You must be doing something wrong. I too have an 01 automatic Limited; use
5W-20 Mobil 1, pump the tires to 36 and always get at least 17.5 mpg.
Sometimes on the interstate, in warm weather, with a tail wind and a slight
decline, I can manage 22.5. My 3.8 04 mini-van does better. I think Chrysler
left off the good parts.

Richard.

The wife and I almost always do *better* than EPA rated.

 1997 Neon Sport...rated 24/34, the wife got 28/36
 1997 Grand Caravan 3.3 V6...rated 18/24,  I get 18/27, wife gets 18/24
 2000 Neon SE...rating unsure, daughter gets average 31 (mixed)
 2003 Stratus SE 2.7 V6...rated 20/28, Wife gets 25/29
 2004 Sebring LXi 2.7 V6...rated 20/28, I get 24/31

I did have a 2003 Chevy Malibu that I hated...so I got rid of it last year
after 9-months.  It had a 3.1 V6 rated at 20/29, I got 19/32 (I have no idea
why the city/highway mileage was so far apart in real world numbers...but was
consistently so).

I don't know what my son gets on his 1996 Dakota SE V8 extended cab.

In all cases, we log the mileage on every gas receipt and calculate MPG.  So we
have several years of history on the older vehicles.  The mileage remains about
the same over time (so far)...but is a little lower city mileage in the winter.

If you _always_ do worse, I would look at driving habits/conditions
Quick/abrupt starts?  On the throttle up to a stop light or intersection then
hard on the brakes, (vs. coasting up to it)?  Mountain terrain in your area.
Unusually cold weather conditions.  Also, tire pressure?  Roof rack (apparently
can have up to a 2MPG difference in highway mileage)?  Wrong viscosity oil?

Hmm, must be problem with your car - tire inflation, driving habits ... etc.

I have an '01, manual, with 41,000 miles on it.  In town I get 20-23
depending on AC use and traffic.  On the highway I get 26-30, depending
on conditions and driving speed.  This is in the Las Vegas area where it
gets fairly hot in the summer.  Keep tire pressure at 36 PSI, use
Pennzoil 5w-30, and had plugs changed at 30k as well.  Driving technique
and tire pressure make a difference in my experience.  I the highway I
do at times get better than EPA estimates.

While the EPA ratings don't have a really strong correlation with
reality, Something Is Wrong with that mileage.  If your commute is
more than a mile, you ought to be seeing much better than that...

I have a 2003 Grand Caravan with 3.3. I consistently get 16 litres/100 km ,
which is about 15mpg. This is lower that the advertized numbers. I thonk the
sticker says around 13-14lt/100km for city. I wonder after reading this post
I should ask the dealer to check something. Appreciate any comment with
similar car owners
Thanks

My 98 Grand Voyager 3.3 is rated at 21mpg city and 32 mpg highway Canadian
(Imperial). On mostly country road and suburban driving I get around 26-27
mpg Imperial (about 22 U.S.). I don't hot-rod but I don't hold up traffic
either. There seems to be something wrong with either your driving habits or
the condition of your vehicle.

You say nothing about how its driven. If it never gets out of the city
and never gets above 35 mph between red lights or stops in highway
traffic jams, consider yourself lucky to get 17 mpg.  If this is highway
mileage, fix whatever  is broken and causing such poor performance.

The last 3 new cars purchased in my extended family (92 Dakota, 93 Eagle
Vision, 2001 Durango) all EXCEED the EPA estimates in true highway
driving, and match them in combined driving.

Interesting, I almost always get close to the highway mileage on cars I
own and have owned in the past.  A lot depends on your driving habits.

Matt

It is bullshit you have to have a very light foot to get the epa mpg.
But then you have some a.shole honking at you because you not moving
fast enuff.

I had a Neon like that.  I never can get the rated mpg in my Chryslers,
but I've always gotten +2mpg in GM products.