What kind of mpg?

[woj]

wha should i be expectting out of my 97? i have the 3.4. it has 126,000 miles on it. it doesn't seem to get many mpg in city but highway it is alot better. usually it only differs slightly. what size tank come in 97? i filled up and zeroed it out and only got 288 miles before gas light came on.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

288 is very good with the fuel light just coming on. My mom drives conservativley in her '99 and with just city driving she she's about 280 a tank which ends up being about 18mpg and she gets about 22 on the hwy.

I'm a bit heavy footed and like to accelerate and I have a larger tires which are heavier and I get 15-17 in the city and about 21 on the highway.

The gas tank size is 18 gallons but at fillup you'll most likely squeeze in about 16 and also remember not to overfill the tank since that's bad for the emissions system and can cause problems.

 

[woj]

cool, atleast i know its normal. i drive 150 miles a day for work. i fill up every other day.

 

[p nut]

Don't go by the gas gauge, especially on a 97. They were very unreliable. How many gallons did you put in when you filled up?

I just did some MPG tests on my rig. On my last tank, I did about 90% highway and 10% city. On the highway, I limited my MPH to 66-68. I went 180 miles on 8.097gallons, which means 22.2MPG. I plan to test it with the same conditions throughout this week and next to see if the results are consistent. I have tested it at 70-73 and I averaged around 20MPG. I will see if decreasing the MPH by 2-4 really increases the MPG's by that much.

 

[woj]

Don't go by the gas gauge, especially on a 97. They were very unreliable. How many gallons did you put in when you filled up?

I just did some MPG tests on my rig. On my last tank, I did about 90% highway and 10% city. On the highway, I limited my MPH to 66-68. I went 180 miles on 8.097gallons, which means 22.2MPG. I plan to test it with the same conditions throughout this week and next to see if the results are consistent. I have tested it at 70-73 and I averaged around 20MPG. I will see if decreasing the MPH by 2-4 really increases the MPG's by that much.

i dont remember. next fill-up i'll keep track of amount.

i was hoping to get better mgp from the 4runner then the 97 gmc jimmy i was driving. the fuel gauge was broke on the jimmy. but it had a 4.1 with a 18 gal tank. i could get 350 miles out of a tank of gas. i was hoping to better it with the r4runner with a smaller engine, 3.4. guess i'm wrong?

 

[p nut]

i dont remember. next fill-up i'll keep track of amount.

i was hoping to get better mgp from the 4runner then the 97 gmc jimmy i was driving. the fuel gauge was broke on the jimmy. but it had a 4.1 with a 18 gal tank. i could get 350 miles out of a tank of gas. i was hoping to better it with the r4runner with a smaller engine, 3.4. guess i'm wrong?

Dude, you CANNOT go by miles per tank. Unless you fill it up and run it till empty (as in, you run it till the gas tank is dry and your engine shuts off). Other than that, miles per tank tells you nothing. You have to go by miles per gallon.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Even with all the testing it will show differences but in real world driving conditions and in simple terms it's 15-18 in the city and 20-23 on the highway with 99% of 4Runner drivers.

 

[lohman]

checking mpg

Checked mine the last few tanks, especially since Missouri went to a mandate of 10% Ethanol for all pump gasoline. This should mean less power and worse MPG for most people. I checked the last two tanks, around 235 miles driven 13.5 gallons, comes to 17.4 MPG. Seems like I used to get around 19 - 20 MPG. This is 70 % Highway and 30% City driving on average.

 

[awpsome]

didnt want to start a new thread
but is this right
i live in hawaii pretty much all city driving
im getting about 11.5-12mpg
WTF!?

i have a 97 3.4 sr5 with deckplate, trueflow filter, airaid mit, and borla cat back
ill admit im a little heavy on foot, but i feel even when i try to be conservative i get 230 a tank at the most. lately its been 200-210miles per tank

this sucks... something wrong? or is it just the way it is?

