Real World MPG with 5th Gen?

[bluecollarjock]

2017 SR5 Premium, 5k miles. All stock. 70% highway and drive very gently. Been getting 14.5 MPG average since day one. Calculated manually as well.

I asked the dealer to look into it but they refused, unless I agreed to pay for diagnostic.

I refused and logged a case with Toyota corporate. The case manager called me back and said the advertised MPG was provided by the government. The government tested their vehicles and blah blah blah.

Long story short, Toyota refused to do anything about it. All I want is for them to check it out. It's a new car and under factory warranty. There is no reason I should pay for diagnostic. The MPG is not as advertised.

I only fill up with Chevron gas before. Then I switched to Costco gas but didn't make any difference.

Any suggestion on how to improve gas mileage? Don't drive it? [emoji4]
Is that lemon law?

I feel your pain. Especially since gas prices in CA are absurd

 

[Magnetic]

I feel your pain.

Especially since gas prices in CA are absurd

I've been driving my 4runner like a grandmother trying and eke out a few extra mpg's.

Cal gas sux and the prices are ridiculous as well... :mad2:

 

[engineeer]

My gas mileage appears to be improving as I add more miles despite also adding more weight.

275/70R17 KO2 E rated
Sliders
Full skids
TruckVault drawers

I estimate I’ve added about 500lb over the stock weight. I’m now at 12,xxx miles and I’m getting the following gas mileage consistently:

City: 13-13.5, used to be 12ish
Hwy: 19-20, used to be 17-18

I am driving a little more conservatively, but not enough to justify the mpg increase I’m seeing.

 

[Tamu8104]

Only a couple of k in but getting low 17s on 265ATs with OEM roof rack and Kuat bike racks. Mostly city driving.

 

[<<<<]

17.4 MPG city driving 95% of the time. 285/75/17 Nitto TGs and steel sliders. Mildly aggressive driving.

 

[dot_tom]

Wheelers T1 and T13 coils
285 KO2's
RCI Sliders
Gobi Roof Rack

HWY - 14-15mpg
City - 12 ish mpg

 

[bluecollarjock]

This thread is depressing for those of us bone stock getting piss poor mileage (that is if the dash is correct), and thrilling for guys who get descent mpg even with bigger tires and/or racks and extra weight. Why would there be so much variance if indeed there is between same dang vehicles?

Maybe I’ll throw on bigger tires :/) not! Hah

 

[bluecollarjock]

Wheelers T1 and T13 coils
285 KO2's
RCI Sliders
Gobi Roof Rack

HWY - 14-15mpg
City - 12 ish mpg

Nice looking rig

 

[RysiuM]

This thread is depressing for those of us bone stock getting piss poor mileage (that is if the dash is correct), and thrilling for guys who get descent mpg even with bigger tires and/or racks and extra weight. Why would there be so much variance if indeed there is between same dang vehicles?

Maybe I’ll throw on bigger tires :/) not! Hah

The answer is short: 50% driving style, 50% driving speed.

 

[anthonyd091]

~16mpg highway, ~13mpg city. 2017 ORP w/ 285/70/17 KO2.

 

[doxiedad]

The answer is short: 50% driving style, 50% driving speed.

Yup. I've noticed that mine doesn't do too bad below about 70MPH. But on long interstate trips where average is closer to 80 MPH just to keep up with traffic the MPG really suffer. Aerodynamics are a *****.

Similarly if i take a highway trip where average is around 60 MPH i've average over 20 MGP for the trip.

 

[RysiuM]

I've been driving my 4runner like a grandmother trying and eke out a few extra mpg's.

Cal gas sux and the prices are ridiculous as well... :mad2:

Thanks God I don't need to commute anymore. Gas here is 5 dollars for a gallon.

 

[doxiedad]

Thanks God I don't need to commute anymore. Gas here is 5 dollars for a gallon.

Ouch I feel for you. Here in SC it's about $2.15/gal right not. That being said I do commute 60 miles a day to work now. Racked up 21K miles first year of owning my 4Runner. That being said I looked into getting something more fuel efficient, but I wouldn't be happy with it, plus the 4Runner will last me well past 200K miles with basic maintenance, so I just pay the gas bill LOL

 

[RysiuM]

Ouch I feel for you. Here in SC it's about $2.15/gal right not. That being said I do commute 60 miles a day to work now. Racked up 21K miles first year of owning my 4Runner. That being said I looked into getting something more fuel efficient, but I wouldn't be happy with it, plus the 4Runner will last me well past 200K miles with basic maintenance, so I just pay the gas bill LOL

Giving my annual mileage is 2.5k per year the gas costs me only 50 bucks a month, that is still 4 times less what I used to pay commuting in CA. So I don't complain. 4Runner is a fantastic truck. It's not a Prius, it's not a Ferrari, just solid true SUV that gets me anywhere I want any time I want with great comfort and confidence.

