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4.7L gas mileage

162K views 66 replies 39 participants last post by  euro911 
#1 ·
I just bought a used 2003 4.7L Tundra Limited and after checking the mpg for the last 5 tanks I had a low of 14 and a high of 15mpg. These miles were all local with some highway. Easy driving with the gas pedal as well. The TRD exhaust and Volant CAI I put on had no effect on mpg.

Whats everyone averaging with the older style Tundra's?
 
#2 ·
2006 Tundra mileage

I have a 2006 Limited 2 wheel drive. I am getting 17.5-17.9 with mostly highway miles. I am considering trying a KN filter. Seems the tundra is geared fairly low. Anybody ever had the rear end gear changed? Love my truck just wished it was getting closer to 20 mpg.
 
#4 ·
Seems like you guys are doing alot better than me. I assume you have a 4.7 too. Hey SACSR you mentioned a K&N filter. If you go with the CAI set up I wish you well because my buddy put one on and I put a Volant and we both now have "Check engine " light on. Even if I reset it by disconnecting the battery the light comes back after 150 miles. Seems like the MAF sensor is NG now. From what I've read it gets damaged from the oil thats on the filters that are used in the CAI. Truck sounds great but no gas MPG increase.
 
#40 ·
I used to get fairly decent mileage in my 2004 DC 4x4 - low 20's on the highway. Recently the MPG's took a dramatic dip (as in 8-12 MPG tank average) and I am currently working through several issues. I am hoping to see the numbers return to where they were previously. On the highway I run 70-75 MPH.

There is a definite decrease in mileage the faster you travel. There is also a "sweet spot" that sometimes can defy logic. As an example you may be getting 15 MPG at 60 but at 70 you might get 18. Everyone's trucks, personal habits, and driving conditions are different and all this comes into play.



Have you tried cleaning your MAF sensor with some CRC MAF cleaner? Rarely are the sensors damaged beyond return by over-oiling filters. Even so, they are quite delicate and will not respond well to being dropped or otherwise physically mishandled.
 
#9 ·
I have a 2001 Tundra AC V8. It's bone stock. I get about 400 miles on a full tank. Thats about 18mpg city/hwy driving mixed every time I fill up. It has been constant since I bought the truck 2 years ago. I also drive pretty easy, keeping it under 2000rpm.
 
#14 ·
I have a 2000 4.7 SE5 TRD 4x4, I drive 7 miles to get to town then drive around 10-15 miles and then 7 more miles to get home, I get 15 MPG.
when I pull the two horse trailer with O/D turned off I get 10 MPG, I never go over 58 MPH 'in tow'. Or any other time for that matter,, I have now idea how this truck rides or sounds over 68 MPH, LOL ( I have driven cars and trucks over 125 MPH on highways and country roads, so this is not an OLD MAN problem I have if anyone wonders).
My brother from another mother is a certified Toyota mech (19 + years). he told me to turn it off when pulling much of any kinda load. So I screw those lost MPG's to save my tranny.
Hope this helps on several levels, Columbia
 
#16 ·
I was traveling 180 miles round trip for work a day (all highway) and would go through a half tank per day. Going to work I’d be going down in elevation, and vice versa on the way home. I tried to keep the tank full hoping it would do a little better on mpg, but it was still $50 a day no matter what I did. Now going south on I-95 on cruse control I’d do about 380 to 400+ a tank, but not much more, and the driving conditions had to be right.
 
#19 ·
I raised my tire pressures (stock 245/70-16 Bridgestones) to 40psi and the mileage increase is significant on my 2005 4x4. I had tried synthetic oil with absolutely no difference. We are stuck with E10 gasoline here and I always run 87. 91 made no difference.

City-hwy mixed commuting was 13-15, now 17-17.5 avg (3 fillups). Last weekend LA-SD round trip 21mpg at 65-70mph with about 40 miles of start-stop traffic.

Downside is harsh ride from the hard tires, but its a truck.
 
