What's the REAL-WORLD MPG for a 4th Gen 4Runner V8?

Hey, everyone, a little new here. I've always wanted a V8 4Runner 4WD for quite some time and am curious what MPG I should expect. Now, I don't think it'll affect my decision too much but I'd like to know how much lighter my wallet would get, lol.

4th genners, what type of MPG are you getting? Also, please tell us if you have any mods that might affect it. Example: regear, lift, tires, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

I had an '03 (4wd) from '05-'17. No mods, stock size tires.

My combined was usually between 17-18. I occasionally got lower, but usually that was towing. On highway trips, I got 18-19.

The 4.7 was a fantastic engine! With 257K miles, it still idled smooth and quiet. I loved that thing!

 

That's not bad! So it hold true to its EPA ratings, I see

What made you get rid of it?

 

I got the itch to get a Tacoma. I always liked them, and my brother was looking at pickup trucks. So, I bought a '15 DCSB TRD off-road. It was a good truck, but I was back in a 4Runner in 22 months.

 

hahaha - On the bright side, at least you didn't go to Ford or something

 

I still own my gx470 and even though it's not technically a runner, it's pretty much the same thing.

Everything is stock and on my last long-distance drive(900ish miles) I averaged 23 mpg and that was cruising at 75mph

 

Damn, that's actually nothing to scoff at

I'm impressed so far

 

yeah not bad when it has 240k on the clock! Although when I tow my boat, MGP's are in the mid-teens at best

 

Right, that's expected! What's your elevation/what region do you live in? Gotta be near sea-level

 

I'm in western TN, so elevation is less than 1k. Although I drove it from CA to here and surprisingly it did better than expected with the MPG's cross-country

 

Highway they do ok, people also need to specify whether they are 4x4 or not

 

Good call. Mine was 4wd. I edited my early post as well.

 

Aren't all V8 4Runners full-time 4wd?

 

Not sure. Mine was.

 

I'm pretty certain they all are (V8 models)

 

v8 models came in 2wd. All 4wd v8 4runners are AWD

 

YES - thanks for clarifying

If it's a 4wd, that is, it's full-time lol

 

Oh, yeah. I wasn't sure if there was a RWD V8 option. But, I knew the V8 4×4's were all full time, just like the GX.

 

YUP

 

Ill be the bad egg here. 33s, lift, maybe 300lb in steel underbody armor, other items I keep onboard 24/7... I average 13-15 at best. Oh and a Sprint Booster does NOT help lol but hey more smiles per gallon

 

That's still not too bad. That seems pretty typical for a lot of 5th gens that are lifted on 33's with armor. OTOH, I have gotten almost 20 on 33.5" MT's by watching my speed.

Do you have a roof rack at all?

 

Sherpa Equipt Co roof rack with lots of lights too. Oh and Hewitt Tech secondary air injection bypass system. I feel like it did reduce me a tiny bit but that is pure speculation by me.

 

I just removed my basket for an experiment. I drove the same route in similar conditions with and without the basket. With basket, 16.1 MPG (computer), without, 17.7 MPG. I think I'm going to start leaving it off when I don't need it.

 

I averaged 20.1mpg from Medford, Oregon to Pasadena, Ca with a low profile roof rack from Victory 4X4 installed. I was easy on the gas and ran about 75 most of the way. 4runner has 258k and runs well. Limited AWD 2” lift 265/75/17 Falken Wildpeak @ 36 psi and the fuel use was calculated distance traveled and amount used.
I am ok with that, just not with the cost of fuel these days.

 

One thing most aren't saying is if they're going by the computer readout or if they manually calculate their MPG when they fill up, I can tell you the computer is off by 2 to 3 MPG, it always reports higher MPG then you'll actually achieve, I have a 2WD and I get around 17 MPG manually calculated, the computer says 19.2 MPG every time, this is mixed driving, on interstate trips driving 75 to 80 MPH it's a little over 18 MPG manually calculated, computer still says 19.2 MPG.

I've found that I get the best mileage if I keep the RPMs under or around 2000 RPMs, this includes shift points, if go over 2000 RPMs at shift points the MPGs drops, if I go a little bit over 2000 in 5th gear it doesn't affect the MPGs too much but if you approach 2300 RPM or especially above the MPGs drops drastically.

 

I would certainly hope nobody is going by the computer estimate. But, I guess I wouldn't be surprised.

Heck, we had a mileage thread here awhile back where the OP was basing his mileage on the computer's fuel range estimate divided by 23. So, obviously they didn't even look at the pump when they filled up.

The first road trip I took in my '03 the computer said I was getting 21+, while I was actually getting 17. It always read higher than actual.

The computer estimate on my '19 is very close to accurate, though.

Is yours a V8? I know my V8 had more than enough power to get up to speed below 2K RPM's.

 

Yes mine is a V8 and yes it does get up and go at low RPMs because it has a lower RPM torque curve , I know the V6 has a higher RPM torque curve so for the V6 it definitely need to get up above 2000 RPM for shift points ,etc. to get to the sweet spot for best MPGs.

I'm active on another 4Runner forum and many newbies and even some who have been on there for a few years there go by the computer, I think because the numbers are much better and they don't want to face reality, or they simply don't know better, plus they sound like they got the best 4Runner there is using those numbers when many of us long time members go by manually calculated MPGs, I live in the real world so I want accurate info.

 

Yeah, they make ~85% of their peak torque at 1100 RPM's, so rarely a need to rev them. I can usually get by staying under 2500 with the 6, but sometimes you just have to hammer down.

I'm very impressed by how much more accurate the mileage readout on newer one is. I still always calculate my own, but it's nice that they made it better.

I also have a Scion TC. I drove It up north over the weekend because I figured I could afford ~$60 more beer with the fuel saved vs taking the 4Runner.

The readout was around 29 MPG when I gassed up after getting off the freeway. But, I actually got 26. Definitely not great, but not terrible for going 80+ the whole time.

 

A guy in our club just sold his '16 ORP for a bronco, I'm never going to let him live it down.

 

Those set up 2 door Broncos are pretty sweet... we'll see how reliable they are