Fuel Mileage on '24 Tacoma I-Force Max?

I know as much about the 4th gen reliability as anyone else (i.e. nothing), but I think some of you guys are your own worst enemy.

The amount of overlap in the fuel economy concerns and start/stop bypass in these threads is staggering. Excessive idling, particularly in cooler weather, is going to have a huge impact on your city fuel economy.

 

I got a 2024 TRD Sport 4X4 AT in early March 2024. I'm nearing 10,000 miles and have never sniffed 20 mpg. I was hovering around 18 mpg with probably 55% city - 45% highway before winter. Throughout winter the average has continued dropping and is now around 15.7 mpg. I'm a little baffled about what is going on. I drive in eco mode and 2 wheel drive exclusively. The air dam is still on. I'm relatively conservative with A/C and heat. I don't leave the car idling. I have a bit of a lead foot on the highway 75-80 mph but it is pretty flat in Iowa. Any thoughts on what is going on?

 

It's cold outside

 

The results in this thread are all over the place.

Some claim up to 24 mpg with moderate driving style, others claiming less mpg with very conservative, grampa driving.

Absolutely no consistency other than mpg has suffered during winter.

I'm still on my first tank of dealer gas and I reset the trip before leaving the lot. On board calculation says 16.9. I live in E TN so hills and winter gas are a thing. Most of my driving has been around town with almost zero highway miles. I'll be interested to do my own hand calcs for verification of accuracy of onboard computer, which I have read can vary greatly.

I would really like to average around 20, so we'll see when it gets a bit warmer and the summer blend gas arrives. I'm also gonna try the next octane level up, 89, to see if there is a difference.

For reference, my 2024 GMC AT4X averaged 17.9 mpg of mixed local/hwy driving during my 10 months, 3K miles with it.

 

iowabrian where you located in iowa?

 

Bottom line is how much you're into the turbo boost. If you drive flat roads with very few hills and don't get the turbo boost up, you'll get much better mpg. where I live is relatively hilly. constant throttle changes burn gas faster. if you drive in Arizona or Florida where it's mostly flat, you should get better results. I get around 18 mpg since I got my Sport Premium last July and put about 7K miles on it. Winter gas has a minor effect too.
I've noticed that 55-65 mph on the highway gives drastically more mpg than the 80-85 most of us drive at.
Just my 2 cents.

 

"Winter gas" is a thing, to the tune of multiple variations depending on where you live, the average temperatures, and general air quality. There are enough variations in formulation that would account for the (sometimes) different reported fuel efficiency numbers, along with the other significant variables including driving style, road quality and elevation, tires, etc. Those significant factors outweigh fuel quality, but still it is a factor. This is an older article, and the standards for gasoline have changed a bit, but this is a good primer on winter gas. Along with an article on the major factors for lowered MPG in the winter months.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15339380/the-vapor-rub-summer-versus-winter-gasoline-explained/

Winter driving efficiency issues.
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/fuel-economy-cold-weather

 

I think the winter gas thing is overblown. According to that article, summer gas contains 1.7% more energy than winter gas, so only ~2% of the seasonal variability is due to the gas blend (20 mpg in summer would be 19.7 mpg in winter, all else equal).

Most of the increase in fuel consumption is because cold engines burn more gas than hot ones. And very cold engines that were just started up, idling in cold outdoor temperatures (or even sitting at a stoplight before fully warmed up) burn an assload of gas.

Neither of those really explains the discrepancy between the Taco's rated numbers and actual mpg. It's probably a case of the truck is capable of meeting the mfg ratings under certain circumstances, but in most real world driving, it's the same brick of a truck gas guzzler it's been since 2005.

 

Yes. The winter gasoline formulation is a minor factor compared to all the other variables associated with an individual driving a specific vehicle. Along with ideal driving conditions presented by EPA ratings vs real world variable conditions.

 

Just my $.02. My Limited I-force Max has been getting 20-21 mpg in mixed city and highway driving. Also remember it has Full-time 4WD as well. I live in the PNW in the Portland area where the roads are not always flat. Hills everywhere I go so it's a good mixture of hills, flats, and stop and go traffic. The mpg has exceeded all my expectations from a body on frame truck shaped like a brick, over 5000lbs, with 465lbsft or torque. My reference point is my 2021 TRD Offroad premium I had, in the same driving conditions I averaged 17 mpg combined. All while being underpowered, lethargic, and unenjoyable. That's an almost 4 mpg improvement the 4th gen has over the 3rd gen in my experience. That's significant for any truck model year over year. IMHO people judge mpg by their max hypermiling HWY number. This is misleading because we all know real world daily driving is a mixture of all kinds of conditions. What really helps the new truck with MPG is the idling/coasting situations that involve the engine and electric motor transition. The conditions that normally hurt mpgs the most is where the hybrid system shines. This is at stoplights, coasting downhill, cruising on flat roads. The engine shuts off completely and/or the electric motor whirs on to keep your momentum along. This all adds up to better mpgs. For example, I have cruised on flat roads at 65 mph and the engine was off, that is awesome. I have many years of driving a hybrid toyota/lexus product and those have been technologically, fantastic to drive. I'm so happy the Tacoma has finally received those upgrades as well.

 

The lift/tire package on the Pro also contributes to its worse mileagel but 20/21 in Portland for a Tacoma hybrid is not bad.

 

I have a 2024 OR premium hybrid. When it's not broken and in the shop (currently for past 3 weeks) it gets 14L/100km (17mpg) mixed mountain highway and off road. On BFG KO3 275/65/18s. Never done a full tank of highway and never driven it in the city so don't know those stats.

 

I wish I was getting that mileage. I'm in the same area and getting just over 17.0 mpg in my 25 TRD OR Premium iForceMax. I'm only 2,100 miles in so far. I am going ~70 mph on the highway when possible. My 2005 TRD OR is sitting at 15.9 mpg overall.

 

Updating my prior early post.

TRD OR iForce Max.
Front air dam removed. Cap on rear bed.
A little over 3200 miles driven, 60-40 mix highway vs slower metro. 65-75 MPH actual highway speeds.
Normal drive mode. No modifications with stock tires.
Western Washington State presents moderate elevation changes, and I have done some limited 4x4 on trails and slick roads.
I am not super heavy on acceleration but do have moments of quicker/fun driving.

21.2 MPG, average display value, closely matching tank to tank calculations.

It is a great drive, lots of low end torque and strong HP curve. Love those electric golf cart 0-30 MPH times.

 

Why does it require 93 octane?

 

Land Cruiser manual has a different number:



And it is for "optimum engine performance and fuel economy". Might have been a typo on the OP's part.

 

I'm always in comfort mode in my limited. Never use ECO. Also I think the tires matter as well. I believe the Generals on the limited are more for hwy driving and lighter than the mild AT tires that the OR gets. I usually drive within 5-10 mph of the speed limit usually with the flow of traffic, which In Portland that can mean extremely fast Mon-Sat (70mph+), and slow on Sundays (60 mph or slower) lol. Sundays are when the hermits come out and drive like they've never been on the road before.

 

It is 100% a typo. He can run any fuel he wants, but 91 will get him a 5-10% bump in HP/torque.