95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners

2003 4Runner V6 4X4 fuel economy

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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 06:20 PM
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From: O-HI-O
2003 4Runner V6 4X4 fuel economy

Today my truck turned 1000 miles old and I calculated exact fuel economy. 48 gallons produced 984 miles, making it even 20.5 MPG, 50/50 freeway and city driving. I am very impressed, for such large and heavy automobile with 245HP it is extremely good.

What do you guys get out of your 3.4L, 4.0L and 4.7L motors?
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 07:07 PM
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In my dreams. I'm always the last guy to ask about fuel economy given the type of driving I do (two-lane hill country, no towing). Also, I've only measured fuel economy a few times for laughs.

With the 4.7L, premium fuel and synthetic oil, about 12-13 mpg "in town". On trips to the beach (still hilly but high speeds), about 16-17. I'm not sure why it's so low for highway mileage (shorter gears?) because my 700 lb. heavier FJ100's with the same engine got around 19 mpg.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 07:09 PM
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You're doing well...best I have gotten is almost 22 mpg on the highway, typically 17-18 mpg in town. Have a long road trip coming up in a few weeks, so we'll see how it does then.

Mostly driving in 2WD mode.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 07:22 PM
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Well, I did tow my boat 2 times, however not far at all, fust a few miles down the road to water ski park.
My boat is less than 4000lb, so I am not sure if I am going to need additional transmission cooler installed for that.

Still, 20.5MPG is damn good, my friend never gets more than 15mpg out of his 2000 limited.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 09:25 PM
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From: Cincinnati
2003 MPG

2003 SR5, 4.0 L

- About 40% highway, 60% city, premium fuel, mostly 2WD, average highway speed is about 70-75

Here's my first 9 tanks

1: 19.3 MPG
2: 19.2 MPG
3: 20.2 MPG
4: 18.2 MPG
5: 19.4 MPG
6: 19.0 MPG
7: 17.3 MPG
8: 15.5 MPG
9: 17.1 MPG

Average: 18.9 MPG (first 7)

Interestingly, on the first 3-4 tanks, the computer had me at 1.6-1.7 higher than actual. The last 3 tanks, it has only been 1.0-1.3 over.

Last edited by tank_bmb; Jul 10, 2003 at 06:21 AM.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 11:12 PM
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i'm w/ bob on this one....

i work 7 miles away so my mpg sux! i'm sure i'm getting somewhere between 12-15 mpg. on the long highway i'm prob getting 15-17 (if lucky!)..

But to give ya guys an idea, on my whack computer it says I get between 15.8-17.1 on average.... so you figure minus 2-3 mpg for the error in calculation and you'd get 12-14ish...

o well but i'm still happy cuz i love my 4runner! bottom line, that's all that matter!

Lance
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 04:17 AM
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Haven't sat down and done the math but my truck (1K+; 70/30 highwy-city split & mixed 2WD-4WD) says almost 21mpg. I have noticed that 2-2.25G rpm @ 65-70 mpg is optimal for fuel efficiency.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 09:29 AM
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13-17mpg but I have a problem where 90% of the time I floor it
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 09:43 AM
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they few times ive calculated it ive gotten between 20 and 21 miles. Chris
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 09:55 AM
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After reading threads/post on several different 4Runner boards Im startin to believe that the V6 is the more fuel efficient one but Im more than happy with my V8.

Couldn't the 4.0 V6 be a bored out 3.4 with differnet heads
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 01:49 PM
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From: O-HI-O
Originally posted by EDGE
After reading threads/post on several different 4Runner boards Im startin to believe that the V6 is the more fuel efficient one but Im more than happy with my V8.

Couldn't the 4.0 V6 be a bored out 3.4 with differnet heads
3.4 and 4.0 have 0 incommon. 4.0 is chain driven, fully aluminum motor with completely different valve train, injection and even the Drive-By-Wire system is totally new. V8 still has the gas cable if I am not mistaking. I know that 3.4 is pretty hard on gas, but it does perform much better than most of the larger competitor's motors.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 02:47 PM
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During a recent trip to N. La. from Central Texas, best measured was 21.2.
Normal daily seems to have gone up to about 18 since the addition of the AMSOIL filter...
I just got some new tires (finally just said screw and got some 265/75/15 Yoko Geolandar G051s). The old tires were leaky and I imagine they threw the mileage off a lot, so we'll see if things change a little more with the new rubber

P.S.: I don't know about off-road, but on the skreet these Yokos are smooooooth.....
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 03:58 PM
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Since we just bought our '99 Runner 30 days ago I've been keeping a close tab on the mpg. In-town is 18mpg and commuting to Nashville(70 miles round trip) is 22mpg. As far as I'm concerned I'm very the gas mileage.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 05:01 PM
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FYI Mish the V8 is a drive by wire system too. No cable under my hood!
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 05:06 PM
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Originally posted by Mish
3.4 and 4.0 have 0 incommon. 4.0 is chain driven, fully aluminum motor with completely different valve train, injection and even the Drive-By-Wire system is totally new. V8 still has the gas cable if I am not mistaking. I know that 3.4 is pretty hard on gas, but it does perform much better than most of the larger competitor's motors.
I knew that :pat:

The 2wd versions are getting really good gas mileage
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 07:56 PM
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Originally posted by Mish
V8 still has the gas cable if I am not mistaking.
The V-8 is drive by wire too. I just got back from a 2k trip and I am getting 18-19 on the hwy, and about 14-16 town. Oh my crazy computer is about 2 mpg high as well.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 08:00 PM
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15.5 average for me, it getting better... It was 14.4 for a long time. I may just be slowing down.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 08:01 PM
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I'm getting around 16-17MPG in my 03' V8. My computer usually reads out at 17MPG which is accurate. In the beginning was getting around 13-15MPG and the computer was reading 18MPG. I wonder if the computer learns as you put more miles on it? Anyhow my best tank yet was 21mpg on a trip.
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Old Jul 3, 2003 | 08:04 PM
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Originally posted by The Dutch Man
FYI Mish the V8 is a drive by wire system too. No cable under my hood!
Well, now I know for sure. I was unable to remove that gay V8 plastic decoration on top of V8 to see if it had the cable, or if it did not at the dealership. I have these covers off my cars sitting on the garage wall at home

Still I think V6, or V8, fuel economy of these huge automobiles is outstanding in comparison to the older models, or Nissan for example
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Old Jul 4, 2003 | 06:59 AM
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I will say my "range" computer is getting close to being spot on. I think it learns when you tend to fill up.
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