'04 Venture - Gas Mileage

We have an '04 venture - bought it almost 1 month ago.

its the wifes, and she has only had it running in the city, and occasionally on the highway.

we figured out our gas mileage - and we are only getting 15 mpg

is this normal for city driving? all i can do is compare it to my '97 lumina - i get 24 mpg (all highway, its my work car) and the lumina has the 3.1 (or is it a 3.0?) anyway, and I have 110k on this car.

there is 30k on this van. it runs great. we have the 3.6L v-6 in it

we have a major road trip planned (all highway) in a few weeks, so I am anxious to see what kind of mileage we will get on the highway.

Your Lumina should have the 3.1 engine, and the Venture should have a 3.4 engine. Our 2000 Venture gets 25 on the highway (76K miles) and we are happy with it. You should do as well I believe if it's properly tuned. Give it a few tanks on the highway and let us know.

I have a 2001 Venture with about 51,000 miles on it. 3.4 engine.

It gets about 15-16 MPG around town and about 25 MPG on long trips (highway). I try to use the cruise control as much as I can.

My 02 Silohouette gets 24 in the city and 28+ on the highway. Now, that won't mean much to the rest of the people here since we all drive differently and one city is not like another. I find that I get better MPG by "not" using the cruise control. The cruise control will down shift the transmission more often than if I control the engine. On a lone trip the cruise is a blessing.

2001 Olds Silo. 19 mpg in city and 25-26 on highway. I have gotten as high as 30 mpg highway, but this was driving secondary roads at 55-60 mph. I think a heavy foot in city driving can lower the milage of all heavy, boxy vehicles like vans or SUVs more so than lighter cars.

thanks for the info
will report back when i get back from my trip.

sorry about the confusion with the engine sizes.

I get 21 in daily driving in our '99 Venture. On the highway we get 25 or better.

2004 Venture. We bought this with 19k miles on it about 2 months ago. We get anywhere from just under 17 MPG to 20 MPG "around town" although we live about 5 miles from town so all trips by definition include highway miles. We get about 22 MPG on the highway, where I use the cruise control and hold it about 75 or so. Any faster and the mileage drops.

I have a 02 with 27k miles and I have the trip computer. It tells me 26mpg with an avg speed of 36mph. When I bought this van new I put in a k&n filtercharger a couple of months later and I remember improving mpg by about 2-3mpg.

I use my 04 Venture in my job as a courier. I drive 250-400 miles per day. Nothing makes much a diference in the gas milage as "THE WAY I DRIVE".
On the freeway, I can get around 32MPG at 52 miles per hour. If I drive 45MPH, I can get around 38 MPG.
I try to limit it to 62MPH, where it gets around 30mpg.

Speed-Gas milage
45.....36-44mpg
50.....29-33mpg
55.... 28-31mpg
62.......27-30mpg
65-70....24mpg
I use the computer to calculate my milage at diferent speeds.
Taking the seats out of the back gave me around 1mpg.
The airconditioner makes around 1mpg diference on the freeway.
I can get 22-26mpg in town but I leave my air conditioner running while I am waiting for up to 30 minutes and this kills the milage.
Even driving this many miles, going fast does not really save me that much time. It has saved me from lots of accidents.
Good luck with your Ventures!!

...I use the computer to calculate my milage at diferent speeds. ...
Is that the "on board" computer in the overhead console or something else?

I usually just record my mileage on the gas receipt when I fill up and type the info into a spreadsheet.

Take Care,

The airconditioner makes around 1mpg diference on the freeway.
I can get 22-26mpg in town but I leave my air conditioner running while I am waiting for up to 30 minutes and this kills the milage.With highway driving, you can get better milage with the AC on then with the windows down. The additional drag due to the areodynamic turblance with the windows down can be greater then the load the AC puts on the engine. With city driving though, aerodynamics come into play less so the advantage is lessened or eliminated.

Is that the "on board" computer in the overhead console or something else?

I usually just record my mileage on the gas receipt when I fill up and type the info into a spreadsheet.

Take Care,
My van also has the overhead computer. I always divide the miles travelled by the gallons I put in, though. On my van, the overhead computer consistantly shows that I am getting 2 mpg better than I really am, and using 2 gallons of fuel less than I actually put in.

On the board on the roof over the driver. It is the second feature in it. Reset it by pressing the right and left buttons at the same time. I do this before fring for a long way and stay at one speed for a long ways to see what it gets. Then re-set it the next day and do a diferent speed.

I just had to have my bearing assemby replaced on my right front wheel!!! It is an 04 Venture with 77,000 miles on it. IF you start hearing a humming sound that gets louder and louder as you go faster, check this. This cost me 300.00 for the repair!!!

It may be my driving but I have only gotton 24mpg at best on the highway and thats with very conservative driving. I usually average 20-21mpg on highway and 18-19 city. Is there something I can do to improve my gas mileage

Are you using the cruise control?
Are you running the AC?
How fast is your average interstate speed?
Are you hauling a lot of weight?

I used my CC, I don't use the A/C that often, not hauling alot of weight and I average about 60 mph.

'04 Venture: 25.2 MPG Highway on last trip
AC used about 50% of the time, CC used about 70%, 70-80 MPH on the interstate...

'04 Venture: 25.2 MPG Highway on last trip
AC used about 50% of the time, CC used about 70%, 70-80 MPH on the interstate...
Sounds just like my '99. I always run the A/C in the summer on highway trips, too. I run cruise at 70 mph when conditions allow.

I get 23 + mpg driving the speed limit in my 1997 Venture with the 3.4 engine - I think this is doing good!!!???

Deny

I just bought my 03 Venture about a week ago. I do alot of driving, it has 2000kms on it already. The first trip I went on I averaged 21.5mpg on the highway with some minor driving through towns and through the city to my apartment. I changed the PCV valve and added some injection cleaner, now I'm averaging 29-30mpg with the cruise set at 115kmph (around 70mph)

My 99 venture gets 20 mpg consistantly for city/country driving.

Loaded up with people and luggage on a trip gets about 25 mpg.