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I promised myself I wouldn't, but...

12K views 70 replies 46 participants last post by  Big Shasta 
#1 ·
Ok guys I know complaining about gas milage is heard alot around here. Trust me I've read and researched and read some more. But I do have to finally ask, is this normal?

I have a 2015 tundra limited 4x4 FFV with 2800 miles so far and do mostly city driving so far as my current job location requires it.

Im not overly aggressive on the pedal and even attempt to drive it like a granny just to see if my milage will go up.

I average 11.2 Mpg
On a trip to Dallas (5 hours 1 way) I got 13.3
this is cruise control at 70

I have never or will never run e85 in my truck, over the past 4 fill ups I've put 93 octane shell v power and haven't noticed anything better.

So? Is this it? If so I guess I'm fine....at least I'll be at peace with it instead of wondering if something is wrong.

Btw I'm completely stock, no mods, no lift, factory tires and live in Southeast texas damn near sea level
 
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#3 ·
The mileage will improve a little as you get more miles on your truck, but the FFV engines don't get as good mileage as the standard engine. My '07 averages about 16.5 on winter gas and 17.5 on summer gas.
 
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#9 · (Edited)
The mileage will improve a little as you get more miles on your truck, but the FFV engines don't get as good mileage as the standard engine..
Not true. I averaged over 18 on vacation in a 2012 a month ago. Hand calculated number. How does it beat factory ratings? I don't know, but it's not a one time thing. I averaged over 19 a year ago on vacation, over 3,000 miles of interstate driving.
 
#4 · (Edited)
"Normal" is pretty subjective. I don't think I drive overly aggressively but I constantly scare the shit out of my wife and she is always reaching for the handle. My best has been 14.7 and my worst is 13.2 and that's with about 75/25 city/highway. But also know that mileage computers are notoriously inaccurate and unless you reset them they are a total average since mile 1. The only way to know for sure is to hand calculate and its just not worth the effort to me. If you are concerned, having the dealer check it. I have heard of people getting shitty mileage due to issues with ECU so it might me worth getting it checked out. I guess its possible to get 16mpgs and better, but I cant help being doubtful every time I hear it. Maybe with 90% flat highway, 70mph and under with no load and an egg under the pedal?
 
#5 ·
The faster you go the larger the drop in fuel economy. Anything over about 55mph you are going to burn up a lot more fuel. Trouble is nobody drives 55mph everything is 65 or higher so there's really no economy in it at all LOL.

Its a truck its not going to get 30+mpg so don't try and figure it ever doing that. The most I've ever seen was 23mpg but that was before I put new tires on, the heavier tires will make a bit of difference, as does driving style, your location, weather, etc. Nothing will ever be perfect. Also, if you are buying garbage cheap fuel you are bound to get horrible fuel economy. Off the wall gas stations many times have poor service standards on their fuel delivery systems resulting in oftentimes you get some water mixed in with your fuel from a leaking storage tank, or you just get lower octane fuel because its been sitting for so long the ethanol has evaporated leaving you with less than 87 octane...more like about 80 octane. So be careful where you buy fuel...cheaper isn't better.
 
#7 ·
It's just hard to believe people are getting WAY better mileage than the factory rating which Im sure are calculated under PERFECT conditions. Toyota is not going to down-rate their mpgs. That would be pretty dumb from an EPA compliance stand point as well as from a sales stand point. Here are the Toyota rating for 2015 Tundras.
4.6 2WD- 15 City, 16 Combined, 19 Highway
4.6 4WD- 14 City, 16 Combined, 18 Highway
5.7 2WD- 13 City, 15 Combined, 18 Highway
5.7 4WD- 13 City, 15 Combined, 17 Highway

There is no difference between FFV and standard engine ratings unless running E-85. Unless of course there is a computer issue.

So how do people claim better mileage than the factory rating. It's impossible to ONLY drive highway under perfect conditions all the time. And again, the computer is an average. So its pretty unbelievable when people are claiming 16 and above average mpgs
 
#8 ·
So its pretty unbelievable when people are claiming 16 and above average mpgs
I agree. I might be able to swing 15 mpg on a long flat trip going around 70. Usually I'm in the 12.5 combined area. Lately I've been looking at the instant mpg and that's help me improve over the few days of driving. I can't complain cause I'll go 4 days without driving my Tundra.
 
