MPG Calculator and Blank Buttons

[klruff1]

My 08 does not have the instantaneous and average mpg calculator on my dash display, it only gives outside temp. My co-worker does have this feature on his 07 Tundra. I was wondering if it is possible to add this feature to my 08? Buttons are there (blanks), just wondering if it is a big ordeal installing this feature, I gather there must be some sort of computer required to make these calculations, not sure if the truck is prewired for this or if this mod is possible outside of the factory.

We were also trying to figure out what all of the other blank buttons are for. On the console style, there are 2 blanks next to the Tow/Haul button, we are guessing one may be for foglights, not sure what the other is for, and the blanks surrounding the AUX hook up for the radio, we saw in the book the 2 outside buttons are for heated seats but couldn't figure out what the other was for. Any idea? Couldn't find anything in the owners manual.
__________________
Keith in NJ
2008 Tundra Double Cab
Nautical Blue

[2008_CrewMax]

one of those blanks are not for fog lights .. fog light switch is on the same switch as the head lights. .. they are just blanks for whatever you want.

as far as adding the mpg calculator .. no one really know .. it has been a discussion since the trucks came out and you can find many threads on them .. last i heard, a guy from a delaership tried it and found the thatit was not pre-wired so would be way to intense to add.

hope this helps.

[07tundrarider]

I Talked To My Mechanic And He Says Most Vehicles Come Prewired For Everything Bc I Have Looked Into This My Self

[2008_CrewMax]

Originally Posted by 07tundrarider

I Talked To My Mechanic And He Says Most Vehicles Come Prewired For Everything Bc I Have Looked Into This My Self

that is true as far as fog lights/rear view camera etc etc .. but many mechanics have chimed in on this topic and said no, ones that have pulled their dash apart .. so i dont know for certain, im going to assume no though.

[tundratom]

the other blank by the aux is for the glass breakage sensor

[ProCharger]

When you say on dash where are you referring to? My mpg display is on the odometer display in the speedometer gauge. I know my temp gauge is on the top of the dash centered above the stereo....is that where some of the mpg readouts are showing? Above the stereo?

[djb383]

Probably a lot cheaper to get a Scan Gauge and have a lot more info available, plus you can move it from one vehicle to another. It plugs into the ALDL port under the dash on most '96 and newer vehicles.

ScanGaugeII - Trip Computers + Digital Gauges + Scan Tool

[erkme73]

I have the ScanGauge II. Got one for my wife's 07 Rav4 that didn't have the MPG calculator. Was so impressed with it, that I bought a second one for my 07 Tundy - even though it has the MPG calc.

Just bought a third for a gift for my brother (he has an '02 Tundy). The best part of the ScanGauge is its ability to calculate based on CURRENT gas prices. When you fill up, you tell it how much you paid per gallon. Then, as you drive, it will tell you your current fuel burn rate (i.e. 5.34 gallons per hour) and the corresponding cost.

It's really eye-opening. At 70 MPH, and gas at $3.70 a gallon, you burn a penny about every 2-3 seconds. It's like watching the fare meter in a taxi cab. I calculated about $16-20 per hour of driving at current gas rates.

Another thing is if you sit at a red light with it in gear, you burn at a rate of about 0.73 gallons per hour (with AC on). AC off, around 0.65 GPH. Foot off the brake in neutral (with AC on) is right around 0.5 GPH. Having her sit in gear at a light costs about $0.15 to $0.25... depending on the light cycle. Sure makes you coast to lights, and keep in in neutral until it turns green.

I was able to get my average MPG to 20 - 21 MPG using little tricks like this.

One other thing... When the engine is cold (i.e. 80°F or less), fuel consumption at idle is a whopping 2.7 GPH until engine temp hits about 180°F (ScanGauge shows engine temp in degrees too!). That means, no matter how gentle you drive, for the first 5 minutes or so, you're getting about 7 MPG. I can't believe that this is considered acceptable on a new vehicle - but I suppose there's a reason for it.

Other stuff you see in real time: Distance to empty, gallons burned, engine timing (in degrees advanced/retarded), air intake temperature, $ spent on gas, MPG, and much much more.

