Lousy gas mileage

Hey guys. I'm new to this forum. Looks like a cool place for some of us who are rookies in tacoma ownership. I have a questions I'm hoping someone will be able to answer. Just purchased a 2001 Tacoma Limited. The truck is super clean and looks like it has been well maintained. No problems reported on car fax. Anyway, love the truck but only have one problem which is really bugging me.... Before buying I researched and saw from several owners claiming to get anywhere from 17-25 mpg depending on wheather conditions, load and style of driving. I'm a very conservative driver who tops off at 65 mph on the highway and barely getting 15 miles p/g without much city driving. Is this common?? Is there anything I should know or do to the truck that would help getting at least 17-18 mpg?? If anybody has the answer, please respond, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

How many cylinders do you have? I used to get 19MPG with mostly highway driving before I sold my truck. You should change the spark plugs and probably the plug wires while you're at it too. Changing over to synth oil will gain you 1 or 2 MPG as well.

 

welcome to tw!!

for a little better mileage...all these will help......make sure your tires are properly inflated, change over to synthetic oil, make sure the spark plugs are good, change the fuel filter, clean the throttle body, seafoam it........lots of different things can affect your mileage. check out your fuel filter though........if it looks kinda old or like its been on there a while....change it, you may pick up some better miles with that initial change.

 

Another factor is that you're stuck with the winter formulated gas until late spring. That causes about a 10% drop in mileage.

 

x2... Winter blend gas = worse gas mileage.

 

Also, I would change the fuel filter and check the plugs.

 

Uh winter gas? what do you guys mean? how/why would it be different?

 

Yeah I'm not sure they send us winter blend gas in Florida. lol

 

I believe it is mixed differently in the winter for smog control in certain areas of the country

 

inflate tires and get k/n air filter

 

Refineries use more ethanol when blending it into gasoline during the winter months IIRC, can't remember why they do though. More ethanol means less MPG.

 

Since I bought my '04 (3.4L) Tacoma DC in March, I have religiously recorded 37 (every) fill-up and resulting mileage. I have a graph. OK, anal, but I too was expecting great MPG with a smaller truck (relative to my F350). I did all the tricks, airfilter, spark plugs, tire pressure, etc. My high was 21.5MPG on road trips, my around town average was ~18. When I installed the lift and tires, the highway mileage came down to 18.5 and around town went to ~16.8 MPG. (I can live with that, my F350 was 9). Around August, the Tacoma MPG took a big nose dive...20%+...I think this is around the time NY went to 10% ethanol (I can't get anything else now), and it may have to do with "winter gas"...but I don't know what that is? or if they even still have it when they already put 10% ethanol in? My question I guess is has anyone else seen this drastic change with ethanol...and I guess in the bigger picture why are we as a country doing it? If we add +10% but get -20% less MPG, we as a consumers are actually buying more gas derived from oil! (The break even point would be +10% ethanol/-10% MPG).

I hope some Chevron engineer chimes in, I'd like to get to the bottom of this...

 

The winter formulation is a requirement in the northern states. One upon a time when engines were carburated, engines would have issues when it got cold. To help keep people's cars running correctly laws were passed requiring the gas companys to reformulate the fuel in the winter months. I don't think that modern fuel injected engines would still have the problems but the laws are still in effect and the gas in the winter has less available BTUs per gallon. Less energy per gallon = more gallons burned to go the same distance.

Sorry I'm a bit vague but I don't remember all the details and I don't want to put the wrong info out there.

 

What size tires? and do you have a lift?
Thanks for the info, unfortuantely I already run synthetics, have a K&N filter and changed the plugs early in the summer.

I guess I am jacking this thread, but maybe we'all learn something... When I bought the truck it got 16 MPG, it slowly climbed to 18.5 as I went to synthetics, changed the air filter, plugs, TLC, etc. Trip to Maine even got 21.5 MPG. Then I installed the lift and tires, kinda leveled out around ~17 MPG. Winter came, NYS switched to 10% ethanol and...nose dive, some 4WD because it's winter, but 13MPG?!? What gives?

 

not to hijack this thread, but sr5 where did you get your hood from?

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/12070-first-gen-hood-bulge-progress.html