2006 Jeep Liberty fuel mileage ?

ckelly78z · 02-23-2016, 04:24 AM

I just bought my wife a 2006 Jeep Liberty Renegade with the 3.7L v6 and a 6 speed manual trans (we both enjoy stirring the gears). This truck is very nice with only 90,000 miles and all the options, although the fuel mileage is not great. I just mounted brand new General Grabber 65,000 mile tires in the correct size (not the aggresive tread pattern) and had it aligned. We are averaging about 18 mpg mixed highway/country roads/city which i'm not disappointed about, but feel I could improve that a bit, without spending alot of money on questionable mods.

We both generally drive fairly gently, trying to shift around 2000 rpm, while still keeping with traffic, and use cruise control whenever possible. I understand that the winter fuel blend isn't great, and running with the heat/lights/radio/defroster/heated seats all running pulls down the alternator a bit

I am going to make sure all the tires are at least 35 psi (maybe 40 psi), I plan on changing out the front and rear diff gear oil, as well as the trans oil, any suggestions on what might be more slippery with better protection than standard gear oil. I am also going to look at changing to synthetic motor oil (is it worth it ?), and trying to improve the intake tract without going to an afternarket CAI.

Is there a fuel conditioner that will clean the injectors while also taking care of any valve deposits ? I have thought of mounting a chin air deflector/spoiler, and wax/buffing all the paint for slipperyness through the air.

I'm not trying to hypermile or anything, I just want any different thoughts on getting better mileage from a nice vehicle we both like to drive.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

Seriously though, Techron is a great fuel additive to clean things up. I add it a couple of times a year.

VincentVega · 02-23-2016, 06:51 AM

Thats funny, gotta get me a tornado

You are already at or a little above the expected mpg for that brick. Enjoy the ride, if you want better mpg, get something else.

ckelly78z · 02-23-2016, 07:02 AM

^^^^^Nice packaging, I bet that fools alot of people into a warm, fuzzy feeling of efficiency.

Rot 911 · 02-23-2016, 07:35 AM

18 mpg on any 4x4 Jeep product is about the best you can hope for. They are just big, heavy, bricks with lots of wind resistance.

aigel · aigel's Garage

Your biggest handle you have are tires. Unfortunately you already bought those. A low rolling resistance tire that's designed for fuel economy and aired to spec can make quite a difference. That said, how others have pointed out, the weight of the vehicle and its drag coefficient are a complete no-go for fuel economy. I'd also guess the engine isn't optimized for efficiency either.

Speaking of drag and weight, that's where you can also make adjustments. Take out 3rd row seats etc. that may be removable, don't keep stuff in the trunk you don't need. On drag, I always remove the roof rack cross braces, if my SUVs have any. Even mud flaps and big antennas may help.

G

ckelly78z · 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aigel

Your biggest handle you have are tires. Unfortunately you already bought those. A low rolling resistance tire that's designed for fuel economy and aired to spec can make quite a difference. That said, how others have pointed out, the weight of the vehicle and its drag coefficient are a complete no-go for fuel economy. I'd also guess the engine isn't optimized for efficiency either.

Speaking of drag and weight, that's where you can also make adjustments. Take out 3rd row seats etc. that may be removable, don't keep stuff in the trunk you don't need. On drag, I always remove the roof rack cross braces, if my SUVs have any. Even mud flaps and big antennas may help.

G

On the subject of tires, I purposely ordered harder compound 65,000 mile road radials, not mudders, or even all season tires to try to get the rolling resistance and the road noise down. I have thought about looking into removing the roof rack, that I doubt we will ever use.

I might look at mounting a longer (taller) front chin spoiler/air deflector, and possibly fabricating a belly pan. On my F250 during the Winter, I run a vinyl grill cover that snaps into place, so I may look at doing something like that for the Jeep. None of this stuff will cost me much, and I can experiment with it myself, as long as it still gets plenty of air to the engine/radiator.

This is the smaller version with only a second row seat, and really no other junk to speak of. It has the bigger molded fender flares, and no real mudflaps, so i'll just try to streamline the airflow around it, without being able to lose much weight, if any.

