gas milage on my 2001 dakota stinks?

Question

I bought a 6 cyl ,manual trans,dakota sport, last year.Its a nice truck I dont even drive it much.My other truck had to get some work so I drove the dakota to work and back when I normally only drive it on the weekend.This things clean low milage ,but seems to eat up the gas.My other 4 cyl(manual) truck seems to go forever on gas.I had to pop the hood to make sure there wasnt a hemi in it the way the fuel economy is in this thing. ha,ha.Im just woundering if these things are just that bad on gas?I got the 6 cyl thinking it would be better than an 8cyl on fuel.

Answer 1

those are good trucks but right from the start with them they were never rated to get above 20 miles to the gallon,i have seen a few get 21,maybe 22 if tuned really well,but in the city you can expect 12 -14,maybe 15 out of it,its just the nature of the truck ,there's no miracle cure for them either,the best any one has ever got from one is around 23 and they had to spend more to get that than it was worth,but one thing about them ,they are very dependable,that you can count on be glad its not a 4x4 you wouldn't get that much from it,keep it tuned well though and it will get you around 18 on the average,not very cheap to operate,but it will get you from point ,a, to point ,b, and back,very safely,good luck with it,hope this helps.

Answer 2

I've got an '03 Dakota with the 4.3L and I was getting an average of 14mpg on the highway until I added a canopy. I had the tonneau cover on but I still got very average mileage. Once I put the "Snug Top" on it I saw my average increase to about 16mpg. I figured it out once, at the current price of gas, that added 2mpg pays for the canopy (I got it used off craigslist for $500) after about 6 months.

Don't forget that the Dakotas are basically a full size truck. I weighed mine and it comes in at 5240lbs. Dodge may have squeezed it into a smaller overall package than the Ram but it is still more or less a 1/2ton.

Answer 3

According to this:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/16945.shtml

You're truck is rated for about 14 city and 20 hwy.

That's kind of crappy with today's gas prices, but it is a pretty heavy truck and the 6 will burn some gas; particularily with the 3.9 liter engine.

If you're getting less that 14/20 try changing the air filter and getting a tune up. I'm sure you know the drill...

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Well the bad news is that the 6 cylinder will only get a couple of miles per gallon better than the eight cylinder about on average a mileage of 17 to 21mpg on a 3.9 litre engine standard transmission

Answer 5

My experience with Dakota's tells me that is just the way they are.

Answer 6

fuel economy depends on how you drive, as well as how many miles are on the vehicle and how often you drive it .