Another (slightly) poor MPG

Hi fellas,



New Highlander owner here. '03 Base, V6 AWD. First 2 tanks of fuel through I'm getting about 17 mpg. This was quite easy on the gas and brakes, lots of coasting to stop signs and red lights. Mostly country driving, not much stop and go/idling.



Now, I'm not expecting fantastic fuel mileage here, but I do hope for 19-21 mpg or so.



Luckily, I know somebody who works at our local Toyota dealership and he was able to pull the service records for me. I'm the 2nd owner, all maintenance seemed to have been done at the dealer (even tire installs!).



I know it sat on the lot for a year or so before I traded for it. They didn't do an oil change (yikes!). The year and a half before that, it only had about 2000 kms put on it. Last oil change (on record) was Feb 2008!! Again, very little driving on it, but far too long.



Obviously the first thing I did was an oil change after I bought it. Am now putting fuel injector cleaner through it. This tank, I'm giving it some more spirited driving as well. I think it's been babied for quite awhile.



138,000 kms. Not ready to change plugs/wires at this point. Differentials and tranny have been serviced regularly.



Further suggestions?

Reply 1 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Make sure you have a clean air filter. You can vacuum the standard air filter every 30 days or so and extend the life almost indefinitely. Also clean the MAF and TB on the car. Buy a can of CRC MAF cleaner and a can of TB cleaner. Make sure you get the MAF specific spray cleaner or else you can damage the MAF. Its a manual but easy process and you can see the amount of black oily deposits that you are removing on the TB pretty clearly - clean using spray and clean lint free rags till no more oily dirt remains on the TB inner surfaces. The cleaning process takes maybe 30-45 minutes total.



I'd also switch to a good quality synthetic oil to improve mpg...synthetic is slightly better at reducing internal engine drag.. every little bit helps.

Reply 2 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

I don't know if it will help with Highlanders, but on my truck, I went to full synthetic in all gearboxes (both diffs, T-case, as well as engine).



I'm not sure what type of oil Toyota puts in the highlander T-case & diff, but I'm going to swap to Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-90 (synthetic) shortly (except I don't run Amsoil in the engine), as soon as I don't have to lie on snow. Yesterday's oil change on snow sucked..



Also, keep in mind many, many people report 10% or worse MPG hits in the winter - may be a combination of Winter gas, warming up vehicle, more rolling resistance due to accumulated snow, colder (thus more viscous fluids) - many variables.



D

Reply 3 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jlaasf New Highlander owner here. '03 Base, V6 AWD. First 2 tanks of fuel through I'm getting about 17 mpg.

My wife has on '04 Limited V6 AWD. Never gets better than 16-17 around town and in the winter only 13-14. On the highway, about 21-22 at 70. Best I ever got on a long trip was 23 and that was going closer to 65 than 70.



This is a good size vehicle with a large frontal area and it's heavy. The EPA mileage ratings (updated to the new procedure) are 16/22 and I think that's probably as good as you're going to get.

Reply 4 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabberwock Also clean the MAF and TB on the car. Buy a can of CRC MAF cleaner and a can of TB cleaner. Make sure you get the MAF specific spray cleaner or else you can damage the MAF. I'd also switch to a good quality synthetic oil to improve mpg...synthetic is slightly better at reducing internal engine drag.. every little bit helps.

I looked around for mass air cleaner and TB and couldn't find anything. Where do you buy it in the US? I'm 20 minutes from the border.



I run AMSOIL in the STi, so maybe next change I'll do the Toyota in that too. Any research done on the best type of filter? OEM?



As for those saying 17 is the best I may get, I'm aware that may be, especially with winter gas, more resistance etc. Roads have been pretty clear since I bought it and it's also garage kept, so there isn't much warm up time required right now. So, I'm hoping to hit 19-20.

Reply 5 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

http://www.crcindustries.com/auto/co....aspx?PN=05110





Think I got it at local autozone or advance auto parts

Reply 6 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Thanks. Definitely haven't seen that around here yet. I'll have another look now I know exactly what the product is. If not, I'll head across the border and snag a can.



That can be used for the TB as well or do they have a product specifically for that, too? All I find around here is carb cleaner, fuel system/injector cleaners etc.

Reply 7 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Update: A lot of driving yesterday and today. As mentioned, I put injector cleaner in this tank and been driving it a bit harder.



So far, I'm exactly at 1/2 a tank and just hit 300 kms. First tank I was ~235 kms at this point, 2nd tank was 265 kms so it's definitely improving with regular driving. Hopefully this trend continues. Also tried a different gas station. Expecting 18-19 mpg on this one.



Still no luck with the MAF cleaner around here.

Reply 8 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jlaasf Thanks. Definitely haven't seen that around here yet. I'll have another look now I know exactly what the product is. If not, I'll head across the border and snag a can. That can be used for the TB as well or do they have a product specifically for that, too? All I find around here is carb cleaner, fuel system/injector cleaners etc.

Regular carb fuel/system cleaner sprays will work fine for TB cleaning. If all else fails you can order the CRC MAF cleaner on Amazon. Probably less expensive than driving across border to get it.

Reply 9 : Another (slightly) poor MPG

I bought an 02 HL AWD at the beginning of February. It had 119,000 miles on it. The previous owner said he used full synthetic in all places - axels, gears, engine.



I've put about 1500 miles on it. 4 tanks of gasoline. 85 octane. 18.5, 19.5, 20.5, 18.5 have been the manually computed mileage for each tank I've used. My driving is mixed Hwy/City, with Hwy getting the most. I have a fairly easy foot, and the vehicle is garaged in a heated garage, so its warm up time is less than a minute.