Hokiez97

Hello everyone,


I am getting, to me, POOR gas mileage. On a trip of 163 miles all interstate I am getting 14.3 MPG!!!!!!!

I am driving an average of 75MPH. However on its maiden (to me) voyage we got 14.5 driving an average of 70MPH.

I know the 3.0L is poor on gas, but is this even close to right?

I believe its originally listed as getting 15-17MPG....


What could be some of the problems associated with poor gas mileage.

O2 sensor?????
MAF sensor????

The vehicle is a 1995 4Runner 4x4 Limited with an Automatic...

I will remind you all that this is my first 6Cylinder ever....

Thanks,

Mike


PS.. 22re's of mine get 21 and 22 mpg(on my 1st Gen Runner) They are 5spds.......

metal22lica

hmm..i drive about 105 miles to and back from school and it eats a half tank or little more of gas...but i go 85 all the way. i usually get about 170 miles before i half to fill up..so i usually average 11 or so miles a gallon with city and highway driving. i have an auto 1990 4runner. i also have a really heavy foot... maybe you should give it a good ole turn up and all that good stuff...but when i did a turn up it didnt help me. 14.3 mpg sounds like a good number for a 3.0.

rimpainter.com

I have a 3.4L and a very heavy foot. I average about 18 - 19 MPG on mixed driving, with highway speeds around 75 MPH.

I know this is not the same engine, but I think your numbers are too low for highway driving. I would definetly look into tune-up items as mentioned.

Start with the small stuff, and work your way to the big. Check your plugs, they are a good indication of what's going on in there.

I am assuming you have a pretty stock vehicle. No roof racks, excessive weight, extra parasitic drag on the motor, etc. Right?

Corey

iTrader: (1)

3.0s are notorious for bad mileage.
My engine is in perfect tune, and I average about 13 to 15 on the highway, and around 11 in town.

But then I am running oversize 31" tires when I am geared for 225 or 235 series tires.

Add up the roof rack on the roof, a 2" lift, and an ARB bumper, and all that stuff cuts into the drag coefficient which reduces it even more.

When I first got my rig I ran it that winter with 245 size snow tires which are about equal to a 29" tire I think.
I was getting about 18 mpg average for highway/city.

Hokiez97

This 95 4x4 v6 is completely stock.

Tires = 31x10.5x15's

There is an OE Luggage rack.....


Thanks,

Mike

Rick F.

When I had my '90 with the 3.0l 5 spd manual, I was getting 18-20 mpg consistently (back roads in hilly terrain) even beyond 200,000 miles. I originally was getting 20-22 untill I put the Dunlop Radial Rovers on (31x10.5x15's) when it dropped to 18-20.

CTB

I get about 18 city, 20-21 highway depending on how much weight I am carrying. Mine is a 5-speed also.

RgrChu

I have a '94 4R AT.....14.3 mpg sounds about right. Driving around Seattle 60/40 freeway/city, I get about that....Gas efficient is something the 3.0L is not. I generally get about 15 mpg w/ a max of about 17mpg on long trips down to OR (avg about 200miles @ 70mph). The worst I've ever had was about 8mpg and that was basically being lead footed and racing at every green light (coincidentally about the time I got my new exhaust).... Your 14.3 mpg doesn't sound too out of the ordinary....

Adam F

My 88 V6 5-Speed gets about 14-15 MPG no matter what I do. When I first got it, I averaged about 16-17 MPG. Then I got a tune up, and nothing changed. Still got 16-17 MPG. Then I put on a custom 2.25" catback exhaust and my mileage dropped to 14-15 MPG. Go figure.

Memphis4X4

Mike: Look at the sticker on your driver's door to make sure that the truck came with 31" tires. Mine is like Corey's where I liked the 31" tires' look better than the wimpy 225 size. If the sticker says 225, then you are getting slightly better than the mileage you calculated because your odometer and speedometer are reading low due to your gearing. I've found that my mph are about 4-5 mph off at highway speeds (my speedo reads 60 and my truck is really going 64-65......you can run a search on this forum for "speedometer" and find the thread which shows the exact calculations to arrive at the correct mph and also the correct miles that your odometer should be reading). After reading all of the replies above, I feel good about my mileage. I don't have alot of the racks and off-road equipment but I am carting around all of the 4WD weight. Around town, in the summer with the A/C on, I get about 200-220 miles out of a tank of gas (refilling with about 14 gallons....yeah, I live dangerously and drive with the fuel light on ) that equates to about 14.2 to 15.7 mpg (uncorrected for the larger tires). If I assume that the speedo/odometer are off consistently by 10%...then I'm really getting 15.1 to 17.3. My highway mileage goes up to about 19-20 corrected. I run close to the max tire pressure on the tires....but it is probably due more to the Tornado in the intake hose :rolleyes: .....yeah right !!! I have to tell myself that to justifiy my stupidity of buying that thing and am just trying make myself feel better.



