2010 4 cyl 4x4 AC taco, 16mpg and sluggish uphill. whats wrong?

a month ago i bought a 2010 2.7L 4cyl 4x4 M/T AC taco at South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa, California, it had 46,000 miles on it and i thought i got a great deal on it. Since i bought it i have been getting horrible gas mileage, about 16 mpg mixed street/highway and i have been having a horrible time going up any hill. i mean i loose speed instantly if I'm on any sort of uphill. there are no CEL or any other errors showing, i took it to Perry Motors in Bishop, CA to get looked at and they told me that everything sounds and looks good and if there is no CEL then they cant diagnose what is wrong with it.

can i get some advice on what might be going on? the truck is basically stock other then new Firestone Destination MT tires and a camper shell with a sleeping plateform in the back, total is less then 300lb. I'm getting horrible gas mileage and i feel like I'm pulling an elephant behind my truck every time i go uphill.

 

Lol sounds about right, I swear my 97 reg cab had more power than my 2010 reg cab

 

Sorry OP, but that certainly makes me feel better about my MPG!

 

Heavy tires with lots of rolling resistance + heavy shell + slow I4 engine = slow drive

 

Iroh

tire size is 265/75/16

and altitude is about 4.5k to 7k its the grade from bishop to Mammoth on the 395 in CA that I'm talking about. I'm having to shift between 4th and 3rd gear to maintain 55 mgh uphill.

i worry about this mainly because of the MPG's but also i have a friend that lives up here and he has the same year and engine and he said he makes it up the grade in 5th gear at 75mph no problem.

 

Have you done any maintenance to it?

 

when i bought it they did an oil change from what i can see, nothing other then new tires, thats all.

 

I had the same truck, but an 09, didn't really have that much of a problem, but it could definetly be the altitude. You're buddy must be keeping it in the sweet spot to maintain 75 up a hill in fifth gear. I put a header on mine, and k&n drop in and secondary filter removal, and was still a dog, especially in the mountains. I did however always maintain 17-18 mpg, and that's with 265/75-16 duratracs, at sea level.

How many miles at that elevation have you put on it? Tanks of gas? Computer may still be getting used to the altitude.

 

i start off at the bottom of the grade going 75mph in 5th and then its slows down till i have to downshift to 4th and then to 3rd.

 

That motor really has to stay between 2-3k rpms to maintain speed on a hill from what I can remember.

This is the reason I traded mine for the 4.0.

 

see this worries me even more, because it runs about 2.5k rpm going about 75mph in 5th gear before i hit the grade and then its just bogs down and looses speed, so i drop it to 4th this continues till im riding high 3.5k-4.5k rpms in 3rd and switching between 4th and 3rd because it cant keep the power in 4th

 

I'd make sure its underwent a basic tune up, plugs, wires, synthetic oils, air filter etc. What PSI are your tires at? I usually keep mine around 40psi.

Are you calculating the MPG manually? and compensating for the bigger tires??

Put in 4th and put it to the floor, these 4 bangers need the extra lovin'


Edit: Oh, and I've found that winter blend gas kills mpg's so keep that in mind, I bet you net more mpg's in the summer.

 

He's got a manual, he may have to just do a pre emptive downshift to make it up too, op should ride with his buddy who has the same truck and see how he does it

 

sounds like a lot to do with altitude. Also could be very premature spark plug failure and/or carbon buildup on your maf sensor and throttle body. Maybe a clogged up cat. Im not sure if these things would make the cel come on or not though. Change all your fluids especially trans, motor, and rear diff to a full synthetic like Amsoil. Run a higher psi in your tires also.

I have a lot of armor and 35s (with 4.88 gears) which make for terrible aerodynamics and i still get 19 mpg on the interstate doing 70. Something may be wrong or it may just be the altitude

 

yeah and winter gas does really kill mpgs from what ive seen too. I usually get 34 mpg in my FRS and have recently over the past 3 tanks got 28

 

sounds identical to my 09, have cap, 265 dick cepek muds, but also a hybrid bumper up front and 3 inches of liftn all around. my truck is getting worse it seems as time passes, or maybe it's just the fact that it's often below 0 deg F around here... but i am often in third on longer or steeper inclines, lucky to get 275 miles out of a tank, this is running it to below a gallon left in the tank. have changed all fluids, clean air filter, havn't done plugs cause its so damn cold, i'm running 36 psi up front and 33 in back so my truck gets some traction. over all not impressed with this among many other things as time passes..

 

I have an 05, single cab with 32's kumho (road venture at tires) with a lift, and some extra horsepower helpers ... I get about 17-20 with a city/ little highway mix. Its the 2.4 L 4 cylinder. I have been very impressed with the truck, 5 speed manual trans.... BUT if you put any weight on that truck and you are driving in town, say bye bye to the good gas mileage. I have a 10ft utility trailer that weighs a few hundred lbs that ive hauled atvs and go kart on and got about 14 mpg (with weight centered on axle). With my 22ft walk around boat, it gets about 13, maybe. I just recently got a camper shell, and haven't calculated the new gas mileage, but I haven't noticed that big of a difference.

I have heard from several people who bought newer single cab or extended cab 4 cyl tacoma's and were getting maybe 14-16 mpg all stock.... My personal opinion, if you want better than 20 mpg, your joking yourself buying a tacoma truck ESPECIALY if your not going to leave it stock (EX: bigger tires, lift, armor, bumpers, other extra shit, any other extra shit....Please excuse the language...) Fact is, its a truck not a Prius.

Use fuel system treatment if you havent recently, buy premium gas, or at least mid grade if you don't already, ease off from the stoplights and not slam the gas pedal, shift at 1800-2100 rpm (if its manual), check your air filter. If you still aren't happy with your mpg, which I am sure will be improved after these steps, trade it in for a $40,000 2013 silverado with smart cylinder tech (changes from 8 cyl to 6 or 4 , not sure).

EDIT: Tire pressure can make a heck of a difference as others have mentioned ^^ (also type of tread etc..)

Hope it helps.-matt

 

shift at 2k unless otherwise necessary for better mpg, and its a 3500lb brick plus you and gear and top and gas etc., with 159 hp... thats the nature of this beast of a motor. not fast but tough. deal with it of get the v6, only options that make financial sense.

 

i got 22 mpg when my truck was stock. Put in a drop in k&n filter and got 24

 

i dunno mpg but I'm getting 100-110 per 1/4 tank, but i do mostly city driving and I'm bone stock reg cab prerunner