Fuel mileage 90 Prado diesel?

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patrickfinley

patrickfinley

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What kind of gas mileage would you get on a 96-97 Toyota Prado with a diesel engine?
 
From what I'm finding a Petrol engine gets about 16mpg and a Prado Diesel gets about 19mpg. Other reports say 24-25 mpg or 9.5-10 Liters per gallon combined. Which sounds right to any Diesel owners?
 
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Fuel milage 90 Prado diesel

I live in New Zealand and travel from Nelson, northern part of Sth Island down through the southern Alps and over to the east coast to Christchurch (where I used to live until the 5 big earth quakes). My 97 Prado diesel turbo fuel consumption varies between 9.3 to 9.6 lt/km including a bit of town running. Average speed for these 440km through the mountains and passes can only reach 65 km/hr. All done normal 4W drive in auto. Have a friend who does same journey in his 2002 limited edition special issue gets 11.2avg.
 
Thanks for the input John, I was looking into a possible job in NZ and the 90 seemed like a good vehicle to pick up down there, especially a diesel with reasonable gas mileage.
 
Although my Prado was older ( 1990 ) I never got better than 17-18 mpg ( city driving ) and 22-23 was tops on the highway.
 
Although I use litres per 100 km, here are my figures.1997 KZJ95 with 3,0 turbo diesel 1kz-te, auto trans.In original condition and with fuel efficient street tires, 9,2 l/100kmsNow, 285/75-16 mud tires, Air lockers, Sahara bar with winch, underbody plating and very solid rock sliders, weight about 2500 kgs with two adults, two kids and two dogs onboard, I got about 11,7-12,7 l/100 kms.This on weekend trip on Norwegian roads, hills and road speeds 60-90 km/h and careful driving.After this trip I have put on a full 3" exhaust, and am waiting for a KN air filter. Also looking to install an intercooler.The weight and tires make a huge impact on performance, especially at higher speeds going up hills.Hope it helps.Stefan
 
Stefan E. said:
Although I use litres per 100 km, here are my figures.1997 KZJ95 with 3,0 turbo diesel 1kz-te, auto trans.In original condition and with fuel efficient street tires, 9,2 l/100kmsNow, 285/75-16 mud tires, Air lockers, Sahara bar with winch, underbody plating and very solid rock sliders, weight about 2500 kgs with two adults, two kids and two dogs onboard, I got about 11,7-12,7 l/100 kms.This on weekend trip on Norwegian roads, hills and road speeds 60-90 km/h and careful driving.After this trip I have put on a full 3" exhaust, and am waiting for a KN air filter. Also looking to install an intercooler.The weight and tires make a huge impact on performance, especially at higher speeds going up hills.Hope it helps.Stefan
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Thank you. I have a old 3l turbo diesel Mercedes wagon which weighs only a bit less with the same displ and hp. I get 26-28 at 65 mph and always have. It is automatic without a lockup converter. MT converesions get over 30. A Prado should get 22-25 I would think if not driven too fast.
 
I’ve got a shorty diesel auto with a 2.5” lift and 31” tires, plus some extra weight (drawers, winch, bumper). I get high teens around town and can get around 20 if I keep the speed reasonable on the highway. Average across a tank of diesel is usually about 19 mpg.
 
Thanks gentlemen. I am trying to find the economy on LC Diesel s from Japan That I would like to import. Choices are The 80 series with the 6cyl 1HZ or the turbo HZ or the Prado with the 3l Turbo w/wo intercooler. The smaller Prado is obviously going to be at least 10-20% bestter I assume but those 80 series LC are real eye candy. The american LC with the 6cyl 4.5 and the 8 cyl 4.7 seem to be 10-14 mpg at best but diesel here is $2 gallon higher than gas so it is probably a wash. If diesel doesn't revert to near parity with gas then owning a gasser is probably a better bed long term.
 
I have a '96 5 door with the 1KZTE and auto trans, and get ~23mpg or 10.2l/100km, almost entirely highway. Maybe 5% city driving.

This is running R99, so might do ~5% better on dino squeezings.
 
I have a KZJ95 from 1997 with 408.000kms.
I get between 8L to 12L to 100kms.
Mine is still stock apart from an intercooler from a KDJ90, turbo doing 0.9bar and lifted 5cm.
I drive conservatively...
 
VAcruiser said:
I'm curious about this as well. I have a 5MT and the best I've been able to squeeze out of it is 19mpg. Seems off.
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That's definitely odd, the manual should be doing better. This is all purely guessing, but are you used to driving gasser manuals?

My auto has a "power" mode that doesn't give the engine any extra power, but extends the shift points out and lets the engine rev higher before shifting. I tried driving in this mode for a couple tanks of fuel because I preferred the shift points, and it reduced my MPG significantly. A lot more than I expected.

If you're used to a gasser and letting the engine rev, you might be shifting too late for best economy. Try shifting early and relying on the diesel torque, my auto shifts below 2000 rpms in normal driving.

I wanted a manual but got a fantastic deal on my auto. Maybe I accidentally wound up with the better option after all.
 
I'd suggest not shifting too early with a manual. At the very least get an EGT gauge first. The amount of heat you generate with a short shift can be staggering as you lug the engine.

I got around 10L/100kms the whole time I had my kzj90 (w/5sp) on stock sized tires. When I switched to 33s my consumption went up to about 11/100... But that was uncorrected for odometer difference so not entirely applicable.

Given my kzj experience, the very first thing I'd check on a kzj is the condition of the intake, since the EGR recirculates the oil gases and can do a thorough job of clogging things up. My truck had under 100k kms on it (under 60k miles) and was in extremely good shape but my intake was almost half plugged with oily carbon build up. After that, injectors?

This assumes correct tire pressure, no dragging brakes, and not being driven to excessive speeds, etc...
 
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