First truck ever - A 2018 Tacoma, driving tips for MPG?

Hey everyone!

I'm a new Tacoma owner. I have the double-cab, short-bed, TRD Sport 4x4.

At 41 years old, the only other cars I've owned have been Civics and Celicas, so driving this thing is way, way different. It's also the first automatic transmission car I've ever had.

So I know I'm driving it poorly. My "commute" is only about 5 miles, and to work it's about 13 mpg and on the way home, it's more around 19-20. Most of the driving I do is not in this commute, but I think it's where most of my gas actually ends up going.

Right now I've had it for 2000 miles, and it's tank average is 17.8. I'm mentally trying to get that at 18. I feel like if I could just get 18 as a tank average, I'd be golden

I drive myself crazy with stats. And let's face it, just a single mile per gallon will get you more than a gallon out of that tank.

The manual says I should be getting 19 MPG in the city as a low. Is this accurate?

So, do you guys have any tips here? Aside from trying to accelerate slowly, and find the right speeds to coast at, there's gotta be a way to pull more than 17.8 MPG as a tank average.

I've heard driving it in S4 is good for gas? I never mess with the S unless I'm towing the trailer.

I dunno- any tips would be greatly appreciated. And of course, I am also scouring these forums

 

Not much savings involved with a pickup truck....

 

Lots of factors involved... tires, driving style, etc etc. I wouldn't drive yourself crazy, that's still better than some people get. And.... you're right. It's not a Celica. It's a truck. It's much more thirsty than a smaller car would be. There are compromises we make to have a truck. Unfortunately mpg is one of them.

 

True that

 

I think I just felt like, hey, if they're advertising 19 MPG and I'm shy of that, I wonder if there's something I can change about the way I drive the thing.

 

I just got 900 miles on my 2019 TRDPro and the gas mileage is a lot worse than my previous 4 runner. WTF? Daily commute averages low 16’s .On a weekend trip of about 400 miles I averaged 18.2 mpg.. pathetic. I am running 35 psi in tires. Does anyone know if this will improve? Tried ect on or off..no difference.

 

I'm not even really sure what ECT does. Or really any of those other bells and whistles. 18.2 for a long drive does seem low, though, I think I got around 23-24 for a trip from SF to Fresno last month.

 

Try not to think about it...and no matter what, don’t keep the mpg screen up on the small display! I’m getting just north of 20 mpg per tank after 7500 miles.

 

Step #1 - drive like you don’t know it’s a truck
Step #2 - mentally convince yourself it’s not a truck
Step #3 - swipe your credit card at the gas station and then stare at the car next to you while you pump
Step #4 - make up a number in your head that you wish you got for mpg
Step #5 - brag on TW that you got this number for mpg
Step #6 - be glad you don’t have a lift and big tires and get 13 mpg

 

I dunno man. I got better mpg in my 2nd gen than my 3rd gen. It came as a surprise. There are a LOT of variables at play that can make a big difference. For example, running 5 miles on flat ground at 35mph is entirely different than 5 miles of up and down hills at 25mph with some stoplights. Short trips will see LOTS of variability in mpg.

Your mpg doesn't sound out of line for these trucks at all.

 

I'd have been happy to see 18.2mpg on long drives. Keeping it under 70mph will provide you with some savings.

 

The best way to save gas with an American truck is to drive a cheap Civic to daily.

If we lived in just about any other place in the world you could buy a Toyota truck with a diesel and get 25 MPG. But those aren't for us.

So get an old 4 cylinder commuter car.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, I appreciate it!

 

If you wanted gas mileage should of bought a Prius. It's a truck with truck gas mileage. Drive it, enjoy it,have fun with it but dont worry about it constantly. I like to drive very spirited and don't give a rats ass about gas mileage. My take on it is we only live once and if I spend an extra 50 bucks a year on an extra tank or 2 of gas it was worth the trade off for the fun I had instead of driving like an old lady.

 

Welcome to TW...Just throw some bigger tires and a lift and drive like hell. By doing this, you won’t expect to get good mpg and it will be justified and your truck will look cool!

 

Welcome!

 

If I knew the gas mileage was going to be this low I would have bought a tundra TRDPro and been happier swiping card at pump twice a week!

 

Welcome!

 

Your commute is so short I bet your engine doesn’t get to full operating temp by the time you get to work. Plus its all city. This will cause horrible gas mileage.

The only advice I can give you is keep your RPM under 1500-2000.

 

Welcome to TW!