Horrible MPG on my 2003 4.0 V6
- Thread starter gabrielzeng
- Start date
gabrielzeng
New member
I just cleaned the MAF sensor, throttle body and did a seafoam clean. and I also checked four tires and they are not stuck. I will update as soon as I refill.
I agree. Winter blends, according to every bit of lit I have seen, only decreases bang per gallon by 1-5%. If you are seeing anything greater than a few mpg, then something is off. 8 mpg is wrong.
Also, if you are doing a bunch of short trips, then it isn't a fuel issue, it is a temp issue. If most of your weekly driving is a short commute to work, home or to the store then it has nothing to do with winter vs summer but the fact your engine spends most of its time in a rich burn setting.
Until your engine heats up to normal operating condition, it will be burning rich to compensate. This is going to eat gas mileage, much more than fuel blend.
Otherwise, check to see if you are dragging a house or your brakes.
Martinjmpr
New member
MPG drops sharply after about 60. I'll bet if you'd kept it at 60 you'd see close to 19 or even 20. I've gotten as high as 22-23 driving on a fairly level road at about 60 mph (That's actual, not as indicated on the "lie-o-meter" on the dash.)
gabrielzeng
New member
After a test driving on highway. The MPG increases to 17. I guess it's probably because the cold and the short distances. Thanks guys
Martinjmpr
New member
17 sounds about right. Mine varies between 16 and 18 this time of year depending on how much 4x4 driving I'm doing, how much "warming up" I'm letting it do, and so on.
Honestly, for a vehicle as big and as capable as a 4runner, I consider 17 to be pretty respectable. I typically got about 15 -17 in my 1990 Montero with a 5 speed manual transmission, no AC and an engine that only put out 150hp.
The 4runner has almost 100hp more, a lot more torque, a 5 speed automatic, is way more comfortable and is bigger, is more capable off road, has bigger tires and still gets the same or better MPG than that Montero. That's pretty impressive to me.
wnelax04sr5
New member
when i drove 4 hours to albany over this past summer i experimented with this, hand calculated mileage.
on the way there: cruise set at 70mph, hand calculated 19.3
on the way home: cruise set at 80mph, hand calculated 20.9
id say equal amounts of inclines and declines both ways, had a full tank going there, about 3/4 going back
?
Izlu
New member
Yes, there are three options,
1. Go to official Toyota dealer but I suspect that won't help much since 4Runners are sold only in the US and Canada
2. There's 93С66 EEPROM on back side of the cluster panel board which can be reflashed with a donor version from Canada. The donor must be identical or you'll have problems otherwise
3. Buy Canadian 4Runner cluster panel.
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coconutpete
New member
Sorry, the only thing I can add is keep checking for stuff, because something is definitely going on!
My V8 full time 4wd gets 11.5 (I measured the first few weeks after I moved here just for fun) on my short commute. I very rarely even go on the highway anymore and I actually keep it in 4th gear to make sure the engine warms up before I get to work.
My V8 full time 4wd gets 11.5 (I measured the first few weeks after I moved here just for fun) on my short commute. I very rarely even go on the highway anymore and I actually keep it in 4th gear to make sure the engine warms up before I get to work.
Update:
I've removed the carbon filtre in the air box and also cleaned the MAF since my last post.
I've been driving the same distances and I've also filled up in the same manner at the same pump/gas station. Tire pressure was also check just to be consistent.
47 litres (12.4 gallons) with 272km (169miles)
That's marginally better at 13.6mpg or 5.8km per litre.
Is there anything else I can do to improve gas mileage?
RunnerAK
New member
Bike to work.
Seriously though, there's not a whole lot else you can do as far as mods go. Reducing weight (leave the junk out of the trunk), and rolling resistance (lower rolling resistance/lighter tires) will help a little bit, so will driving like a grandma. Also, if you have a block heater, plugging it in several hours before you leave for work during the winter will help get your engine up to operating temp quicker and will improve your MPG a small amount (the engine burns very rich when cold).
Izlu
New member
1. If it's still below -20C and you haven't changed your rear diff oil yet I'd suggest to change it with full synthetic 75W-90. The factory oil is 80W-90 which gets too thick in cold weather.
2. Try to baby the accelerator pedal if you have a heavy foot, drive like grandma as already told
