Gas mileage

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mattstang66

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Just bought a 2000 4runner about a month ago. 3.4 litre w 107,000 miles on it and love it! The only thing I don't like is the gas mileage I'm getting. Had to go to my kids basketball game over the weekend for a round trip of 30 mi.(highway) and used a quarter tank of gas. This is after changing the plugs, fuel, and air filter. I'M STUMPED! What am I missing or what shoul I check next?
 
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I too dealt with this after buying my '99...it is what it is. These things are not great for in-town driving, with most people getting between 15-18 mpg. It goes up a bit on the highway.

I've done the plugs, air filter, and had a Motorvac injector cleaning done and it's helped, but at the end of the day you're just gonna have to accept that it's a big SUV that needs a bit more gas.
 
Also, there are issues with the gas gauges on some models (I know mine's not very accurate), so what you see as far as the needle isn't necessarily accurate to what's being used in the tank. For example, once my gas light comes on I still drive for another 30 miles, and even then I take on average 14 - 15 gals. (tank is 18.5).
 
mattstang66 said:
I was just thinking, one thing I have yet to do is change the o2 sensors. It's worth a shot!
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There are a bajillion threads on the gas gauge. The gas gauge is not accurate on these vehicles (especially when you get close to the bottom of the tank) so don't go by it.

Are you actually measuring your MPG by measuring fuel consumed? Because that's the only real way to measure MPG. Just going by the gauge will not tell you anything useful.

You also have to adjust for tire size if you are using anything other than stock (265/70/16) tires. I measured my distance with a GPS on a long trip and came up with a 3.2% error. So now when I calculate my mileage, I take the tripmeter mileage and multiply it by 1.032 to get my true miles driven.

FWIW I get 15 - 17 around town and 18 - 21 on the highway which is pretty good for a 4500lb SUV.
 
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I usually see around 50-60 per qtr tank, and thats highway. I track my mileage pretty well and average 17.XX on Fuelly.com.

Mine seems higher than some, but lower than others. I am running 265/75 Duratracs so that probably doesnt help.

Even with an inaccurate gauge, 30 seems a little low. After I got mine I did the usual - plugs, wires, PCV, fuel filter, fuel injection cleaner, R&R'd Tbody and IACV and cleaned, changed gear box's and tranny fluids. Havent done the O2 sensor yet...
 
I've had my 4runner for about a month and a half now and have put about 1,500 miles on it.

It's been really good on gas as far as I'm concerned. i've only changed the oil and the air filter and have been getting 20 pretty regular (I do a lot of rural driving mixed with in town as I work in the city).

I do want to replace my plugs here soon and see if I can turn the notch up on getting more mileage, but don't expect too much of a bump.
 
mattstang66 said:
Just bought a 2000 4runner about a month ago. 3.4 litre w 107,000 miles on it and love it! The only thing I don't like is the gas mileage I'm getting. Had to go to my kids basketball game over the weekend for a round trip of 30 mi.(highway) and used a quarter tank of gas. This is after changing the plugs, fuel, and air filter. I'M STUMPED! What am I missing or what shoul I check next?
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What is your other vehicle? If it is a compact car then do not compare the two because you will be disapointed...LOL. The 3.4 Liter V6 motor is a very good motor, the only downfall is that it sucks tremendous amounts of gasoline, and its only 183hp, now-a-days 3.4 Liter vehicles produces way more than 200hp, but don't disreguard the torq, as the 3.4 motor is pretty decent in that category. As in mileage I get 18mpg (hwy & city) and 20 (hwy) with a.c. on mid-high. My Acura gets about 26-28mpg, but I don't compare the two because they are in two different vehicle categories.
 
My 4runner showed that the gas was empty, yet when i filled it to the tippy top, it only needed 14 gallons. That means it had 4.5 gallons left when it said E. I wouldent think the gas gauge holds much value on it.
 
marcel said:
im getting 21 consistently with a mix of freeway and city.. love my 4 cylinder
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I think your manual trans should probably get most of the credit. My 3.4l Taco got 22 - 23 on the highway pretty consistently and 18 - 19 on short city trips. My 4runner with the exact same engine gets worse MPG, even though the Taco was bigger, longer and heavier. Of course, the Taco was a 5 speed.
 
Drove over Cottonwood Pass (11,000 ft) over to Crested Butte in the Colorado mountains as well as side trips to some ghost towns and 4wheel drive trails. Averaged 23Mpg for the 450 mile trip. That's including driving up passes in 3rd and 4th gear. The best mileage was 25 mpg. I thought the gas gauge was stuck. I compared the odometer to the GPS and they were within a couple of miles.
1996 4Runner V6 5spd manual 4WD
 
I get anywhere from 16-20 on average with 33" tires. I do have fresh plugs and clean MAF & also clean out my air filter pretty regularly. Also for what its worth i have the EVAP codes on the dash (pulled the bulbs however-out of sight , out of mind right?) runs great. I usually trade vehicles every year or two but i can honestly say im keeping this truck as long as i can. It holds 2 carseats and all my gear dry and secure.
 
Bought a new 2018 4Runner on Sep15th I do a lot of shorter highway trips. The display is reading an average of 19 to 20 MPG. Last weekend when we took on two longer trips 150 miles north in the flat land of Ill and the second trip was south to western Kentucky around 220 miles each way. The display was reading around 21 MPG. Currently the 4Runner has around 2800 miles on the odometer, As the mileage increases What experience do others have with an increase or decrease in fuel milage?
 
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