Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives F250 Diesel Engine MPG question

What kind of mileage can I expect with a new F250 TD on the Highway?

What year?

Most of the 3/4 ton td's get +/- 20 mpg, after the engines are broken in.

It would be a 2009. Unless we can get a deal on a 2-3 year old truck

My '06 engine is different than the 2009---it's the 6.0---so I didn't answer you right away. But just for comparison and ballpark figures, I got 14mpg on the highway empty at 70mph from the day it was new until I got 26k on it, then it started getting better for some unknown reason, and now at 32k miles I'm getting 17mpg empty on the highway. Towing a trailer and grossing 13-14k I get 12mpg.
Not what I wanted; but that's what I get.
Oh, mine's got 3.73s and the automatic, and everything's stock. I've got plenty of power with the 3.73s and see no need to get the 4.10s.

BB,

I know one guy that has the new smaller diesel(2008) and he says he is getting maybe 17 on the highway. A friend has the bigger diesel and thinking it is the 2000 model and he gets 21 on the hwy.

really hard to get that great mileage these day even with the trusty old 7.3 because of the new crappy ultra low sulf fuel.

they're all gonna drop off of there sweet spot when running above 1800rpm (IME)

can i get 20 with my 6.0? sure... but on my normal short work commute with like 5 stops & accelerations back up to speed each way I get around 16.

i've heard many reports that the new engine while jacked with tons of power, doesn't do as well on fuel.

I've got a 2003 f250 with the 6.0 liter and have never got better than 16 mpg on the highway at 70 mph or less, while consciously TRYING to get good mileage (light on the throttle, etc.). My truck is stock EXCEPT for 315-75-16 BFG All Terrain tires (about 33-34" tall). It has 132k on it now and thats the best I can expect...16 mpg. We all know that us guys lie about three things...well maybe more, but here are three:
1. Group size
2. The fish that got away
3. Fuel mileage

I've gotten 20 & change but i don't get that normally.
It's rare that I can run out a tank of gas with out a bunch of stop & go, shut down, cool off, warn up etc on the same tank.

But if I can get a chance to run out a tank on hwy speeds with minimal stops or slow downs it'll do an honest 20+

but, normally with 20 or more cold starts per tank & my short stop & go driving I get 16 like you said with my 6.0

I think mine's an 05, cant remember right now.

I been looking real hard at the new trucks, got a 2006 Ford Superduty with V-10 (gas) & .373 gears, 4-wheel F-350. It gets 12.5mpg (used to get 15mpg before changes like tires and fuel boost with Bully Dog) on the highway at 70mph empty with 285 tires. Pulling heavy it goes down to 9 mpg!

Those new Ford diesels seem to range around the 14 to 15 mpg empty driving 70 on the interstate hwy. Towing I am told by friends who have them, that they get 12.5 to 13 mpg pulling 8,000 to 10,000 lbs. They only have around 12,000 miles or so on their new 2009 diesel trucks. Same goes for those larger engine Dodges with the Cummins in them.

Those 7.3 diesel Ford trucks used to get 20 mpg empty and pulling was in the 16mpg area. The 5.9 Cummins in the older Dodges got 21 to 23 empty on the interstate hwy and pulling dropped down to 18 or 17 mpg. However, that was before the new fuel and the tech changes on those diesels engines.

550 mile round trip last Sunday, A/C on and 8 mph (cruise control) over the 70 mph limit got me 19.9 mpg. Hand calculated (Trip comp read 20.3) in my 2003 Cummins. I don't believe the new new ones do that well, regardless of the brand.

Horsepower keeps going up, emissions standards get tighter, new fuel injection systems, new cleaner-burning fuel; I guess as a whole we're heading in the right direction, but I'd accept these emissions-based changes and go from 300+ horsepower back to 200hp if I could get mpg in the low to mid 20s. My trucks with less hp still had plenty of power for what I do, and I disagree with the trend toward more power and worse mileage.
Too, a lower hp version of what is built now would last forever. Look at the 6.0 Ford; it's fine as long as you don't boost the output, but if you do, it shortens the life more than I think it should. It stretches headbolts for crying out loud. It has faulty EGR coolers---who's the genius that designed that? Look at the trouble they had with its injectors.
I'm disappointed in the progress made in pickup diesel engines over the last 15 years, and I think it's revealing that the manufacturers blame the government and fuel. I believe a diesel pickup has the potential to be the best thing to ever come from the small truck builders or I wouldn't be so disappointed. Thats why I'll look at Japanese made diesel pickups, if they ever come out with one that fills my needs...screw these companies that can't build a reliable, efficient product, and go bankrupt while wondering what happened.

On my 06 5.9 cummins I got ~21 on a long road trip running about 70mph. But it did take nearly 40k miles to get the engine truly broken in (I hadn't worked it hard enough) and when new I was getting 17 and change on the freeway. That's hand calced mileage.

That's why I've been kicking my butt for buying the Ford. In '06 I wanted to get another Dodge because I had liked my '97 so much, but the Dodge salesman was a disinterested know-nothing. I told the wife I wasn't going to give that sob any of my money and we went across the street and got a Ford. I sure showed him!

In fairness though, I've had absolutely no trouble with the Ford...since it got out of warranty.

Don't get me started on our dealership. Suffice to say, I won't even buy a valve stem cap from them, or trust them to fill up the windshield washer tank. How many trips to the dealership, over how many months and how many days in the shop do you think it would take to find a broken hoseclamp? They really went out of their way to make sure they'd never get anymore business from me.

The new Ford 6.4's have bad reputation fuel economy wise, they're not getting nearly the fuel economy of the older diesels. I wouldn't expect more than about 14 out of it on the highway. Go to www.thedieselstop.com and browse their forums, they're a ford diesel specific forum. Fuel mileage is down across the board with all brands since the new emissions equipment has been required, but dodge and GM haven't dropped nearly as much as Ford. Ford's replacing their 6.4 diesel next year so things will probably change. The mileage drop isn't due to the new ULSD fuel as many claim, I've got a 98 dodge/cummins and all the available fuel around my area has been ULSD for a couple of years. I've had no mileage drop, it still gets 21-22 mpg on the highway.

Ford is going to replace the 6.4 already? I hadn't heard that. Wow...that's about as impressive a lifespan as the 6.0, as in not very impressive.

Ford is severing ties with Navistar who produced the 6.4 and the 6.0h No! They also made the 7.3, but their major heartburn began with the 6.0. Ford has decided to make their own diesel that is coming out as a 6.7 with nearly big hp/tq numbers if the rumors are correct.

I'd like to see them use something like the old, old Cat dozers had...heavy, overbuilt and lots of low-rpm torque.

Now based on what I have read on this thread that is very welcome news.

I have a 2008 F350 King Ranch, with the 3.73 gears. Highway and around town average near 15. Pulling an 18,000 lb fifth wheel, she runs 12.
Last Truck was a 2004 F350 6 liter. She averaged a tad over 18 empty, and 12 towing.
Mileage in the new trucks is down due to the required diesel particulate filter (D.P.F.).
About once per tank it goes into regenerative mode, where it injects diesel into the filter and lights it to burn off the trapped soot.
While there were many issues with the 6.0, especially the early ones, I never had a lick of trouble.
There are very few problems reported with the new 6.4, except marginal mileage. The 6.4, by all accounts is a good engine.