 

[JohnsD90]

I got 18.6 in the tank, very sketchy!

i get anywhere from 18-21
v6 5speed

 

[Qyota]

didnt want to start a new thread
but is this right
i live in hawaii pretty much all city driving
im getting about 11.5-12mpg
WTF!?

i have a 97 3.4 sr5 with deckplate, trueflow filter, airaid mit, and borla cat back
ill admit im a little heavy on foot, but i feel even when i try to be conservative i get 230 a tank at the most. lately its been 200-210miles per tank

this sucks... something wrong? or is it just the way it is?

City driving with a "little heavy foot" sounds about right. By "per tank" do you mean when the light comes on? If so, you probably still have ~5 gallons in the tank (I do anyway).

 

[Martinjmpr]

We already have an MPG thread but I'll echo what the group here says: Expect 15-18 mpg in city stop-and-go driving. 280 to the light sounds about right. Actually, 280 until the light comes on is pretty good. Do you have a manual transmission? From what I've seen the MT will give you 1.5 - 3 mpg over the automatic.

Besides, your MPG might not be as bad as you think, because its likely that your odometer is not accurate.

You can figure out your odometer error so you are calculating your actual MPG. Here's how:

If you have a GPS, next time you go on a long drive (the longer the better), reset the tripmeter on your GPS at the same time you set the tripmeter on your truck (I use tripmeter A for gas and B for whatever else I need. IIRC your 97 only has the analog odometer which means you only have one trip meter.)

Then drive for several hundred miles, making sure the GPS is on the entire time. Keep track of the difference between what the GPS shows and what the trip meter shows. Depending on your tire diameter and other factors, your trip meter is probably off.

Since the GPS is based on satellite signals, it can be considered more accurate than the mechanical odometer on your vehicle. This is particularly true if you are running aftermarket tires and/or wheels since they are likely of a different diameter than the ones that came on the vehicle from the factory.

When you calculate the difference between the two, you will know how to multiply your tripmeter mileage to calculate your actual miles driven.

Say you drive 300 miles (on the GPS) and your odometer indicates that you drove 285 miles. Now divide the GPS mileage by the Odometer mileage: 300 / 285 = 1.052. That is your odometer error (your odometer understates your mileage by 5.2%.)

For example, on my '99 with 265/75/16s, the miles on the odometer are understated by 2.5%. So, lets say I drive until the low fuel light comes on, and it shows 256 miles. I multiply 256 x 1.025 and that gives me 262.4. That represents the actual number of miles driven. If it takes 15.7 gallons (I've noticed the low fuel light comes on with at least 3 gallons left in the 18.5 gallon tank) that's 16.71 MPG. If I had not corrected the error and figured the MPG based on the miles shown on the odometer, I would have calculated 16.3 MPG.

 

[p nut]

Martin - I have to disagree on the mpg between MT and AT. I have gotten an avg of 21mpg from 3.4L autos on the freeway. I absolutely cannot see a MT getting any better than that. Plus the 5MT will usually churn higher rpm's at the same speed.

 

[longhaul747]

I drive very conservatively to help save fuel and work mostly nights so not a lot of traffic or traffic lights to deal with. My commute is 11 miles each way to work mostly freeway. I have an App on my iPhone that tracks MPG and I average 20 MPG. My lowest was 17 MPG and the highest was 22 MPG. If I drive until the low fuel light comes on its usually 290 to 300 miles and I usually push it to 310 to 325 miles per tank and it takes about 15.5 gallons give or take to fill up. So in theory still a bit of gas left in the tank however one time I did 330 miles and it started to stutter a bit and it only took 15.75 gallons to fill up. So I don't plan to ever push it any more then that.

