2000 Dodge Intrepid gas mileage

Tiny
TROMAKO
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 DODGE INTREPID
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 589,000 MILES
I've had my '00 Dodge Intrepid ES since '05. Bought used w/37000 mi. Now have close to 60K. Gas Mileage is decreasing steadily, usually drive 15 mi. Roundtrip to work 4 days/week. Weekends usually 10 mi. At most. Mileage is suffering. Average on car trip computer is around 20/gal. Used to get close to 270 miles/tankful, now it's barely 210. Concerned about ethanol. What can I do presently to increase my mileage? Tuneup, sparks, wires? At 60K miles? Know about hypermiling, but it's not that important to me to try this. Will tuneup immediately help w/mileage? Another unrelated question now. My gas gauge on dashboard spikes up and down when I have a full tank of gas. What is this problem and how expensive can it get? Don't have lots of extra money in the bank to fix this. Please advise. Thanks.
Saturday, August 9th, 2008 AT 2:33 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
MICHAEL7500
  • MEMBER
  • 25 POSTS
I think new spark plugs and a tuneup would probably help your gas mileage some, but even more so a new air filter, especially if you've never changed it since you got your car. I've read that a really dirty air filter can decrease gas mileage by about 20% or even more. Just in case you've never tried to change it before, on almost all cars it's very simple. Just find the little box it's in and unscrew the screws (some cars you don't even need a screwdriver) and then pop it open and the air filter should pop right out and then you can just place the new one in, screw the box back shut, and you're done. You could also get your oil changed if you haven't in a while, and if you research synthetic oil, it's supposed to give you better mileage and it's also supposed to last longer, so I would use synthetic if you don't already, even though it costs more. As for your gas gauge, unfortunately I have no idea. Oh and also more about the air filters, they should only cost about $10-$20 unless you buy a high performance one like a k&n brand, which are more expensive (about $45-$85) but are supposed to last longer and obviously give you more performance, but they also might give you slightly better gas mileage than a regular air filter. Anyway good luck increasing your gas mileage!
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Saturday, August 9th, 2008 AT 2:56 AM
Tiny
MICHAEL7500
  • MEMBER
  • 25 POSTS
I was just thinking, maybe you are steadily losing gas mileage because of a fuel leak. And maybe the leak is getting bigger and bigger everyday. If this is it, it might be hard to tell, especially if the car isn't stored in a garage, because as you probably know gas evaporates very quickly, so it might not leave any puddle of gas under the car unless it's an extreme leak. A leak might also somehow explain your gas gauge spiking.
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Sunday, August 10th, 2008 AT 1:53 AM

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