11-12mpg on hwy (stock rig with no additional weight) (1 Viewer)

[Caveman Cruiser]

Hi,
I recently bought a 2013 land cruiser with 85K miles on it and on my first tank I got around 11.5 average mpg. I was expecting the cruiser to drink a lot of gas but not by this much. Doing some research, seems like most folks are getting around 15mpg. The truck is almost stock. It has 285/65/r18 AT tires on it and a frontrunner rack but no other additional weight. Is this normal? Where should I start looking?

 

[linuxgod]

I got 17mpg with stock tires. With heavier and grippier AT tires that dropped to 14-15. It’s gone downhill will more mods

Are you on flat land or hills? What fuel do you use?

What speeds are you driving? I lose about 1mpg per 10mph over 60.

You’ll get worse mileage with winter fuel mixes but I wouldn’t expect it to be that bad

There are sensors which could be bad and affecting mileage but I’d think it’s unlikely that much without throwing an emissions code

Emergency brake dragging? If you put it in neutral do you coast or do you lose speed quickly

 

[Caveman Cruiser]

I got 17mpg with stock tires. With heavier and grippier AT tires that dropped to 14-15. It’s gone downhill will more mods

Are you on flat land or hills? What fuel do you use?

What speeds are you driving? I lose about 1mpg per 10mph over 60.

You’ll get worse mileage with winter fuel mixes but I wouldn’t expect it to be that bad

There are sensors which could be bad and affecting mileage but I’d think it’s unlikely that much without throwing an emissions code

Emergency brake dragging? If you put it in neutral do you coast or do you lose speed quickly

This was the first tank, so the dealer had filled it and I'm not sure what fuel they used. Most have been on flat ground, and I have been going pretty easy on it, a lot of 50-70 mph speeds. Good point about the brakes, I'll check those and the tire pressure.

 

[bloc]

11.5 in mixed driving or is that on freeway only? What typical cruising speed?

With regard to mods, the aero impact of something like a rack will hurt highway mileage far more than mere additional weight.

 

[TeCKis300]

Great points on the above posts.

Also what specific AT tires do you have? Maybe worthwhile to check tire pressure as it affects rolling resistance.

The tires being a larger diameter alone will effect the computers reported MPG. You're traveling roughly 4% more distance than the car is aware of, so it'll generally be better than the computer reports.

 

[Caveman Cruiser]

It was mixed driving but most of it on flat highway.
Basically, bought the car in Santa Barbara and left my own car there at the dealer. I drove the cruiser from Santa Barbara to my home in the SF Valley. The next day we drove the cruiser together with my wife back to SB, picked up my other car and drove back and I barely made it home. So this was around 240-250 miles total driving distance and it is mostly flat. There was some traffic along the way but overall nothing too bad. I will be keeping an I on it and do more tests. Might be too early to determine the mpg but I was a bit shocked!

 

[Fisher23]

The rack kills mileage for sure, 1 or 2 mpg I would think.
There is also a big different in mpg between 65 and 70. Best mpg is around 65 on fwy speeds, but some places it would not be safe to drive that slow.
87 octane is what most people use.
also from Santa Barbara to the Valley did you go over the LA mountains?

 

[Caveman Cruiser]

The rack kills mileage for sure, 1 or 2 mpg I would think.
There is also a big different in mpg between 65 and 70. Best mpg is around 65 on fwy speeds, but some places it would not be safe to drive that slow.
87 octane is what most people use.
also from Santa Barbara to the Valley did you go over the LA mountains?

I live in West Hills so there is some elevation change but not a lot.

 

[Caveman Cruiser]

@Fisher23 How do you like the BP-51 suspension? And how much lift do you have?