I also have a handy tool installed called a Scan Gauge. It helps you track fuel economy and range plus several other details. Once you know how to use the device its really helpful in getting every bit of fuel economy out of your vehicle. Sometimes the news can be depressing. For example in the 4Runner for every traffic light I get stopped at it shows a decrease of 3 to 5 miles in range. That is how much fuel you loose by the time you stop and then get back up to speed again. This is barely hitting the gas pedal and not flooring it by any means. So traffic and traffic lights are a real mileage looser in the 4Runner. For the record my Sonata with a 3.3L V6 is not nearly as bad and my wife's Corolla only looses 1 to 2 miles per tank per light. For some reason the 4Runner is really unfriendly in these situations. Must be the extra weight as most fuel lost is getting back up to speed and not idling.

http://www.scangauge.com/

 

[inshore4runner]

how do yall get 280 miles before the light comes on??!? mine comes on at 235 with ect on or off... then i drive 30 or so miles and put 16.5 gallons in... i get about 16 to the gallon. i do mainly city driving though...

 

[Ray.Klefstad]

Mileage will vary with many factors including 4X4 vs 2X4, auto vs manual, ECT vs Norm for auto tranny, large tires vs stock tires, highway vs city, heavy foot vs light foot.

My 4X4 V6 with auto gets 19 MPG highway when I use NORM and 17 when I use ECT. I run the A/C all the time. I'm a little heavy on the foot, but I always try to use Cruise Control when I can on the freeway. There is occasional stop/start traffic too.

Ray

 

[p nut]

16 mpg is about right with 265/75/16's in the city.

 

[JohnsD90]

Martin - I have to disagree on the mpg between MT and AT. I have gotten an avg of 21mpg from 3.4L autos on the freeway. I absolutely cannot see a MT getting any better than that. Plus the 5MT will usually churn higher rpm's at the same speed.

even with the factor that a Auto can do the same in less gears, A 5th gear will lower rpms. A manual transmission on 99% of vehicles will get better gas milage doing the same speeds in the same conditions. I have (v6 5speed 4x4) gotten 21mpg split half and half, while my Aunts 3.4l (4x4 same tire size as me) auto will only churn out 18mpg. Full highway i can probably get 23mpg

 

[p nut]

even with the factor that a Auto can do the same in less gears, A 5th gear will lower rpms. A manual transmission on 99% of vehicles will get better gas milage doing the same speeds in the same conditions. I have (v6 5speed 4x4) gotten 21mpg split half and half, while my Aunts 3.4l (4x4 same tire size as me) auto will only churn out 18mpg. Full highway i can probably get 23mpg

Dude, have you even looked at the gear ratios?? An auto in OD will be at a LOWER rpm than a 5sp, at say, 65mph. Just because a car has more gears doesn't mean they took the original tranny and slapped on another gear.

And I almost laughed at you comparing your aunts car to yours. Are you serious? Even with the same driver and same road conditions, there are many factors that go into calculating mpg, now you're throwing a whole new terrain with a different driver? Yeah, right. And get back to me when your 10,000+ mile mpg averages at 23mpg. I got 23-24 mpg one way, but doesn't mean Jack. Average is where it counts. I don't know of a single person with a 3.4l averaging over 21mpg. Stick or auto.

 

[JohnsD90]

Dude, have you even looked at the gear ratios?? An auto in OD will be at a LOWER rpm than a 5sp, at say, 65mph. Just because a car has more gears doesn't mean they took the original tranny and slapped on another gear.

And I almost laughed at you comparing your aunts car to yours. Are you serious? Even with the same driver and same road conditions, there are many factors that go into calculating mpg, now you're throwing a whole new terrain with a different driver? Yeah, right. And get back to me when your 10,000+ mile mpg averages at 23mpg. I got 23-24 mpg one way, but doesn't mean Jack. Average is where it counts. I don't know of a single person with a 3.4l averaging over 21mpg. Stick or auto.

you cant make the argument either according to you standards. And no shlt, they didnt slap another gear on the original tranny, but a manual tranny will produce better MPG with a decent driver under same conditions, if this weren't the case the manual transmission would be nearly extinct in road vehicles.