Each of the trip gauges (MPG, gallons burned, hours driven, miles driven, etc) will display current trip, total for the day, previous day, and total since last fill up.

I LOVE IT. I'm so impressed with how it changed my driving style, that I'm considering contacting my local news channels (who always report on how to save gas by repeating the same garbage - i.e. check tire pressure, open windows, etc).

Finally, for those that think MPG calculators are not accurate, consider this: When you fill up, you press the "FILLUP" button. It then "guesses" at how much gas you had to add since your last fill up. I have yet to have the thing be off by more than 0.1 gallons! Pretty accurate...

[OU812]

Originally Posted by erkme73

I have the ScanGauge II. Got one for my wife's 07 Rav4 that didn't have the MPG calculator. Was so impressed with it, that I bought a second one for my 07 Tundy - even though it has the MPG calc.

Just bought a third for a gift for my brother (he has an '02 Tundy). The best part of the ScanGauge is its ability to calculate based on CURRENT gas prices. When you fill up, you tell it how much you paid per gallon. Then, as you drive, it will tell you your current fuel burn rate (i.e. 5.34 gallons per hour) and the corresponding cost.

It's really eye-opening. At 70 MPH, and gas at $3.70 a gallon, you burn a penny about every 2-3 seconds. It's like watching the fare meter in a taxi cab. I calculated about $16-20 per hour of driving at current gas rates.

Another thing is if you sit at a red light with it in gear, you burn at a rate of about 0.73 gallons per hour (with AC on). AC off, around 0.65 GPH. Foot off the brake in neutral (with AC on) is right around 0.5 GPH. Having her sit in gear at a light costs about $0.15 to $0.25... depending on the light cycle. Sure makes you coast to lights, and keep in in neutral until it turns green.

I was able to get my average MPG to 20 - 21 MPG using little tricks like this.

One other thing... When the engine is cold (i.e. 80°F or less), fuel consumption at idle is a whopping 2.7 GPH until engine temp hits about 180°F (ScanGauge shows engine temp in degrees too!). That means, no matter how gentle you drive, for the first 5 minutes or so, you're getting about 7 MPG. I can't believe that this is considered acceptable on a new vehicle - but I suppose there's a reason for it.

Other stuff you see in real time: Distance to empty, gallons burned, engine timing (in degrees advanced/retarded), air intake temperature, $ spent on gas, MPG, and much much more.

Each of the trip gauges (MPG, gallons burned, hours driven, miles driven, etc) will display current trip, total for the day, previous day, and total since last fill up.

I LOVE IT. I'm so impressed with how it changed my driving style, that I'm considering contacting my local news channels (who always report on how to save gas by repeating the same garbage - i.e. check tire pressure, open windows, etc).

Finally, for those that think MPG calculators are not accurate, consider this: When you fill up, you press the "FILLUP" button. It then "guesses" at how much gas you had to add since your last fill up. I have yet to have the thing be off by more than 0.1 gallons! Pretty accurate...

OMG! Excellent post! When you were able to get your average MPG up to 20-21, what were the conditions? 70% city driving at 35-45 mph, or was there a bunch of highway miles? Thank you for the help.
Russ

[erkme73]

10 miles to work (one way) with most of it at 55MPH - and four traffic lights. Murphy has it that I hit the majority of them red. That's pretty much all I use the truck for, so I'd say it's probably about 60/40 hwy/city.

The most useful 'gauge' on the display is the fuel burn rate. A normal acceleration will burn around 7 to 9 gallons per hour until you get to speed. If you 'creep' up to speed, and keep the burn rate below 3 gph, you get between 20-21 MPG over the tank. You can display up to four 'gauges' at once. The others I keep up are instant MPG, engine load (expressed as %) and throttle position. At idle the TPS is around 15%. When I'm driving, I try to keep the TPS below 21% - which keeps the GPH down.

