In town gas mileage seems exceptionally poor

[RobS10]

We have a '22 ORP with around 8K miles on it. Freeway mileage seems around 17s on average (think I got 19 once). But I drive mostly city, stop and go traffic, short trips. I recently checked the mileage and read just in the 11s. I don't drive hard, no Jackrabbit starts, speeding or other aggressive habits, I try to drive as smoothly as possible. Seems like I should be getting a little better than 11 MPG for all in-town driving!

 

[Pedro367]

We have a '22 ORP with around 8K miles on it. Freeway mileage seems around 17s on average (think I got 19 once). But I drive mostly city, stop and go traffic, short trips. I recently checked the mileage and read just in the 11s. I don't drive hard, no Jackrabbit starts, speeding or other aggressive habits, I try to drive as smoothly as possible. Seems like I should be getting a little better than 11 MPG for all in-town driving!

Can't really tell you what's wrong, but you should be doing better than that. I'm on 285s and average 15.5 with a 70/30 town/highway split. I work from home, so couple mile trips into town with the kids, running errands, etc. is what gets the majority of work for my 4R. Usually the highway drives are no more than 5-10 miles. The couple longer highway tanks I've calculated by hand are about 18-19 mpg with these tires depending on if I go north or west to the hills or south the the flats. I've lost about 2mpg overall with my current setup. I drive like a grandma as well.

 

[nglayton]

Have you changed wheels and tires?

Basically Stock 2023 trd orp - I have about 3000 miles on the ODO, I'm getting over 20mpg on the highway, about 16-17mpg in town.

Beats the hell out of my lightly modded (tires/winch/lift, etc) 2011 TE, It's at 120k on the ODO, but barely averages 16mpg. I get about 14 in town....

 

[RobS10]

Have you changed wheels and tires?

Basically Stock 2023 trd orp - I have about 3000 miles on the ODO, I'm getting over 20mpg on the highway, about 16-17mpg in town.

Beats the hell out of my lightly modded (tires/winch/lift, etc) 2011 TE, It's at 120k on the ODO, but barely averages 16mpg. I get about 14 in town....

Everything is stock, with the Bridgestone All Season "street" tires.
Is it possible the computer is reading it wrong? I know my radio will no longer let me save any presets for some reason.

 

[bigdaddy2021]

Can't really tell you what's wrong, but you should be doing better than that. I'm on 285s and average 15.5 with a 70/30 town/highway split. I work from home, so couple mile trips into town with the kids, running errands, etc. is what gets the majority of work for my 4R. Usually the highway drives are no more than 5-10 miles. The couple longer highway tanks I've calculated by hand are about 18-19 mpg with these tires depending on if I go north or west to the hills or south the the flats. I've lost about 2mpg overall with my current setup. I drive like a grandma as well.

Same opinion here. I'm at 12 city, 13 mixed, 15-16 highway with 33's, 2.5" lift, ALL the armor, Tacobox crawlbox and a roof rack full of gear.

Probably at least 500-750lbs over stock.

I do take advantage of cruise control when i'm going faster than 40-50 on the highway, and I keep my speeds under 65 pretty religiously. Also, I keep my tires well-inflated.

I usually have a range of about 350miles. Then again - I have to put this out there - I don't care? I didn't buy this truck for the fuel mileage, we bought it for the capability/durability/reliability, I'd much rather have an engine known to go 100-200k miles with zero issues than one that gets 20-25 mpgs but also has known faults (our 2.7 Ecoboost, in our F150, for example - we're babying it, driving it lightly and are pretty much ready to chuck it at/before 100k)

some thoughts:

Maybe a brake caliper(or calipers) is/are dragging?
Maybe a bearing is bad, causing resistance?
Tire inflation?
Reset trip meter at each tank to get a new reading?

 

[RobS10]

Think I'll take it in and ask them WTH is going on.

 

[nglayton]

Everything is stock, with the Bridgestone All Season "street" tires.
Is it possible the computer is reading it wrong? I know my radio will no longer let me save any presets for some reason.

I always track the mpg separately with a phone app. Not that the built in computer is wrong, it's not to much different. Try tracking it separately for awhile and see what you get before spending $$$ at the dealership.

 

[Pedro367]

our 2.7 Ecoboost, in our F150, for example - we're babying it, driving it lightly and are pretty much ready to chuck it at/before 100k)

Screw the ecoboosts. 5.0L is where it's at for those and probably the only Ford truck engine I'd consider buying outside of maybe the 7.3L. Same reasoning. Sacrifice some MPG for reliability, but also way more power. 5.0L are great engines.

 

[bigdaddy2021]

Think I'll take it in and ask them WTH is going on.

that's what I'd do, too, since it's most likely still under warranty? Could be user errorop2:, but more than likely it's probably a small issue like the computer needing to be re-flashed or a bearing/brake issue.

If it's a bigger issue like the 4WD system, that'd be great to get sorted, but I doubt that's the issue, if you don't have any other idiot lights going off or any other symptoms.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

i see the op is in San Francisco. Every time I have been there it has been bumper to bumper traffic and many steep roads. 11 may be all you are going to get.

