loss of MPG

Hello -

I own an 04 Tacoma SR5 double cab. It only has 182,000. It has always gotten around 17 mpg combined. I recently had an accident with a deer resulting in the radiator, grill, hood, fan and fan clutch needing to be replaced as well as other cosmetic parts.) On the first real outing the MPG has dropped to around 10 mpg. Would having to replace any of the components have caused this?

 

Everything stock other then the cosmetic repairs you just had done? I honestly have no idea how that would cause loss in mpg

 

Thanks for responding skunkman17.

 

No problemo, you got any more info?

 

Just how are you figuring your miles per gallon?

Did the deer Bounce off and run away ??

Did you drive over the deer ?

Possible your gas tank got a nice dent but is not leaking??

Front End aligned and Front tires not dragging

 

Do your brakes feel the same as they did before the crash? For that dramatic of a drop, I would think you should be: noticing a difference in engine performance and/or have a check engine light on; feel a difference in the way the truck drives, meaning steering, braking, coasting, etc.

Nothing odd since you got it back?

 

Check your air filter for deer parts.

 

miles/gallons
Deer bounced off and skidded down the Hiway
did not run away-Hiway Patrol shot it
Possible dent - I will look
No dragging
Alignment seems to be true
have had tires rotated and balanced
Getting alignment serviced this week

 

Air filter is clean and clear

 

What's it idling at? (RPMs)

 

Tamale63,

Wow, you certainly have done your homework as far as getting your Tacoma up and running again. You might of taken on a vacuum leak with your recent deer collision. I would check the MAF system extensively looking for anything out of the ordinary. This is not related to your collision, but have you checked your fuel filter recently. They need to be replaced about every two or four years. These are the only things I can think of right on the top of my head that could be the culprit for your bad gas mileage, but then again I am not very smart.

Good Luck,
Paul

 

I hope if you had any gasoline leaks you could smell things.

How many tanks of gas have you used to come up with your mileage??

My normal is between 10 and 12 mpg no matter what so I just live with it

 

Did you check your aerodynamics?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyxqTYlW1FM

 

Did you replace the fan clutch with a brand new one? A fan clutch can fail in 2 ways. It can either fail to lock up properly or fail to unlock. If the fan clutch stays locked up all the time, it will kill your mpg.

 

@Timmah! , could please elaborate about how the fan clutch staying locked up will kill the mpg on these trucks. Does this put more "drag" on the engine. just curious, and trying to wrap my head around this.

 

I'm not Timmah but if the pulley on that fan clutch is locked and the belt is driving it when it doesn't need to means the motor is driving that fan at highway speeds and that drag is what kills your better highway mpg

 

My first thought, at reading which parts were replaced, tagged the fan clutch as the culprit.
But @Timmah! and @cruiserguy called it out first.
Radiator fans before fan clutches were a huge economy killer; then came the "flex fan", which help very little; now we have the clutched fan. (fyi, the fan is not needed over 40 mph.)

 

Yes, it puts more drag on the engine. A fan clutch is a temperature actuated device. When the tempersture of your engine rises to the magic level, a temperature sensitive spring will elongate and open up fluid channels in the fan clutch and it will lock up. It may look like the fan clutch is always turning one for one with the rpms of the engine but it's not. It's only when the fan clutch locks up that it's turning at the same speed as the engine. When it's fully locked up, there is more drag on the engine just like there's more drag when you turn your AC on because now you're turning the AC compressor. If you want to learn more, just do a search for how a fan clutch works.

 

Clicks- the RPM is right around 700 when idling

 

Sorry that should have been Clucky