Unexpected Fuel Economy and Max Range

New 2024 Tundra Hybrid 4WD. Head from Portland OR to Pleasanton TX towing a small 2600lb teardrop trailer and carrying about 500lbs of cargo in the bed. Passing Boise ID doing 80mph and with a 30 MPH headwind the mileage indicated 6.2 mpg which resulted in us pulling over to add the 6 gallons from the cans we were carrying. We fortunately made it to a fuel stop. I was shocked after reading about the mileages the Hybrid Tundra was supposed to get. Continuing on Hwy 84 and doing 70-80 mph our mileage improved a bit as the headwind subsided. However, we did not achieve anything. Above 7.5 mpg. Differing mileages were achieved with none over 10 mpg except one leg of the trip where we experienced strong tailwinds and achieved 11.4 mpg. The trip is roughly 2400 miles one way so we had ample time to experience many variables. Coming home was much the same and the mileage improved somewhat upon experiencing severe weather with icing conditions and speeds of only 45 mph for several miles.

I upgraded from my 2004 Tundra, which I still keep, and has over 275K miles on it and runs excellently. I was expecting much better mileage from my 2024 and ended up shocked at how poor the mileage was, prompting me to swear I would sell it upon arriving home. I have been home for about a week now and have been investigating the Silverado, Lariat and Ram diesels to which to possibly trade up to. I am however, going to first see what happens upon on a upcoming 250 mile round trip I have coming in about a week. It will be mostly at 65 mph hwy and towing nothing, with just my wife and I and very light baggage. I will have added a canopy which I ordered upon taking delivery of the truck.

My wife and I absolutely love the truck and pending the range (and no passenger overhead hand grip), would consider keeping it. I would also keep it if there was a kit to increase the size of the fuel tank by about 10 gallons. Until then, I remain disappointed.

 

What did you read it was supposed to get? You were towing with extra weight in the bed, presumably driving long grades through elevation changes.

If you look at Fuelly for 2022-2024 Tundras, people are reporting the following the following mpg:

2024: 16.9 (any drivetrain), 16.9 hybrid only
2023: 16.9 (any drivetrain), 16.4 hybrid only
2022: 16.3 (any drivetrain), 16.2 hybrid only

It looks like it actually gets worse fuel economy than non-hybrid. I mean, it is significantly heavier than the non-hybrid. Sample sizes are fairly low (only 61 2024 Tundras in Fuelly’s database), so I would expect numbers to make more sense as more trucks are added and more miles are driven.

The hybrid does not help you out with fuel economy, and Toyota specifically stated that was never its purpose.

 

80 mph into a headwind, while towing, and you're surprised you didn't get EPA rating fuel economy? Try the same trip and stick to 55-65 mph, you'll see vast improvement. What are your trailer tires speed rating?

 

OP that kind of trip is going to get about 1/3 of the gas mileage as unladen under minimal 5-10 mph wind and 65-70 mph...really an anomaly that you should not blame on the truck. Actually it sounds flat out dangerous and dicey to attempt. A 30 mph headwind can quickly shift and wrap that trailer up like a pretzel at 80 mph. Most trailer tires are rated at 55-65 mph max for a reason. New trucks like the Tundra are powerful and smooth so they lull you quickly into a false sense of security. Count yourself lucky that nothing happened and you didn't get charged for reckless operation if there had been an accident.

 

not sure why you're surprised at that MPG

80mph
big headwind
trailer

any one of those will have a hit but all 3 together is just asking for it

 

At this point might as well Just Bump it a few to 88 Then go back in time to 2$/gallon

 

Goodyear Endurance trailer tires are good up to 87 mph. Then there are the LT tires that you can run which are going to give you better speed ratings.

Aside from the tires, the OP's challenge was about the mileage while towing and how poor it is.

We know that the TTV6 engine produces power and especially when your foot is in it and the boost is high. High boost equals low fuel economy. It is that simple, the more you boost the more you burn.

If you are able to run at 55 to 65 then as @Jettster @DFS and @24_SR suggested, it would take much less power to push the brick through the wind and require less boost and less fuel.

