[Toddzilla67]

Only 2056 miles is accounted for since I didn't fill up when we got home. Although I had to go to a carwash at 11:15 P.M. Friday night to get about 150 pounds of ice off the front, sides, and underneath of the car from the snow storm we drove through the last 2/3 of the journey home (about 600 miles). But we had zero problems negotiating the terrible conditions in our Traverse.

Our fill-ups were as follows:

Full tank in Fort Collins, CO, southbound I-25

Santa Fe, NM--after 450.5 miles, 21.1 gallons, 66.3 MPH average, 21.4 MPG, dinner stop in Trinidad, CO, pretty much had a 15-20 MPH cross-wind the whole way, lots of climbing at the south end of Colorado, then again up into Santa Fe

Lordsburg, NM--after 351 miles, 16.6 gallons, 66.2 MPH average, 21.1 MPG, lunch stop, more cross-wind on I-25, then head-wind on I-10 as we continued to Tucson

Tucson, AZ--after 300.9 miles, 16.2 gallons, 33.6 MPH average, 18.6 MPG, head-wind, slowed down or stopped for an hour on I-10 while roll-over accident was cleaned up (VERY slow), half freeway miles, half city miles in Tucson

Peoria, AZ--after 151.2 miles, 7.7 gallons, 45.6 MPH average, 19.6 MPG, about 40 miles of city driving around Tucson, I-10/I-17 freeway trip to Phoenix, 20 miles of city driving around Phoenix, windy going to Phoenix

Flagstaff, AZ--after 143.2 miles, 8.9 gallons, 57.4 MPH average, 16.1 MPG, only about 10 miles of city driving in Phoenix, uphill and head/cross-wind into Flagstaff on I-17 (two vomit stops for our sick 6 year old--kid was a trooper on the way home though)

Santa Fe, NM--after 376.1 miles, 16.6 gallons, 73.8 MPH average, 22.6 MPG, lunch stop, downhill east of Flagstaff on I-40 then I-25 again in Albuquerque, strong cross/head-winds with incoming snow storm

Pueblo, CO--after 283.2 miles, 16.2 gallons, 63.1 MPH average (77-78 MPH in the first half or so of this interval), 17.5 MPG, dinner stop, cross-wind/head-wind/heavy snow/slush/icy roads/poor visibility/accident slow-downs on the climb up I-25 to Raton Pass and down into Pueblo.

After this last fill-up we had dry roads for about 35 miles, strong winds/ice/snow/slush/poor visibility for about another 90 miles, then dry roads the rest of the way home. DIC read 20.5 on the last leg home and I won't calculate it now.

2056.1 miles, 103.3 gallons of fuel for a 19.9 MPG average for the whole trip at a cost of $299.25 (not counting a fill-up at home). Considering the wind we had the whole time and the 600 miles of bad weather and roads we had on the last leg, I think we did pretty good. I think the Traverse is every bit as good as its EPA rating suggests, maybe even better in calmer conditions.

I hope someone else finds this info useful.

Thanks.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

Only 2056 miles is accounted for since I didn't fill up when we got home. Although I had to go to a carwash at 11:15 P.M. Friday night to get about 150 pounds of ice off the front, sides, and underneath of the car from the snow storm we drove through the last 2/3 of the journey home (about 600 miles). But we had zero problems negotiating the terrible conditions in our Traverse.

Our fill-ups were as follows:

Full tank in Fort Collins, CO, southbound I-25

Santa Fe, NM--after 450.5 miles, 21.1 gallons, 66.3 MPH average, 21.4 MPG, dinner stop in Trinidad, CO, pretty much had a 15-20 MPH cross-wind the whole way, lots of climbing at the south end of Colorado, then again up into Santa Fe

Lordsburg, NM--after 351 miles, 16.6 gallons, 66.2 MPH average, 21.1 MPG, lunch stop, more cross-wind on I-25, then head-wind on I-10 as we continued to Tucson

Tucson, AZ--after 300.9 miles, 16.2 gallons, 33.6 MPH average, 18.6 MPG, head-wind, slowed down or stopped for an hour on I-10 while roll-over accident was cleaned up (VERY slow), half freeway miles, half city miles in Tucson

Peoria, AZ--after 151.2 miles, 7.7 gallons, 45.6 MPH average, 19.6 MPG, about 40 miles of city driving around Tucson, I-10/I-17 freeway trip to Phoenix, 20 miles of city driving around Phoenix, windy going to Phoenix

Flagstaff, AZ--after 143.2 miles, 8.9 gallons, 57.4 MPH average, 16.1 MPG, only about 10 miles of city driving in Phoenix, uphill and head/cross-wind into Flagstaff on I-17 (two vomit stops for our sick 6 year old--kid was a trooper on the way home though)

Santa Fe, NM--after 376.1 miles, 16.6 gallons, 73.8 MPH average, 22.6 MPG, lunch stop, downhill east of Flagstaff on I-40 then I-25 again in Albuquerque, strong cross/head-winds with incoming snow storm

Pueblo, CO--after 283.2 miles, 16.2 gallons, 63.1 MPH average (77-78 MPH in the first half or so of this interval), 17.5 MPG, dinner stop, cross-wind/head-wind/heavy snow/slush/icy roads/poor visibility/accident slow-downs on the climb up I-25 to Raton Pass and down into Pueblo.

After this last fill-up we had dry roads for about 35 miles, strong winds/ice/snow/slush/poor visibility for about another 90 miles, then dry roads the rest of the way home. DIC read 20.5 on the last leg home and I won't calculate it now.

