I wouldn’t do anything other than take it back. That kind of mileage is not normal. Something is very wrong somewhere. I don’t know what the laws where you are say, but it seems like they should have to take it back, as you’re not getting even a 1/3 or what the advertised mpg is. I’m sure they didn’t disclose that info, they may not have known if all they did was drive it around the block before putting it on the lot for sale.
Horrible Gas Mileage
- Thread starter JMEJKE
- Start date
I wouldn’t do anything other than take it back. That kind of mileage is not normal. Something is very wrong somewhere. I don’t know what the laws where you are say, but it seems like they should have to take it back, as you’re not getting even a 1/3 or what the advertised mpg is. I’m sure they didn’t disclose that info, they may not have known if all they did was drive it around the block before putting it on the lot for sale.
MissouriBreaks
New member
Not sure if you bought this from a dealer or private individual, so I would suggest taking it somewhere for a tune-up. Given the significant mileage issues, I would suggest taking it to the seller if it was a dealer.
Otherwise a reputable Toyota dealer. It will cost more, but they may have seen this issue before and may be able to diagnose it quicker.
Not sure if this has been considered in the thread but thought I would throw it in there being that you don't know the previous history of the vehicle and what kind of driving conditions it received, and fuel for that matter.
The intake and subsequent sensors could be coated in crankcase blow off, the cats could be plugged to hell, the plugs in poor shape as a result and the 02 sensors blackened up with carbon. It's all a nice recipe for rich conditions in the combustion process that the engine control management has to deal with in order to provide you with decent idle and driveability.
Get it all looked at, hopefully the cats are ok, everything else can be cleaned up / easily replaced. I don't think these motors are susceptible to these issues but it depends on how it was previously ran / used for sure. That kind of high gas consumption is bizarre, you should smell it or will certainly see it in how the plugs appear I would think.
BushPusher
New member
At my first stop about 2 tens of a mile after leaving the house there is always
a strong smell of rotten eggs so the cats are doing something.
And I can hear exhaust tone which to me means exhaust is flowing freely just
my thought.
the history of the vehicle or driving type was mostly short highway runs .
I thought I was reading that spark plugs maintenance was around 120,000
but I will check them out.
4Runner does run good or at least seams too no hesitation accelerating or anything.
I will be making some calls to see what the dealer will do
a strong smell of rotten eggs so the cats are doing something.
And I can hear exhaust tone which to me means exhaust is flowing freely just
my thought.
the history of the vehicle or driving type was mostly short highway runs .
I thought I was reading that spark plugs maintenance was around 120,000
but I will check them out.
4Runner does run good or at least seams too no hesitation accelerating or anything.
I will be making some calls to see what the dealer will do
That smell is a tell tale sign things are very rich into hot cats if you're smelling the sulphur burning in the gas. The dealer should be able to diagnose this easily. Hopefully this condition hasn't fouled the cats beyond normal operating range now but they should be able to take it for a drive while plugged in and diagnostics will reveal the issue. Bite the bullet and let them hook it up, give them as much info as possible.
From what I understand these motors are very good at still running well under very severe or neglected conditions. Not your case I'm sure but likely something simple that is the root cause here... good luck!
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I'd say lucky... I've had mine for two weeks and if I base the calc on OBC, I'm getting just shy of 13 MPG with pure city driving. Mixed city/freeway (plus one afternoon of OHV trails) was 17.5 MPG. That's with A/C running, though. The past few days, I've gone zero-A/C (but pure city driving) with 8-mile average drives and I've gotten her up to 16 MPG. Mine's a 2019 TRDOR, all stock, bought used from CarMax with 14K on the clock. All this data is for 30 PSI in the tires (should be 32 PSI according to the placard). Aired them up to 32 PSI last week, but I guess the combination of mid-day heat (during inflation) led to under-inflation. I used my Smitty Built portable compressor and a basic stick gage FWIW.
