Are you doing the math or the HL?

 

Huh? if my tank is 17 gallons I shouldn’t be getting only 289.

 

Driving style and conditions effect the mileage. Also, while they can sell it as a 17 gallon tank, the usable space is around 14 gallons. Hybrid should be able to get around 480 miles but gas would be around 280 for full to warning light comes on.

 

i did my first full fuel up today and it took 15.5 gallons

 

How many gallons when you refill? 20 MPGX14 =280 per tank. That's about what the fuelly website shows for owner reported actual fuel mileage. Useable 14 gallons x 20 MPG. Granddaughter traded hers in for a Rav4 hybrid for better fuel economy. Highlander hybrid gets about 50% better.

 

23.4 miles per gallon. I drive my V-6 2021 LE model in eco mode using Shell 87 octane (for the detergents) and admittedly am easy on the pedal, but "keep up with flow of traffic" in mixed Hwy/city driving.

 

Unless you're is a hybrid you aren't going to get that. 29 mpg was the best I got awd Platinum v6.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

If this is the first time filling up your tank, it takes a few fill-ups to calibrate. The most I've ever seen is 330ish. But the better mpg you average, the higher that number will go.

 

With the V6 I also see DTE estimates in the 320's-330's. I'm averaging about 21.5 MPG overall. DTE is supposed to leave some extra gas in the tank because it seems too many people are in the habit of driving until it says 0.

 

Welcome to the site Gfati -

A lot of answers here, but some questions for you:

What trim/model is your HL? We are assuming it is not hybrid since you did not mention that.
Why did you think you would get 480 miles to the tank?


The listed mpg for the non-hybrid is about 23 or 24 combined, and of course that is pretty variable depending on how you drive and conditions are just about perfect. If you had a 20 gallon fuel tank and drive it to the last drop and hit that combined average then you would get about 460 miles to the tank, so again not sure where you were getting 480 from, especially as you stated your tank is 17 gallons. And one very important point is none of us drive the tank dry, at least we really should not be doing that. You can't use the stated total volume capacity of the tank as any real gauge as you don't use all that gas. When you fill up there may be 5 or more gallons still in the tank, even if you are close to E, so best you can do is save the number of gallons you pumped to the first shut off (when the pump auto stops), and divide into the number of miles you drove on that fill up. DTE (distance to empty) is really just something to give you some idea of when you need to hit a gas station if you are planning a trip or out and about and may be a distance from stations.

In short, if you drive perfectly in ideal conditions with fully inflated tires and all that fun stuff expect to get around 24 miles to the gallon, irrespective of any distance to empty the console will tell you. Lighten the load inside, drive more granny style, and you will probably inch that mpg up a bit.

 

If you drive your Highlander like Morgan Freeman did in Driving Miss Daisy (the movie) you should be getting better fuel eccomony, but if you aren't then your milage will vary.

 

It will get more realistic after a few 1000 miles. Also, there is an active recall on the DTE system.

 

Also, there is an active recall on the DTE system.

No, there isn't. The recall you're thinking of is for the low fuel indicator light. Highlanders made before a certain date in 2021 are being reprogrammed to make the light come on sooner, as many people wait to get gas until the light comes on. After that 2021 date, the change was made in manufacturing for the instrument cluster.

The recall doesn't claim to change the DTE calculation or how the fuel gauge reads. It only turns the light on with a bigger safety margin left in the tank.

 

Ive got a 2020 V6 and my distance to empty is always over 400 miles after a fill up. I don’t try over pumping my tank, 1st click and I quit. My average mpg is between 25-26. 380 miles is the furthest I drive on a tank.

 

My '22 V6 is 3 months old. I'm getting ~22mpg with my driving and ~365 per tank filling up when the range gauge says zero, which is at ~1.7 gal left.