 

[Jeremy556]

San Fran is one of the worst places for mileage you're going to encounter. Take it out on an open road and set cruise at 60mph for a few miles and see. When I lived in mid town Atlanta, I was getting around 10mpg when stock. Short trips (rich warm up) and sitting in traffic not moving kill your MPGs when you're doing short distances overall.

 

[RobS10]

San Fran is one of the worst places for mileage you're going to encounter. Take it out on an open road and set cruise at 60mph for a few miles and see. When I lived in mid town Atlanta, I was getting around 10mpg when stock. Short trips (rich warm up) and sitting in traffic not moving kill your MPGs when you're doing short distances overall.

Yes, S.F. has some gnarly steep hills, but my 6 mile round trip is fairly flat. I think I used to get between 15 and 16 but hadn't checked in a while. We got between 17 and 18 on highway when we did a long road trip last summer, so I know it's capable. Maybe the dealer can find something our of whack when the plug in the computer.

 

[RobS10]

i see the op is in San Francisco. Every time I have been there it has been bumper to bumper traffic and many steep roads. 11 may be all you are going to get.

Driving has stayed the same, on average, but mileage used to be better. I looked at the History section of the Eco tab in the vehicle history and this is an all time low.

 

[ads2539]

Driving has stayed the same, on average, but mileage used to be better. I looked at the History section of the Eco tab in the vehicle history and this is an all time low.

Do they have winter fuel blends in CA?

In Chicago, I get worse mileage in the winter than in the summer because of the crappy winter gasoline here. (Longer warm up times, snow, etc., too.)

 

[bigdaddy2021]

Driving has stayed the same, on average, but mileage used to be better. I looked at the History section of the Eco tab in the vehicle history and this is an all time low.

CA does use a winter-blend fuel, as far as I know? Do they use it in the SF area?

it's widely believed to be a source of poorer mpg's during winter months for most vehicles. I think they roll it out around Oct each year.

 

[Humble Leader]

I don't think there's a problem here. the short trips at low speeds and the engine running rich and I believe 'open loop' before the O2 sensors warm up is what I think is the story here. plus colder weather means more dense air and more wind resistance. engines take longer to reach normal operating temperature and there is more drag. all the little things can add up to a fair amount of mpg reduction

for me, I get worse mileage in the winter. I also idle a lot in the winter when shoveling snow to let all the snow/ice melt off the windows. you probably don't have this problem though in san Francisco. right now I'm getting about 15mpg mostly city and some highway in the middle of winter.

 

[RobS10]

Do they have winter fuel blends in CA?

In Chicago, I get worse mileage in the winter than in the summer because of the crappy winter gasoline here. (Longer warm up times, snow, etc., too.)

I'm sure gas stations are currently using a Winter Blend, but don't remember it ever being this low....we just had her first "birthday" last week, 1 year of ownership.

 

[RobS10]

I don't think there's a problem here. the short trips at low speeds and the engine running rich and I believe 'open loop' before the O2 sensors warm up is what I think is the story here. plus colder weather means more dense air and more wind resistance. engines take longer to reach normal operating temperature and there is more drag. all the little things can add up to a fair amount of mpg reduction

for me, I get worse mileage in the winter. I also idle a lot in the winter when shoveling snow to let all the snow/ice melt off the windows. you probably don't have this problem though in san Francisco. right now I'm getting about 15mpg mostly city and some highway in the middle of winter.

All makes sense, and 15mpg would make me happy. 11, not so much.

 

[RobS10]

Same opinion here. I'm at 12 city, 13 mixed, 15-16 highway with 33's, 2.5" lift, ALL the armor, Tacobox crawlbox and a roof rack full of gear.

Probably at least 500-750lbs over stock.

I do take advantage of cruise control when i'm going faster than 40-50 on the highway, and I keep my speeds under 65 pretty religiously. Also, I keep my tires well-inflated.

I usually have a range of about 350miles. Then again - I have to put this out there - I don't care? I didn't buy this truck for the fuel mileage, we bought it for the capability/durability/reliability, I'd much rather have an engine known to go 100-200k miles with zero issues than one that gets 20-25 mpgs but also has known faults (our 2.7 Ecoboost, in our F150, for example - we're babying it, driving it lightly and are pretty much ready to chuck it at/before 100k)

some thoughts:

Maybe a brake caliper(or calipers) is/are dragging?
Maybe a bearing is bad, causing resistance?
Tire inflation?
Reset trip meter at each tank to get a new reading?

I wouldn't care if I got at least 15 in town as I knew going in this wasn't an Eco vehicle and don't drive many miles a day to make it matter financially (our '99 4R gets the best mileage of all the vehicles I've ever owned LOL!).
But 11 is embarrassingly low, must be something out of wack.

 

[02SE]

Do you start it and let it idle to warm up before driving? that will definitely lower your average MPG.

It's been winter, and even SF can get cold. Cold weather and short trips is about the worst scenario for good MPG.

Is the gas you're buying the typical 10% Ethanol, or an even higher percentage? That will hurt MPG.