2002 2.4L Gas Mileage Issues - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

aaron_c · 03-20-2010, 08:51 PM

Hey guys, I've been tracking my gas mileage lately- when I first got this car about 3 years ago I was getting 28-30mpg on average, I stopped calculating for a while but did it just to see what I was getting a few weeks ago. First one was 20.1, then 22 and another 21mpg. I'm doing the same driving, at the same pace, and all that. The car has about 90k miles on it. And for reference, I had a V6 Dakota manual trans that I could occasionally get just a hair over 22mpg in and had 175k miles on it. These two vehicles shouldn't be getting the same gas mileage.

What are some things that may be going bad and affecting my gas mileage? Thanks for any experience/help guys and girls.

aaron_c · 03-21-2010, 11:15 AM

Bump...

njerald · 03-21-2010, 11:27 AM

Gas mileage/action has been discussed in many threads........

MrSo0h0o · 03-21-2010, 09:06 PM

one of the biggest factors is driver habits and type of driving(city or hwy). Also check your intake throttle body to see if there is crud on the butterfly valve..

FireLikeIYA · 10-09-2010, 08:52 AM

I keep a close eye on my mileage due to the number of miles I drive every year. For the past year or so I have noticed a decrease in my fuel mileage. My car has more miles than yours (177K) but I am still getting better mileage than you so what I am about to mention may not apply. I drive approx 70% highway and I use to be able to get 30-32MPG out of a tank. Now I am averaging 28-29MPG. This doesnt seem like a big deal by looking at the numbers but what the numbers dont tell you is that I am driving much more frugal than before. I have noticed over the past year or so that the gas pumps in my area no longer say that gas may contain up to 10% ethanol from Oct to March but now say that the gas may contain up to 10% ethanol period. It may be that they have changed the gas composition in your area?

***arabianobsession*** · 10-09-2010, 09:17 AM

Otherwise make sure that everything is working the way it should, check your air filter, replace your fuel filter if it's been awhile, and now that you're around 90k maybe do spark plugs. All that works wonders with gas mileage.

gdanaher · 10-09-2010, 09:19 AM

Ethanol is being used nationally and the fuel mileage goes down proportionately. Things to check include making sure the tires are as hard as you can stand them, keep a clean air filter, clean the air intake system occasionally, put a little bottle of RXP in the gas maybe once a year, and yes, wash the car. The dirt on the outside creates drag and lowers gas mileage.

joshuaboston · 10-09-2010, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdanaher

Ethanol is being used nationally and the fuel mileage goes down proportionately. Things to check include making sure the tires are as hard as you can stand them, keep a clean air filter, clean the air intake system occasionally, put a little bottle of RXP in the gas maybe once a year, and yes, wash the car. The dirt on the outside creates drag and lowers gas mileage.

I will elaborate a little.

I like to keep my tire pressure at 35lbs psi.

I agree have a CLEAN air filter (I use a K&N... stock replacement).

When was the last time you changed the spark plugs (I change mine every 50Kmiles).

How new are your tires? (new agressive tires will lower you gas milage) my winter tires lower my gas milage by 15%. Are you using stock RIMs? Cheap aftermarket RIMS are usually HEAVY and that will also nock maybe 15% off your fuel economy. Last thing, when my tires start to get bald, I usually increase my economy by like 15%, so when you noticed your economy years ago maybe the tires were low on tread.

I'v never used RXP and after googling it I don't know if I would use it.

But I do use one additive... techron fuel injection cleaner, buy it a walmar and I use one or two bottles a year "read the directions" but I am not sure if this will hep your fuel economy.