Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 5.3 fuel mileage

I'm looking at a 2011 silverado with the 5.3 in it. Does anyone have one that can tell me what the fuel mileage is?

A nice little resource for finding out real world fuel mileage is this site: fuelly.com

Got to "browse vehicles" (sometimes at the very bottom of the page) and find what you're researching.

I have a 5.3 in a 2016 Silverado. I think I average about 19 mpg on the highway.

How did it know I have an '08' pickup when I didn't put in the year? It's sneaking around on my computer.

My 09 averages 16.2 . It rarely goes on a trip longer than 40 miles one way. I drive 65 mph on highway

Tried to register,They want more info than any site I ever visited.Plus it would not let me get past the "I'm not a robot" box. Something is fishy ,considering all a person wants to do is find average fuel mileage

http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet...id=125&bodytype_id=&submodel_id=

On the home page select browse vehicles. Then input engine and options to get a survey.
I had a 2005 with 5.3, and I got 15 mpg, in rural/highway conditions. My best friend has a 2013, and he said a bit less, but he drives pretty aggressive.
I put 100K on mine, and it was always at the shop. Beside being expensive to maintain it was a nice commuter truck.

I drive that exact truck, ext cab Z-71 4WD. Overall, in town and on the road it averages 17.5 mpg.

Just hwy, probably better. Probably a bit less pulling a trailer.

Good truck; I really like mine.

2WD may give slightly higher mileage, probably has different gear ratio.

DF

What mileage do you get at 70 mph?

The freeway speed limit here is 80. Between 75 and 80, mileage often drops a lot because cars with overdrives will drop out of OD at that speed. You're running 800 to 1000 rpm faster on the tach.

What mileage are you getting in your 08?

My '08 is a Dodge 2500 Cummins. I get about 17 on the highway, empty. That's holding it at no faster than 75. It has the 3.73 axles and a manual tranny. I'm told the autos will do slightly better.

A lot of that driving is out on the hwy at 70 mph.

Persistent 17.5 mpg

DF

I should have mentioned towing, it sucks. I get about 11 mpg towing a 12x8 steel trailer with my Ranger. The trailer is heavy as hell, but I miss my 09 Dodge Ram 1500 the son drives when it comes to towing, MPG wise it wasn't much better, but when I punched it, it the Hemi didn't hesitate to go.

From what I've seen, lugging a small engine can burn more gas than a more powerful engine coasting along.

Towing, Hemi vs. the Ranger, not much of a comparison.

DF

i buy a new chev silverado with a 5.3 every 2 years and most get over 16 -18 miles per gallon my 2017 gets 18-19 per gallon. but here`s the real kicker you pull a trailor and it goes down alot,with my 16 foot boat and trailer10-12 miles per gallon, pull my 14 ft. enclosed utility trailer pack with my elk equipment out west thru the mountains 4- 8 miles per gallon . i do always get the towing package too but if your going to pull alot of trailors with a 5.3 beware gas mileage is poor then. i always drive 70 miles per hour when legal but a 5.3 is a dang tuff engine and so is a Chevrolet truck.

Business partner replaced his 5.3 Surburban engine at 200K miles. Cost his $7K. He said that was better than $85K for a new one.

DF

Are you speaking specifically about Chevy trucks with the 5.3, or just trying to make a general statement? That certainly isn't the case with our Suburban with the 5.3; it holds OD and TC lockup easily at 80 mph, even on mild hills. It averages 15 mpg.

My ‘04 Tahoe with 5.3 gave 19 mpg, but it was 2WD. My son has it, still running it with 130K miles, no serious problems or repairs.

Seems that series gave better mileage than the new ones.

DF

Our 06 Suburban averages 15.

Short trips and highway at 75.

01 Yukon gets about the same.

Moms 09 Yukon averages about 17 I think.

Bet Mom’s not flogging her Yukon as hard as you’re pushing your rides.

DF

That's in general. I have the problem with our van and I know a number of others with cars that can't cruise at 80 in OD.

My GMC Sierra 5.3 gets about 16.5 on the highway and 14.5 around town. Mine is a couple of years older than the one you are looking at and has 4:10 differentials.

