Tacoma Fuel Economy

My average is 18 and best highway average is 19.9 on a recent road trip. I live in the mountains so half the time I get about 100 miles/gal (downhill) and the other about 1 (uphill). I have the 4.0 and a 6 speed manual. I also have 265/75/16 tires and the numbers above don't account for the 2-3% error in odometer reading with bigger tires.

If you haven't found it yet, http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tacoma will take you to a useful site where you can see the average of over 150 Tacos and track your own mileage.

 

3.4L V6 My city average is 16-18 and my highway average is 20-22.

 

Mine's an 02 4-banger auto. I conducted the old wholly unscientific tailgate test. I didn't really get any measurable difference, 16-19mpg. That pedal on the right is too easy to mash so my lead foot probably didn't help. Although, leaving the gate down resulted in the first instant tailgate removal. Since its replacement has also met its untimely demise, I have been gateless for some time. Resulting mileage: 21-22! Granted the amount of variables between these results render my findings irrelevant.

 

Drove mostly on the freeway. 27-28-29 ish MPG. With a turbo
Changed the stock blue injectors for the pink ones and i just zeroed out the fuel trims the best i could.

 

I drive pretty much all city, and rarely go any faster than about 45 mph. Somehow, I'm getting 13 MPG, and I don't have a lead foot. I know this thing has 140 K miles, it's an 02 4WD model with the 3.4 V6, but DANG?! I just installed a new air filter, and the oil still looks like honey. Is there something else, besides fresh spark plugs? Is this common? I haven't read many posts, I'm new to this forum.

 

If you haven't changed the plugs or fuel filter in awhile, that could be the problem. BTW, welcome to TW. Lots of good people and info on this site.

 

Thank you! I just put sea foam in the tank, and plan on some new plugs later today. Where is the fuel filter on these trucks? Is it in the tank with pump? How hard is it to change? What have you guys been using for plugs? Last time I bought plugs was forever and a day ago. I saw where Bosch has plug with 4 electrodes now. Are those as "Snake oily" as the old splitfires?

 

Someone with a 1st gen will have to confirm this, but I believe the fuel filter on your truck is on the driver's side frame rail. I would use Denso or NGK plugs if it were my truck, but that's just me.

 

It really all depends on how you drive. I have a 09 double cab 4xd V6 and i average 18 MPG. My dad drove it for a week long road trip and said he averaged around 21. I drive fast my dad does not go over the speed limit (70 in CA). I probably average 80 when driving and figure that makes up the difference in MPG.

 

Well, I tried really hard to be light footed, and got the same economy. I've got a bottle of Sea Foam running though it now, and I plan to pick up some fresh plugs this afternoon. Then I'll try again, see what happens. I was just plain spoiled rotten with my last car, a 1.8 turbo had all the power I wanted with the efficiency I needed.

 

I posted here 4 months ago with an average of 17+.
Now with over 7k on the clock my average is now over 20 for the last 4 tanks. (20.77 best and going up)

Now it has cooled off some and I'm not using the AC as much.
I'm very Happy!

Yuma Taco,

 

Well, this tank I used the 89 octane mid grade, and a bottle of sea foam. So far, it seems to idle just a bit better. With a little under half a tank left, I have 143 mile on the trip o.d. Hopefully, I can break this 13 mpg cycle with this next tank.

 

I just round "Tripped" ..NH to Buffalo,NY.1047 miles and avg'd 21 mpg at 70 mph avg...with 4 stops ( 3 for the Tacoma and one for my daughter)
went out empty but the ride back was "LOADED" ( bed and extra cab,plus tool box )....Truck did not even "blink",set the cruise and away we go (plus the ride home was in the rain;note to self,ad cargo net and HID's to "MOD" list )

My Tacoma is an '02 4x4,2.7 (4 cyl)w/ automatic and the only engine "mod" besides regular service is a K&N drop in air filter....
For those keeping track ..87 Octane fuel also..always have always will

This truck just gets better and it is not even "broken " in,just turned 48k......200k left to go...

S

 

The highest I've ever recorded on my V6 Prerunner was 21.8mpg driving to College Station from Fort Worth late at night. No stops. I fueled up at a Shell before leaving and came got back in town with a bit over 1/2 a tank left. 93 octane fuel.

Driving at night seems to leave better fuel milage as the weather conditions are calmer. Going to Ft Worth saw a fuel efficiency of ~17-18mpg due to all the wind/rain.

 

09 dc 4x4 getting 22.8 with light foot. had a 03 reg cab 2wd 5 speed 2.4 that was 41.2

 

18.05 last tank, they must have switched to winter gas. Oh Yeah.

 

Mine's gone down a bit recently too. I think you're right.

 

What kind of driving pattern do you see? If you have a short drive to work, that will hurt mileage. Worst mileage is right after startup due to cold enrichment. If that's a big portion of your driving, mileage will be lower.

Come to think of that, if your thermostat is stuck open and results in slow warmup or the engine never comes to temperature, that will result in more cold enrichment and could also affect mileage. So, in addition to stuff already mentioned (basically engine tune - plugs and filters) also make sure the thermostat is OK.

Oh, and are you trying really hard to be light footed or actually succeeding.

 

Yes, I have a very short drive to work. It's only about 3 miles away! I thought of that too, in addition to the fact that I never go any faster than 40 mph on the way there, lots of stopping and going. I knew that would hurt economy, but my concern grew when it got the same economy whether I was towing a 2,000 lb trailer or not! It didn't seem to matter how I drove either, just got 13 mpg regardless. High speed, low speed, longer trips, etc... no matter what, same crap.

Well, last night I took a little road trip to the next town over(bout 50 miles away). Well, on the interstate I cruised about 75+. We took the hwy home, so top speed was in the mid 60s. There's 170+ miles on the trip OD, and almost half a tank left! I'm so pleased! I sea foamed the fuel tank, and intake, replaced the plugs, and air filter, changed the oil and oil filter. It felt peppier, but was still getting crap economy. Last night, it finally did what I hoped.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

P.S. I'm pretty sure my thermostat is ok, the engine gets up to operating temps in reasonable time, so I'm pretty sure it's ok.

 

OK then, here's what you're up against. I just ran to the grocery and since I now have a Scanguage II, I checked mileage. (Note, I'm still on the first tank of gas since this addition so fuel flow has not been calibrated. My numbers may not be precise, but they should be comparable to each other.) It's just a bit over 8 miles, but it is well worth the trip it as they have great produce.

At three miles from home - first trip of the day - the truck is just reaching operating temperature of ~185° F. Trip mileage at that point is about 14 mpg. The rest of the tip it rises to nearly 19 mpg. On the trip home, starting with a warm engine, transmission, etc. I achieve nearly 27 mpg. This is at an ambient temp of 55°, but the difference between 55° and 185° vs 30° or 70° to 185° just isn't that great.

So... I'm going to say that a 3 mile typical drive has a huge impact on your fuel mileage. In fact, I think most manufacturers would classify that as severe duty and you should consider scheduling maintenance accordingly. Those short trips allow moisture to build up in the engine oil that would ordinarily be driven off during longer trips.