Distance To Empty...
 

Sold my 2008 Toyota 4Runner Limited (V6 w/23 gal fuel tank) with 138,000 miles and purchased a 2106 Toyota 4Runner Limited (V6 with 23 gal fuel tank) with 23,000 miles.

On the 2008, after filling up with gas the distance to empty registered at about 419 miles however the 2016 after a fill up only registers about 325 miles.

Any ideas why the difference?

Maybe they calculate the distance differently now. I did a long drive yesterday and at the start it said my range (2020 SR5P) was around 330 while the drive was 350. I thought I wouldn’t make it but by the end of the trip it said I had 50 range left. I think it bases it on your MPG since fill up. Maybe on the old runner based it on total avg mpg or something like that. In any case the calculation is fairly dynamic on the 5th gen.

Can't tell you about the '08, but I run about 375-425 after a fill up on my '14 (not limited, so no full time which is ~ 1mpg drag). The tank is 23 gallons (some people have claimed to stuff it with 23.5-24.5 gallons). When mine shows 0 miles, it usually has roughly 3 gallons left (50ish miles), but if you hit a steep hill or something, the pickup might not be submerged. The miles to empty display takes into account your recent fuel usage. This can be reset or you can let the old driving habits fade away slowly.

Chances are it just calculates your average MPG * current tank level to get an estimate, and then subtracts some for a buffer

On my 2012 SR5 coming off a long hiway drive and back to city driving I notice it takes maybe 2 or 3 fill ups to get recalibrated to lesser mpg. And in reverse going from lots of city to long hiway trips takes 2 or 3 tankful again to get recalibrated.
If I cruise into town after hundreds of miles on the hiway it will give me a good 335 distance on the readout when refilled. Then after another fill up or two it will give me about 295 on the display. Takes a bit for it to recalibrate.
Just drive it and see. You can also recalibrate it by pushing the button and it will recalibrate sooner. I find it to be pretty accurate once calibrated. When it hits zero I have almost exactly 3 gallons left or about 50 miles give or take. Time to find fuel.🙂

Mine's always been 293 regardless of elevation or quality of gas, including the 85 grade mountain swill.

My 2017 will show zero miles for range when I still have 3 gallons left. I can't remember exactly stock how many miles my range showed when full but with my 285's and all the weight I added with sliders and skid plates mine is probably a little less than 325. I just make sure I hit the miles reset B button when I get to zero and I know I have probably 40 miles before empty.

3 gallons left when it shows 0????? Wow I was freaking out because I want paying attention one day and had to drive 4 miles with it showing 0 miles. Nice to know


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On the 4th gen I remember the MPG gauge being called the dream-o-meter.

Probably accurately describes it in the 5th gen as well.

On a 23 gallon tank at 335 miles you're getting approx 14.5mpg. Shouldn't have an issue going 400+ if you're even slightly biased highway.

Better to do the math in your head and track fillups. I use the Fuelly app to make it easier.

To get a better baseline based on your driving, I would unplug the battery and wait a minute then plug it back in again, that will zero out your mpg.

Not sure about your exact year and model but I’d say this. I would drive it a few months and I bet it will change based on your driving habits. I have a 2015 transit van for work and it idles ALOT. Like sometimes 8+ hours a day. It is necessary to leave it idling but it screws with the DTO (distance to empty) bad. It is constantly calculating distance driven divided by fuel consumed. So on weeks where I sit and idle a lot it will say like 150 miles to empty with a full tank but I can actually drive a lot farther. I have sometimes gone 100+ miles when it says 0 miles to empty. but then on weeks where I drive more it will often move up the estimate to like 350 or more. Hope this helps.

Mine reliably has between 3 and 5 gallons remaining when the countdown mileage shows zero.

So at 18mpg or so, I figure another 50 miles in a pinch.

Toyota's engineers went conservative here. Good call.

Take the readout with a grain of salt.

Hello,
I have a 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road but am new to it...
Where can I find the distance till empty data? Kind of in the dark when you jump get in the truck to find the gas light on not knowing if you can go 5 or 50 kms.
Would appreciate feedback.

When you get down to 30-40 miles on the readout, and you add 5-6 gallons, does anyone else's not update? It seems on mine it takes a good amount of gas to update the estimate, a fill-up from 1/4 to just over 1/2 tank does nothing.