MPG, is it just me?

2006 Tundra 4x4 4.7L
234,133mi

After Tune up, Air Filt, PCV Valve, Oil Change. The best I can get is 11.4 mpg. City.
Lamborghinis get 9mpg I could bought that instead.
Don't get me wrong, I love the HELL out of my Black 4x4, but Damn! The mileage sux.

 

Lift, Tires? Those are the mileage killers. Also the city.

 

Best I can get with no lift and light tires on the highway is 16, so it's just how it is. Only fair comparison is another 1/2 ton truck. But even then, we don't fare so well.

It's unfortunate. But nobody's buying these if they're concerned with gas mileage.

 

Goes with the territory bro. Especially if you're running oversized tires, anything larger than 265/65r17. You're not alone. I almost got 17 driving 100% highway from ATL GA to Birmingham AL and back. Constant speed.

This is mixed city/highway (mostly city) V8/4WD access cab with under 80k miles total, rolling on oversized 275/70r17 tires, without correcting for the fact these larger diameter tires are reporting 5-6% less miles than the ODO should.

PS - @abcinv I may be passing you soon, especially after running down to Summit Racing and Costco tomorrow.

​

 

Hwat the hell?

Jeeeeezuz christ on a motorbike
What the hell?
I have 20" wheels, 275/55-20 all terrain tires, and pull a trailer pretty much every minute of my trucks life and i am getting 13ish and when i do unhook and run somewhere i can get as good as 19mpg. On a double cab 4wd. What kinda fuel are you guys running to get such poor mileage?
Go find a station with 100% real gasoline and run at least two tanks back to back with 100% gasoline and i bet your mileage jumps 15-20+% by the end of the second tank.

 

Very few things in life are certain, but there are some universal truths...

Water is wet.
When your chick says "We need to talk" it is never about anything good like a threesome with her hot friend.
When the cat pukes it will be on carpet and not hard floor.
Tundra fuel economy suuuucks.

 

hahaha nice one

 

Tundra fuel economy has been better than domestic trucks in my experience.

 

I'm stock AF...I roll on 265/70r16 tires with 3.90 gears. I get ~ 13-14 mpg just farting around town, and ~ 18-19 mpg on the highway (never less than 70 mph), burning E10 87 octane.

 

I guess you're just fucking magic, Bro. Or all highway.

I drive my truck like a truck, and my driving has a lot of stop signs and lights. I don't keep the needle under 1,500 RPM at all times in the city. When I'm on the highway I often run into slowdowns every 5-10 miles which lead to gas-brake-gas-brake situations. You need to drive offensively and have your head on a swivel often. And I only buy gas at Shell stations, typically 87 octane. Every other tank sees a fuel treatment.

 

I've never had a truck that got very good mileage, my
1972 Chev 402 and a 4 speed manual, 9-12 MPG.
1969 Ford f250, auto with a 390, 10-14 MPG.
1965 Ford f100, 3 speed manual and a 300 six, as high as 17 MPG.
2001 Tundra, v-8 with auto, 15-18 MPG.
The Tundra's mileage has never waivered since new, that's just what it does.

 

That was basically me when I was still stock tires and height. I've average around 13.5 - 14.5 in mixed driving. 16.5 highway, if it was straight driving.

 

The window sticker, brand new, doesn't even claim 19mpg. That's crazy. My 98 Tacoma with a V6 got 19mpg, highway, and never 1mpg better than 19. Either your calculation methods are flawed, or like `shifty said, you're magic.

I don't know the exact date cutoff, but more modern domestic trucks are doing better. Regular reports from friends of mine with V8 Silverados and F150s of 20+ on the highway. My Tundra wouldn't get that rolling downhill the whole way at 65mph. Maybe the Tacoma would have actually broke the 20mpg barrier in those conditions. Maybe.

And I'm on 255 70 16 P-rated tires. Just slightly smaller than stock, and very light since they're only 2-ply. Even on the cheap road-tread tires I bought the truck with, I got 16mpg on the drive home. I don't drive like a grandma but I'm easy on the truck. I drive 75-80mph, but I don't floor it to get there, I ease into it. I don't expect to ever do better than 16mph.

And yeah, mid-octane. I'm not seeking out ultra-premium w/out ethanol. Just not worth the search or price.

 

I could see it if he was 2WD and V6, actually, bone stock. Our 2012/13 Highlander had the V6 in it and did pretty well on highway.

 

So I ONLY run 89 octane in my truck and my gas mileage is still trash. Abysmal at best.


AIN'T. CARE.