5.3 LM7 Vortec in my 99' LS Silverado 4x4.

Has a few bolt on upgrades that really let it get down the road or up that grade towing.

Don't really worry about the gas mileage.

Been retired for about 15 years only has 130k

Oldest kid stole it one time to go to Coachella rock concert in 2009 and blew out the rear end racing it.

Love that girl, shes more like me than the other two.

My 2015 Silverado averages 18 - 20 mpg depending. The best I've gotten is a little over 25 mpg on a drive to Bemidji.

Look into the cost of crate 5.3 engines.
If he paid $7k, he either upgraded from a stock setup, or he got ripped.
Maybe he went to a Chevy dealer and told them to have at it.

Chevy dealer did it. They’re good buds, partners in a jet.

DF

I was in the same boat with my 04 GMC 4x4. Beautiful comfortable truck, but many problems: I'll list as many as I can remember:

1. Front diff needed to be rebuilt soon after I bought it. Good thing it was under an extended warranty.
2. Transmission needed to be rebuilt. 4l60E is very weak and troublesome.
3. Transfer case started weaping, which is a very common problem in the autotrack type transfer case.
4. G80 locker went tits up at 111,000 miles.
5. Transfer case actuator went bad at 120,000 miles.

Gas mileage was worse than my wife's '99 suburban with the 5.7 litre engine. I was lucky to see 18 MPG with the 04 GMC sierra 4x4 with the LS1 5.3 on the freeway... When I got rid of the truck, the engine was still running like a top with no oil leaks and no oil consumption within its 5,000 mile oil change intervals. The engine was bulletproof, but the rest of the drive train sucked balls.....

FWIW, a '04 5.3 isn't an LS1 it's an LM7

Have a 2017 Silverado 5.3 4x4 in Work Truck configuration, with low gears and tow package, plus an aftermarket ODB port module that kills the fuel management . 90% of miles are in town. 13.8 mpg, consistently.

Crappy gas mileage but I love the truck, especially with the fuel management override.

Have a 2006 GMC crew cab. Average 16.7 with about 2/3rds city driving.

'04 Tahoe with 5.3, 19 on the hwy.

'11 Z-71 4WD, 5.3, 17.5 all around, mixed driving.

DF

2018 LTZ Crew 4x4. With 26k on the odometer, I've averaged 17.6 combined. Cruising down the highway at 70mph will get me near 22 easy, 75mph around 20. All flat ground around here. Quietest, most comfy truck I've ever owned, and that's impressive since over the last 20 years our various small fleet has had them all.....F150's, Tundras, and Z71's. It runs circles around the 2015 Tundra Crew 4x4 it replaced.

I've had people tell me that the new Ford rode the best. I think you're right about Chevy, I like the way they drive and feel.

I've heard the Dodge (AKA Ram) has rear coil springs and rides really nice. I'm not interested enough to find out...

DF

I've surmised over the years of using and driving them all, that the Ford is very tough and rides like a truck, the Chevy's have held up well and ride more like a car, and we have avoided the Dodge 1/2 T pu's like the plague, for good reason. The new Dodge looks great, but it's still a Dodge. The Tundras have bee great too, except for the latest one, the 2015. It had a cold start valve go out at 50k, and the nav/entertainment system went out twice before 75k. Not very bulletproof like they supposedly say they are. It's also a good idea to own a refinery if you get a fleet of Tundras......act fuel mileage was abysmal.

My friend had 2012 Z71 extended cab and we would usually get around 17mpg on our trips to Colorado. He got rear ended last year and the insurance company totaled it so now his has a 2018, also with the 5.3. We haven't gone to Colorado so I don't know the mileage but he said it's a little better.

What does the fuel management override do? Doesn't look like it helps mileage.

DF

It stops the truck from cutting out four cylinders, leaving it constantly in eight cylinder mode.

Just a personal preference of mine. It does seem to help significantly (at least to my mind) with acceleration and torque. I never liked driving around a half ton pickup with four cylinders. Another thing it supposedly does is stop 5.3 engines from developing oil burning issues over time, but my truck is so new that has not been an issue.