Kicking myself. I was looking forward to doing a manual calculation at the pump today after work. As I began the fill-up, I settled in thinking this would take "a while" with it being a truck with a ~22 gallon tank. I'd forgotten that I'd hardly driven 80 miles since my last fill up, and thus kept re-starting when the lever popped off (which of course indicates a full tank). So, now my calculation was incorrect and low (e.g., more fuel was refilled than had actually been depleted). So I guess I have to go for a long drive this weekend... oh, hum... :wacko:
The engine is the same, but keep in mind the Trail Edition has extras that come with some extra mass, like 4WD (transfer case, etc.) and probably has a rear locker too, right? Any extra mass would result in reduced fuel economy. But... once the road/trail goes unpaved we have a distinct advantage ;-)
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Increasing tire pressure from 32 to 38 = major improvement
Thanks for that tip. My mpg dropped from it's normal 18 mpg to 14 mpg. I don't know how but all my tires were down to from 37 psi to 32 psi (n2 filled and no cold fronts so your guess is as good as mine). I bumped them back up to 38 psi and am getting ~ 20 mpg with about 40 miles on them at 50% stop and go and 50% highway.
I can feel the highway road much better at higher PSI, and of course drop down when going into the fun stuff.
Again, thanks for that reminder. I was focused on engine since mine has started making an odd low frequency hum about every .5 seconds at idle. Still don't know what that is and don't like it since I only have 60k miles on mine and have changed and put premium oil in it every 5k miles.
Thanks for that tip. My mpg dropped from it's normal 18 mpg to 14 mpg. I don't know how but all my tires were down to from 37 psi to 32 psi (n2 filled and no cold fronts so your guess is as good as mine). I bumped them back up to 38 psi and am getting ~ 20 mpg with about 40 miles on them at 50% stop and go and 50% highway.
I can feel the highway road much better at higher PSI, and of course drop down when going into the fun stuff.
Again, thanks for that reminder. I was focused on engine since mine has started making an odd low frequency hum about every .5 seconds at idle. Still don't know what that is and don't like it since I only have 60k miles on mine and have changed and put premium oil in it every 5k miles.
TheWraith
New member
I seem to get better mpg going the other way ...
This is all dependent on what type of tires your running
I'm on 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers and I'm running 36psi all around... And I only get 10mpg on the city and 12 to 13mpg on the highway on horrible Komifornia gas. And I get 17mpg on freedom gas ( Arizona or UTAH gas )
Finslayer83
New member
285's, TRD pro + Cornfed, sprint-booster on "green 3", and I'm right at 17mpg with a mix of city/hwy driving on middle TN hills.
87 octane.
Oddly enough going to 285's made my speedo and mpg track spot on (mpg calculated manually as well)
87 octane.
Oddly enough going to 285's made my speedo and mpg track spot on (mpg calculated manually as well)
the_fornicator
New member
Went for a road trip (700 kms return) and averaged 13.5 L/100 kms or 17.7mpg. In the city, with my current setup and daily needs, I'm hovering around 17ish L/100km or 13.5-14 mpg (I drive my kid to daycare which is like 4 minutes away and then home -so a little hard on the battery).
This is just in the summer.
This is just in the summer.
That's about right.
It's a 5000lb rolling box with an under-powered V6, so you probably keep your foot buried. I was averaging about 15-16 before . . . well you know. No I average 0 MPG, because 0 divided by anything is still 0.
If you take road trip and use the cruise control you can get in the 23-25 MPG pretty easy.
BTW My buddy bought a V6 Tundra and the mileage sucked for the same reason.
Tuco Ramirez
New member
Interesting thread. People buy a big, boxy suv then weep when it gets crappy mpg.
Waiting for the sister thread, “we went through mud and now our car is dirty!”
Waiting for the sister thread, “we went through mud and now our car is dirty!”
BlueEyedDevil
New member
I think it’s more that many V8’s get similar gas mileage and have the added benefit of significantly more power.
I’m on 4Rer #3 and I personally consider the $hitty gas mileage as one of their deficiencies, obviously not a deal breaker or I wouldn’t have made it to #2.....but it still sucks.
My bone stock (for now) 2020 TRDP gets about 15mpg. A Ram 5.7 V8 gets that as well. The Ram weighs more and obviously has a ton more power.
No excuse for that. Not at this point.
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