Low gas mileage after 4x4 trip in Zion National Park

I have a 2020 Tacoma TDR Offroad with stock everything. I recently drove from LA to Zion National Park to 4x4/camp, getting out there and back my gas mileage averaged around 17-19mpg. After I got back, a few weeks later, my gas mileage has tanked to around 13-14mpg.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

 

Did you break anything on the trip?

 

Are you still in 4wd?

 

check your air filter and make sure it is not clogged with dust. better yet, replace it

if it is dusty - clean your MAF sensor too

 

I was just thinking of a nice way to ask this lol

 

I am definitely not in 4WD.

 

probably got shit gas at one of those middle-of-nowhere stations

 

That's a pretty big drop but changes in elevation, temperature, gas quality, all highway vs city etc. will affect your mileage. Personally I would give it a tank or two of regular driving after your back to see where it's at. Assuming it's running OK and not showing any signs of a problem (wonky idling, performance issues, check engine light, etc.)

 

Id get your alignment checked.... may also be worth looking at the brake calipers. My last outing, drove around all day offroading....then it felt like a bad headwind on the way home and I indeed had a sticking caliper. Theyre just a poor design and the lower pistons seem to seize up. This particular reman only lasted 15k miles too, even though that was also 3-4 years Replaced them and now shes running smooth again.

If you did any mud or muddy water also backwash the radiators, and drop the skids to shed pounds of mud most likely. Offroading is fun, but it makes you work afterwards lol.

 

Thank you all. I'll look into all these suggestions. The trip was back in June but hadn't noticed it until recently. My truck also sat for a week while I was out of town. I looked into the Brake Calipers, a video online mentioned a way to check was to drive for a few miles and feel the left and right rim if its really hot to the touch its probably the caliper. I tried this and didn't seem hot to me. Also didn't notice any extra ware on the discs.

I'm definitely not a mechanic, do you guys have any suggestions on how to check the brake calipers?

 

Jacking up one at a time and rotating the wheel by hand to see how free it moves is simplest. Otherwise you or your mechanic would have to take the wheels off, and try and compress the pads into the calipers to see how they are moving. With wheels off you could also look to see if the pads are wearing perfectly square to the disks or not.