Just my little personal rebellion against these crazy CAFE standards.

We have 2 Silverados with the 5.3 motor all the time as ranch trucks, we trade them about every 2 years, so have owned/driven them often.

Generally all get about 19-21 mpg on the highway, depending on load/wind. My daily commute is 56 miles round trip, about 80% highway/20% city and the average is generally between 19.5-20 mpg. (I don't drive like a NASCAR racer)

2006 gmc Sierra crew cab 4wd. Get 19.2 hwy and about 13.5 city. Average since I have owned it (140K) is 16.7.

Wondering if anyone has used a chip or similar to improve fuel efficiency. If so, what results, good or bad. Thanks

A good aftermarket exhaust and air cleaner will get you into the 21 MPG range on the highway.

2014 Silverado 1500 double cab, 4x4. Six speed auto, 3:73 gears. Averages around 20-22 MPG highway at 70 MPH. Third 5.3L GM 4x4 I've had since 2006. The only one that did worse on gas, was the 2010 w/3:05 gears and a four speed automatic. The 2014 is the best of the bunch.

When it was brand new and the bed wasn't piled half full of jacks, tools, heavy chains, etc. it hit a "best" of 24.3 MPG on the fuel mileage 'puter display back then. That was for about a 500 mile trip, including local driving at the destination and maybe 300+ miles of highway driving. Lost that display last year, when it was in for repairs to an air direction shutter behind the dash and they apparently disconnected the battery?

Best I've been able to rack up since, is 22.4..Truck averages 14 to 15 around town normally, goes down in the winter. Does not like really cold weather for fuel mileage. Creepin' up on 60,000 miles now, no complaints. Truck is also pretty damn quick from a dead stop.

Why is it every time my buddies tell me how their trucks are getting 18-20 mpg “all day long” we go on a hunting/scouting trip and they get........maybe 16.......?

Is it because the truck knows we’re sharing gas money?

my 2017 5.3 gets a honest 17 -18 MPG but if you put a trailor on it it goes down from there.i wish Chevrolet still made a 350 V8 best engine ever made

I just got back from riding 1,100 highway miles in the back seat of a 2016 four door pick up 5.3 with three of us, gear and no cap and Ben said his computer was telling him 21 mpg. Michelin tires one size over standard and sensible 65-70 speeds though slower through Canada.

Not always, but usually trip computers tend to exaggerate fuel mileage........

I thought so too, but Ben was satisfied enough with that read out to only want to charge the three of us $60.00 for fuel and that was sure worth it to me not to need to take my own truck, Thirsty, up there to play with the fish.

I have a 2014 Silverado crew cab with the 5.3- I average around 19 mpg overall with my driving, I’ve noticed on the highways I get anywhere from 21-23 mpg depending on the speeds (don’t go much over 70 for fuel efficiency). That fluctuates a bit too, depending on how long it’s been since I changed the oil. I have 98,000 miles on mine, this week I put just under $1400 in it for the AC and a window repair, gonna keep it another year or two.

I forgot to mention before this one I had a 2007 with a 5.3- it got around 17 mpg on average (that one was an extended cab).

Put another 598 miles on the '14 Silverado over the 4th. 18.9 MPG average on that trip.Roughly 200 of that was four lane driving at 70 MPH or a bit more. Cruising between 70 and 75, it regularly ticks off 22 MPG or a tad better.

Had two older Chevy trucks with the 350 V8. One was a 2WD shorty w/two barrel, The other one was a 4x4 shorty w/four barrel. Neither one ever got much better than 17 MPG highway..The 4x4 was an '80 with lock up torque converter and 2.73 gears. Neither ever got close to the fuel economy my 5.3Ls have and neither had the torque and go power that the 5.3Ls do. Although the 2WD one had some serious torque. TRW RV grind cam after a rebuild and 2.5" exhaust system. Duals, ending behind the cab. Miss the sound of that one.

