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Its been 16 months since I got my 2016 Trailhawk and now 20K miles. Those 20k miles have been flawless! No issues just a few oil changes. Last fall I took an 8k drive from Florida to the Rockies and back and simply a wonderful experience. I have the V6 and on that trip I averaged 27.3 mpg with a loaded down Jeep full of camping gear and with a large rear hitch carrier with ay least 250 lbs. I was very happy and surprised with that milage especially given I drove @ 75-80 mph on the highways plus a couple thousand miles in the northern rockies. I should mention that I'm 67 y/o and found my jeep to be the most comfortable car I've ever owned, just ask my back.
I did go off road many times and it handled everything with ease including a few snowy mountain roads. I've owned almost every type of 4x4 made from a 60's Bronco, 80's Ram Charger to several 4x4 pickups. This Jeep is very capable. It is a Jeep but its an SUV and one that has little potential for modifications. You'll never have high lifts or see wheels & tires like the Rubicons but I knew that when I got it. It would have been nice however that this Jeep had a bit more clearance sits handle any better than most other SUV's and will never evolve to the mod's done to the original Cherokee Its built on a domestic car unibody chassis, enough said. Deal breaker? No, not for me, but I read about so many here and other forums that buy this Jeep and lament about not being able to do this or that. It's not the classic jeep nor was it intended to be. Its a Jeep thats an SUV but still unlike the rest.
Poring over the threads and KL info on the web, I'm surprised about the great disparity in mileage reported. My 2017 Trailhawk rarely touches 20 mpg on the highway. When I first got it I could squeeze 23 or so out of her but I've had it in since then for Oil and service and they put an update on the tranny which dropped it down to 20 on the highway. I must say it shifts better now than before the update but mileage has suffered. I suspect I've lost a mile or so because of the roof rack and another from the big tires. That said, with almost 8,000 on her I'm happy and love the car. I heartily agree on the comfort. Being a 60's old fart myself, I find I appreciate the firm supportive seats and ergonomics. As a retired Army Warrant Officer, I've long ago gotten over the need to die a horrible death while stuck in a mudhole or 40 miles out in the desert, but I do appreciate the offroad capability of this ride, even if I won't be doing it the justice it is capable of. It's fire roads and sand trails for me while in search of smallmouth bass!
I also share the the "disparity" in milage. Although I was amazed at the 27mpg I got on that 8k road trip I was equally amazed at the relatively poor milage I got last week on a 1k highway trip. I only recorded 20 mpg, yikes! on that trip. The only caveat was that I had two bikes on a rear hitch bike rack. Never imagined taking such a hit because of the bikes and wonder how bad it could be with a rooftop carrier loaded with gear or towing a small trailer or camper. I get about 14 mpg towing a 6k lb sailboat with my power stroke diesel. Something just doesn't seem right here but...
Last edited by Gatoraied; 02-20-2017 at 10:15 AM.
Reason: typo
I'm with you on the bike rack. I think the roof rack/bike rack on mine seriously affects my mileage. I got my roof rack when it was just a few days old so I don't really have any before/after data but definitely noticed a difference. I am headed out to Moab in a few days and will be spending a few weeks in the Utah park system. I'm pulling my teardrop trailer so I'll get a chance to see how it works mileage-wise with my full rig. That said, I still am very happy with it and hope to keep up the solid streak we're on... I'll post a few photos of Moab and environs.... and let you know how the mileage is working out...
Will
It's a beautifully aerodynamic car. And as is, produces some good mileage. Unfortunately, when I head for Moab like I will be mid March, this is the way I'll be going. With mileage shot to Hell.
Very nice! I love the bike. Sadly, my Sawbones (Dr) has forbade me from motorcycling for reasons I won't go into. My last was a Ural sidehack 2wd in camo. Loved it.
If you are traveling long distances, you could possibly peel off the bikes' mirrors and tail-box. That would probably make a significant difference. Also, those boxes (I have the same one on my Teardrop trailer, now minus lid) tend to shed their lids at high speed if not bungeed on. Don't ask me how I know....
Will
Have had my 2016 Trailhawk for a week. My first tank of gas yielded 24mpg cdn gal. I think that converts to about 20mpg US gal. I have also noticed the highest gear the jeep shifts to at 60mph is 7th. What r u guys experiencing. FCA does not make mud guards for the trail hawk which pissed me off. Managed to find some at the local canadian tire. They look good. Keeps the mud and crap from the moulding below the doors.
My 2015 Trailhawk with the V6 averages around 20 MPG in the winter (in Iowa), and around 21 MPG in the summer. This is with 10% ethanol blend.
