Hwy MPG (Post Service Update)

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If I drive like an egg is on the gas pedal .. keep cruise off .. and speed & RPMs low ... I get very good mileage

Anything else will destroy my mileage. You can play with various transmission modes, as some have indicated in other threads, and see what happens on hills and etc.
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That's exactly right...

 

For comparison sake, this 4.7L 4runner I bought last week just got back from a roundtrip Denver to Yampa. Filled up at the Safeway gas station with 85 octane, 350.5 miles later I filled up at the same gas station - 17.219g=20.35mpg.

4530lb curb weight, full-time 4WD, A750F 5spd autotrans, maybe 600lbs of passengers&cargo, 10 miles of 4LO, stock 265/60/18 Michelin LTX's.

I put Amsoil synthetic

$28 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90 in the driveline before the trip. I drive pretty hard, I'm in the fastest 2% on any road at any time, which is to say I try to keep up with the fastest traffic but don't get too crazy.

So is this 3.5 any improvement for mpg's over a 320 torque 4.7L? I can probably eek out one more mpg with new sparkplugs and a MAF cleaning from an engine that debuted in 1998.

Toyota has the beautiful 4.6l V8 that could have been put into the Tacoma and it would match or better the 3.5's mpg because of the torque and the low end torque.

They could have easily fit the 4.6 into the Tacoma, hell they fit a 4.7 into a 4runner which has the same size engine bay as a Tacoma.

And, they still couldn't find a way to put a bigger fuel tank in the 2016, still the measly 21 gallon tank. WTF? The little 180" 4Runner has a 23 gallon tank, the Gen 1 Tundra at 218" length has a 26.5 gallon tank.

Sorry, ranting, I had high hopes for the 2016 Tacoma, but seems underwhelming.

 

I had this same thought. I really think it has to do with EPA estimates and government mandated fuel efficiency standards. Automakers want to appear compliant with set standards so they give us smaller displacement engines with the hope we won't "stomp on it". Oh how wrong they are... Give me a big'ole V8 I only have to open halfway to pass someone on the highway, than a medium size V6 I've got to put into the 5000's just to squeeze hp out of. But hey, still got more juice than my last car and it pulls fence posts out of the ground no problem. I just wish I didn't have to drive like an 80 year old to get the EPA estimates....

 

If Toyota would jump on board with the other Truck makers and offer different rear end gears they might sell more.That's where the gas mileage makes a difference.

 

Just over 6k on 4x4 Sport and my last road trip was best MPG to date.

 

I don't understand why people still are actually hoping for a V8 Tacoma. Obviously they know nothing about CAFE regs. Automakers have to meet a fleet average of 54.5 MPG by 2025. That means that the only vehicles that are going to keep a V8 are going to be the full size trucks. I am sure Toyota would love to offer a small V8 in the Tacoma but they simply can' because the EPA has their hands tied.

 

Thanks a lot Obama!

 

CAFE was signed into act by congress in 1975... and the energy independence and security act was an amendment signed into CAFE in 2007 by then president Bush. that was the part that put into place the fuel dependance reductions on consumer vehicles by 2025... furthermore it's original goal date would have been 2017 as the goal was a 20% reduction rate in 10 years. it's date has been pushed back by the senate in 2011 for pragmatic reasons when the epa measurement was changed to a more linear rate and to more accurately apply to diesel exhaust.

its also a large part of why RAM trucks are a brand independent of dodge now. with efficient passenger vehicles, it really taxes the epa average on their larger vehicles who's sales are dependent on towing capacities and fleet sales.

not an obama fan over here... but just an FYI.

 

Sorry, I say that mainly in /sarc, but I appreciated the detailed explanation. I know a bit about the 54.5 CAFE requirements, but not nearly that much!

 

what are you talking about? This rear end has very tall gearing.

Maybe we should join the EU and then be held to their emission standards. I'm tired of America's lackluster emission controls....
jk

holy shit some1 noes wat they are talking about
oh noes

 

Alright, but it's possible the 4.6L V8 in a Tacoma could match the 3.5's mpg numbers. It doesn't matter what size engine is in the truck, all that matters is the mpg's. You're right though, what counts is what the EPA measurements are. The EPA is a bureaucracy with rules set in stone that don't reflect the real world where there's hills, mountains, headwinds, crosswinds, heavy loads, stomping on the gas to pass.

