2006 Tundra Double Cab Mpg

New to the forum! I have a 2006 Tundra Dbl Cab SR5, with 24k miles. It is sluggish and I have noticed a noticeable drop in MPG. I could use help the problem. Thanks in advance
Eric in Texas

 

Welcome!

Start with regular maintenance. Change oil, new spark plugs, clean the throttle body, new air filter, change diff fluid and run a fuel cleaner through the tank.

 

Thank you sir

 

HOLD UP!!!!!! You have an 06 Tundra with 24K miles????

 

Yes I bought it from a widow 3 years ago with 5500k on it . Sorry 28k mileage.

 

Nice score! Would this Widow have more trucks?
Ps. Welcome to the Forum

 

Also, unplug your battery to ‘reset’ the computer.

 

Welcome aboard! Only 28K?!? I've got an '05 with 226K and he runs like a scared rabbit! Take Caspers advice and then do some smokey burnouts! That truck needs some breaking in!

 

Beautiful find!!!

 

I thought I had it good, my '06 has 74k miles on it. I did have to buy a new AC compressor though because mine sat under the sun for six months. This summer I started using the A/C and it busted some dry rotted seals in the system. I get 21 mpg highway btw.

 

i have never gotten better than 18 with my 05

 

Is that highway or in town? Cause I’m getting 12 mpg in town.

 

I have an 05 and I get 14 local and 19 mpg highway.

 

I get 16.1 in town and 18.7 hwy in my bone stock 05 Limited 4 door (I drive it like a grandma)

 

Is she still available ?

 

@Egpokes11 What size BFGs ? Any mods to suspension? Rubbing?

Great looking truck!

 

265/70 No rubbing in wheel well. No suspension changes! Best tires I have ever purchased.

 

I just have a extra cab and only get 13mpg in town and 14-15 hwy

 

Thats about right what I’m getting normally. Been towing mucho lately and getting about 10mpg city driving nursing those rpm’s.

 

Best way to get better MPG is read my rambling nonsense thread from long ago. I have the MPG thing figured out on my truck.

 

Clicked and it went to main page so could not find your rambling. Give us your top bullet points!

 

My tips are nurse the throttle. Tundras have that unique torque band shift that can be nursed properly or abused in lower speed in 2nd and third gear transitions.

Anticipate stop lights. Lighten your loads. Air up tires.

 

Spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, air up tires, seafoam

 

Well crap. TS is running dead slow as if it's been overtaken by aggressive advertisements. It's a long story about how my driving evolved in order to get the most out of gas in my modified Tundra. 2018 side note, my brother's GMC has been parked for a year now because it's not a Toyota. I think it would have lived longer if it got above 2k RPM once in a while, works for Italians right? Enjoy.

My older brother and I differ greatly, he is the ultimate cheapskate and pinches more pennies than a cashier at the 99cent store. He has always owned a truck and always thought his driving techniques saved him money on gas.

• Drive slow on streets
• Avoid fast acceleration
• Stay at low speeds on freeways, 60-65 is optimal
• Use momentum, if you see a red light start coasting
• Drive your wife's Acura instead whenever possible

I understand his methods, the idea that lower RPM means less ignitions per minute which should equal less fuel consumed over a given period of time. The math is right in theory, the real life application is wrong. I followed his techniques, I tried keeping my RPM under 2000 at all times. While it gave me better mileage than flooring it everywhere, I simply don't have the patience to drive this way forever.

At some point during my quest for better fuel efficiency my ring and pinion died. I had ideas that it could take some load off my motor if I go with a lower gear ratio, but was afraid that revving higher for any given speed meant more fuel being used. I went with 4.56 after a conversation with the vendor who I bought the gears from. I am not advising anybody to get 4.56 gears in hopes of better economy, but here's what they did for me...

My work commute down the 101 freeway had not changed as far as where I drove, how far and how often, the only change was the RPM my truck operated in. Previously at 65-70 my truck revved 1800-2000RPM, after regearing it ran 2200-2400 RPM but somehow I was buying gas less often. This proved to me that what I had been doing before was slightly lugging my motor, keeping it in RPM ranges where it wasn't running efficiently. I picked up a Scangauge 2 and I started watching my fuel burn. I constantly watched load, horsepower, and "realtime: MPG over average MPG. This is where the magic happened, this is where the gears in my head began spinning fast and I saw past the ideas instilled in my by my brother.

If running constantly at slightly higher RPM's was giving me more mileage, why take off from a stoplight grandpa style? Think of pushing a broke down car- getting it going is hard but once it is going you apply very little effort. I wanted to get my truck going.

Where before I tried to stay under 2000 RPM when leaving a stop, I started letting it rev to 2500 and eventually 3000 when leaving a stop. I noticed that this was having little or no negative effect on my overall fuel economy. My take off method evolved into letting my motor rev to 3000 RPM through first and second gear, the short bursts were enough to get me going and from there I carried on in third around 2000RPM and practically coast in 4th. What I learned was that I could get away with a quick mild acceleration followed by mindful throttle control after to coast and push along. It doesn't make sense to lug your motor for an extended amount of time rather than slightly rev it for a short amount of time.
I catch above 17mpg trip averages on street as long as I don't hit thousands of red lights. For a truck on 33'' tires weighing around 100lbs per corner I think this is peak. On freeways my driving habits closely mimic those of my brother. My findings are that at speeds above 60MPH, wind resistance begins to play a large part in fuel consumption. 65 still seems to be the magic number although I more often drive at 70 because I have high blood pressure and live in Los Angeles County where 65 will cause road rage followed by possible gun fire. On freeways I run between 19 and 22MPG depending on how long the trip is and how windy conditions are.

Other ramblings:
I often see people suggest doing maintenance when reports of poor mileage surface. Unless your vehicle is seriously neglected you won't gain a lot from maintenance. Driving style makes fuel efficiency and keeping up on maintenance to keep your truck running well. Don't buy cheap gas and by that, I don't mean get high octane, I mean avoid the crappy gas stations. Don't let your truck idle for a long time to warm up, it only takes a minute or two in most cases. Don't carry extra weight for no reason. Don't be the guy with his tailgate down, be the guy who watched that episode of myth busters.

Avoid stopping!
Blow red lights but look both ways first, if the cops get you tell them it's economic driving. I'm kidding, but stopping for long periods of time kills your fuel efficiency, as does sitting in drive thru's. Avoid drive thru places, park it and walk in. Momentum is your friend so try to plan your route with less stop lights whenever possible, when you come to stop lights let off the gas ahead of time if it's red. No need to be the first guy there, more often than not the guy coasting to the stop light gets the jump when it turns green anyhow. I'll never understand the guys who floor it towards a red light.

 

Pretty good video
https://youtu.be/iNspNdVkslA

 

Cool explaination. The 02’ is an automatic trans an can only be manipulated so much mostly at the 1st to 2nd gear transition. The overdrive can be turned off as well limiting the last gear change (4th gear?).

 

Wow, Great find. Still smell new? LOL Looks great! Drive it, do some maintenance, reset battery as suggested. Hopefully it will get back to normal.