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

Jeeps have pretty good resale so perhaps you would be better suited switching to a vehicle built with economy in mind vs the Jeep market? I mean if you're going to handicap the Jeep with high mile tires why have the Jeep at all?

ckelly78z · 02-23-2016, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Jeeps have pretty good resale so perhaps you would be better suited switching to a vehicle built with economy in mind vs the Jeep market? I mean if you're going to handicap the Jeep with high mile tires why have the Jeep at all?

She (my wife) is currently traveling to unfinished job sites for her home builder employer, in her BMW 325CI with performance Michelin tires, that sits 2" off the ground. I could put racing slicks on the Jeep, and it would be an improvement over the Bimmer for driving off of the pavement.....plus, she needs a little bit more room than the BMW has.......but not Chevy Suburban type of space.

Steve Carlton · 02-23-2016, 10:39 AM

Make a calculation on how much you'll save in a year getting 1 mpg more. Probably trivial.

monoflo · 02-23-2016, 11:59 AM

Agree with SC --Ive had like 3 Libertys -- if you get 18 you are doing pretty good --If you have it for gas mileage --forget it.

Pretty rugged though --hit a small block chevy engine that had fallen off some guys truck one night;

Wrecked my wheel and a tire --that was it.

aigel · aigel's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Make a calculation on how much you'll save in a year getting 1 mpg more. Probably trivial.

15k miles a year at 18 mpg vs. 19 mpg assuming $3/gal = $132, at 2 mpg difference, you are at $250.

If you'd buy a sedan and average 25 mpg, you are now looking at an additional $700/year to drive the Liberty ...

Not sure about you, but for anything over $100/year, I'd make some adjustments on the vehicle.

This is also why I don't buy gas hogs - see the sedan calculation ...

G

scottmandue · 02-23-2016, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aigel

15k miles a year at 18 mpg vs. 19 mpg assuming $3/gal = $132, at 2 mpg difference, you are at $250.

If you'd buy a sedan and average 25 mpg, you are now looking at an additional $700/year to drive the Liberty ...

Not sure about you, but for anything over $100/year, I'd make some adjustments on the vehicle.

This is also why I don't buy gas hogs - see the sedan calculation ...

G

Yeah, might be better off looking at a 4-banger mini-SUV... something like a Santa Fe or CRV

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Exactly! My 4 banger escape will do 23-25 around town easily. Close to 30 on long trips....

ckelly78z · 02-23-2016, 12:42 PM

Nope, just bought it, and we both love it. so we are keeping it....just trying to make it better.

vash · vash's Garage

just looked at Fuelly.com

2006 Liberty is averaging 20.6 mpg.

masraum · 02-23-2016, 12:45 PM

I was thinking what others have already said, 18 sounds pretty darn good to me for that vehicle.

I suspect it would be hard to get too much more. Lower the jeep, front air damn, side skirts, smooth hubcaps, smaller tires. Not really quick, easy mods.

I'm at a loss of what else you could do that would improve much. Maybe a freer flowing air filter/inlet piping, but that also may be totally useless, especially if you guys drive that gently. Freer flowing exhaust, maybe, maybe not, depending up where or if you have a bottle neck in your system (air intake to exhaust tip).

ckelly78z · 02-23-2016, 05:34 PM

There is a rather restrictive plastic rain diverter in front of the air inlet that is held on with one rivet. I think I will carefully drill that rivet out and drive through a hard rain to see if there any problems. Also may look at the inside of the airbox to see about improvements. I'm not obsessive, but I enjoy the engineering of making it efficient.

VINMAN · 02-23-2016, 06:46 PM

I've owned many Jeep products over the years. I'd be doing back flips to get 18mpg out of any of them. That's pretty damn good!

ckelly78z · 02-24-2016, 03:53 AM

That's the reason we drove all the way to the North side of Chicago (near O'Hare airport) to pick it up, because it was one a a very small handfull of fully loaded Renegades, with low mileage, AND a 6 speed manual transmission in a color we both love....Deep green with the tan leather interior.

We also picked up a coupla "chicago style" deep dish frozen pizza from Giordano's, and had a fabulous lunch at Portillo's on the way back.