#10 ·
Im curious. How are you guys hand calculating? How do you know exactly how much fuel you've used over a certain amount of miles? I have a method that "should" be pretty accurate but I would like to hear other people's methods. Because while mine would work, it would take some planning and I don't see many people going through the hassle. To be honest I see more people guest-imating their calculations.
 
#12 ·
It's pretty simple. Reset your Trip A odometer when you fill up. the next fill up you divide the gallons added by the miles on the trip odo. It's the most accurate if you fill at the same pump and stop at the first click but even with different pumps, you should be REALLY close. I was always within a few tenths of what the computer said. and I was about 95% city (45 and under with 5% 60mph for short periods) I was always in the low 14's on E10 and high 15's on E0. Went down to low 13's and high 14's with the lift and big tires.
 
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#11 ·
I've got pretty much the same truck and i average 13.8. i expect it to go down after i put on 35's.
 
#33 ·
I average 13 - 13.5 90/10 city/hwy with 35's w/3.5 lift, hand calculated. Driving how I like and not babying it and I don't have any problem with that number.

Mileage will improve when you get closer to 10K miles, at least for me.
 
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#13 ·
My method and yours are pretty close. I've only done it once but I went light to light on the gas gauge. I filled up the 1 gallon gas jug I use for my weed eater and stopped when the gas light came on. put the one gallon in the tank and then put another 15 gallons exactly at the gas station and reset the odometer. Then I just drove normal until the light came back on and calculated. Im guessing both of our methods would have about the same accuracy. Yours is simpler though.
 
#30 ·
For what it's worth,

I have the non FFV engine in a '15 Pro. I have not adjusted the trip A odometer since buying it late November. I'm at sea level, warmed the vehicle up in winter to de-ice and have a 15 mile daily mostly hwy commute but traffic can be at cruising speed or stop and go. Mostly it is somewhere in between. It is my daily driver so it sees equal amounts of miles driving in the cities.
The truck just turned 5600 miles and have averaged 14.1
I haven't towed with it yet and don't baby the throttle.
Best vehicle I've owned to date and have zero complaints about it!
 
#31 · (Edited)
I have seen about 18.7 mpg all highway at just under 65 mph. My mixed average is about 14. I have seen about 11 or 12 in the city in most tanks that are mainly stop and go. Pay attention to the instantaneous display to figure out how to do better. Contrary to popular belief, accelerating like a slug doesn't do it. Get up to speed as quickly as possible without going over about 3000 rpm and then be off the throttle for as long as possible. If the truck spends most of its time between lights under load and accelerating it burns more gas.
 
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#32 ·
Turtle9343 - the MPG test is correct.

Oh No. Another MPG thread. Yes it is getting to be too much. LOL

Turtle and I must drive the same way because I get essentially the same MPGs he does....towing or not. That is about 15MPG towing and about 19-20mpg empty - it is dependent on how many dam drunks get in my way. LOL

I buy cheapest gas at Kroger!

And another major issue for those not getting the same MPGs, try releasing the parking brake and stop dragging your feet. >:D
 
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#34 ·
I'm in SA with a 2011 Crewmax Tundra 4.6 liter (maybe thats the difference?) used for working mainly. I tow a 15ft trailer with 100 gallons of liquid and carry around 500lbs in equipment in the truck. Even with lots of city driving (125 miles/day on average) I get around 13MPG. If I'm without my trailer and doing lots of longer stretches I get up to 15.5 mpg. I never use cruise control, I find it kills my average. Any time theres an incline for an extended period the RPMs go way up when it shifts to 3rd or 4th to keep the speed up. When I tow my jet skis I try and do some manual shifting once I get up to highway speeds to avoid it shifting frequently. I'm not saying something is wrong with your Tundra, I just drive mine so much I've trained myself to watch the current MPG number and try to back off the gas when I don't need it. It took a while to learn that but I really wanted to get good milage since I talked my parents into buying the Tundra rather than another Tacoma for our family business. When my wife drives it I get pretty crappy milage, nothing against her driving but she is more used to her Rav4 and gives it more gas than is needed at times.
 
#36 ·
If I do anything over 65 I get about 14.5. I've reached 17mpg before going at constant 55-60 but it's hard to maintain that speed on the hwy especiall with a 5.7.:D
 
#38 ·
I can get about 20 using a hypermiling technique (P&G) at 50-60mph, but it's a pain in the ass to keep up. driving normally with about 70% highway at 70mph I'll do about 17mpg, but this is a 4x2 5.7 DC with highway tires - I'd expect 4x4 CM's to be more like 15 with similar conditions
 
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