We did a 800 mile trip around the Olympic Peninsula last fall and speeds were down around 60 mph with lots of rolling terrain. We did around 19L/100kms which works out to about 12 or 13 mph. That is towing the Airstream weighing in at 4,200 lbs and 400 lbs of stuff in the truck bed.

We are running heavy tires and usually get down to 15L/100kms (15 mpg) or so on the highway pushing the brick at speeds around 70 mph.

It is good to be aware of what you are burning but slowing down can make a huge difference with the trucks.

 

Slow the phuck down ffs

don’t tow a trailer at 80 mph

 

Trying to figure out what was so exciting to see in Pleasanton TX, that you drove so fast with a trailer to get there? Maybe picking up some visitors from the south and taking back to Portland, if so Thank You.

 

Honestly anything above 70 and these trucks get crap gas mileage. My Tacoma averaged 15 most the time and would be lucky to get it into the 17 range on long road trips driving at a modest pace. You bought a truck, it’s heavy and not aerodynamic, it’s not designed for fuel economy. Don’t tow, slow down, and keep it on flat terrain and you will see good fuel economy. But again it’s a truck, if you are worried about it buy something more economical.

 

2022 Limited 4x4 with 32K miles on 275/60/R20. Life of vehicle average mpg:18.9.
When towing a trailer with 2 horses (nearly 4000 lbs trailer plus horses) at decent speeds (60mph) and variable terrain I usually get around 14mpg.
I’d expect really crappy mpg with those headwinds and that speed (which is likely pushing the limits on the trailer tires and is flat out unsafe). I’d give it some time, let the engine break in, wait for summer fuel blends and enjoy the truck.
Just my 2 cents.

 

Enroute to a friends large ranch to hunt while following a RAM 3500 with very large camper and towing a very large trailer which had my Kawasaki 6 place side by side Mule in it and large freezer. He claims he was averaging 8 mpg and doing the same posted speeds which is very often 80 east of Boise to SLC. The trailer we towed was fairly low profile and teardrop in shape allowing for only two beds. Although we were at 80 mph on several occasions the route had us at the lower speeds more often than not. Overall average was something less than 8 mpg. I’ll make comment after my 250 mile RT with minimum weights and no trailer.

 

Thanks for the information. Good to no what others are experiencing.

 

lol, posted speeds do not apply to vehicles towing

 

I average exactly what they said I would - 19mpg. Towing our camp trailer it goes in half. The truck tows great but that is normal to have vastly reduced efficiency towing. How does your older Tundra perform towing? I would expect it to be similar.

I would say you also need to consider break in, winter fuel, and cold weather all play a part. You have an outstanding model with an incredible power train, why not just enjoy it?

 

Know.

 

0% surprised by your mileage given the conditions and speed you choose to drive with a trailer.

 

First gen is the best gen for a reason. I get 14+ pulling 5k lbs.

 

I just drove 550 miles through several mountain passes with my cruise control at 80. 2 adults, 2 kids, and maybe 300 lbs in the covered bed and got 17 mpg. I never turned the engine off, but we probably had an hour total of idling while my wife fed our younger one. Left the engine on while refueling because it was 5°f. I'm completely happy with that.

 

Sell it.. Get the RAM3500 and remain disappointed.

 

Your first gen couldn’t pull 5000 lbs into a 30mph headwind at 80mph at 5000’ of elevation so calm down.

 

But but it’s a V8 !!

 

How many total miles in your truck at that point? Were you using either cruise control?

 

It just takes fuel to make 583 lb-ft of torque and you need that torque to pull a trailer 80mph into a headwind. The good news is that it will get substantially better by just slowing down a touch and in "normal" towing conditions (i.e. not 80mph into 30 mph headwind).

