Gas Mileage Issues

Not that you buy a truck for its gas mileage but I have to say I was pretty disappointed yesterday. I bought a 2016 SR5 4X4 V6 and drove it home on the highway about 2 1/2 hours on pretty much flat ground. I know that a lift doesn't help and it does have 3" lift. To drop down from its advertised 22MPG all the way down to 13-14MPG seemed a little much. I was only driving about 65 MPH as well. Anyone else have this issue or comment?

 

Sweet spot RPM wise for good gas mileage is 1500-1900 when you run above 2000 rpms your mileage goes down significantly. You didn't mention what tranny you have. I have a manual and stay in 6th on highway with above rpm range and can get 20mpg on flat highway unless I keep my foot on the gas pedal and go over the 2k rpm range.

HTH

 

Another thing to consider, it looks like you have aftermarket tires. What load rating are they? If they are E, well, your MPGs will suffer quite a bit.

 

You bought one lifted?

Dealer install, or a used truck? How many miles on it? Is it even broken in?

Does it also have non stock wheels/tires, so that the speedo/odo are now wrong?

 

If you have a 3 inch lift, I assume you have larger than stock tires. Make sure you account for this in your mileage calcs. You can use this site's tire/wheel size calculator for that. Drop down menu on home page. Have fun.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc

By have fun, I mean " do the math and suck it up."

 

Not surprised you're getting those numbers with the larger aftermarket tires. My truck is pretty much bone stock and I am averaging about 18.8 mpg over 1500 miles on truck now. Here in phoenix things are mostly flat too and I've been babying the pedal for the most part. I'd say about 35% of my mileage is city driving, 60% highway and somewhere around 5% offroad...

My truck has been flawless otherwise but I'd say the fuel economy has been my only real complaint compared to what was advertised... I was expecting to average between 20 to 21 minimum. I'm sure I'd be closer to 18 or under if I drove the way I normally would drive with a heavy foot.

 

Tires are Mastercraft 275/65R18. Lift kit was done at the dealership. I was the first to test-drive/buy this truck. Ill be the first to tell you that I'm ignorant when it comes to some of these modifications which hints why I decided to join the Tacoma world threads. I have a feeling I'm about to hear never buy a dealer lifted truck from a dealership. In any case thanks for the help.

 

Well, there's your problem. Thos things are friction magnets. My mileage is going down just thinking about them.

 

Good for looks & off road, not so good for pavement and fuel economy.

 

Also your truck isn't rated for 22 MPG. Despite what the sticker says.

 

OP the mileage seems pretty low for 32's but im not sure how the 3rd gens normally do for MPG
The added weight of load E tires combined with the high rolling resistance of M/T's and a lift all reduce efficiency.
The only suggestion I have would be pick up a spare set of wheels off craigslist and put P-rated tires on to cut down on weight if you do NOT Tow.
I have been running P-rated toyos A/T's for 2 years with no problems.
My P-rated tires have a higher load limit then then the stock Dunlop Grantrek LT's that the truck came with.
Try not to beat yourself up about buying a lift from the dealership.
Your truck looks good lifted.

 

Yup. They are load E mud tires combined with the mud tires combined with the lift will prob drop it down a few mpg's. I just didn't expect it would make 5mpg difference. Thanks for the help. Learn a little more everyday.

 

A couple things, first make sure your speedo is calibrated (your actually going as fast as it says your going). If you have a GPS you can compare the numbers. Second, with that lift and tires it will definitely search for gears like crazy. You may want to always use your ECT button by your right knee. You may also try to run it in manual mode and anticipate hills. I've been experimenting with mine to figure out the best strategy to save gas. Toyota really layed an egg on the transmission gear ratios. This truck should not leave the factory unless it has a 4:30 rear gear and the only one that offers that is the manual transmission.

 

Generally speaking, when you see black wheels with shiny sparkly fake bolts bedazzling the lip, they're poorly made and very heavy. I'd sell those to some college bro pimping out his jeep and buy something a lot lighter with higher tolerances from someone like Dustin at www.fnwheels.com

Here's what's working against you:
1) Heavy wheels. For every 1 pound you add to a wheel, it's the equivalent of +4-6 pounds inside the cabin.
2) Unnecessarily aggressive tire tread for on-road use. This accounts for 'rolling resistance', which some argue means more than weight.
3) Tire weight, same issue as wheels.
4) You bought the v6, which has shown very scattered MPG numbers. Some get as posted mpgs, some get better, many get much worse.
5) The lift is throwing more air resistance at/under you.

 

As stated above, before anything else, how many miles does your truck have on it? My '13 does way better than that on E rated 33's (apples to oranges I know) but they should at least be close to comparable. So I would be curious if your truck is still "breaking in" Another thing to try since our trans is smarter than I am is unhook your battery and let the computer reset itself to let it learn your driving style (It works on the 2nd Gen so may be worth a shot)

 

Beautiful Truck!! Wheels/tires can always be changed for better mpg's if necessary. Enjoy your new ride!!

 

I've got E-Rated KO2s -- same size as the stock tires. After about 3400 miles with a mix of city and freeway driving (probably 70:30), I'm averaging about 19.

 

Stock tires on the v6 Limited and I'm around 19-22 depending. Mostly highway driving. Your issue is a bit more cut and dry but others are posting some wild MPG that doesn't make sense.

 

I'm finding that I get better around town average than freeway, but the wind in this west Texas desert town is crazy and we we do have some hills on the loop.

 

Ditto