Second guy that owned my old '80 4x4, thought it had 165K on it. Told him that'd be 265K, 'cause it had well over 165K on it when I'd sold it a few years before that. That ol' 350 was still going strong and using little oil.

my son just got back from Missoula,Montana on July 8th from trout fishin with my 2017 Silverado 5.3 we live in northern Minnesota, my son drives fast always 75-80 miles an hour on freeway his average including in the mountains > son averaged 18 mpg. with 2 kayaks on topper carrier too.

5.3 in a 4x4 Tahoe some 2,200 miles from Midwest to CO around and back averaged 22.4

Because about 16 MPG is typical for many trucks, in the real world, since they all weigh about the same, use similar transmissions, similar axles, and similar engines. Sure, some may have more gears in the transmission, or some may have cylinder deactivation, but they all are doing comparable "work". Drive with an egg between your foot and the pedal, and one might do better than the others but pull a moderate load and turbos will be spooled and cylinder deactivation will be deactivated. There's no free lunch or gimmicks when power demands are higher.

Someone mentioned fuelly.com and I think this is a good resource. It allows you to compare data from dozens or hundreds of users. And more importantly, the distribution of the data. For example, the majority of users with the 5.3L Chevy get 15, 16, 17 MPG. This is the peak of the bell curve. For the Tundra with 5.7L, the peak of the bell curve is 14, 15, 16 MPG.

Those that get much better, or much worse, are the outliers in the bell curve. I think you'll find that the vast majority get 14 - 17 MPG overall, plus or minus in mixed driving. Not 18 - 20 MPG. Similar to your observation about "18 - 20 all day long", right?

So, if you've been driving three different GM 4x4s with the 5.3L since 2006, you should just ignore your own experiences with fuel mileage and go with what is posted on a web site then? Okay, got it.

Uh, no. Your experience is just that. It's yours. You can use that information for "you", but that in no way means that it applies to everyone else. Your driving behavior, load, altitude, fuel quality, tires, etc. etc. etc. can and will affect your results.

Instead, the rest of us should look at the results of many people, which should include a wide variety conditions and usage. The data should, and does, show a normal distribution. This isn't the place to teach this concept. But, if you are interested in learning, then I encourage you to educate yourself rather than get offended by the use of data to make objective decisions.

Jason

Wasn't offended. Just making the point that the "real world" is generally represented by what actual users have shared here.

A BIL finally got another 4x4 last year, after two years of trying to get by with a 2WD Tacoma. He bought a new Colorado ext. cab with the V6 and is fairly happy with it, except for one thing: Fuel mileage. The V6 has enough spunk (he doesn't tow anything). But in "real world" terms, it really doesn't do any better on fuel, than my Silverado, which has decent towing capability, gets good mileage on trips and has a chitload of stomp, when I want it.

He has a bit longer drive to my hunting camp, than I do, but most of that difference is Interstate driving. When he got to camp last year, asked him what his MPG reading was. IIRC, he got about a half mile per gallon better than I did? But my truck easily has over a quarter ton of gear and tools in it, every day. Nothing but his hunting stuff in his truck. By my calculation, if I left the tools, jacks, chains and other stuff at home, we'd probably get about the same fuel mileage on that trip?

Three day trip to camp recently, to do some work. Only about 390 miles this trip (far less local driving while there, than over the Fourth). Fuel mileage came in at 19.1 this time and that was with some additional weight in the truck on the way up..When I first got the truck, did the calculation on fuel in/fuel used. Never varied much from what the truck fuel mileage computer showed.

I have had a number with the 5.3. We have two ranch trucks and trade them fairly often. Generally with crew cab, 4wd we average about 21 on the highway and 19-20 if there is some city mixed in there. Just drove 450 miles this weekend in the 2018 and averaged 23.6 for the trip. No wind at all this weekend. Average speed was 68-72 mph

Just traded in a 2016 with the 5.3. Z71 crew. Ut averaged about 17.5 combined over 32,000 miles of mixed driving. It would do 22 or a bit better if I kept it a 70 on a highway.

Bb

Recently traded for 2019 Silverado Trail Boss. Does get lesser mileage than the standard Silverado but about 1.5-2 mpg. Likely due to AT tires, lift kit and less aero. bodywork, like front air dam. Did average about 20 mpg per tank with the standard LTZ and now about 18