David

Paul H.

I get between 17 and 18 mpg highway. Check your tire pressure, low pressure means poor milage. I run 32psi up front and 35psi on the rears. Also get a tune up if it has been a while. Hope this helps.

Victor

Stock for auto is 14 city 16 hiway
Stock for 5 speed is 14 city and 18 highway

That said, I average 17 MPG on mixed city/highway driving. I have a 5 speed and every option - sunroof, luggage rack, aluminum wheels, 31" tires, etc. My truck is not a speed demon but I get pretty consistent mileage and once averaged 21 MPG on a highway trip. I run 38 PSI in my front tires and 40 in the rear. I have Mobil 1 synthetic 5w30 in the crankcase but really there is no mods to my truck.

Have a mechanic check the ignition system (worn plugs, wires), check your fluid levels in your transmission, transfer case, and rear axle, and stop mashing the fuel pedal. I recently noticed a small improvement on my mileage after I topped off my tranny and rear diff - very little added. The 3.0 is not a powerhouse so I am very ginger with the gas pedal. I find that my acceleration is pretty much the same whether I'm hard on the pedal or light but my fuel bill can be wildly different. For example: my worst tank of mixed driving to the 1/4 tank mark was 150 miles, my best is 265. That is mixed driving so obviously highway miles would be even better.

gwhayduke

Driving to Alpine, TX at 75 mph, I average 18 mpg. When I gassed up yesterday and my city mileage worked out to 18 as well. And I was thinking it was getting a little low. I used to get about 20 mpg. I don't think I've changed plugs in a couple of years.

I'm running some Techron through right now since it's surging a little on cruise control. I'll probably tune it up in a couple of months.

Victor, any place in El Paso have a Snap-On Engine vacuum?

Mossback74

I got a stock 94 w/ 31" tires. 2nd day I had it I found out my speedometer was off a little (7mph, Thanks local cop). No ticket though. I get about 12 mpg but like I said bigger tires with no change in gearing means I'm going farther (faster). I knew going in that this thing would not be great on the gas bill. But it's still an improvement from the 6-8mpg I was getting out of my last car. '74 Chevy Nova 350, 4 barrell Holly and turbo 400 tranny.

Victor

Good question. I'll ask a couple of the gearheads at work. Actually, I'll ask the mechanics that work on our ambulances and firetrucks.

I've been bogged down with a ton of little projects. Painted the rear spoiler and roof rack, polished the wheels, and this week I'm scraping off all my purple tint to get the truck retinted. Corey, what's the law in Washington state as far as window tint? Last time I was up there I saw very few vehicles tinted (everyone was staring at our car!) but in case I move in a couple of years I don't want to have to repeat this scraping job.

pinoy

I heard the yotatech sticker makes you go faster and gives you 2 more MPG.

Victor

Then sign me up for two. Anything I can do to improve the performance of the 3.0 would be good!

1Runner

Hokie, my 95 4Runner is also stock w/ 235's and an auto. Everyone is of the same mind here... the gas mileage on our 2nd gens is poor. I recently put a modified air intake tube on my truck. (read the write up by BLU) As this is my only mod to date, I strongly urge you to do this. On a recent fishing trip I averaged 15.5 mpg. While this is not fantastic, you must know that about 80 miles of my trip was in 4HI in 10" of fresh snow @ speeds between 25 & 45 mph. The return home (about 80 mi.) was @ hi-way speeds into a constant 20 mph wind. I'm really happy w/ the gains in performance and mpg.... neither are incredible, but we have to take what we can get w/ these thirsty beasts. Definately get a tune up..... the pass. rear plug is an absolute PIA. (FYI)

Memphis4X4

1Runner: I printed BLU's 3.0l intake tube mod but have yet to do it. I'm glad to hear that it not only gives more power but from your results, it doesn't sound like mileage will suffer.

Hokiez97: I found that when my mileage seemed to degrade, it dramatically improved after I had my injectors & throttle body cleaned (I did it different than others where I disconnected intake tube and run injector cleaning solvent through as well as running a cleaner through the fuel system). I also got better throttle response and acceleration. I never found much of a difference when using Techron....probably because I run premium gas which has detergents in it anyways. The solvent through the intake proabably cleaned the MAF and the throttle body and gave me the improvement.

Here's Ryans's thread on the subject:

http://www.pmibags.com/Ryan/maf.html

And the thread where Jay's sage advice was followed:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...&highlight=maf

Jay spent some time telling how to clean this.....it does make a difference.

David