 

[LCH21]

Last time out in the desert, I filled up at Cima and drove the 15 to the 138 and up to Arrowhead (a hundred and sixty some odd miles). I averaged 18.2 MPG. Driving down to San Bernardino and back up to Arrowhead, I get between 14 and 15 MPG. The rack will kill mileage. My roof rack sits in the basement until I need it. This may sound weird, but it seems as if I picked up about 1 MPG average after the Slee skids were installed.

 

[Fisher23]

I really like the BP-51. I got it because it was the most tested/proven one.
It's approx. a 2" lift and allows you to run 34" tires without major modification. It's great offroad and yet still soft ride on the road.
If you're going to run snow cables or chains I would stick with stock tire sizes or 33's, as the 34's are a tight fit.

The only BP51 neg. vs King Shocks are the Kings are somewhat easily rebuildable but the BP51's are more difficult. Kings are slightly more $$.
ARB has an excellent warrantee replacement program.

The lift has no noticeable mpg difference. Running larger tires did. I get approx. 14.7 mpg if I keep it around 65. At 80 and 85 it drops down to appox 12 . That is with roof rack gear bumpers, tires and loaded down. Offorad with a trailer and loaded it's about 9.8 average.

I would pop out a spark plug, your's may need changing.

 

[pvchaitanya]

Is this your first ride after buying from dealer? have you changed oil after you bought? if you are riding on very old oil, it can make a difference (but not by a whole lot). check tire pressure, check and replace air filter. Get a gas from a good station, your gas may be very old which can have impact on your mpg as well. Since you are at 85k miles your sparkplugs should be good as well. (they last till 100k -120k easily)

 

[AnyMal]

OP i would run a cleaner in heavier mix and get a scan tool to check trims.

 

[MikeVpdx503]

When you filled up after that tank, how many gallons did it take? When the gas gauge shows near empty and the warning light comes on you will usually have 3-4 gallons left in the tank. Very conservative gas warning on these cruisers. OP may have had more left in the tank

 

[canyonrider]

I agree with the suggestions above re tire pressure, gas, etc., but would also give it some time and see how the next few tanks go. With the rack and AT tires I don't think 11.5 mpg is that far out of whack for "mixed driving." Any kind of decelerating/accelerating conditions keeps gas mileage low IME, as do headwinds/crosswinds.

 

[manofthewoods]

I agree with the suggestions above re tire pressure, gas, etc., but would also give it some time and see how the next few tanks go. With the rack and AT tires I don't think 11.5 mpg is that far out of whack for "mixed driving." Any kind of decelerating/accelerating conditions keeps gas mileage low IME, as do headwinds/crosswinds.

There are other threads that may be helpful.
My bone stock beast has ~48k miles. Pure highway I'll get around 21+. I drive speed limit, usually 65.
Last trip a few weeks ago from Sacramento to Santa Monica, then San Diego and back with city stuff and a monster head wind on I5 north back home was 16.6
Wife drove from San Diego to Sacramento in the head wind (I took a flight earlier), she has a bit of a lead foot. So, I'm lucky I guess. I have no logical explanation.
Don't ask me about my LX450

 

[sedole]

That rack costs you a couple MPG I'd bet. But something doesn't seem to add up. My 11 LX on 285/65r18 load E all terrains will do about 15.5 mixed driving and 17.5-18 MPG if i'm doing pure highway avg around 70mph. The most I've seen with this setup is 19 if I keep to 60-65.

Of course I can certainly average 11-12 MPG if I keep my foot in it haha. Maybe it's just enjoying the newness of the rig?

 

[Boston Mangler]

The rack will rob 1.5-2mpg for sure

 

[CharlieS]

AT tires and aftermarket rack are both impacting you.

I'd give it a baseline service - oil/filter, engine air filter, PCV valve, and maybe even the diff and transfer fluids. I'd also check to make sure you don't have any brake issues like seized pistons, dragging ebrake shoes, etc.

Not sure where you are but winter mix fuel and/or ethanol fuel can impact mileage significantly too.

 

[Fisher23]

He's in Los Angeles area. aka The Valley.