It takes some getting used to, and the speedies do get frustrated (I stay in the right-most lane). I usually catch up to them at the next light anyway. And to get an extra 80-100 miles on a tank, at nearly $4/gallon is an extra $20 bucks saved.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the single most significant obstacle to getting 20+ MPG is trip duration. If all your trips are <5 min, you'll have HORRIBLE gas mileage. Until the engine water temp reaches about 180°F (another available gauge), the MPG's are about 1/2 normal. Whatever 'switches' at the higher temp, I wish there was a way to override it so it was more efficient when the engine is cold.

[Deznutjob]

Originally Posted by 2008_CrewMax

one of those blanks are not for fog lights .. fog light switch is on the same switch as the head lights. .. they are just blanks for whatever you want.

as far as adding the mpg calculator .. no one really know .. it has been a discussion since the trucks came out and you can find many threads on them .. last i heard, a guy from a delaership tried it and found the thatit was not pre-wired so would be way to intense to add.

hope this helps.

I pulled apart those blanks down by the right knee space to install my offroad light switch and there is a harness for something behind there. Hmmmm I was thinkin it was for the foggies but maybe not.

[beemer1274]

Originally Posted by erkme73

I have the ScanGauge II. Got one for my wife's 07 Rav4 that didn't have the MPG calculator. Was so impressed with it, that I bought a second one for my 07 Tundy - even though it has the MPG calc.

Just bought a third for a gift for my brother (he has an '02 Tundy). The best part of the ScanGauge is its ability to calculate based on CURRENT gas prices. When you fill up, you tell it how much you paid per gallon. Then, as you drive, it will tell you your current fuel burn rate (i.e. 5.34 gallons per hour) and the corresponding cost.

It's really eye-opening. At 70 MPH, and gas at $3.70 a gallon, you burn a penny about every 2-3 seconds. It's like watching the fare meter in a taxi cab. I calculated about $16-20 per hour of driving at current gas rates.

Another thing is if you sit at a red light with it in gear, you burn at a rate of about 0.73 gallons per hour (with AC on). AC off, around 0.65 GPH. Foot off the brake in neutral (with AC on) is right around 0.5 GPH. Having her sit in gear at a light costs about $0.15 to $0.25... depending on the light cycle. Sure makes you coast to lights, and keep in in neutral until it turns green.

I was able to get my average MPG to 20 - 21 MPG using little tricks like this.

One other thing... When the engine is cold (i.e. 80°F or less), fuel consumption at idle is a whopping 2.7 GPH until engine temp hits about 180°F (ScanGauge shows engine temp in degrees too!). That means, no matter how gentle you drive, for the first 5 minutes or so, you're getting about 7 MPG. I can't believe that this is considered acceptable on a new vehicle - but I suppose there's a reason for it.

Other stuff you see in real time: Distance to empty, gallons burned, engine timing (in degrees advanced/retarded), air intake temperature, $ spent on gas, MPG, and much much more.

Each of the trip gauges (MPG, gallons burned, hours driven, miles driven, etc) will display current trip, total for the day, previous day, and total since last fill up.

I LOVE IT. I'm so impressed with how it changed my driving style, that I'm considering contacting my local news channels (who always report on how to save gas by repeating the same garbage - i.e. check tire pressure, open windows, etc).

Finally, for those that think MPG calculators are not accurate, consider this: When you fill up, you press the "FILLUP" button. It then "guesses" at how much gas you had to add since your last fill up. I have yet to have the thing be off by more than 0.1 gallons! Pretty accurate...

I was just curious if you have any pictures of where you mounted your scan guage on your tundra.

[jtruck618]

Very interesting product, im surprised it does not cost more.

[erkme73]

Shhh... Now that fuel has become so expensive, I would not be surprised if the 'adjusted' their sales price proportionate to the popularity...

Here's how I have mine 'installed'. There is enough plyability in the plastic between the cup holder and cubby hole by the power points to fish the RJ45 cable through. The tension of these two parts holds the cable firmly so I did not need to use any adhesives. And, there's no drilling. I can remove this at any point without leaving any trace of the install.

It's not an ideal location, as it is too low and really distracts while driving. I'm thinking about getting the mirror-mount bracket, which would put it above the rear view mirror. That way I can watch/play with it without taking my eyes completely off the road.

[jtruck618]

What does it plug into?