Tacoma Fuel Economy

Hmm, good advice. Maybe I should look into an electric car... hehe

 

My fuel economy sucks compared to you guys, sigh. I did find that super unleaded makes a positive difference in my MPG, but only slightly.

I drive a 60/40 mix of city/highway. With my heavier tires and that heavy new OME suspension, steel bumper, winch, shell, etc I guess I've done it to myself.

But hey, if I wanted good mileage I'd have gotten a diesel. Oh, oops.. that's right Toyota won't sell theirs in the US yet.. or I'd already be driving one.

 

Man, I'm stil a bit confused. I get low 20s at 75 mph, and 10 mpg around town...

It's getting harder and harder to start. I'm having to add throttle to get it to fire, otherwise it seems to turn over excessively. There's no CEL, so I'm curious. What do bad fuel economy and hard starts typically mean? Fuel pump, dirty injectors, FPR?

 

Does your CEL go on when you turn the key on before you start the engine? (Is it possible that a previous owner disabled it or the circuit is faulty?)

I would try to pull codes anyway just in case there are some that get stored but do not cause the CEL to go on. I think you can also ask a dealer to scan your truck as there may be additional conditions beyond what causes a CEL or registers a code that get stored.

Beyond that... Make sure you have the basics covered like plugs and air filter. If you suspect injectors, run a bottle of Techron (or your favorite
FI cleaner) through it. That made a significant difference on our GTI - adding nearly 5 mpg.

It seems pretty clear that if you have to depress the accelerator to start, something is not right. Good luck figuring it out!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I did the whole, filter, plugs, etc... It seems peppier, and I did get some really good economy on the interstate. I know the CEL works, it came on when I sea foamed the intake(prolly confused the O2 sensor). So I unplugged the battery for about 20 minutes to make sure I didn't damage anything. It reset, and hasn't come back on since.

When the light was on, I did get the local autozone to scan it for me. The codes that came back basically said it was an O2 sensor, or one of the injector banks, and it also mentioned the fuel pressure regulator. I think you could be on to something, it may have codes yet it doesn't turn the CEL on. I fear what the local stealership would charge to just check codes. I'll have to call and see...

 

I guess I'm in the minority. Since I bought my truck in 07 I've never checked the mileage...mainly because I could care less what it gets. I knew going in that the mileage of a truck usually isn't that great. If I was concerned about mileage I would have got a 4 cylinder or compact car. I bought the V6 Tacoma because of it's power, reliability, and trade-in value.

 

I got mine specifically to tow. I anticipated about 18-20 mpg... I'm still getting 10mpg around town. It should get at LEAST 15...

 

I'm with ya on that one. Except I plan on driving the taco till the wheels fall off so I'm not concerned about trade in value.

 

It depends on how much you are towing, driving style, how hard you accelerate and how fast you are going.

If I tow about two-and-a-half-tons and travel at an approx. 75mph, I get about 10.08 mpg with aggressive driving. When I drop my speed to 62.5 mph and with smooth take offs, I get about 13.78 mpg. These are highway numbers BTW.

So your 10mpg around town is not going to improve unless you shed some weight or your trailer.

 

The wheels falling off is no big deal, put'em back on & go more,lol.

 

I've perpetually kept a log of my MPG on every single vehicle I have ever owned, regardless of what kind of vehicle it is.

I use lowered MPG as an early warning sign. A decrease in fuel economy has been helped me avoid what could have been costly repairs to a coupla vehicles.

 

I got the best MPG's that i have ever gotten yesterday driving 147 miles from Miami to Vero Beach.

I was driving on I-95 in 6th gear cruising around 70-73mph with a 4 mile stop in Ft Lauderdale. This kept my RPM's at 2500 and because of this i got 19.33MPG

It was a good feeling seeing what type of fuel economy i can get if i just take it easy and not got 80-85 the whole way

 

I just passed 5000 miles and the ScanGauge II shows me at around 24mpg (up from 20ish when new). I'm really happy about that.

 

I've only had my '01 V6 5 speed for about a month. I got 15.5 mpg on the 1st tank full, all city, short drives. I got 15.3 on the next 1/2 tank mostly driving my daughter around in the snow in 4wd last week.

I just changed all of the transmission and gear fluids to AmsOil. I plan to Seafoam the engine and change to AmsOil engine oil if it ever gets warmer or drier. I also have a AFE air filter to install with a deckplate. I was thinking about a scan gage. I'd like to boost my milage and I'll bet I am my own worst enemy. Anybody know where the best deal is these days?

 

My 2005 V-6 DC 4WD got 16 mpg around town and 19 mpg pure hwy. At 102,000 miles, I swapped it for a 2010 (same truck model) with just 10 miles on the odo, last month. So far, getting 14-15 mpg with under 2000 miles on the odo, (around town) and 16-18 mpg hwy. I call this poor mileage the break-in period... Looking forward to a bit more mpg, soon!

 

Average with stock gears, 6" lift, 33" tires and roof rack is about 15....all that plus loaded with 4 people for a trip to SD to see the chargers play...12.8 MPG!!!!!!!

 

17.6mpg in the winter here mostly hwy miles under 65 - very soft on the pedal

 

after two weeks of Tacoma ownership, i just had my FIRST fill up.

90% local driving, the truck has been babied, never went above 2,000 rpm.

V6 double cab long bed sport 4x4

15mpg

 

Hang in there! I got my 2010 DC TRD OFF ROAD last month... and the first mpg I got was just 14 1/2! It has gone up to 15 1/2 to 16 around town, so far with a bit over 2,000 miles on it. I got 17-18 highway, which is close to what my 2005 got..

 

my 98 has the V6 with 16xxxx miles and it gets about 15 during the winter (alaska adds lot of alcohol to the gas) and get about 20 durning the summer.. I just a sea salt last week so it should get a little better