Gas Milage Question

The 4.0L is causing it. . It seems like your coworker is content with the mileage and you're surprised. The 4.0L was designed in the early 2000s and or late 90s. . .the first 2003 V6 4Runners were built in mid 2002. . .so the engine was in the factory and built in maybe 01. . . With basically no upgrades for 15+ years.

The 2nd Tacoma V6 and 4th gen 4Runner V6 do everything well except for that pesky MPG part isn't the best. But all the good far outweigh that one negative

 

I'm running Falken Wildpeak AT3W, 265/75-16 and IF I drive really conservatively and keep it below 70, I can get almost 18. I reset my trip meters every time I fill up and I check it pretty consistently.
With the bigger tires, my speedo is spot on compared to the speed reading on Google Maps.
I also have a tonneau cover, which appears to have helped my gas mileage a bit.
I'm lifted a couple of inches in the front but the front is lower than the rear.
I usually get about 16 to 17 in my mix of driving.

 

Yes, when it's paid off and you can drive it for another ten years, no car payment buys a LOT of gas.

 

My F-250 6.7 will get 23 in eco mode, and it’s big and heavy… these tacomas weren’t built around fuel efficiency…

 

Even the base SR model 2025 Tacoma with the non-hybrid turbo 4cyl is rated at 21 city, 26 highway, which seems low for a "miD SiZeD TruCk". Those are numbers that I think full size trucks are already getting.

 

Sounds about right to me I get about 13-15 on 33s with a 3 inch lift.

My 1995 ford f250 7.3 gets like 16 -18 mpg

 

That's a diesel engine right? Apples and oranges. Notice how there are almost no new passenger cars or light trucks with diesel engines. They can't meet emission standards without cheating.

BTW, I average 27-28 mpg in my stock 4-cyl Tacoma SR5 with mostly highway driving.

 

Great motor, not fuel efficient at all. My 2.5 gen had super heavy upsized retreads, 12-13around town, 16 highway.

edit, and it was right at the time we hit $5 a gallon in socal the first time and my company decided they wanted me onsite everyday; 130 miles a day round trip.

 

2103 with 4.0L all stock. 245/75R 16 Michelins. Hard cap. 21.5 average mileage but most of my driving is rural and at altitudes above 5000’.

 

For reference, my '08 base 2.7 Access cab, 4X4, 5sp, 265/70/17s gets consistent 20mpg give or take a few tenths. No, it won't pull a big ass boat. I don't have a big ass boat.

 

Fuel economy is fuel economy, I once had a turned up Cummins that got maybe 16 mpg.
Everything I’ve done to my Tacoma has likely reduced its fuel economy, and many of the things I still plan aren’t going to improve it either…if it’s important to you, I congratulate you on keeping your truck as Prius like as possible, it’s just not something that enters my thinking for mine.

 

My other car is a Prius. It gets 55 mpg when it's not plugged in, 75-100 mpg when plugged in regularly.

 

Congratulations and thank you for taking up my slack.

 

My '09 TRD OR (mostly stock) gets consistent 20MPG in mostly highway driving. I have a 35 foot sailboat, but I don't trailer it.

 

Good point, because fuel formulations change over time too. The gas we run today isn't the same as the gas that engine was designed around, especially the computer mapping. I know the differences are minimal but it all adds up.

 

I think the overarching point is that for someone who does not know vehicles well, and going strictly by size/shape/power, if a 3/4 ton dually can get 15mpg, and a Camry can get nearly 40mpg, it would seem the Tacoma could easily do between 26-31mpg based on appearance alone.

 

Man…if I could go back to my younger days, and redo all the decisions I’ve made based on appearance alone, I’d be a rich man with a nose that’s not so crooked…

 

Aside from all the factors mentioned, another factor that can add to the discrepancy is if the tires are of a larger diameter than stock. The tires will rotate fewer times per mile, giving a lower amount of revolutions per mile. Whether manually calculating or relying on the ECU, when the lower miles "traveled" is divided by the number of gallons used, the resulting miles-per-gallon figure will be lower than actual.

Some ECUs allow for programming for larger tires, but I don't know if it's possible on a 2nd Gen Taco.