I purchased a 2000 SR5 4Runner back in late January, and have been having gas issues ever since it was originally purchased. This 4runner is completely stock, and has 265/75 tires, except for a pioneer headunit and xm satellite radio which was installed after I purchased it.

The last time I purchased gas I put 20 dollars in and the fuel gauge went up to right under the 3/4 mark. The fuel gauge came down to the half way mark after 25-30 miles. This does not seem to be normal to be burning gas that fast. Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be?

 

i would first look to the fuel gauge being wrong rather than your engine burning that much gas...fill it up completely, reset your trip odometer and drive til the gauge says about 1/4 a tank or so then fill up completely again. take the miles that your trip odo says and divide by how much gas was required to fill up on the second time and there you have your REAL mileage...i wouldnt trust the gauge right away

EDIT: i got around 17 on my 2000 2wd

 

mine gets 19-20mpg with the mods ive done before it got like 17 at most

 

just fill it up and drive it till about 200 miles, refil and do some math to fing mpg.

i get about 18 50/50

also, there is a way to recal your gage on here somewhere. mine used to do that. get to about 100 at the 3/4 mark and by the time i was at a half it would be about 160 on the odo. now my guage dosnt work right. it will not go under 3/4 for some reason and when i get it out to hawaii ill try the eraser to the fuel sender unit to see if that helps me at all and will post up if it does or dosnt.

 

Read post #6 of this thread.

 

I have a 2000 4Runner Limited and I've noticed the same thing. I think the gas gauge just reads differently at various levels, which is common in most vehicles. I keep detailed records of my mileage and the first 1/3 of a each tank seems to move the gauge the fastest. LOL, maybe it's part psychological too, seeing that newly purchased fuel go... Point is my average mileage is still around 18.35 MPG, which is normal mileage for these vehicles.

 

I know in my 98 5 speed 4x4 I get about 18 in town and 20ish on the highway about 65-70. I almost never look at the fuel gauge. Just the mileage driven. I've noticed that the bottom 1/2 of the tank, according to the gauge, goes a lot faster than the first. Sometimes it's almost 200 miles to a half a tank and then maybe 100-130 after that until the low fuel light comes on.

I got mid 20s in 4wheel drive going about 50 miles an hour for hours and hours. That sucked.

 

Mine seems to go fast for the first 1/4 tamk then it seems pretty steady the rest of the way. Ever since I got my T-belt/water pump done I've yet to see less trhan 16.5 a tank and have even seen a bit over 17mpgs and that's with my leadfoot,bigger tires and the Yakima rack up top.

 

www.scangauge.com


get one, use one

 

plain and simple on the 3rd gens you can not trust the gas gauge except when the warning light comes on.

Even then -you only will know you will need gas "in awhile". The tank should hold 18 gallons and most of us never refill more than about 15 or 16 at most.

Fill up every time. Be consistent about when the pump stops. At the first click of auto shutoff for example. Some people use the same exact pump at the same exact gas station for each fill up to stay very consistent.

(and they call me anal jeeezzzz)

Do not keep refilling past the clicks-you may contaminate the charcoal canister.

You will learn to reset your trip odometer each time (a or b or both) and as your mileage approaches 230 or so you will be needing a fill up again within 50 miles or so.

 

I'm anal too and for 99%of my fillups are always at the same station and same pump and almost always in the morning before things heat up.

 

I have to disagree with your statement on the clicking at the pumps. My warning light could be on....and I drive for 2 days...then decide to put fuel in.....the pump stops me at 50 liters and I apparently have a 70 liter tank...now don't gas pumps work by pressure left in the tank....from my experience gas pumps are all different. You can't judge the tank is full by the clicking of the pump....they can be wayy off...best way is to know how much fuel you actually have left.


scangauge

 

I agree with others, this is an issue with fuel gauge, not gas mileage. I get right at 20 highway and 16-17 city.

 

You're right but you don't want to be filling up the tank into the neck of the filler tube. Our Runner tanks are 18 gallons but there is always a gallon or even two that is unuseablle since fuel pumps don't sit on the bottom of the tanks. Most 3rd gen 4Runner owners that fillup when it is pretty close to their interpretation of empty still fillup with 15 to a little over 16 gallons and seems to be the norm. If you ever squeeze close to 18 in then you've definetly overfilled.

 

yes you are both right Jay204 and X-AWD driver, the pump clicks off probably plenty early and I sometimes will go one or two clicks more of feeding in gas-but as X-AWD says-too much overfill can lead to trouble.

Better safe than sorry and just be consistent in your every fillup to better gauge your mileage measurements.

 

I always get an average of 20 to 21.5mpg and i just got 23.2mpg on the last tank.

I will agree with the fuel gage not being consistant but I have learned how to read mine.

Oh and when i fill up at the gas station I always for some reason go to the second click. No reason for it, its just what I do!

Plan on doing the deck plate mod this weekend, has anyone noticed a drop in mpg with this mod, an increase in mpg or stayed the same?

 

My MPGs stayed the same with the deckplate but you do get a little bit of proven ponies with the mod and it's essentially free HP so it was worth it to me for $12 and 20 minutes of work.

 

I read that you improved your fuel economy on your yota... I just bought a 2000 4cyl automatic. It gets (so far) about 17-ish in town which is weak because it should be getting at least 19-20 in town with conservative driving. I don't think I could possibly drive any more conservatively and I still get 17.

Its got 150k on it and I am about to replace the air filter, plug wires, and plugs... any other ideas?

 

look at your tire pressure, too.

joel

 

thanks... but besides obvious ones I mean. Proven mods? Aftermarket air intake? Special plugs/wires? Other aftermarket parts? Chips? Cleaning/replacing sensors?