Tow its and computer programming?

The neutral tow feature is for placing the transfer case in neutral so that the Explorer can be towed behind a motorhome.

Is it possible that the chip could have been reworked or setup so that it has more power for towing and that might be why I'm lousy gas mileage. Again, it does have the two trailer hitches on it.

If it has been, is there a way I can discover this and have the chip set back to normal driving and possibly get better gas mileage?

I got a 2002 seems about right.

After about 8 fill-ups, I'm around 20mpg, same motor, same year. Hwy driving about 80 %

Ken '02 XLS

I get around 20 mpg hwy in mine. You may want to check and see what differential gears you have if yours has been used for heavy towing.

Mark McCoy McCoy's Market Bumpus Mills, Tennessee

Mark,

Are the differential gears something that can be changed via the chip or is there actual manual labor involved?

Differential gears are a physical, mechanical change.. if yours is 4WD or AWD, start arranging a second mortgage now.....

18 mpg doesn't sound bad (to the untrained eye - we are fed liters/km). I am usually amazed by those that purchase either SUV or pickup and are disappointed that the mileage doesn't come close to what they got with that undersized peanut - the one that requires a stick of butter and a shoe horn for ingress or egress.

If your fuel mileage drops drastically, it will affect tailpipe emissions..... any problem that affects tailpipe emissions will set the MIL (malfunction indicator lamp). Certainly there are many minor discrepancies that can affect fuel mileage incrementally..... contamination of the EGR system, aging O2 sensors and catalytic convertors, spark plug deteriortation...... other conditions ad infinitum. Important to remember that we need to keep any "no code - no viable concern" diagnostics and/or repairs at a level that any improvements in fuel mileage will pay for the efforts extended in a reasonable time frame.

Important to remember is that the fuel guage cannot be relied upon for fuel mileage computations and the trip computer (mileage minder... whatever they call it this week) is not as reliable as we would like to think. It behooves us to compute our fuel consumption properly or we will never know the truth. I'm tired - I'm going to bed - I'm sure you can Google up the "real" way to check fuel consumption.

Read my lips..... there is no magic thing that can be done to your PCM that will give you a gajillion miles per quart - if there was, Ford would have done it a long time ago and garnered the top dog spot in sales....

They are metal gears in the rear end of your vehicle centered between the rear axles. It would be fairly expensive to have them changed, but it might indicate why your mileage is suffering. A ratio like 3.73:1 would mean your driveshaft turns 3.73 times for each time your wheel turns one revolution. For example, a

4.11:1 would mean your engine is running at a faster rpm to achieve the same road speed and using more fuel but it would give you a lot more pulling power on the low end.

Someone else here an probably explain it a lot better. Mark McCoy McCoy's Market Bumpus Mills, Tennessee

It's amazing how many times I hear that the auto mfgrs are in cahoots with the oil companies, and this is why we get such poor mileage. When I explain that if Ford, for example, could improve their mileage by 50% across the board, they would do so in a heartbeat (so to speak). The benefits to Ford should be obvious. The oil companies wouldn't mind; they can't make gas fast enough as it is; a reduction in need would actually be good for them. (Yes, I know, this seems like heresy, but it's not hard to figure it out, really.)

If those miracles-in-a-bottle actually worked, the auto makers would put it in. Why wouldn't they? If cow magnets actually got you better mileage, they'd be standard equipment. If that intake swirley thingie worked, it'd be there in all the cars made. While there are things that can be done (exhaust system enhancement comes to mind immediately), there are valid reasons for the makers not doing them (in this case, noise and perceived higher cost, as well as the desire of the user to *not* look and sound like a racer) make them a poor choice for the makers. (These concepts are tried on, um, concept cars, and the feelings of the viewers are noted.)

Abd there's also the fact the power sells, and economy and power are hard to combine in the same package.

Bill Funk Change "g" to "a"

The best way to improve your mileage is to unbolt the differential, and bolt a smaller vehicle in it's place :)