96 2.7 horrible mpgs

Im fairly new to toyotas and have had my truck for 6ish months. It has about 220k right now. Never got great mileage out of it. It has a small lift with 31" tires from the previous owner, but no extra armor. I do tend to run around with a little weight in the bed but nothing crazy. I started with around 17-18mpgs when I first got it and in the past two weeks have gotten 11-12 while driving normal. I never speed and always drive conservatively. Things I did soon after purchasing is new plugs, wires, cap, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, maf cleaned, throttle body and butterfly valve cleaned, alignment, adjust e brake and check wheel bearings and brake adjustments. I have a bluetooth code reader/live data that I can get some live data from, but I'm not sure what the numbers should be for this car. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

DId the MPG drop after you did those things? If so, maybe your ignition timing isnt right? Did you use OEM/equivalent spark plugs? I know iridiums/platinums are regarded as better and every store is trying to sell you the "better" plugs, but thats only in terms of longevity and not necessarily power/efficiency. The resistance of these plugs is different so with a distributor, which is a more inefficient system you might not be getting enough juice to have a good burn since these plugs have a higher resistance.

I would use your scantool to check the long term fuel trim while idling and driving.

Realistically, that kind of sudden drop in MPG is probably due to a dragging brake. So I'd definitely check those out.

 

I checked both front and rear brakes and adjusted the parking brake. All tires spin freely I also did those tuneup things when I first got this car about 6 months ago. This sudden drop in mpgs is within the last two weeks. I always use basic wires and plugs from ntk or ngk or whatever that brand is. What numbers should I have for short and long term fuel trim?

 

Anything within +/-10% is fairly normal.

 

you did quite a bit
not unusual human intervention around the time U noticed the drop in mpg
is the culprit
not that U did anything majorly wrong

simply back track / double check

good luck

 

When’s the last time you gave your muffler/exhaust system a thorough look around/ run through? You could have a bad muffler leak and or/ some holes somewhere along your exhaust if not in your muffler. My muffler looked like this around a year ago and now it has 2 7 inch or so sized holes on both sides of it

 

my charcoal canister just shit the bed and I'm surprised to see that I lost about 1.5mpg in my 2004 2.7l. I've got one on the way from rockauto and since I have to drop the fuel tank to get to the canister Ive decided to replace my old rusty fuel tank with a less rusty one I found at the scrapyard.

 

what year ????? a reference revisions happen regularly

17-18 mpg to start with would not be considered bad

EPA/smog equiptment not functioning properly would degrade the performance

any codes ??

 

You need to check the ecu for any trouble codes. If you smell a crued fuel smell from the tailpipe it can be a bad 02 sensor. The ecu will make it run rich for protection. A leaking fuel injector. when you buy sensor and ignition stuff stick with denso, denso ignition wires. ngk or denso plugs are best. Your fuel pressure regulator might be bad also. who knows. Check the ecu..

 

I am new to Tacoma since my 2020 purchase and wondering if there is a tipping point with them after hitting so many miles. The OP did mention that it has 220k on it - just normal wear, tear, over time inefficiencies? Although does seem as though mileage should be better. I opted for the V6 and normally average 20/21 with normal driving.

 

Tacoma bob, congarts on your new Tacoma. The tipping point is when you abandon maintaining it and expect it to not need attention from time to time. Look at my 98, there is no tipping point for Toyotas lol. Your 2020 is just been born so dont worry just know what you have to do to keep running its best. Toyotas are more reliable than other but you still need to maintain them. Some parts normally wear like the battery and alternator and brake pads. The ecu will alert you to a problem that may occur.
The OP probably has a simple problem for the fuel consumption.The problem is eighther electrical or mechanical. You dont want to use cheap replacement parts that degrade faster and dont work properly. Use Japan aisin parts and denso for sensors and replacement parts. You need to learn your particular vehicle. Buy the vehicles repair manual.Learn the systems and how they work. Mine has its routine lol. Battery dies after 3 years the the alternator later lol. The brake pads last very long because how light weight it is. After a very very very long time is when you can do some things like refresh components in the suspension and do some maintenance that is preventive like wheel bearings and new seals or flush the brake system and stuff like that. The secret to an engine that runs forever in top shape is good oil and changing it. I use pennzoil platinum ultra synthetic on mine. Do oil changes and maintaining the cooling system clean and fresh is the key. After 50,000 miles or so change the transmission filter and a partial fluid change. Maintain the air filter clean. And change the fuel filter also. Those are the key things to worry about. The rear axle can go even longer miles till its serviced. Do these things and all will be fine. Also let it warm up for at least 3 minutes before getting going Is good practice too. So enjoy the truck and be at ease that it's not that difficult and you will be okay.

 

Harborlocal, first you need to look at how the engine running. Determine if you feel that it has lost power, is the engine responding well when you step on the throttle, Is the engine idling well and smooth. Is there hesitation or stumbling thru the rpm range. Is all you notice is that its using more fuel al of the sudden. The things the ecu uses to adjust fuel delivery to maintain the programmed fuel ratio is the coolant temp sensor, the maf sensonr, the 02 sensors and the tps sensor. If something is not operation right the ecu will sense it and let you know. But you have to scan the computer, Is the check engine light on etc. If not it has to be a mechanical problem like a bad fuel injector or something of that nature. Ignition timing that is not optimized will degrade the performance and lose fuel efficiency to the engine also. If you exhaust manifold has a leak letting more air before the 02 sensor then the ecu will dump more fuel because its getting a lean reading from the sensor. All I can do is try to help you, hopefully it's an easy fix.