Fuel economy when idling 3.5 Tacoma

Not my 2016

 

tacomas dont have start/stop but other makers are using it

 

More info is a good thing. I know for many this isn't relevant but hopefully it helps someone. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who wastes my time replying to things that don't matter to me
OK, here we go with answering a few questions.

I'm 5' 9", so I fold the back seat forward and have a foam mate I made.

Double click is filling until it stops and waiting 30 sec, then pulling it until it clicks. I was doing this to make sure I got an even fill for the test.

I have the mini fridge/freezer for long trips and can't justify spending $300 for a Yeti when I can get a Mini Fridge/freezer. But you do you.

To bad it doesn't have a fan made on the front of the engine to pull air through the radiator. O wait.......

I have a portable power bank, it working great. I was just wanting to know how much it used idling. I plan on doing the same test with a/c running as soon as it warms up.

2018 doesn't for sure, lol.

 

4th gen will probably have this dumb feauture.

If you think about it, for an average driver the savings will be like 5$ a year, if so.

 

You let your truck idle for 6 hours ????? The worst thing you can do to any engine is let it idle for extended periods. “Extended” being more then 10 min or so in my opinion. 6 hours ? Ugh . I’d rather let the food rot then do this to my engine

 

I've sat in one spot for 8 hours letting my truck idle, ain't even a thing @280k on both my 1st gens, and 200k on my 07

 

I work in outside sales. My truck probably idles more than it runs between calls. Modern vehicles don't have an issue running at idle for hours at a time. Vehicles in the 90's didn't have issues running at idle for hours at a time...

 

It’s amazing how people are like, “That’s so bad for your engine,” as they floor it to get in stop and go traffic. Yes, idling an engine is worse than turning it off. It’s not as bad as driving it for 6 hours at 75 mph.

 

It is actually good to have your engine run through it's entire operating rev range.

Sometimes when I'm at the traffic light, I think to myself "it's bout time for an Italian tune up"

 

My truck idles so much I use on ramps to "clean out the valves" like I'm driving a 1980s diesel

 

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that… after finally getting rid of a fleet of 120ish f250 6.0 site supervisors trucks the powers to be started buying half ton eco boosts and a couple dozen 5.7 rams. These trucks get run 5-6 days a week, some drive 10 miles and idle for hours and some drive 50+ miles with little idle time depending on the job site. Especially on the rams, I’ve done a half dozen engine swaps due to cam failures and 2 or 3 eco boosts. The common denominator? They were all the local trucks that had the most time idling. Low viscosity oil with weaker additive packages and low idle rpm seems to not provide adequate oil pressure to the top ends. I’d assume on engines with variable rate oil pumps it would be even worse. Moral of my rant, 10 out of 10 times I’d buy a vehicle that spent its life cruising on a highway over one with a lot of idle time. That rational is like saying driving 75 at 1500rpm is better then 75 at 2300rpm because there is less wear but we know that to not be true because lugging engines puts tremendous strain on rod bearings.

 

Yep, take the extreme of any issue and use that as your basis for facts. A truck with all day of idle time five days a week would probably get close to equal to 200k miles of driving a year. You comparing idling to lugging a motor is kinda ridicules. Plus you are comparing a turbo ford and a dodge to a Toyota. Make sure you get a vehicle with start/stop so your engine last longer and turn it off in drive throughs also, idling is bad.

Anyways.... It's just helpful info for people who could need it. Like if they are stuck in a snowstorm and want to know how long they can idle before their fuel level gets to low to make it to a gas station when roads clear. Or you need a road side nap in 105 degree weather in Texas and want to keep the A/C going. Just info.

 

This is all simply wrong - at so many levels...

- If you have to explain...

 

Good looking out, this pushes me more to buy a power generator

 

Can verify that my 2020 shuts off after idling for 30 mins. Surprised me the first time. Starts right up again. But important PSA for folks that have 2020+ trucks.

 

When I found out my wife's new SUV had auto stop/start my concern was reduced starter life and sure enough her starter went out just under 10,000 miles. Was covered under warranty, however would have cost about $850 if it had not still been under warranty. It has a switch to turn off the auto stop/start, but who remembers to hit that switch every time you start the vehicle.

 

Two observations:

One, if you have a frig that has even a modest amount of insolation it will keep food for several hours without running provided you're not opening the door. Think of a Yetti cooler.

Two, I don't dispute what OP observed as to gas consumption, but in my non scientific observations the consumption I've seen is higher. Let's say I go to a car wash where the attendants take your vehicle through. They usually leave them running while in the que to go through which can be 15 minutes or more. On every occasion, my mileage indicator drops by at least one MPG. How much gas is that? I don't know but figure if it's sufficient to move the gauge, it's more than a teaspoon.

 

The word you’re looking for is hyperbole, what I gave was a real life test sample showing the possible outcomes with several different engine designs. There is irrefutable data that idling vehicles does zero beneficially for them while having adverse effects on them over time. To my point, you advising that idling a vehicle is less damaging than driving the vehicle in its intended rpm is a false narrative that coincides with the same school of thought about running motors at low rpm’s is better. Don’t remember saying anything start stop? Not a fan of the technology. Anyways, enjoy your “double click” and idle time.

 

Technically, this post should have gone up on a Friday. All I know is that at idle, I'm getting 0 mpg and if it is longer than thirty minutes it will blow up killing everyone in a ten mile radius.

 

mine doesn't. maybe it's only with the 6 cylinder engines. i've idled mine for 4-5 hours while camping several times. never had it shut off.

this is with a 2021.