#26 ·
Your not driving far enough for the truck to fully reach operating temperature so the truck is still in "warm up" mode while your driving to work. I know I have the same problem with my 08 Tundra with the 5.7L V8, I know larger engine, but when I do go on long trips I average 17city/23.8 highway. So most of the time I just drive my Jeep to and from work, not worth the bother starting up the beast. LOL.
 
#21 ·
Well here is the reason for you man:

you got 20's
a 4spd auto
and a double cab

If you would have had the 5spd auto in the 05-06 you would get a little better.
 
#25 ·
Last Thursday afternoon I was sent to Travis Air Force Base to pick up two containers, weighing 700 lbs and deliver them by 2:00 PM Friday to Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, thirteen hours driving time away.
Cool, thinks I. I'll just go home and nap until eleven then take off, rested and refreshed and be there in plenty of time.
My Garmin Nuvi said to get on I-5 and blast south until I reached I-10, in Los Angeles, then hang a left and follow it all the way to the exit, just North of Tucson.
So I did. I wanted to run a mileage test, so I set the cruise control on 'Clyde the Ride' at 65 MPH and just kept going and going and going all the way to Burbank, where I dropped by the Costco and gassed up.
An aside; the Tundra is the first vehicle that could make that trip in one shot. Not the Caddy, Volvo, Sonoma or Dakota, Not Judy's Prelude, nor the Accord or Fiat. Not even the Chrysler Imperial, I inherited on my grandmother's passing. Fun, having long-legs, so to speak.
Well there was a ..... pause. There was a 'sig-alert', meaning go anywhere but on this highway, but by the time I knew about it I was in stopped traffic and we crawled along for almost two hours at 5 miles per hour until we passed the pile of smoldering rubble that was the tractor and front of the semi's trailer, just as we began our drop off the mountains of the infamous 'Grapevine' down to the LA basin.

I wanted to see how good mileage the Tundra would get. This is what I got:

Station Location .... Mileage .... Gallons .... Cost .... Total Cost .... MPG .....MPH
Concord, CA .......... 2,1515 .......... N/A .... $3.699 .... $40.3 .... N/A ....
Burbank, CA .......... 2,1867 .... 19.998 .... $3.779 .... $75.57 .... 17.6 .... 65MPH
Phoenix, AZ ........... 2,2237 .... 20.910 .... $3.479 .... $72.75 .... 17.7 .... 65MPH
Mesa, AZ ............... 2,2441 .... 11.708 .... $3.479 .... $40.73 .... 17.4 .... 65MPH
Henderson, NV ...... 2,2742 .... 16.206 .... $3.659 .... $59.30 .... 18.6 .... 70+MPH
Traver, CA ............. 2,3096 .... 21.853 .... $4.059 .... $88.70 .... 16.2 ....75MPH
Concord, CA .......... 2,3297 .... 12.273 .... $3.699 .... $45.40 .... 16.4...75MPH

1782 miles....... $422.75 for 102.95 gallons of gas by 6 = 17.31 Miles Per Gallon, average.
The Dakota gets only slightly better mileage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
98 Dakota 3.9 automatic, long bed.
Retired with broken A/C, July 2008.
623,000 miles.
On original engine and transmission, using Amsoil by-pass filters and lubrication.
Bet I could have passed 700.......

+Everybody knows something you don't know.
+Truth does not need to be 'balanced' and it ain't caused by voting or consensus or polls or yelling louder or silencing someone.
+Artists prove truth can be in forms you don't understand.

Low-Risk Option Trader
Retired Pro-Hunter featured in; 'African Hunter', by James R. Mellon III. and listed in; Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game.
 
#27 ·
If it is any consolation, I have a new to me 2005 double cab with 46,000 miles on it and only get 14 no matter what I do...in town or on highway. I am pretty disappointed.

When towing a couple snowmobiles on the highway I am seeing 8-9 mpg at 65 mph with OD turned off.

I went and spent the $$ on dual flow max...so now it is louder than I like but still poor mileage.

If anyone has any ideas, I would really like to hear them!
 
#29 ·

Towed him about 100 miles. Got 15 MPG.
 
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