Of my daily commutes to work, 60 miles round trip are on interstate where I typically do about 75 MPH. About 6 miles is in town.
One day I happened to take all "back roads" to work and home, doing 58 MPH or less. I reset my MPG average that morning. I averaged 26 MPG.
I could take the back roads every day. It would add time obviously. But I'd rather be on 4 lane where I have a better chance of seeing deer wanting to cross the road before it's too late.
I traded off a 2013 F-150 for this car because of the horrible MPG the truck got when gas prices around here were up above $3.50/gallon. Now I wish I would have kept it. It was only about 2 MPG worse than the Trailhawk. Had I had the Eco-Boost engine, it probably would have been about the same if not better than my Trailhawk.
And I'm still in disbelief that FCA decided to put a 9th gear in my Trailhawk when from what I've read, NO ONE ever sees it unless they are going downhill, with a tailwind, doing over 85 MPH. What's the point???
EPA estimates on the windows don't mean jack, as far as I'm concerned.
EPA estimates on the windows don't mean jack, as far as I'm concerned.
They definitely don't. Those are generally produced under lab conditions with ideal setups (because the auto maker knows a high mpg is a major sales plus). No car make does real world mpg tests because they wouldn't come close to the claims.
Mileage! Ugh!!!
I'm in Moab, Utah and just made the trip from Wi. Over Vail pass on I-70 and down into canyon country. Pulling my teardrop camper. Mileage all the way to Denver was 15.1 mpg. UGH!!!! Then magic happened. Stopped for gas (desperate!) at the top of the world east of Vail pass and had to choose between 85 octane ethanol blend or 91 (no ethanol) premium. Chose the premium at $2.92 gal. Mileage jumped to 18.1 mpg. Transmission is MUCH less confused and shifts 60% less often. Two tanks of premium now with similar results. I am keeping stats and will post them on my return to base.
More soon.
MOAB!!!!!
A new experience for me. I did a 2 hour (each way) trail with some challenges. Lots of low speed work and a bit if terrifying ledge riding. Keep in mind that I'm new to this Jeep business. Nevertheless, I must say it was big-league fun. The Jeep is much better at it than I. I used all of the off-road features and found them to :-)be wonderful and useful. I climbed slick-rock grades that would have challenged me in tennis shoes. Amazing stuff. The tires I heaped money into proved their worth in spades. I would not have wanted to crawl the rock ledges or sand washes on the stockers. The hill descent feature is amazing. I wowed some mountain bikers! "DUDE! That was awesome!!!" (They went around) :-)
Enough superlatives. Suffice to say I'm happy. I FINALLY UNDERSTAND THE TRANSMISSION!!!! So that's what all the gears are for! You use all of them with the slapstick in low range.
Chose the premium at $2.92 gal. Mileage jumped to 18.1 mpg. Transmission is MUCH less confused and shifts 60% less often. Two tanks of premium now with similar results. I am keeping stats and will post them on my return to base.
I'm very interested in the results of your tests. I had a similar idea years ago (very different vehicle), and I found that by going to premium, my mileage improved a great deal--but not enough to overcome the price difference between regular and premium. In other words, I would up spending more money on gas than I was getting in improve mileage. That was probably 2010 or 2011, when prices were quite different!
I'd be interested to see your results.
Originally Posted by WilliamA
So that's what all the gears are for! You use all of them with the slapstick in low range.
I use my manual mode shifting quite a lot on the Trailhawk. I am aware that many V6 KL owners complain about a lag in power, but I've found downshifting with a quick slap-and-smack gives me tremendous torque when I need it--passing, merging, running a Prius driver off the road, etc. I've even started downshifting when making turns, just to keep acceleration up and handling under control. Like you, I've found it makes a tremendous difference.
And maybe it's just my Trailhawk, but mine seems to really love staying in even-numbered gears, if I let it choose. Popping it down one into an odd number has a big boost in performance for me.
I can only speak for my own experience (disclaimer?) but in addition to better mileage I am happy with the fact that it seems to shift much less. Not to say the jury is back yet but I have noticed a dramatic difference in the number of times it spends hunting for the right gear. Seems to be happy with 7th. We won't talk about 8th or 9th. I don't care as long as she is happy with 7th. I am really interested to see how she responds with the cruise on now. Wasn't much fun before. Shift,shift,shift...
I will do my spreadsheet and qualitative (driveability) post when I return from Moab. If you are interested and I haven't responded in a couple weeks, ping me or rattle my cage. I post to a lot of forums and my rememberer is small...
WilliamA
02-09-2017, 04:49 PM
2016 Trailhawk @ 20k miles, my experience
