Fuel Efficiency of new 4Runner

abug1985

abug1985

New member
Hi All,

I bought a new 2010 4Runner Limited in June of this year and have loved it every minute since. I have a couple questions, the first about fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Until roughly two months ago I was getting an average MPG of 19.3 and when I refueled, the range display on the dash would never read bellow 390 miles. However, both average MPG and range have dropped to 18.6 and 340 (upon refueling), respectively. I have not changed where, how I drive the vehicle. Although, I have started warming the engine for much longer seeing as its 10°F in the mornings now. In doing this would the average MPG and range drop this much?

Also, last night as I was driving home I hit a rather large heap of ice that had formed during the day at the base of a steep hill. The hit was pretty hard at roughly 30 mph - I didn't see the ice. When I hit it I heard a beep coming from the dash. Doing some research now, I can't find exactly what the beep may have been. Any ideas?

Thanks!!

A.
 
Register to hide this ad
Yes, idling the car during warm up will kill your overall mileage because the car is running but you are going nowhere. The ethanol added to winter gas will also reduce mileage.

The beeping was your traction control letting you know one of the wheels lost traction. Just so you know, it explains all of that in the owner's manual.

:rtfm:
 
Also, colder temperatures outside means denser air carrying more oxygen past the airflow sensor. The engine uses more fuel to keep the ratio optimal. You probably make a bit more power, but you pay for it in fuel economy.
 
Thanks for the reply, Xiao Yue! I appreciate everyones input! Time to dig out from last nights blizzard...

A.
 
Mileage Drop

My SR5 has also dropped in mileage over the past 60 days. From 19 MPG to 16MPG. My driving habits really have not changed and I am still using the same gas and gas octane. My guess it really is the difference in cold air. I do not pre-start (idle) my 4-runner as it is in the garage in the morning. I wonder if there is anything we can do to improve it during the winter, or if we should leave things alone :)

Charley
SR5 2010 with Shrockworks Sliders
Tulsa, OK
 
Rumor is that the winter fuel has more additives, as such, that prevent fuel line freeze up but lower MPG. But this is just a rumor.
 
98Roamer said:
Rumor is that the winter fuel has more additives, as such, that prevent fuel line freeze up but lower MPG. But this is just a rumor.
Click to expand...

Thats what happens here . I can instantly tell when they switch to winter blended fuel . Loose mpg's , a little performance , ect.....

My 4th gen with V8 and full time 4wd got better milage than I have so far on the V6 part time system.

Although I didn't buy this or my 4th gen for the fuel economy . I've had 4x4's for 32 years ...lol so I've never owned anything that got good milage. I drive A LOT too.
 
Last edited:
Same here. Attributed to:

1) More ethanol in "winter gas"
2) Colder air = more o2 past the MAF sensor, when means more fuel to keep the A/F ratio proper
3) Air is colder and more dense, which means more power require to keep the same speed. If you're a cyclist, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
 
I've lost almost 2mpg on the exact same trip. The only difference is July vs. December.
Ethanol sucks.
Maybe higher tire pressure in Winter can help? How does that affect snow/ice traction?
Doesn't cold, dense air make the engine more efficient?
 
1000MPH said:
I've lost almost 2mpg on the exact same trip. The only difference is July vs. December.
Ethanol sucks.
Maybe higher tire pressure in Winter can help? How does that affect snow/ice traction?
Doesn't cold, dense air make the engine more efficient?
Click to expand...

Not efficient, but more powerful.

You get denser air into the engine, so you add more fuel into the engine, so you get more power out of the engine but your fuel economy suffers.

A supercharger does the same thing cold air does, but mechanically and to a much greater magnitude.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 584 (members: 0, guests: 584)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,083
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top