get a truflow air filter

and please, try putting good gas (91? )

 

Well I finally had my truck looked at because the most gas mileage I've gotten has been 15.low to the gallon (all highway). After testing everything the stealership determined nothing is wrong with it. I was so frustrated that Toyota wouldn't acknowledge that my truck shouldn't get this low of gas mileage!! Even if there equipment doesn't show anything is wrong, there's no way a V6 should get that low of gas mileage. Instead they adamantly insisted there's nothing else they can do and that since its a V6 its going to be lower then the advertised numbers.

Such a disappointment Toyota wont step up to the plate! I'm definately open to hear any ideas from people who have had to deal with the stealership in the past!

 

My impression is that the 4.0 V6 Tacoma typically gets what the EPA ratings says it's supposed to get. I think the dealer is wrong about that. Mine easily gets what the sticker says.

I would try another dealer. Or you can go to a reputable mechanic and pay for it yourself. If he ends up fixing the problem, it would end up paying for itself with better fuel economy. And you may even be able to contact Toyota and have them pay the bill.

But before you do that, I would make sure that I'm calculating fuel economy accurately. I would also get a GPS and make sure that the odometer is accurate.

 

Pretty interesting to see the different mileage over the board. My experience with my 07 6-speed extended cab started at 15.2 MPG... which was mid december 06. Through the winter here in western maine I averaged 16.5-17. Now with around 32,000 I'm averaging 18.5... some tanks as high as 20.5 and others down around 17.2. I haven't looked into it, but are some of the rear-end gear ratio's different with some of these body styles? Also are they different with the 4X4 and 4X2? Most of my driving is "back roads" and about 10% dirt woods roads... I run stock size Load Range E (10 ply) Yokohama Geolanders at 35PSI until today. New BFG At/KO's are on, and I'm curious about mileage with those. What are you guys running for rubber, and is gearing different?

 

2wd trucks almost always have higher (numerically lower) axle ratios than their 4wd counterparts with the same engine and transmission. The only exception I know of today would be a 2wd prerunner style truck versus a 4wd with the same engine and transmission, because the prerunner style trucks usually have the same tire diameter as the 4wd trucks.

Toyota 4wd trucks traditionally have had 3.73 gears with an automatic and 4.10 gears with a manual. I'm quite sure there are exceptions, although I don't know what those exceptions are.

Keep in mind that a higher axle ratio doesn't always translate into better MPG. Some trucks (such as Fords) tend to be geared way too high to start with, to the point that the engine lugs too much.

And a lower axle ratio might provide higher MPG in town (where the engine requires less effort to move the vehicle), while a higher ratio might provide higher MPG on the interstate (where the engine is turning slower).

That's why there's a trend among manufacturers to install transmissions with more gears than they used to, because with the right ratio spread, more gears can give more MPGs in every scenario.

 

ethanol gas. look for a station with no ethanol. 100% the problem

 

I agree that a vehicle will get more MPG on non-ethanol gas. Back when non-ethanol gas was more prevalant, I would measure my MPG on vacations and found that gas with up to 10% ethanol would get up to 10% less MPG.

However, 3 things come to mind.

(1) His MPG is quite a bit more than 10% less than what it should be when compared to straight gas, indicating a problem that's more than just ethanol in the gas.

(2) His MPG is significantly less than other people who are also using ethanol blend gas, which indicates ethanol isn't the problem. If ethanol were the problem, everyone else would be getting about the same MPG as he is.

(3) Gas stations that don't sell ethanol are getting harder to find, and without the government subsidies that make ethanol gas cheaper, non-ethanol gas typically costs quite a bit more. So despite the lower MPG from ethanol gas, it may still cost less overall. And my tax dollars are already paying for it, so why should I not buy the cheaper fuel?

I really do hate having to use ethanol blend fuel. And surprisingly, Al Bore came out and said that he was wrong to support ethanol subsiidies because ethanol takes much more energy to make than what it gives when used as a fuel. It saves no energy and, in fact, consumes more. Now if Al Bore would just tell the truth about everything else, we would all be better off.