2056.1 miles, 103.3 gallons of fuel for a 19.9 MPG average for the whole trip at a cost of $299.25 (not counting a fill-up at home). Considering the wind we had the whole time and the 600 miles of bad weather and roads we had on the last leg, I think we did pretty good. I think the Traverse is every bit as good as its EPA rating suggests, maybe even better in calmer conditions.

I hope someone else finds this info useful.

Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed account. All things considered, I think you did pretty darn well.

Bob

 

[Toddzilla67]

As a follow-up to this post from 5 years ago...

I won't go into play-by-play detail this time, but we made the drive from Colorado to Phoenix again this year. All data is hand calculated.

We drove a total of 2097.2 miles on the trip, plus 5.5 miles to the gas station when we left and 5.5 miles home from the gas station when we returned. We used 96.1 gallons of fuel during the 2097.2 mile trip for an average of 21.8 MPG, nearly 2 MPG better than 5 years ago. This year, we packed about 200 pounds in the car and about 600 pounds of people (the boys are five years older now and quite a bit bigger--oof!). Pretty good for a 5000 pound AWD vehicle.

Weather was mostly good for the whole trip, a cross wind for about 50 miles in NM on the way down, strong head and cross wind for about 100 miles in CO during the return. Tire pressures were consistently 36-38 PSI while driving and we rarely used the A/C.

We did fuel up at some different intervals than the original post. Our lowest MPG occurred in-town in Phoenix (15.8 MPG for about 200 miles), but with tons of stop and go and 45 to 50 MPH speed limits. Best MPG was between Pueblo, CO and Fort Collins, CO at 24.98 MPG and a strong cross wind. Unless we were driving through a bigger town or city, the freeway speed limit was 75 MPH...I would push it to 77 or 78 most of the time.

Sometimes the DIC closely matched hand calculated data, sometimes it was off by a gallon of fuel used and 1.3 MPG.

With just over 70K miles on the clock now, I'm wondering if the plugs need swapped out or if we need some sort of intense induction cleaning. We're seeing lower than usual in-town MPG regardless of ambient temperatures (14 to 15 MPG). TB, MAF, and intake tube were all cleaned prior to the trip and the air filter was swapped out.

All in all, even with recalls and warranty repairs we've had done, the Traverse has been a terrific investment for our family. :cheers:

 

[rbarrios]

have you run Techron to clean the injectors?

But the DIC being OFF- especially on all highway trips is most likely due to the Shut off of the gas pump.
I find the DIC loses accuracy once you do many miles of stop and go.

 

[Toddzilla67]

Our initial fill-up in town included a bottle of Techron.

It's my understanding that intake valves are difficult to get clean in our DI engine since no air/fuel mixture travels through the intake valve. If this is true, I'd be interested in learning how to chemically clean (DIY style) the intake valves without disassembly or expensive dealer service. Engine oil making its way into the combustion stream via the intake tube and throttle body only makes matters worse. The oil catch area in the intake tube does help, but doesn't eliminate the oil combustion problem if left alone too long. Cleaning the intake tube every couple thousand miles would certainly help.

Looking for suggestions. Thanks!

 

[quantum]

We just did a 1700 mile trip from Ontario Canada to Tampa Florida. My mileage wasn't as good as before, but there were some major factor against us.

We averaged 20.8MPG according to the DIC. I didn't hand calculate. I only reset the DIC when we left the gas station by our house.

Some factors that worked against us this trip

1. Temperatures. It was below freezing for most of the first day.

2. Snow/freezing rain/sleet/rain etc. wintry mix on the first day, meant having the defrost on. I realize it only comes on when it is 4*C out or higher, so the last part of the first leg, it was running.

3. We hit about 80 minutes of stop and go traffic, 60 in Lake Norman, SC. and 20 in Orlando Florida.

4. More people. Kids are bigger and more luggage. Last trip it was me and the two oldest kids. Total maybe 300lbs. This trip, 3 kids, wife and me total 500lbs? Kids are bigger now! Luggage included folding chairs, one large suitcase, one small suitcase, some misc. food, small cooler.

5. I reset the average speed on the DIC and when we got here we averaged 66MPH. Considering that included the stop and go traffic, a side trip to Downtown Disney, a side trip to McD's on the first night after we got to the hotel, we were making pretty good speed. Whenever possible I was doing over 70MPH, a lot of the time at 75MPH.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed, only because of my previous mileage to Florida (23.5mpg), but I think 20.8 is not bad considering the factors. Plus the other trip to Florida was to the Panhandle, it is a different route completely.

 

[quantum]

Just got back from Florida tonight.

Averaged 21.2MPG on the way home. 0.4MPG better then the way down.

Again, we hit traffic, bad weather and cold temps.

Our first tank starting from Sarasota Florida to Northern Georgia we got 24MPG doing 70-73MPH. We managed to keep the AC off for most of that tank.

The warm temps and good highway flow makes for really good MPG. Those of you who live in the warmer climates really benefit in the mileage department!

Those of you who live in Virginia, West Virginia....I suffered horrible mileage in the mountains...both directions. Plus it was COLD! I would guess my mileage to be about 19MPG or less.

Overall great trip. Only one minor TPMS issue that resolved itself on the trip.

The Traverse was flawless. I find the transmission isn't very smooth shifting, but that's kind of been from day one. It never hesitated to shift when I needed it to, either up or down. I did use L6 and manual shifting when required.

Next time I will probably need a roof box/bag or a cargo rack on the hitch. We were pretty crammed in there with 2 adults and 3 kids. We had to put stuff by the kids feet. We are pretty light packers, but you can imagine what you need for a family of 5.

I didn't use any oil or lose any engine coolant. No signs of the water pump failing yet.

My rear wiper is losing its effectiveness, due to the tension on the wiper arm. It doesn't press against the rear window very well. I'll have to look at it this week. It is probably full of salt grime.