WTF - falling gas mileage...

[mtbnole]

on first - fourth fillups!! mileage is getting worse, with more highway driving. I got about 17 mpg on the first tank maybe 50/50 driving. Then 21.5 all highway, and about 20 90%highway10%city. Last tank I got 17.5 all highway. What gives? On the last tank i was doing 79, with 3 people, 75lbs of dogs, and maybe 400lbs of stuff. previous all ghighway tank was same at 74mph, with maybe 150lbs of stuff. Does that sound reasonable?

I was concerned about driving 600 miles on the highway with only 200 miles on the truck, could this affect anything?

I was so exciting to get 21.5 on the highway with the truck being so new....

 

[philsey]

Same for me ... got 22 on an early trip. Then it just stayed at 16.9 for a long time, never changed.

Try resetting it, worked for me. Got 22.1 on a recent trip driving 72 mph.

I have noticed driving (a brick) into the wind has ~2-3 mpg effect on the hwy.

 

[mtbnole]

reset mpg every time, need to calculate from gas receipts for true mileage, but it was correct on first 2 fillups. I think i did have a head-wind on the last leg of the trip....

 

[Quentin]

In general, slowing down will help. Drag is a function of the square of velocity. Headwind can have a huge impact on mpg, as well.

 

[philsey]

On a long drive last weekend, I experimented by slowing from 72 to 65 for 1/2 hr., with only .3 mpg improvement. Wish now I had tried 60 mph.

 

[Antman]

My mileage varies greatly with the brand of gas I use, more specifically "no-name" gas, like from 7-11, nets me 3-4 less MPG on average. I haven't figured out if the cost/gallon savings is worth it. To me, range is more important than saving a few bucks @ fillup if that makes sense. Just my 2centsworth.

 

[Falls]

I noticed mine going up as the truck is getting more miles on it , it's also getting quieter as far as the drive train drivetrain ect.... give it time . I panic right away but all is good for me now and will get better .

Well until the lift and bigger tires go on , then ................ ????

 

[DEKA3]

Driving in NYC, I average 13 miles per gallon (both city & hwy driving) for the past 8 months since I got the truck. I have used 89 octane, 91 octane and even 93 octane with the same results. I know that city driving kills your mpg, but this is where I miss my Matrix. Still though, wouldnt trade my 4R for anything!

 

[fraggy]

Terrain Makes A Big Difference In Milage

I have noticed a substantial difference in gas milage when driving at highway speeds on flat terrain verses mountains and actual speed above 55mph. Drive 55 on flat terrain and you will get great milage.(20+). Drive 70 on moutain roads and you will be as low as 17. That may be a factor in many of the milage differences posted.

 

[Antman]

Driving in NYC, I average 13 miles per gallon (both city & hwy driving) for the past 8 months since I got the truck. I have used 89 octane, 91 octane and even 93 octane with the same results. I know that city driving kills your mpg, but this is where I miss my Matrix. Still though, wouldnt trade my 4R for anything!

I get more than 13 while towing my boat uphill in a headwind!! You must have a heavy foot to get that kind of mileage..

 

[DEKA3]

I get more than 13 while towing my boat uphill in a headwind!! You must have a heavy foot to get that kind of mileage..

Actually, I drive very conservatively. I even adjusted my driving to where the ECO light is on most of the time while I am moving. Wish I had better mpg!

 

[Jtraskell]

Actually, I drive very conservatively. I even adjusted my driving to where the ECO light is on most of the time while I am moving. Wish I had better mpg!

elias, I am in my 50's, so my lead foot has left me long ago. I am NOT trying to get good mpg's, but I am getting 17 to 19 all day long no matter what I am doing. Something seems amiss in your 4runner world my friend. Get it checked soon.

 

[NYRunner]

Nope- nothing's wrong with your 'Runner. Whenever I'm in the constant stop and start traffic with the long idle times that are inevitable in NYC during regular commuting hours my mileage blows too~ and the key to what you said is

"while I am moving"

Most of the time I'm not in the city, and I DO try to maximize the MPG I get. I use cruise control as much as possible, and make it a challenge to myself to see how high I can keep it from tank to tank. Sometimes I win~ sometimes not :lookout: :lmao:

I've been able to keep my whole tank averages well over 20 at times even with the occasional pedal-mashing, but starts and stops every 50 feet (if you're lucky :rant and sitting at idle in traffic drop that verrry quickly. After 16,000+ miles, staying under 1500 RPM as much as possible and not accelerating from a standstill when you can maintain momentum (such as slow rolling to lights until they turn green) seem to make the biggest difference...

