

[LTC8K6]

Underpowered vehicle being flogged to get it to move?

 

[mafia]

Previous owner/mechanic maybe messed around with the OBD II Diagnostic Tool. Maybe changed some settings. Go into dealer and reset it to factory default.

 

[Hyperlite]

If you push the pedal to the floor and accelerate at a constant rate to say, 50MPH, is it jumpy or jerky at any point? This is probably the easiest way to diagnose an injector problem. Jerkyness, or loss of power during acceleration, would indicate a fuel flow problem, IE, clogged injectors. You'll have to take it somewhere to get them checked. I HAVE had success with fuel system cleaners for unclogging injectors.

edit: assuming you know to differentiate that from upshifts.

 

[LTC8K6]

Could be a transmission problem, too. A slipping trans will kill your fuel economy. Maybe a lockup TC problem if it gets herky jerky.

How are the tire pressures?

There are just too many variables that fit "bad fuel economy".

 

[HiVx]

tires are fine, but it does get jerky when i release the brake slowly like from a stop sign or something.

 

[SooperDave]

Check tune up and tire pressures.

 

[LTC8K6]

Alignment could do it too, but you'd see that in the tire wear.

 

[HiVx]

yea, wear on tires seems to be normal. by normal i mean even.

 

[Bignate603]

I've heard of O2 sensors going bad and not throwing a code. It caused a similar gas mileage issue.