Fuel Economy of the 2nd Gen Tundra

I recently bought a 2011 Tundra with the TRD Rock Warrior Pkg. I have the 5.7 in it and it's 4x4 but my fuel economy is absolutely abysmal. I'm getting like 10 mpg. I realize the rig wasn't made for saving gas, but nowhere online or between people I know have I found such poor mileage reported for 4x4 Tundras with the 5.7 in them. What kind of economy are y'all getting and does anyone have an explanation as to why, and how I can improve it? I'm not asking for a lot here. I'd be happy with an average of 15, but I think 10 is unacceptable.

 

Is your truck stock?

 

Thirsty…… most of my buddies that have them say 12ish on a good day

 

I get about 12.5. All those fun goodies we put on our Tundies cost mpgs... Think I was getting 15ish when it was stock.

 

With the S/C you’ll see 5mpg when you gun it.

 

13-15 is my usual average. Highway I’ll get 17. On stock size, less aggressive tires though it would be a little better. Do you take a lot of short trips, and are you in a cold climate? Mileage drops when the engine takes a while to warm up in winter time, and short trips make it seem even worse. Winter blend gas doesn’t help either.

 

Only thing that’s not stock is it has 305s instead of 285s. I know it’s not supposed to help mpg any, but dropping it 3 mpg from a published low of 13 seems a little far fetched. But obviously I don’t really know

 

You would be surprised. Are the current tires 10 or 12 ply load range E or F? If so they are drastically heavier. If they’re heavier, wider and more aggressive there is more rolling resistance and rotational mass all around. 1 extra lb of rotational mass is like 5-8 lbs of extra weight on the truck.

 

It's not just them. My '13 F150 got a MAX of 18MPG, and that was driving it like Miss Daisy on the interstate. Around town was 16.9.

UNTIL I put Falken WildPeaks on it. Dropped to 15MPG right away. That's stock size.

The big difference, IMHO, in mileage with the 5.7 is the fact that (if I'm not mistaken) it doesn't do cylinder deactivation or any of the other stuff....and IMHO, that's a bonus. Gas mileage can tank quickly, but reliability is preserved. Literally everyone I know with a Silverado/Sierra has their AFM disabled for the same reason - and get similar mileage. They say "Small price to pay for reliability." LOL

 

Starting in August of 22 we have averaged 15.5mpg over 9500mi according to fuelly.

That’s on stock sized, e-rated Destination AT.
That 9500mi includes over 3k miles with an 85 Sunlite pop up camper in the bed and towing a 5x8 enclosed trailer for adventures.
The 9500mi is all on corny 87 you find here in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

If you have not:
Change your plugs.
Change your driveline fluids.
Clean your MAF and throttle body.
Change your air filter.
Slow down.

 

I'll have to check the load range.

 

Honestly that sounds excellent. 18 is super good and 16.9 in town is also excellent. Dropping to 15 with aggressive tires also sounds great. If I could get 15 I'd be ecstatic. But 10 is just so bad. Does your F-150 do cylinder deactivation to get that mileage?

 

That's way better than mine. I do have 305s on it, but thats the only difference

 

Mostly drive it to work and back. I'm in South Carolina so warm climate

 

14mpg combined with a fair amount of highway miles, and I drive slower than most. I try not to look at mpg any more, it will ruin an otherwise good driving experience. I like to tell myself it’s a trade off for reliability.

 

Don't leave out the factory 4:30 rear end in the 5.7 trucks coupled with the 6-speed. That's lower than most if not all diesels. The Tundra's engine has to turn more RPMs to turn the wheels than almost any other pickup.

Super great for towing grunt and reliability, but bad for fuel economy - I'd say even more than the tires. It was a purposeful design choice that stuck through all the 2nd gens.

 

11 MPG average, in town. Beefier tires, bumper with winch, skids and cat plates, heavy steps, Leer cap, bed liner and 38 gal tank - all takes toll.

We've got a tank average of 18 MPG in wife's stock Sequoia TRD PRO traveling up the hills and back at 75-80 MPH recently, which is awesome for a 3-tons vehicle.

 

Ask this question on here and you'll get between 8-20 mpg. There's so many variables. Best information you can probably get is fuelly.

https://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tundra/2015#:~:text=Based on data from 254,0.04 MPG margin of error.

 

It *did* cylinder deactivation to get that mileage. lol I traded it in on my Tundra in March 2020.

But yeah it did. All I know is that I drove like grandpa to get 18MPG on the interstate; and didn't drive any differently to get 17.5-18MPG in my Tundra.

 

thank you!

 

OP how far is your trip to work? If you're going 7 miles, hitting 10 traffic lights and its cold, it's not going to be good. Idle time at lights and warming it before departing hurt MPG's.

If it's any consolation, my 4.6 gets 12.5 with a mix of city highway use, but I open it up in the hills to get some flow through it keep the carbon and soot from building up in the top end and exhaust.

 

If you’re running larger tires than stock, then your odometer is off. If your odometer is off then your mpg calculator is off, too.
Also, I wasn’t aware you could run 305’s without a lift. You sure you’re not running with a lift?

 

I get 13-13.5 on AT OEM size, and I have a heavy foot, so I could probably get 15 if I slowed down.

 

That's wild. When my 2010 5.7 was stock ( but on 33s), I was getting close to 16 mpg on average. I'm on 37s now and I run heavy (kitchen built in the bed, roof top tent, bumper and winch, tire carrier in ther rear, a bunch of lights, solar, etc) and getting 11mpg average.

 

Stock with a camper shell with roof racks on it. Average 15.8mpg all driving combined. Get 17.5 - 18.5mpg on long trips. Get 9.5 - 10.5mpg towing my giant 8000# travel trailer.

 

I’m on 305’s with a 2.5” lift. Stock everything suspension. I average around 12 mpg now. Before on duratracs stock wheel size I got about 13 mpg. I have the 4.6l

 

My 2010 that we bought new, has 88,000 miles on it. Leveled the rake for towing, IPT Valve body/shift kit, BA Exhaust, Stainless WTW Nerfbars and 285-65-18 E-Rated tires. I'm 100% in "S" mode and use Cruise Control whenever possible. I constantly see 11-14 mpg's. I did quite a bit of research before buying,so no surprise.

 

How does leveling the rake help with towing?

 

Probably doesn't help anything but for sitting level when the boat is hooked up.I just added the heavier 'non-stock' shocks to the rest of the items on my list.