Bad gas milage....help

I just bought a 2015 Tacoma TRD Off Road. I drive like an old guy never really getting the RPMs over 3k. At least 90% of my driving is interstate with the cruise control set at 75. There are no mods or anything done to the truck and it only has 3200 miles on it. The problem is that I'm only getting 16.5mpg, that's way off from what I figured I'd be getting. Any ideas on the cause or what I could do to fix it?

 

I would check tire pressures?

 

75 is too fast for decent MPG, and the cruise control is hurting your mileage also.

Drop down to 65 and see what it does, I bet you hit 19.

 

I'm getting 16.5MPG on my truck with a 3" lift, 33" tires, and Pelfreybilt bumpers, winch, and steel skid plates on board.

Keep in mind a few things impact mileage. Interstate at 75mph is different in southern Arizona compared to here in the Rockies for example. Flat ground at low elevation and driving up over mountain passes at high altitude require different amounts of fuel. Is your interstate driving all flat?

Also as suggested above check tire pressures. Higher pressure usually means better miles. Lower pressure means better ride and slightly lower mileage. Getting the right pressure also prolongs the life of the tires.

As @DCSBFTMFW stated 75mph with cruise control doesn't do well on these Tacomas in my experience. It'll shift between 4th and 5th gear a lot and that kills your mileage.

My cruise to and from work before I did 33" tires, bumpers, etc was an average of 50-70mph with few stop lights. I got like 19.1mpg as an average back then.

 

Where are you? Mountains? Is your area still on winter gas? Checked your tire pressure? Try to stay below 2k rpm. How much weight do you carry?

16.5 isn't far off from what I used to get when I was stock. I could get 17-17.5 with the occasional 20 on a long interstate road trip. Now I'm around 14

 

Is the truck stock or do you have a lift/bigger tires?

Manual transmission or auto? I have a manual and on the highway I keep it in 5th (I have a first gen) and set cruise control to 65mph. And I stay way over in the slow lane, holy hell people in LA drive fast. I never realized I was one of them until I got this truck lol.

 

Check out the highlighted text.

 

Install a scan guage II and learn what the truck 'likes'.

3k RPM isn't it.

 

d'oh, I read it too quickly....

well...my advice still stands, lol

 

consider yourself luck, I only get 13 mpg on my 13 4x4 SBDC...

 

1,200-1,500 is the sweet spot for mileage in my experience. Hard to keep it there though!

All the power is over 2,000 but anything above that kills mileage.

 

we need a 4 banger turbo diesel with a 6 speed standard

 

You mean like everyone on every other continent gets? lol

 

Couple truths for Tacoma trucks.

Poor mileage, particularly at freeway speed.

Cruise control sucks and is not capable of regulating the engine efficiently.

 

Your most likely on winter gas that hurts your mileage. Also keep it under 65 mph. Smooth starts.
Stop and go traffic is your enemy. Sign up on the fuely website and track your mileage and you will see it drop off in the winter and get better in the summer.

 

Getting over 2500rpm is the killer point. 75mph is a fuel waste.

16.5 is pretty average especially considering the way you're driving it. If it makes you feel any better I'm getting about the same lifted with 33" tires but I also don't stomp at green lights and generally drive the speed limit at or around 2k rpm. Aside from that: for a midsize the fuel mileage in these things is awful.

 

How about a 2 speed rear axle?

My little base does fine on the hwy, knocking down high 20s at 70 and under 2k RPM. But of course I have no tow power or low end grunt that deeper gears would help with (I don't need it, just sayin)

 

yeah, but that would make too much sense, right?

 

i like that too

 

Truck is still new. Give it time, it will get better. And what everyone else said.