Are you getting bad MPG?

My weekly update if anyone cares... Got 19.4 MPG and I drove somewhat agressively each day (upwards of 70mph cruising, took it up to 95 mph the one morning just for fun, etc.). This is with 87.

If I feather foot the pedal all week, I'll get 19.8 MPG.

 

Update on difference it made?

 

Not one of my best tanks... 24.5, I generally get between 24 and 26, with an occasional tank a hair above 26.

2008 4 cyl auto RC base 5-lug

 

Thats pretty good, but I uh, dont know how to say this, but your tire pressure is low

 

No, it's 35 all the way around.
I bought the truck used last December. Light flashes for the first couple of minutes and then stays on solid. Haven't had the time to take it to the dealer to have them scan it, and I don't want to spend the money on a new set of TPMS sensors since I plan on upgrading SWMBO's Rav4 to 17" wheels and stealing her 16" alloys.

 

Makes sense, thats stupid though. It would piss me off to no end...

I can barely go a day or two without fixing it, ie, pumping up the tires

 

I just finished my first tank of easy city driving, just to see how I could do. I'm guessing 17 but my results got screwed up on the fill up. I was facing away from the pump and I heard fluid splashing on the ground. Look back and gas is flowing down the side of my truck, stupid pumps auto shut off failed. So I guessed about a gallon or so came out while I was pondering what the noise was.

 

Drove 182.5 miles today. Mostly at 70 mph and the rest at 65 mph. I used exactly 10 gallons of 87 octane. This gave me 18.25 mpg. Better then I expected.

 

I get 14.5 on a good day, but I have 4:56 gearing with 33's, 3" lift, arb bumper, winch, sliders, etc. Before the gears I was getting about 15-16 average. The best MPG I've had is 19 and that was bone stock all freeway at 65-70mph.

 

14.27 MPG w/ Premium Fuel 93 Octane

237 Miles with 16.603 gallons of fuel

80% Highway (65-70mph)
20% City (35-40 mph)

I have a 3" Lift and also running 33's in M/T Tires

 

After a few tank of fuel and 2700km I decided to calculate my fuel usage. I'm about 11.6l/100km. (20mpg using US gallons) (24MPG using imperial gallons)

 

I'm at about 14-15 L / 100 km

 

I get amazing mpg

 

20.7 MPG over the last tank of 91 octane on my DC 4x4 with 265/75 Dyanpro ATs! I'm pretty psyched. I also refueled at 1/4 tank, which means I might have been able to push it another tenth or two due to running with less weight if I had driven down to a 16th of a tank. The key was a lot of 50 mph backroads trips on this tank, along with warmer temps these last few weeks.

Best tank ever, at just shy of 20K miles on the odo.

 

Sold my gas 2011 TRD Taco for a very good price. Could not pass it up.
MPG sucked big time.
My previous Avalache 4x4 got just as good MPG.
To bad, overall I did like the truck except for that.
The photo Okkine posted says it all. You need to purchase a tanker to go with your truck.
Wish you guys all the best w/ the gas hogs.
That's why I never fall in love with my vehicles. They are liabilities, now spouses.
I'm looking 4 a 4 banger diesel pickup like I drove on vac. in Honduras. It was just like mine except "DIESEL" and 30 MPG. Mexico here I come!!
Maybe Toy will wake up and make a 4 Banger diesel to sell state side.
Via Con Dios, amigos.

 

Assuming 12,000 miles driven per year, and a gas cost of $3.50/gallon, the difference between driving a 20 mpg vehicle and a 30 mpg vehicle is $60/month in gas.

Put another way, you could finance a $30k 20 mpg vehicle or a $33,500 30 mpg vehicle for the same out of pocket expense, assuming 4% interest and $3.50/gallon gas.

It may make a difference to some. It won't to others. It doesn't to me. If and when gas is $7.00/gallon, and the difference is $120/month between getting 20 mpg and 30 mpg, it might matter. For now, I drive what I want.

 

Don't forget the difference in insurance.

But a big point that is often overlooked is not the person deciding between a $20k 20mpg and $30k 30mpg... When buying a brand new vehicle there is generally a lean toward the higher MPG.

It's when you have that '98 20mpg vehicle sitting in your driveway paid off.
THAT is the most economical vehicle you will ever own, unless and until it becomes a money drain for maintenance.

In my case, I paid $2200 for a '95 Suburban.
No payment, 16mpg... good deal, or so I thought.
Over the course of the next year, I put $3000 into it to keep it on the road, and MPG was dropping off... it was down to 12 when I replaced it with the Taco.
So the '08 Taco is costing me $250/mo and an extra $100/mo for insurance. That's $4200/year... but I'm also driving about 400 miles per week.
Figure 24k/year for work and pleasure, at 24mpg (I get 24-26), that's 1000 gallons.
The Suburban would have been around 1700 gallons give or take.
700 gallons at $4.20 per is $2940 more that the Suburban would have cost in fuel for the year.

So the '08 Taco 4 banger is only costing me $100/month more than simply owning the Suburban... and taking into account repairs that were STILL needed.. I'm ahead of the game right now.



OTOH, SWMBO is constantly complaining about her '04 Rav4 only getting 22mpg.
But it's paid for. It has not been in the shop since the ECU and an O2 sensor failed during it's first 6 months.
It has 120k on it, uses maybe a half quart of oil every 5k, and we just had it smogged... not even on the chart. The test came out so clean that I questioned whether the sniffer was even connected.

Would it be worth it to replace her Rav4 with something that got even 35mpg? No way.

 

I just filled up.. 20.5 mpg. 95% highway 60 to 70 mph. I have 265/75/16 bfg at's e rated (heavy tire).

I've found the key to good mpg is high octane non ethanol gas, and not bucking the wind.

 

I don't enjoy getting bad gas mileage anymore than the next guy. If you bought any truck for fuel efficiency you were kidding yourself. This is more suited for that. Hope this helps!

 

303.3 miles/17.5 gal. = 17.33 MPG
around town and back and forth to work