Lousey Gas Mileage

Always think it's funny when people think the speed limit is the speed minimum.

 

Going the speed limit around my parts is not only dangerous considering the post speed limits are set wayyy too low, but will get your run off the road as well.

 

The most cost-effective upgrade is a trade-in for a 4cyl

 

For what it's worth I owned a MY12 that got better mpgs then the MY13 I drive today.

Exact same truck except the '12 was black

 

See if you can pull up the actual EPA tests for your year of truck. See what MPH they drove the truck at.

People think hwy speeds mean 70+ mph, it doesn't. I've not seen the EPA tests for the Tacoma, but I have for the redesign F150. The hwy tests for their engines were done at an average speed of around 47mph. What makes it a hwy test, is just no stopping, just slowing down and speeding up.

The faster you drive, the lower your MPGs will be. You can't honestly expect to haul down a highway at 70mph and not see a drop in mileage.

18mpgs are very good. When I take my Tacoma on road trips at 75mph with wind, and maybe my Softopper on, I get 15-16mpgs. If no wind and perfect sunny day, I get around 18. Day to day I get 20ish. But day to day I don't rev my engine over 1500rpms and I don't drive over 60-65mph. PS I also have 265/70/17 tires and TRD Pro Wheels.

I don't really get frustrated with this truck with over all mileage, where I do get frustrated is that the truck is so temperamental about it. My F250 gets 14mpgs pretty much consistently no matter what, city, hwy, drive fast, drive slow, wind, rain etc. Where it makes a difference is hooking up a trailer more than a couple thousand pounds. The beast engine can handle just about anything within normal range so very little fluctuations. I feel like you go to the grocery store in the Taco my average MPGs will drop lol. I think the engine could be a lot more efficient and the trans could use 3 more gears (8 speed). I'm very excited to go out and test the next 10 speed trans on the new 150s. I can't believe it's taken people this long to figure out how to do better gearing in trucks. I think the Tacoma would greatly benefit from this technology. The gearing blows, so the engine is constantly overworked with anything outside of normal conditions. You also GUZZLE gas to get out of overdrive.

 

I didn't read any of the responses here. No need. Your mpgs are normal, nothing to be done.

 

I notice a similar drop going from my 2012 to a 2015. I chalk it up to the fact the 15 is 4x4 and has a camper shell.

 

Not going to help much. My '13 Prerunner averages about 20.5 when I drive the speed limit. My average took a hit a year ago when I went from factory Dunlops 245/75s on steel wheels to a set of TRD ORs with 265/70 Firestone Destination LE2s. Tire/wheel weight went up almost 10lbs. Dropped about 1.5 mpg.

 

The only way to get a mid 20s number is to have a 4 cyl 5 lug like mine. It's a 20/25 vehicle easy. I understand it's 'lacking' for many of the regulars here, but it's perfect for how I use it.

Sorry to say, if MPG is a critical factor for you, a truck may not be your optimal solution.

 

Yeah. I'm hovering around 15 right now myself, load E ko2 don't seem to help a lot and I'm always hauling stuff. Problem is that I do 75+ mph a lot. I think it got 22 mpg once but it was in an area that I was only able to do 50 mph at most.

I used to care about fuel economy but I'm surrounded by people that are lucky if they can break double digits for mpg. It's a truck, I gave up and not really interested in being slow guy on the right lane everyone passes either

 

Load E KO2's for me as well. I get about 17 on a longggggg highway trip and about 15 putting around the city. Living in philly doesn't help either.

 

Thanks for all the responses.
I am not looking to be the "slow guy" or changing my driving habits. I my not looking to get super high MPGs, I just do not want to lose any that I could be easily getting. My main concern was losing 2+ mpgs going from a 2012 to the 2013 ( in practically identical trucks) and I was wondering if it could be directly attributed to the aftermarket exhaust and larger heavier 18" wheels and tires which are brand new stock Bridgestone Duellers 265 60 R18 inflated to 30 PSI cold. From the responses, it looks like that could definitely be a factor on this fickle truck. Should I increase the pressure? I know that is what is recommended by the door label, but it seems a bit low.
There were no comments in relation to the aftermarket exhaust. It appears to be a slightly smaller exhaust pipe and the muffler itself is definitely smaller than stock one and it does not sound as nice as the original one.
I have a set of 17" alloys I could swap out, if it was going to make a difference. If I knew that putting the exhaust back to stock or something even better then I would be more likely to do that sooner rather than later.
Thanks again.

 

I get 20mpg at 70mph on the freeway, but to keep up I only get 18.5mpg at 75mph. Just stay out of the gas and you're golden.

 

Last fill up was 11.2 I'm thinking Lemon law

 

When I take the 330 mile trip to lake havasu from southern california, I get about 17-18 mpg highway. I keep up with traffic and do 80 mph. In the city, I get about 15 mpg. I have an 09 double cab long bed. Small lift, bfg all terrain ta k0, and a family of 4 inside, plus luggage in the bed and a 500 pound atv. I was impressed with the mpg, it's a truck. My full size 04 silverado crew cab lt 4x4 with the 5.3 and 4l60e got 12 city and 15.5 highway....

 

Gas is mixed differently for the winter. In the summer, little old man style, I get 20 why, 17 avg. Winter Mix fuel (northern Ohio) i'm lucky to see 18. Speed is definitely a big deal in the taco. As everyone says anything above 67mph and you are gonna see 16

 

For the tacomas, I think the consensus on the forum is there are three major influences to mpg in your control... tires, lift and driving habits. Wider, heavier tires = less mpg. Same is true with the lift kits. Keeping the rpms < 2k and speedometer < 70mph yields increases in fuel economy yields the best results. And unlike factors 1 and 2, changing your driving habits is FREE.

 

Yup the skinny pedal is a big factor...