Miles To Empty

Hello! It’s been several years since I logged into TW and I haven’t gone through very many pages to see if anyone else has experienced this, so my apologies if there’s an existing thread already.

I bought a 2016 Tacoma OffRoad in the fall of 2015 and recently sold it this past September. Loved it, it had a manual transmission and less technology than the newer ones. I bought an automatic 2022 OffRoad in early October and I’m still trying to get used to not trying to manually shift gears!

What I’m wondering about is this: with my 2016, every single time I filled it up, the miles to empty showed 364 miles, never wavered from that, ever. With this new 2022, the miles to empty has steadily gone down with every fill up. The dealer had put a full tank in when we purchased it and it showed 376 or 378, I forget which, and I was pleasantly surprised. The next fill up showed 364 and I figured the first reading was a fluke or something. The next fill up showed 340 miles. The next was 330, and the last one showed 329.

I called the dealership and the service guy said it depends on the quality of the gas I’m putting in. I called a different dealership closer to me and they said it depends on the way I drive. I don’t see how either one of those explanations has anything to do with how much gas the tank holds. I’m a 55 year old woman who lives on a dirt road in rural Texas, I don’t have a lead foot. The 2016 lived on this same dirt road the entire time I owned it. Would the difference in types of transmissions have anything to do with it? This ‘22 seems to get worse gas mileage than my old one but I’m not sure about that yet as I’ve only driven a little over 1500 miles so far.

Anyway, has anyone else experienced this, the miles to empty changing or dropping? Thanks!

 

The distance to empty is adaptive.

Welcome back to TW and congratulations on the new truck!

 

I notice my MPG drops during the winter months. I believe it is a combination of winter fuel formula and colder temps. Also check your tire PSI. I would like to pump mine up when I get time.

 

Thank you, and ok. I’m just confused why it never changed in my ‘16.

 

MTE is the expected range of the tank, based off a bunch of factors. From my experience, the better the fuel economy of a tank, the higher the MTE will be at next fuel up. The computer is anticipating higher range based upon my previous tank.

It’s mostly useless though.

But for reference, I filled up today and it read an MTE of 409. Previous tank fuel economy was ~22.5mpg.

 

Nope.

Correct.

They don't.

What is happening is the truck knows your MPG average over time. On a full tank it displays it's current guess based on the current average MPG.

Yes, that would mean your MPG is dipping a bit each time. It will stabilize.

Keep in mind it's a guess anyway. Blast down the road at 80 and your real time MTE will drop like a rock. Putz at 40 and it will rise.

 

The number seems to change based on driving conditions. I normally see around 360 after a fill up with my normal commute, but I recently towed a trailer and it dropped to 250 miles while pulling the load for a few days. Then it took about 3 fill ups after finishing the towing to return to “normal”

 

I really appreciate all your replies. That’s what I was wondering, if it would stabilize or just keep getting worse.

Thanks, all!

 

I came from a 2017 to a 2020. The programming logic has definitely changed between those two years because I experienced the same. I would say that the newer years are more accurate, but not sure to the extent. My 2017 almost always read 375 after a fill-up but my 2020 has been as low as 285 after a fill-up.

 

Don't rely on the miles to empty for a while. It is learning how you drive and how many miles per gallon you are getting. Watch your fuel gage. You might only show 100 miles to empty and still have a half tank of gas. It will become more accurate after a few tanks of gas. Also, try to figure your mileage manually when you fill up for a while. I suspect you will get less than shown by the computer. And as others have said, fuel mileage is less in the winter. It will be higher on summer gas.

 

Welcome back to the forum
You should come around more often, we will help you on things you didn't know you needed.

FWIW: My manual 2017 just about always reads 365 miles when I fill it, I view it as more entertainment than reliable data.

The service guy who said it had to do with quality of the fuel is clueless. It is calculated on the computers record of your past consumption.

 

I’m missing the manual transmission and probably should have fought harder to get it. . Why Gulf States Toyota severely limits its sales of manual transmission trucks is beyond me. Flew to Michigan to get the ‘16 and drove it back. Ah well, getting old stinks. Lol

I wondered if they had changed something in the system, so that makes sense. Thanks again, everyone, y’all have eased my mind. Good night!