A positive MPG thread

I’ve been seeing post after post on Facebook and other places suggesting absurdly low MPG from Gen 3 Tundras. This hasn’t remotely been the case for me. Here’s a picture from a recent 400 mile trip in my 2024 SR5. Four passengers, luggage in the bed. Traveling from upstate NY to Maryland. A little over 22 MPG and this isn’t an outlier. I get this mileage routinely in this vehicle, and it’s incredibly comfortable to drive. I get around 19 in my small town.

vehicle: SR5 with convenience package. OEM tires. Vinyl bed cover.

 

Not sure if helpful or not, but I also did a breakin oil change, then 5000 miles after. Babied during break in, a good amount of towing since though. Checked coolant and added more maybe at 2500 miles as there wasn’t enough from the factory or dealer (whoever added it to the truck initially).

Not sure why some folks have such different experiences. But I also am not an aggressive driver. Unless im passing or merging, I’m around 70 highway without many crazy accelerations. 35-45ish around town with the occasional light. Auto stop turned off with the nifty $20 Amazon adapter

 

I have found the MPG plummets over 65 MPH. So if you are a commuter doing 80 MPH on the highways daily, yes your milage would suck. IN Canada other than a few select highways in BC ( not talking elsewhere ) , rarely are you over 55/60. I have got 28 on my Hybrid doing a hour and a half run thru the Shuswap to Kelowna. I have also got 15 doing a run over the Coquihalla Highway ( 2 mountain ranges ) at 80+ MPH.

MPG is directly correlated to your right foot .

And people like to go online and complain about stuff ....makes them feel better

 

Aerodynamic Drag increases as a squared function of speed, or so they say.

 

It's actually a cubic function, but the cubic effect at highway speeds is so low as to be ignored, so yes, aerodynamic drag is for all practical purposes a squared function. In civil engineering we use the squared function of the highest probable applicable wind speed to determine how strongly supports need to be, based on the area of the sign.

 

That's what I get at that speed (65 mph max speed limit there).

 

I get a similar 22MPG at 65MPH. It drops down to 19MPG at 85MPH. 2024 SR5 4WD with factory 265/70R18 tires and a tonneau cover.

 

I'm now on my fifth tank of gas and am getting just about the same mileage. I bought my truck with 10,000 miles on it already so I'm not doing the break-in oil change thing, I'm just driving it. I don't drive much in the city, most driving is secondary roads 40-60 mph with occasional forays onto the interstate at 75 mph. I test drove a second-gen Tundra a few years back and loved it but I just couldn't do 15 mpg. I'm very pleased with the mpg's of this 3rd generation. I also like the fact that if I want to GO, this thing will do it. Merging into traffic on the interstates is effortless, and I don't even have a hybrid. All in all I am chuffed with this Tundra.

 

Well, pushing down a barn door down the highway means that my Tundra burns about 3-3.5 gph at 65 mph, and 5.5-5.8 gph at 80. Well, having more fun usually means spending more money, or so they say.

 

My exact experience. I achieve these same numbers routinely. I am not sure how people get such poor mileage.

 

Lifts and tires, generally. Then they whine

 

I didn't buy a truck for fuel mileage, I bought it to be a truck. As long as it does what I want, when I want, is comfortable & dependable, I'm good. Mileage is the last thing I worry about in a truck. I'm happy some of you are getting excellent mileage, that's awesome & some great numbers. If I want that, I'll drive the wife's Lexus. ✌️

P.S. Just for the record, I'm averaging 17mpg around town. Leveled & larger tires. I'm totally satisfied with that, being trucks are inherently not aerodynamic.

 

The acceleration of these things is nuts, I agree. I went from a V8 NA Silverado to this, and the first thing I noticed was how much more responsive this truck is. Given, it’s a truck not a sports car. But still, I was shocked how quickly it can get up and go when need be. Both will do the job, tow well, etc, but this does feel zippier

 

Most of my diving is between 50 and 65 on rural roads and highways with occasional short trips at 80 on the interstate. Probably 8-10% of the mileage was towing a 6500lb trailer. Over 28000 miles the calculated mileage is 19.0. With my 2012 driven in the same manner the calculated mileage was 15.5 over the 6600 miles I tracked after moving to Idaho. The biggest impact I see on mileage is wind. Headwinds and crosswinds of 15-20 mph affect mileage between 5 and 10%.

 

Some additional datapoints:

Drive from OC Maryland to Wilmington DE. Roughly flat terrain, most cruising around 55-60mph. An insanely high 24.1 MPG



Drive from Wilmington DE to Syracuse NY. Much hillier highway, decent stop and go around Philly. Most highway around 70-72ish. Still just under 22MPG. Photo taken when I parked in the garage, lights due to engine off and ignition on.

 

I have 0 issues meeting or exceeding epa mpg on all my previous vehicles prior to the gen3 tundra, so you cant just blame operator error.

I struggle to get mpg epa, im 16/19 and im like 90/10 hwy/city

 

Adaptive cruise control is a gas suck. ECO is a gas suck. Heavy foot is a gas suck. Live on a hill....you get the drill

Any MPG argument will rage for ever because it is impossible to compare apples to apples . Its been happening since 2022

 

I use adaptive cruise constantly but I do notice it is less than ideal for MPG. It helps to pay attention and turn it off when you want to coast without braking or know that there’s no reason to kick the engine on for a little whoop or something. YMMV pun intended

 

Just wondering if you ever reset the total average fuel economy read-out?

 

My truck since new (2024) has constantly gotten 18-19 in town and 22-24 highway. That’s hand calculated. I currently have 15k on the odo. I am planning to add a leveling kit and a little bigger tires. I use my truck for my water well business. It definitely sees off-road. I love tundra.

 

Good question! Yes, I do whenever I’m interested in a given trip’s MPG. My driving conditions vary a lot. So for the purpose of this post, I reset between pics.

I’m spending the next few weekends in the deer woods on dirt trails so no more 20+MPG for me!

 

phuck all this MPG BS
boost it and when its empty fill it up.

This is the way

 

no this is the way ... tattoo design

 

Exactly ..... I own a surf boat, 6 hours of surfing and ripping around the lake is an easy $370. Hammer it and enjoy it, everyone has worked hard to own these trucks and toys. Enjoy your hard work.

No fun being the richest guy in the graveyard. Your kids will be fine in the end, we all were

 

100%. It’s hunting and then snowmobile season, all of which aren’t kind to the MPG rating. But it’s also why I love owning this kind of truck.

I suppose my motivation was more to counterbalance the usually louder complaint posts on social media. These trucks can produce some impressive numbers, whether you’re maximizing mileage or via torque when towing a big trailer.

 

It sure can, best out of the 5 tundras and all gens I’ve had by far , again not a mpg guy but won’t complain getting stuff like this the other day, pretty impressive

 

Just to reminisce about the good old days of my yota 350 rumble , ha!

 

AHHH...back to the memories of having to stop and fuel up for a 5 hour drive LOL

 

You will never silence them. 3 weeks from now some other nube will be here moaning on. It's the world we live in now. I personally applaud your effort

 

Update with snow tires, same size as stock. Roughly 1-1.5mpg drop vs all seasons. Seems about right!