Winter MPG
- Thread starter Dalko43
- Start date
Notice how the MPG goes down, then back up...following the trend of worse MPG during winter months and better during summer months?:use:
Here are the overall stats:
View attachment 187801
This just seems really abnormal to me.
An average of 21 mpg?
You regularly get 490 miles out of single tank? I've never gotten anywhere near that amount of range out of a single tank, and I'm a slow driver.
To all posters, thanks for the feedback.
I think with the combination of a change of driving habits (more city versus highway) and the colder weather and winter fuel, my mpg drop makes sense. I'll keep tabs on it and see how it fares as the weather warms up.
USKTog
New member
The graph & info are all hand-calculated from the time I picked up my 4R TEP on 01 Aug 2014 thru present. Winter months, my mpg does drop a bit (as seen by the graph) overall, but my average MPG is indeed 21+.
Abnormal? Perhaps. Real-world data? Absolutely.
fyremanpat
New member
ALL gas contains 10% ethanol.(there are a few stations around that do not have ethanol, but it is not the norm)..not just winter blend. The difference between summer and winter blends is other additives...anti gel, more/less propane, different detergents, etc. To answer your question, YES winter blends do reduce gas mileage.
1engineer
Moderator
No. All gas COULD contain 10% Ethanol but in reality they contain some percentage less than 10%. Just depends on countless parameters.
Update from OP:
Filled up again today, was only able to get 290 miles out of the tank before the fuel light came on.
Hand calculated: 15 mpg.
Granted, I've done pretty much 95% city driving the last few weeks. Still seems pretty low to me. I was not diligent about tracking my mpg last winter, so I have no benchmark for comparison. I'll see if this changes as we head into spring.
Filled up again today, was only able to get 290 miles out of the tank before the fuel light came on.
Hand calculated: 15 mpg.
Granted, I've done pretty much 95% city driving the last few weeks. Still seems pretty low to me. I was not diligent about tracking my mpg last winter, so I have no benchmark for comparison. I'll see if this changes as we head into spring.
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1engineer
Moderator
Your vehicle is no different than any other 4Runner so unless you have serious mechanical problems your driving habits are the only thing different. It's been proven time and time again that you lose about 10% efficiency in the winter.
The guy earlier who posted the 400+ mile on a tank was calculated range, not actual. I normally go 300 miles before filling up. Theoretically I could go 400 based on mpg but why.
Overall on an unmodified 4Runner are going to get between 15-22 mpg during daily driving. It will go as low as 10-12 mpg when towing and as high as 24+ mpg on an interstate going downhill with a tailwind. Anywhere between 15 and 22 is totally normal.
What sticks out to me is that my mpg has been on a steady decline since November. The additional city driving aside, I've only been using 4wd for short periods of time, and I've only started warming up the engine over the last few weeks.
18.5mpg average during the fall to 15mpg averge during the winter just seems a little steep to me, even with the increased daily commutes, winter fuel and colder weather.
If it dips below 15mpg on my next fillup, I think I start looking for a possible issue. If it stays at 15mpg, then I'll just accept the fact that this 4.0L really doesn't like stop-and-go traffic.
18.5mpg average during the fall to 15mpg averge during the winter just seems a little steep to me, even with the increased daily commutes, winter fuel and colder weather.
If it dips below 15mpg on my next fillup, I think I start looking for a possible issue. If it stays at 15mpg, then I'll just accept the fact that this 4.0L really doesn't like stop-and-go traffic.
