Before we start flaming the noob, I did read all the stickies before I started.
I am so excited to own our 2008 Highlander. Our last car was a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer that was....ummm, how do I say this politely...a turd. It. Just. Sucked. My wife hated driving it, the mileage sucked, and it was just generally bad all around.
Needless to say, we love our Highlander. I felt rich when we first got it because it felt like such a huge step up from the Trailblazer. It handles nicely and precisely, we feel safe in it, it has room for all our stuff...I can go on.
However, I am a little disappointed in the fuel economy that we are getting. Things seemed to be doing all right after we left the dealer. We'd take some trips to Spokane (about 90 miles from here), do some city driving and end up averaging about 20 or 21. I was thrilled.
Recently though, the gas mileage has been not so good. I'm talking like down around 12 or 13 mpg. We haven't been using the snow mode, and are pretty conservative drivers. This tank has 130 miles on it, and the needles is showing just below half. Yeesh. Any thoughts?
By the way, it's an AWD with a 3.5 V6. Thanks in advance.
All my cars within the last month dropped MPG. I blame it on the cold weather and winter fuel. But, your MPG drop is excessive.
Check all your fluids and tire pressure. Toss in a bottle of FI cleaner.
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Preventive maintenance prevents mechanical problems. Ripe out your owners manual's maintenance schedule and start some common sense intervals for ALL fluids in your vehicle.
I think the last time I filled up it was around 240 miles or so and I put in 16 gallons....so I guess that's 15 mpg. But we'd done some driving in snow mode, keeping the defrost on, so I wasn't that disappointed in that.
The change to winter blends can affect mileage as much as 10%. Another thing you can try is to unhook your battery and then hook it back up in order to reset the ECU so that the computer relearns your shift points. I did that immediately after returning from the dealership where the employees there drove it with their usual care......when gassing it up, check riding it, etc., and resetting the ECU definitely improved my mileage. Make sure to be light on the gas and coast up to lights. I've had my 2008 three years and still average 22 MPG each tank with a split of 70-80% city and 20-30% highway, depending on the tankful. Highway at 65 MPH is typically 27 MPG +-.
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2008 Highlander Base 4WD
2002 Avalon XL
1987 Suzuki Samurai 4X4 - Treading where no Jeep can follow....
Is fuel blend combined with colder, denser air the only culprit or can we attribute some of the fuel economy woes to oil viscosity? Would running a synthetic help in any way?
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Originally Posted by TrailDust
The change to winter blends can affect mileage as much as 10%. Another thing you can try is to unhook your battery and then hook it back up in order to reset the ECU so that the computer relearns your shift points. I did that immediately after returning from the dealership where the employees there drove it with their usual care......when gassing it up, check riding it, etc., and resetting the ECU definitely improved my mileage. Make sure to be light on the gas and coast up to lights. I've had my 2008 three years and still average 22 MPG each tank with a split of 70-80% city and 20-30% highway, depending on the tankful. Highway at 65 MPH is typically 27 MPG +-.
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1997 Jetta GLS, 2007 E280 4Matic, 2010 Highlander Sport
I doubt its the fuel blend. Engine takes longer to warm up. Fluids take longer to warm up. Average operating temperature is lower. Tire pressure will be lower if you don't check regularly.... multiple minimal changes add up to a big change.
And, with the quality of some gas stations, all it takes is a mildly dirty injector to affect performance. So, a bottle of FI cleaner a couple times a year should take care of that possibility.
In the ol' days, winter fuel had the alcohol in it... whether methanol, MTBE, or ethanol. Now, since most areas run E10 year round, there is no "winter blend". Actually, there is a 'less volatile' or 'less vapor' summer blend to keep you from blowing yourself up when filling your car up at the station. The gov't knows that some of you still like to smoke cigarettes while filling your vehicle up while its running(static electricity).
__________________
Preventive maintenance prevents mechanical problems. Ripe out your owners manual's maintenance schedule and start some common sense intervals for ALL fluids in your vehicle.
The Following User Says Thank You to deadrx7conv For This Useful Post:
There certainly is still a winter blend gasoline. The winter blend fuel is less expensive to produce and it contains less energy than the summer blend so you will notice a lower mpg. The ethanol has nothing to do with the summer vs. winter blend. Do some internet searching on the subject to learn more about the technical details if you are interested.
Obviously the colder weather impacts your fuel mileage since an cold engine uses more gasoline than a warm engine. My observation on the Highlander has been about 10% (2mph) difference. This difference seems a greater with the Highlander when compared to my other vechicles for some reason. I think any difference greater than 10% is excessive and should be checked out unless you operate the vehicle significantly different in the winter like letting it idle more.
Yes, a/c compressor will still be running. I'm not sure when Toyota started this. I noticed with my 08 Corolla too, traded-in for the Highlander.
x2. Whenever it's set to windshield or floor/windshield and the fan is on any speed other than off, it will be running. Toyota implemented this a long time ago. My '05 Tacoma is this way. The only way to keep the compressor from running is to modify the system. I'm familiar with people doing so on the Tacoma, but I have no idea if anyone's done this on the HL.
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Originally Posted by Chalkie
That's why he be a moderator and we be the peons... cleverness!
350 KM to my last tank, lolololol. All city, stop, go, slow, fast... ahhh
__________________ 2008 Highlander Sport V6 AWD, classic silver, black leather, Canadian version, 90 000 KM. 2009 Tacoma AC V6 4X4, SR5 w/ power package, timberland mica, beige cloth, 48 000 KM.
2002 Highlander Limited V6 4WD, black, tan leather, 134 000 KM (SOLD)
x2. Whenever it's set to windshield or floor/windshield and the fan is on any speed other than off, it will be running. Toyota implemented this a long time ago. My '05 Tacoma is this way. The only way to keep the compressor from running is to modify the system. I'm familiar with people doing so on the Tacoma, but I have no idea if anyone's done this on the HL.
If anyone ever posts up a step-by-step procedure for taking the A/C out of the loop I'd love to sticky the info. That's a modification I'd like to do myself because I don't like stuff being done for me, so to speak, if I want the A/C running under any condition I want to turn it on myself. Just the way I am.
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2008 Highlander Base 4WD
2002 Avalon XL
1987 Suzuki Samurai 4X4 - Treading where no Jeep can follow....
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...when gassing it up, check riding it, etc., and resetting the ECU definitely improved my mileage. Make sure to be light on the gas and coast up to lights. I've had my 2008 three years and still average 22 MPG each tank with a split of 70-80% city and 20-30% highway, depending on the tankful. Highway at 65 MPH is typically 27 MPG +-.
That's a modification I'd like to do myself because I don't like stuff being done for me, so to speak, if I want the A/C running under any condition I want to turn it on myself. Just the way I am.
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