 

I am pretty paw'pawey and dont get in the throttle hard, typically 70-72 on the interstate and take a mile to get to speed. I drive a fair bit of highway from one job to the next and typically average 280ish per tank with trailer hooked up. The only two trips i have made without towing, once was to North Carolina on stock tires and wheels, at 70-72 and i got 18-19. Most recently the second long trip i had was back in March down to Sabine TX and 65% of it was 55mph roads so running 62-65mph and i was getting about 18ish on the way down there with my current tires and wheels.
I try to keep 100% gasoline in mine, its a pretty substantial jump in mileage over the current ethanol blend. Our trucks were tuned with 100% gas, and its well worth the fuel mileaege bump for me to run it. I am buying 100% gas at $3.279 right now and the regular pump gas is $3.019 today so about $0.26 cents a gallon difference times 21 gallons is only about $5.50 per tank difference. You get about +18% better fuel mileage with 100% gasoline, and i am only paying about 8.5% higher price so..... It works out better for me to run 100% gasoline in it.

 

Towing heavy with lots and lots and lots of firewood in my v8 powered 2004 AC gifts me with 8.5mpg...and that’s going super easy on the throttle at 55mph on the highway. Seems like our relationship is a bit unbalanced. I keep giving and the Tundra taking. I have absolutely no idea what it gets unloaded on the highway...since i’ve never driven the truck a long enough distance when it doesn’t have some sort of load in it.

 

Could be any number of combinations:
Brakes dragging?
Various bearings shot?
Throttle body dirty?
Diff and trans fluid due?
check engine light?

As others mentioned lift and tires make a difference and so does weight of n general, like armor and gear, camper, etc.

Also is this highway or city or combined mpg?
It's not far off from what mpg my lifted 06 AC with full armor and 33's gets.

 

No kidding, best I've seen in the lowered 03 2wd is 19.8mpg. That's highway, with bed cover and stock street tires.

 

Amen to that, brother. To the OP, when you say tuneup, what plugs did you put in? Keep in mind too, if you have a LSD you're paying about 1 mpg for the convenience and, as mentioned earlier, the gas you use can make a difference.

 

I'm going to guess that if I did everything imaginable to save gas, including drifting behind trucks on the interstate, I'd get 17, and never better.

Next time I see premium without ethanol I'll check the price and maybe give it a shot. But my window sticker said 17. I don't expect better than that. Non-ethanol is around, but I'd have to do a little research to find where.

 

I'm getting 14mpg combined, if I commute throughout the week in ATL traffic, can go as low as 11. Maybe a tonneau cover would help a tiny bit? I'm getting one to find out

 

Find 100% gasoline, no ethanol. Try that and let me know what your mileage is at the end of your second tank.

 

Its rare to find Premium Non-Ethanol
Just the standard 87 non ethanol is what i run. I dont think, even from past experience when non-ethanol was the thing, that there was any difference in mileage from 87 to 93.

 

I mean, I saw virtually no difference with soft tonneau, hard flush-mount tonneau, or a cap.

And if you need a Bakflip FiberMax that's virtually new I can offer up a great price on, hit me up. I'm ITP and as long as you're not way the fuck out in Dalton or Cleveland or something, I'm happy to meet out and about. I could use the money to offset the spare set of wheels I bought this week.

Pics in the 2nd/3rd pic here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/opinions-on-a-tonneau-cover.143921/#post-3617888

 

Pump those tires up to 45psi and you'll be in the 12mpg club no problem!

 

I’m stock DC on 265/65/17 and I get 13ish city and maybe touch 17 all highway if it’s flat and it’s just me in the truck.

I never would have expected any better than that. It’s just truck gas mileage. I didn’t buy a Prius and I knew that when I bought it.

 

I’m at about 350k, I drive lots of highway miles at lower elevation. On E rated 33’s I’m always in the 16.5-17.2mpg.

Even towing my RZR, Cat Scale total weight of just under 10,000lbs I was getting 11.

I cruise around 68-75mph. I notice if I go 80 I can watch the gauge lower lol. Also my truck has 4.10’s.

 

I'll look around. I've never paid much attention, but the few times I've seen non-ethanol, it's always ultra-premium, highest-octane the place offers. Maybe the area of the country you're in makes a difference there.

 

When I get my Tundra onto the road, I'll for sure determine gas mileage. I run around at 55 mph nearly every time I get onto the interstate and I get on the interstate nearly every day.

My 2005 GMC Canyon 5 cylinder gets about 20 mpg combined interstate and city driving.