Ive owned my Tribute for about a year now. In the last 3 weeks, it seems as if my gas mileage has started to drop. Im getting 15-16 mpg, from a 30 mile round trip commute to work. (Half city, half highway)....There doesnt seem to be any problems with the truck. (I was a service manager for years, I know what to loook for.) Is anybody else getting mileage like this?

As a service writer did you check air or fuel filter plus you might be getting winterized gas in your area?... just a thought

Air filter is clean. Nothing suggests a plugged fuel filter. (This truck has NO lack of power) No soot from the tailpipe, and there are no leaks evident.

Winter gas? How much can winter gas effect mileage? 1, maybe 3 mpg?

I have never gotten all that great MPG out of my Tribute. (2.3L 4 cylinder, manual) I was hoping for mid 20s since the EPA estimate said something like 22 city 27 highway but I can't even get 22 on the highway. The lowest I saw was 17 on a mostly city tank. I may mention it next time I take it in for service and see if they find anything.

For winter driving conditions....this is normal milage"Mazda says during the cold seasons expect a decrease of fuel up to 30% ...i hear the same questions daily and unfortunatly thats just how that vehicle is.


However ,you may want to have a diagnostic done at your local dealer...there could be a fuel pump/sending unit concern.


Is the MIL light on? (malunfuntion indicator light)

NO service indicator lights of any type are on. I begrudgingly took it to the dealership today and they also blamed it on winter gas. I guess all I can do at this point is watch it until the weather gets better. As far as taking it to a dealer for diagnostics, ee only have ONE Mazda dealer within 60 miles of my house and they know they are the only game in town. Its a shame, but the service department is slow, inept and arrogant. I will avoid them until I have ruled out ALL other possibilities.

Try autozone if there is one in your area they do diagnostic checks for free even if no light is on for free might as well try it out?

I have the 4 cylinder with an automatic. I have to really baby it to get 20-21 mpg. MPG would be my biggest complaint

I have an 05 4cyl tribute. I get about 22 to 24 on the highway and about 18 in the city. That would be the biggest complaint I have about the tribute and I would have got the 6cyl if I would have known it would be this bad. I suggest you get a K&N air filter. That should help and in your case, anything will help.
-Josh

My 2002 4WD V6 gets about 20 mpg on the hwy and almost 19 locally. My 97 Taurus is getting 23 hwy.

Wow, this is bad mileage that is being reported! I read Consumer Reports consumer reviews and both of them (only two posted) said gas mileage under 'cons'. I just looked at a Tribute this week (leftover 4 cyl. AWD) that was rated 22/26 city/highway. Guess it would be tough to hit that 26 number, huh?

Getting mileage that bad out of a properly running SUV that small? My first thought was: Is somebody stealing gas out of your tank?

Why not take it to Ford?
ORIGINAL: ScottD1

NO service indicator lights of any type are on. I begrudgingly took it to the dealership today and they also blamed it on winter gas. I guess all I can do at this point is watch it until the weather gets better. As far as taking it to a dealer for diagnostics, ee only have ONE Mazda dealer within 60 miles of my house and they know they are the only game in town. Its a shame, but the service department is slow, inept and arrogant. I will avoid them until I have ruled out ALL other possibilities.

2006 Tribute S V6 4wd

Just picked it up about 3 weeks ago and have burned 2,500 miles so far and I have had mileage range from 19 mostly city driving & as much as 24 mostly highway miles. Out of the 10+/-fillups I have gone through so far 18 was about the lowest and I did a trip hauling 4 people up to Vermont. It is a drastic change from my old 99 VW TDI (45-48mpg) but it hasn't broke the bank yet. And believe me when I hop on the highway I love the roar of the Zoom Zoom to get up to cruising speed.

I cannot wait to pop a K&N in and see if I can get some more mileage for my gallon in the next couple of weeks.

My theory is that with all this fuel additive/alternatives that the 'MAN' has been putting in gas lately we are being robbed of fuel ecomony, horse power and our wallets. Seriously we designed an engine to run on gasoline and now when we fill up we get only 90% gasoline and 10% ethonol (etc.) and the price at the pump goes up the. My thought was that the more concentrated and pure a substance was, the more it goes up in value and diluted versions are cheaper... OJ, gold,windsheild washer fluid, and most cleaning agents at the dollar store.

For what it's worth, I have a 2001 Tribute, 5-speed, 4cyl.- 2.0 ltr engine, 2-FWD. Overall I am getting 26 mph and my driving is a 50-50 split highway and city. The winter gas hasn't seemed to affect me in anyway since I get that year round.

Welcome to the club. Since I bought mine new in 2003, I've never gotten above 16 mpg except in pure highway driving.

I just filled up my 2004 Tribute for the second time since buying it, and the gas mileage has been exactly the same each time...21 mpg. That includes about 80-90% highway driving @ 65 mph as I live in a rural area.

Winter mileage can be significantly lower the mpg other times of the year. The mpg on my 1993 Toyota will vary as much as 5 mpg, winter v. summer. In the summer, I get 37-38; in the winter, I get 33-34. Cold starts running the idle circuit rich longer, wheel bearings taking longer to move freely, longer warm up periods, leaving the engine running while scraping snow/ice, and differently mixed fuels are all reasons for this.

Just filled up again today. After 130 miles, I got 25 mpg. Not sure why it was so good this time...