45MPH or so seems to be a sweet spot where I can average around 24, so I'm realllly hoping Toyota gives us a 6-speed at some point, which should give us another sweet spot closer to 65........

 

[AustinCyclist]

Has anyone validated how accurate the mileage indicator is? Ie.. the old fashion way of checking miles and gallons of gas at the fillup? My dad did this on his new corolla and said the indicator was 2mpg off.. saying he was getting 36 or something (resetting it each time along with trip odo).. and his avg "actual" was more like 34 or something..

 

[NYRunner]

Not religously, but when I do check it manually it's been within 1/2 a mpg either way

 

[DEKA3]

Has anyone validated how accurate the mileage indicator is? Ie.. the old fashion way of checking miles and gallons of gas at the fillup? My dad did this on his new corolla and said the indicator was 2mpg off.. saying he was getting 36 or something (resetting it each time along with trip odo).. and his avg "actual" was more like 34 or something..

I check this at least twice a month, and according to my notes, the biggest difference between my calculations and the indicator was .3 miles. Again, these are the calculations I have...YMMV. As for NYRunners post, its NYC. Nothing can be done about red lights, stop signs & stop and go traffic. My average speed is about 35 MPH throughout my daily journeys. I cross a bridge twice a day (speed restrictions and tolls kill your mileage) and get caught at many red lights. Add NYC traffic and TA DAAHH... you get 13MPG! :roadkill:

 

[Froglips]

Just completed a 6,100 mile trip - Atlanta to San Franscisco to San Diego via Nebraska and returning through southern Utah to Nebraska and back to Atlanta. Overall mpg was 23.0 (calculated on total miles divided by total fuel for the entire trip). Highest fill-ups were 25.7, 24.7, and 24.7 - lowest were 19.4, 20.4 and 20.9 - that 19.4 was in a significant wind going across Wyoming and the other lows were in a cross wind in Kansas.

On a previous 3600 mile trip, the on-board computer agreed within a tenth or two mpg versus the calculated. Really depends on how many times you bump the gas nozzle when filling the tank. I did not check the on-board computer versus calculated on the last cross country trip.

 

[supralight]

Just completed a 6,100 mile trip - Atlanta to San Franscisco to San Diego via Nebraska and returning through southern Utah to Nebraska and back to Atlanta. Overall mpg was 23.0 (calculated on total miles divided by total fuel for the entire trip). Highest fill-ups were 25.7, 24.7, and 24.7 - lowest were 19.4, 20.4 and 20.9 - that 19.4 was in a significant wind going across Wyoming and the other lows were in a cross wind in Kansas.

On a previous 3600 mile trip, the on-board computer agreed within a tenth or two mpg versus the calculated. Really depends on how many times you bump the gas nozzle when filling the tank. I did not check the on-board computer versus calculated on the last cross country trip.

at what speed were you cruising on HWY to do that kind of mileage?

 

[Froglips]

at wat speed were you cruising on HWY to do that kind of mileage?

Mostlly 72 to 74 (70 limit) with some at 82 (some "test" limit of 80 in Utah I think). I'm one of those just retired farts that cruises at a couple of mph over the posted limit. About 2/3's of the time we used A/C. This trip was on Castrol Edge 0W20 and I started with an odometer of about 15K. My previous cross country trip, I averaged 23.8 mpg overall for about 3600 miles on Mobile 1 (OW20) beginning at an odometer of about 5K miles. I frankly do not draw any conclusions on the difference because of the different times of the year and some obvious head wind and cross wind differences. Winter fuel (higher ethanol content) may also play a role.

 

[NYRunner]

I hear ya Elias~ I was just letting everyone else not from around here know that those mpg's weren't unusual *here* though living most other places I'd have to agree that 13 mpg would be justify an immediate visit to my dealer's service center!

And supralight~ don't forget that froglips has a 2WD. Expect to get in the area of a 2-4 mpg drop from those figures for 4WD models, whether part-time or the full-time in Limited...