For grins, here are the specs for the 4.6L in a 2016 Double Cab Tundra with 6-ft bed, 4WD. 310hp@5600 rpm, 327 torque@3400 rpm, 14/18/16 mpg EPA estimate, 5415 lb curb weight.

That is 1000 lbs more than the heaviest Tacoma. Yes, the Tundra EPA estimate is about four mpg less than the Tacoma, but a constant 1000 lbs more is a big deal. In the real world I believe people would be getting the same mpg with the 4.6, possibly better.

But 'real world' and 'EPA testing' are completely different things. I didn't make up that 20.35 mpg I posted above with the ancient cast iron block single VVt-i 4.7L. That was real world going up Ike Pass and Vail Pass twice loaded up to about 5200lbs, passing on two lane roads, I can guarantee I was one of the fastest vehicles on the road so I had my foot in it as much as possible. Torque matters.

20.35 mpg is pretty damn good, I bet if the Runner had the 3.5l engine it would not have topped that.

 

Z50KING,,,,,,What I am talking about is other auto makers such as Chevy,GMC and Dodge offer their trucks in different gear ratios.Some people don't haul stuff and enjoy a truck with 3.23 gears for better gas mileage.Moderate towing such as boats and small trailers can get a truck with 3.42 gears and those towing bigger loads can choose the truck with 3.73 gears. My father has a Dodge truck that's has a 8 speed transmission with 3.21 gears that has a tow mode which keeps the RPM's higher and not shifting into the 6,7 and 8th gear. It gets 20-21 mpg with it's big engine and can still haul.Toyota offers one gear ratio only in the Tundra and Tacoma which means either you like it or you don't. Nothing there to choose from.

 

Update. Truck went in for service to check engine performance etc. Yes - the tech also checked trans fluid. Although I never thought this was a significant low trans fluid problem as it never had any of the characteristics illustrated by the many posts on the subject, the tech was thorough and literally poured in an entire quart with the drain open so he could be sure it was topped off (trans cooler solenoid pinned open). He acknowledged that the "low trans fluid" was a common issue in new Tacoma's - I am glad mine was not one of those trucks. He tested it on the freeway and said that the truck was "operating within normal parameters". In the end, it was "less than .5qt low...maybe not even that".

I can see why so many people thought that my original post was about the trans shifting all over due to low trans fluid because so many people post about that - but that never was the case. Mine just did not seem to have the power to shift out of 4th gear on the highway going the speed limit. So what was the culprit? A couple of you guessed pieces of it. It is a combination of altitude, wind and those occasions when I do use the cruise control (add to it the torque characteristics of the 3.5 which does not help). I live at 6200' in one of the windiest areas of the country and the cruise control programming was done by a crack head. Truck will normally hold 5th with the cruise off in the same situations. Is it better with the fluid topped off by what - a quarter of a quart? Maybe...I can't honestly tell. Sometimes I think "yes", sometimes I think that I can't tell any difference.

Tech, service manager and I all had a nice laugh at Toyota and we decided that the solution...if there was to be one...is that Toyota would start making the SC kits again and for the '16's. It sure is a sweet truck for what I need it to do and I am looking forward to the mods already!

Thanks everybody - sure was an interesting first post experience!

Curtis

 

If your tank is the same as my second gen (21.1 gallon) and the fuel gauge is the same...
The low fuel light comes on with 4 gallons in the tank (17 gallons used) and the needle is over the E Line with 3 gallons in the tank (18 gallons used).

 

I put 18.5 into the tank and I stop when it clicks off. The gas light was never on

 

This is pretty accurate for the 2016. I'd say give or take 0.3-0.5 gallons

 

Of course... temperature plays a big role in the area gasoline fills. In my charts of the fuel in the tank at various levels, I have added: +/- 0.5 gal.

 

Where was the gauge needle when you put 18.5 in the tank? If it was already on E, then your warning light has failed you... warranty!

 

The tanks underground stay around 60 degrees F. There isn't a large difference in the gas volume in different temperatures

I don't remember but I wasn't worried about it.