Poor fuel mileage

It seems some trucks just get poor gas mileage. I complained about mine for the entire warranty period. No one did anything but say we will look at it next time. i could either give up or drive it through the front doors of the dealership. I like my truck. Everyone who says it's how you drive it or this or that is wrong. It gets horrible mileage.

 

What about all the owners who get 25+ MPG? I would consider anything about 20 pretty good for a truck, especially one with a V6.

 

I noticed the same with my truck. When it was stock and I was averaging 16-17 I towed a trailer a couple times, once with a Japanese mini truck (around 2,000 lbs) and once with my 91 MR2 (around 2,800) and the trailer along weighs 2,500. Even towing that at highway speeds and through the city I only lost around 2-3 MPG, I couldn’t believe it. I drive with a heavy foot, even more so when I first bought it. I know if I drove “normal” I could get pretty good gas mileage, that and if I didn’t have 34” mud terrain tires.....

 

Downhill all the way...

 

The difference in your tires is 8%, meaning if your computer says you’re averaging 18 MPG, you multiply that by the percentage difference and then subtract. Which in that case would mean you’re really averaging around 16.56 MPG as opposed to 18.

 

Yep, I think there is some reason that fuel economy varies for some reason. There are people are bewildered that others get the opposite, because no matter how they drive, theirs is the same.

 

How did you track yours?

 

This is my first new vehicle in 15 years and I have always used my trip odometer to assure me that I will not run out of gas—I just like planning my gas trips and will not stop just because I am getting low. Well, with my new Tacoma last week the computer said I had 5 miles until empty and I was really afraid that I would run out, being on the freeway about 15 miles from where I was stopping for gas. Well, it just didn’t move anymore because it really is a fake value. I got gas knowing I should have a few gallons left relative to my odometer calculations and I did. Has anyone ever gone “negative”on the mpg computer? Really, manual calculations are the only dependable method. I can’t tell you how many times I have driven with the low fuel light on over my many years of driving.

 

Yeah, but when i've been up there many refer it takes about 4.5 liters to make an imperial gallon vs about 3.8 for our u.s. gallon. If your from the u.s., and go by them you'd get more mpg when driving up there. You also empty your pockets a lot quicker to.

 

It simply goes to zero and then says “please refuel”.

Edit: I now think you were referring to the MPG mode itself and not the “miles left in tank”, whoops.

 

No, you were right. I meant “miles left in tank.” Thanks for the info.

 

You’re welcome. There is a sort of “reserve” in that the system tells you it’s empty when it really isn’t. In six years I only got that low twice, so I don’t remember how much fuel was left, but if you’re getting sub 15MPG it isn’t enough to make you feel like you should keep driving. That being said in the city it’s likely fine, but here I may have to drive 15-20 miles to get gas.

 

Both my Gen1 and Gen2 Tacoma's had ~3 gallons left once the low fuel light indicator came on.

Gen 3 "0 miles left" indicator happens at the same point the Gen2 and Gen1 low fuel light comes on.

 

I’m fairly certain that any owners getting 25+ mpg are either doing 80% of their driving consistently cruising below 60 mph or their settings are set to Imperial gallon and not US gallon.

 

It’s not as if the Government tests the fuel efficiency at 85, 60-65 is usually their baseline.

 

You can drive down from the top of a mountain pass.. say Eisenhower tunnel to Denver in Colorado and get 25 mpg easily.. I got near 30 mpg with my 4 banger 4x4 Std Cab last year doing this.

 

I get that. But I find it odd that my first gen v6 PreRunner got 18 mpg cruising at 80 mph, and my 2021 cannot even match that.

And yes, of course you can get 25-30 mpg in certain circumstances. But averaging that with this truck over the long run is damn near impossible, hence my statement.

 

It’s also a larger truck than the first generation Tacoma.

 

a friend said his friend is getting 30mpg in a new full size chevy. These Tacomas get horrible mileage for some reason and now gas is hitting close to $2.70 a gallon.

 

Yes it is. Overall I’m happy with the truck. But considering there are proven and relatively easy ways to make ICE much more efficient I wish Toyota would have done so. The ranger has also gotten bigger but their fuel economy is the same as their old 4 cylinders, and with even better power ratings than the Tacoma. And I am by no means a Ford guy. I hate fords. But downsizing and turbocharging was a fantastic move that Ford has been implementing in all of their vehicles and the rest of the industry should have followed suit by now.