MPG on your 3rd Gen Tacoma?

I have a 30 mile commute to work. I routinely get over 25 mpg for that drive. I have gotten as high as 33mpg and documented several 28 and 31mpg trips. No, it is not 29 miles of down hill coasting. its 65-75 mph through san antonio on i10.
265/65-17 nitto grapplers
stock ride height
no air dam
double cab 5' bed

So yes, better than advertised mileage can be had. I also just made a run to houston(210 miles) and averaged about 15 mpg running 80 w/ my softtopper and about 500 #'s of passenger and tool boxes. so there's the other end of the spectrum.

 

I get 18 or 19 mpg, like exactly the same as my 2000 S10 ZR2 with it's 4.3



.

 

My 07 will get 16-17ish for my normal everyday driving. Normally 19-20 on the highway but I've done as well as 22-23 under perfect conditions. That's with a Leer Cap, a 2" lift, 200 lbs. of winch and mounts on the front, and slightly oversize 265/75/26 tires. The tires are P rated, but it got the same fuel mileage with E rated tires on it.

There could be something wrong with your truck, a 3rd gen should be 1-3 mpg better than my 2nd gen. But I suspect it's your driving style. The 3.5 wants to run at higher rpm's. If you're driving it slowly, you need to manually downshift the automatic to lower gears to get engine speed up a bit. Low rpm's don't always give best fuel mileage. If the rpm's are too low the engine is working harder and using more fuel.

It's just like riding a bike. You only shift into the higher gears with speed. If you're just riding around at 5 mph in the highest gears, you have to work hard to pedal the bike. Drop down to lower gears and it's a lot easier for you to pedal the bike even though your legs are turning more rpm's. Automatic transmissions are programed to get to high gears ASAP. That's not always optimal for fuel mileage.

I'm not as familiar with the newer trucks. I just run mine in 4th gear a lot when I'm driving below 45 mph. But if you have a Sport mode setting you might want to try it. It keeps you in lower gears longer.

 

Change your spark plugs

 

These really cold temps suck the meg's. Summer is much better.

 

PROBLEM fixed

 

That's just for looks. If you want real MPG improvements, you'll need to do more.

 

disconnect battery for 10 mins then it will be fine

 

I can make my computer say that too but the maths don’t jive with the puter. Only had my whip for two tanks but both tanks mathed out to 18-19 when the computer said 22-25.

my Silveraydo 1500 V8 work truck computer averages around 21 and when I calculate the actual MPG’s it’s pretty close.

 

dont you dare throw shade towards the shadi2000!
https://www.theautopian.com/this-fiberglass-monster-used-to-be-a-chevy-pickup-truck/
but it's also running a 350 v8 under the hood, so not at all very efficient. just a truck i'd love to have in my garage should my lottery winnings ever show up.

 

For me it's proven accurate when you fill up and do the math. There's a tank average and one for the trip average. That was for a 125 mile trip. Look at the needle it started from a full tank. Anyone who pays attention to their mileage knows by the gauge that's accurate. Yes the rest of the tank wasn't at that same economy.

 

I’ll be taking it on a 700ish mile road trip in the next couple weeks and I’ll be setting the cruise to 70 for at least one tanks worth. I’m interested to see how well it does.

 

I've only got over 26 mpg's twice now. Average 24-25 regularly on warm weather trips. I use that instant mileage bar to accomplish that.

 

@CygnusX191 show this foo your MPG

 

All of my mileage is around town.
17.9 calculated full tank to full tank last night.

 

Bone stock 13k mile 2023 TRD OR. 15-16.5 MAYBE 17mpg if I had a 400mph tail wind going down hill from one traffic like to the next of three thousand more in my drive to the supermarket. My driving is 95% city so I'm under no impression I'll ever do better. IDGAF I like the truck and it suits me just fine. No complaints.

If I took a longer trip I'm sure it'd be higher, but long trips are in my wife's car so is what it is, so to speak.

EDIT: To clarify, I don't lug this thing and almost always put into S-4 or S-5

 

Stock 2021 w snow tires and a tonneau. This mileage is almost all one trip in 10 days. Mostly Highway with a couple hundred miles of dirt/gravel/snow. Maybe 5 miles in low range. I am usually within 5 mph of the posted speed limit.

4,489 miles
20.5 avg
23.0 best