A newbie here with questions

[jimm73]

Hi:

I'm new to the forum and just finding my way around.....

Just purchased my first 4runner last week. A 2007 SR5 4WD 4L V6 automatic.

I just read the owners manual and have a few questions if that is OK?

1) The MPG indicator over the last week has been reading about 24.5 MPG. Are these indicators accurate? I did do a manual calculation on a fill-up and I did seem to average 24 MPG. Does this seem unusual? The specs read 17/21. I admit I have been driving VERY conservative. Slow starts from a stop and highway speeds of about 62 MPH. I'm wondering what others with the V6 are getting in regards to MPG.

2) The manual suggests oil to use as 5W30? I don't think I ever used 5W30 on my previous Tacoma. I always used 10W30. Wondering what folks use? Is 10W30 OK or should I be using 5W30 as recommended in the owners manual?

I'm new to this vehicle and I hope you don't mind my asking some very basic questions.

I love driving my new 4Runner. The ride is just fantastic. Smooth and quiet. I'm really impressed. Plenty of power when I need it for merging onto highways.

BTW: The MPG I "hope" I'm getting is mainly suburban roads and some highway miles. I guess it would be 70% back roads and 30% highway.

Thanks for your time. I have lot's of questions but figure the above two are a good place to start.

Jimm

 

[MLB]

Hi Newbie,

I was a newbi in Jan.

If you are looking at "avg" that's your average SPEED for that cycle.
Sounds low but it includes all the time you sit at stops. Seems to take a "read" about every 7 seconds, so those stops pull your avg speed way down.
And the MPG estimate is usually about 2 mpg higher than what the mental calculator says at fill up time.

Mine does best at a leisurely 40 mph cruise through town. Shows 23-24 works out to 21. V8
16-17 in normal driving. Much less if driven hard. Might squeek 18 if I drove it like granny. But with the smooooooth torque its awfully hard to stay out of it ON OCCASION> :bigok:

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Welcome and congrats on the new ride. I agree with the 2mpg optimistic MLB mentioned. I've tracked it pretty close and 10-12% might be a slightly more accurate correction factor.

Over the years oil has gotten much better. The general move has been towards lighter oils in search of better mpg. Toyota put out a service bulletin that permits the use of 5w-20 so 5w-30, 5w-20 are both fine. If you're in a warmer climate and are inclined to use 10w-30 that would be fine in terms of the engine. I forget if the manual says whether 10w-30 is an acceptable alternative to 5w-30. check these links out.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=674

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=75

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20182

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8962
If you cover those you'll learn tons about oil, filters, synthetic and there's lots of viscosity discussions as well.

http://www.bobtheoilguy.com/ is pretty cool too... :cheers:

 

[toto]

The trip computer isn't very accurate. Personally, I think it's a great outside temperature gauge, and that's about it.

10W-30 is OK. The owners' manual says so, but it also suggests going back to 5W-30 at the next change.

What's also interesting is that Toyota released a service bulletin during the 2006 model year (EG018-06) stating that 5W-20 is now preferred. The lighter oil is supposed to improve fuel economy by a fraction, so I think that's why Toyota is pushing it.