 

[axisbogner]

This thread is depressing for those of us bone stock getting piss poor mileage (that is if the dash is correct), and thrilling for guys who get descent mpg even with bigger tires and/or racks and extra weight. Why would there be so much variance if indeed there is between same dang vehicles?

Maybe I’ll throw on bigger tires :/) not! Hah

I've noticed that the dash gas mileage is not correct for me when doing manual calculations. I was getting better mileage than the dash reported. The difference was about 2 MPH when I was doing this.

 

[bluecollarjock]

I've noticed that the dash gas mileage is not correct for me when doing manual calculations. I was getting better mileage than the dash reported. The difference was about 2 MPH when I was doing this.

That would make me feel a bit better. Gonna run tank down until light comes on then refill, record how much it takes ....drive until light comes on again, do math. Sound right for doing it old fashioned way? If I get 2mpg better that’s more in ballpark of everyone else (14.9 up to 16.9). Granted I guess at 16k miles I never hit the mpg reset and 14.9 for 98% LA side street traffic might not be that bad.

 

[RysiuM]

That would make me feel a bit better. Gonna run tank down until light comes on then refill, record how much it takes ....drive until light comes on again, do math. Sound right for doing it old fashioned way?

The best way is:
1. Fuel up to the top. Zero the A trip.
2. Drive till you get less than 1/4 and fuel up to the top.
3. Read the A trip and how much fuel you put.
4. Do the math.

At the step 1 you may reset the computer's mpg (read the manual how to do it). Then at step 4 you can compare the computer with your math.

 

[axisbogner]

That would make me feel a bit better. Gonna run tank down until light comes on then refill, record how much it takes ....drive until light comes on again, do math. Sound right for doing it old fashioned way? If I get 2mpg better that’s more in ballpark of everyone else (14.9 up to 16.9). Granted I guess at 16k miles I never hit the mpg reset and 14.9 for 98% LA side street traffic might not be that bad.

So you're in California too. When filling the gas here, I NEVER get a full tank without significant effort because of the gas vapor recovery boot at all of our stations. This is an important point, because you cannot properly calculate your gas mileage if you're not filling the tank to the top. The California gas stations always stop my gas flow approximately 2 gallons before it's actually full. I spend an extra few minutes every fill up to actually go to the top. Remember that our 5th gen has a 23 gallon stock tank which you'd never realize if you just stop when the pump says stop. I ignore it and fill to the top, then properly calculate mileage.

My guess is that some of our MPG discrepancies here are from both dash panel MPG errors and manual miscalculations from an unfull tank. Of course we'll always have differences due to rig config and driving habits.

 

[bluecollarjock]

So you're in California too. When filling the gas here, I NEVER get a full tank without significant effort because of the gas vapor recovery boot at all of our stations. This is an important point, because you cannot properly calculate your gas mileage if you're not filling the tank to the top. The California gas stations always stop my gas flow approximately 2 gallons before it's actually full. I spend an extra few minutes every fill up to actually go to the top. Remember that our 5th gen has a 23 gallon stock tank which you'd never realize if you just stop when the pump says stop. I ignore it and fill to the top, then properly calculate mileage.

My guess is that some of our MPG discrepancies here are from both dash panel MPG errors and manual miscalculations from an unfull tank. Of course we'll always have differences due to rig config and driving habits.

I had no idea the pumps do that....and elsewhere in past I read it was bad to keep pumping after it shut off, not to force it to be entirely full. Whatever “bad” meant I don’t recall.

BUT good news is if we do RysiuM’s strategy will it be a factor? Just pump until it shuts off??? Or “Force” whatever extra we can after auto shut off?

As long as I live in LA my mpg probably won’t be so hot. And I got the 4runner for reliability long term and eventually off road capability after it gets a little older. Not gonna beat on it until it is higher mileage. And I like it, but compared to say a Chevy half ton or even a Colorado, the lack of power and lack of fuel efficiency is a downer. As legit as Toyota engineering seems to be why can’t they make an engine that has some balls and gets better gas mileage ? My dads Silverado 4x4 with a 5.3 routinely got 21mpg Hwy and had 300+horses, now he has a Colorado that I think has 300 HP and 20+mpg. I’m not gonna be in the market for a new 4x4 anytime soon, but imagine if Toyota had a 4runner or Taco that had a V8 or juiced up 6 with good mpg, and Could
Maintain reliability, it would be an easy sell.

 

[RysiuM]

Early pump shut off is not a factor as long as you do the same routine. Some pumps would shut at random but then you need to pump slower. And do not over top-off or you may flood charcoal canister - expensive thing.

Now regarding poor fuel economy of this engine, this is the price to pay for reliability. This is low compression oversized motor that is not among the most efficient engines on the market but unlike high performance engines it can do easy 500k miles and more. Try to beat that.