I towed an 8,000 lbs toy hauler 5k miles across country last year in a 2017 F250 diesel and got ~8 mpg average, and towed same trailer this year with my 23' TRD Pro Tundra and got the same ~8 mpg average. We tow about 5mph over the limit on long straight hwy stretches (but never above 75 mph) and right at the speed limit most everywhere else. Might have gone a smidge faster in the powerstroke vs tundra as you just could forget you had a trailer behind you sometimes.

I have towed heavy (5k+) with 5.6 Nissan, 5.7 Toyota, 6.6 duramax, 6.7 powerstroke, and now 3.4 turbo/hybrid and it turns out that a certain wind resistance, plus a certain amount of weight, requires a certain amount of torque/power. Rated and actual unloaded MPG has a wide spread, but all of them even out substantially when pulling a heavy load. Diesels typically do much better towing heavy, but with fuel price difference it isn't as dramatic as it used to be when diesel was cheaper. It would take ~17% actually improvement in diesel mpg to keep even on cost per mile of diesel vs gas in my area where diesel is on average about $.60 more per gallon.

Maybe a duramax 3.0 would do substantially better mpg for your use case but lets do some more digging.....

Towing 7600 lbs TFL truck got 5.7 mpg towing up the Ike Gauntlet with a 3.0 duramax whereas the Iforce Max got 4.7 mpg towing 8100 lbs up the same stretch (8 miles of nearly 7% grade). Thats about 17% better mpg for the 3.0 duramax so about dead even on cost per mile factoring average $.60 gal increase in price of diesel vs gas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdSzqhfxwwU&t=583s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4g4t94wgvM&t=736s

 

What is your ultimate goal? To save money, or to see a higher fuel economy figure displayed on the dash? You can't possibly believe you will save any money by purchasing (an arguably less reliable) diesel. In the case of the ford , just the motor alone costs $12k extra , plus you have to buy Diesel extortion fluid, the fuel is currently around a dollar per gallon more than gasoline, and the list of higher costs goes on. What percentage of the time do you tow? My 2023 SR5 Double Cab 6.5' bed non hybrid easily gets 20+ mpg solo running in eco mode. It definitely uses significantly more fuel the minute you hook anything to it. I recommend giving your Tundra a chance. Try towing closer to the posted speed limit, and see if it improves over time.

 

aint skeered, but i also wouldnt treat my truck or trailer like that. I could do it at 60. & hell yea, its a v8.

 

Who cares? Absolutely zero people should be doing that in those conditions.

The point is, his 22-year-old truck gets competitive towing fuel economy with a brand new $70k hybrid. I mean, 14mpg with a 5k trailer is impressive. (Yes I know it would be worse at elevation.) That’s what I get unloaded. Kinda funny. Seems the OP is realizing this as well, as he also owns a first gen.

 

You only burn the fuel you use. Say the v8 puts down 100lbft at 40% throttle & the v6 does it at 30% throttle, and the drag requires all of it, then they'd both burn through the same amount of fuel. Turbos can bring down the rpm where peak torque happens, but at partial throttle, that doesnt really matter, And my little v8 doesnt mind the rev's. Stock sized tires and no OD is how i tow. And driving 1/8 mile ahead. Easy on the brakes, easy on the throttle.

seems to me like the water & oil cooling might struggle with large loads at ultra low rpm and after a while the engine would have to pull timing or lose boost to keep the egt's down...but i dunno. I can get tc lockup in 3rd & that makes me happy.

 

IMO, this is baffling to me. Toyota has been so smart at leading the industry in hybrid technology yet they go and do this Max thing for Tundra and Tacoma. The extra oomph is totally unnecessary from the non-hybrid level whereas better MPG would have been a great benefit, especially for those of us who DD them. Greening up pickups a bit with better a normal hybrid powertrain or even a plug in version would be a huge win for drivers and Toyota, IMO.

 

Has anyone really pulled off what you’re saying? I don’t disagree, but the market for this would be huge, and with that opportunity you would think one of the OEM’s would have done it already. But no, it hasn’t happened, which makes me think the physics of moving vehicles this size do not line up with what electrification can provide. Lightning and Rivian are total flops once you put any load on them. We can see what the new Ram hybrid thing brings.