Toyota 4Runner is the legendary model that has been here with us for five generations since 1983. It’s so durable that even some first-gen vehicles are still on the go and ready to go off-roading. These cars are very often subjected to rebuilding and modifications to make them more powerful, more off-road capable, etc.
But many owners ask why all 4Runner models are so inefficient when it comes to fuel consumption. Their gas mileage is just awful and very often it discourages owners from using them as everyday vehicles.
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In short, Toyota 4Runner has bad gas mileage because it weighs a lot, has big engines under the hood, is made for off-roading, has poor aerodynamics, and isn’t meant to be economical. So, Toyota never wanted the 4Runner to be an economical vehicle, that’s why they installed huge engines and durable transmissions without thinking about fuel economy.
Let’s see why its MPG is so poor and what you can do!
What’s the average Toyota 4Runner MPG?
The gas mileage of the 4Runner depends highly on the generation and the engine under the hood. The latest generation in the US has the 4.0L V6 (1GR-FE) engine available. It doesn’t even sound economical, right? The claimed gas mileage is 16 MPG in the city and 19 MPG on highways. Good luck trying to achieve that in real life!
In reality, your 5th-gen 4Runner will have about 10-12 MPG in the city and up to 17 MPG on highways if driven carefully.
The 4th-generation 4Runner has the same engine and also the 4.7L V8 option with even worse gas mileage. The 5-speed automatic transmission is also made for off-roading and durability, but not for wonderful fuel economy.
In the third-generation vehicle, you could get the 2.7L 3RZ-FE which was a little better in terms of fuel consumption when new. But after covering 200,000 miles, this engine will consume approximately the same amount of fuel as the newer vehicles with more powerful engines.
I won’t cover the first- and second-gen models in this article just because they are pretty old and even their seemingly economical 4-cylinder engines don’t seem to be good for fuel economy now. Most of these vehicles have already been rebuilt and they now have different engines under their hoods.
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So, as you see, there is nothing to be proud of for Toyota in terms of gas mileage in the 4Runner. But Toyota didn’t even try to make these SUVs economical. The company wanted a great reliable car for any kind of road with a decent level of comfort and other important advantages.
Several reasons why 4Runner is not really economical
The vehicle is just not made to economize fuel. It has a different task and it does its job perfectly.
Here are some of the most common reasons why your 4Runner won’t economize gasoline whatever you do:
- its engines are made for durability and off-roading, not for highways or cities;
- the transmissions are always durable but made for going up and down the hills, so fuel economy is not in question;
- the aerodynamics is just the same as in your fridge, so the air is constantly stopping this car;
- the vehicle is heavy, its weight wasn’t optimized for the best fuel economy;
- durable and reliable technologies in vehicles are almost always non-fuel-efficient;
- these vehicles don’t use super-modern engines, they use quite old and well-researched technologies.
These are the common reasons why the 4Runner is born to be a fuel drinker. It’s not made for fuel economy and you aren’t likely to make it sip less fuel from the tank. I’ve seen some rebuilt 4Runner models with new turbo engines in them and still the gas mileage was disappointing because of the features of the body.
Why is my 4Runner so disastrous in fuel economy?
If you get less than 10 MPG in the 4Runner, then maybe you have a problem with the car. It’s not always the technical problem, sometimes you just need to adjust the driving style or pay more attention to the maintenance of your vehicle.
Here are the reasons why MPG may deteriorate significantly in your 4Runner:
- the engine has problems and started drinking more fuel than needed;
- there is a problem with fuel pressure, ignition, or injection;
- your 4Runner is poorly maintained, its filters are clogged;
- your driving style is far from being economical;
- you go off-roading in your car and still want to get decent gas mileage which is impossible;
- you drive too fast on highways and rev up the engine too much.
I will take the 5th-gen 4Runner as an example with its 4-liter engine. The engine is great but when you rev it up more than 3,000 RPM, it starts drinking the fuel from the tank like crazy. Speeding up on highways is a bad idea because with the 5-speed tranny, you will have to rev up the engine quite hard to achieve the desired speed. Of course, this will certainly affect gas mileage in your Toyota.
Driving style for best fuel economy in the 4Runner
If you want to drive your Toyota 4Runner with the best possible fuel economy, you should pay attention to the style of driving. I won’t touch the question of the off-roading. When you are off-roading, you should forget about fuel consumption. Safety and performance are your only concerns, so just don’t look at the trip computer.
But when you are using the 4Runner as your daily driver, you should pay attention to several habits that you may have in your car.
Here are some new habits to develop for more economical driving:
- on highways, try limiting your speed to 55-65 MPH, at faster speeds, your 4Runner is not economical at all;
- in your city driving keep the RPM under 2000, this will help you avoid extra consumption;
- try choosing routes with fewer traffic jams and intersections to keep driving steadily for a longer time;
- don’t accelerate fast, the majority of fuel economy problems are connected to pressing the pedal too deep to the floor;
- avoid idling for a long time because the 4-liter engine will take quite a lot of fuel when idling;
- avoid common 4Runner mods like bigger wheels or additional equipment that will add some weight to your car.
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If you want to get the claimed by the manufacturer MPG, you should avoid modifications. Bigger and heavier wheels will add to the consumption. Heavy off-roading equipment that you can’t just take off the SUV, will also add to the consumption. Engine mods to boost power will also add to the consumption.
It’s not that I want to discourage you from making mods in your 4Runner. But you should understand that the majority of modifications will lead to the deterioration of your gas mileage.
Technical reasons for bad fuel consumption in the 4Runner
If you don’t maintain your 4Runner regularly, it will start burning more fuel. Also, using low-quality or just old fuel may make things worse. Another possible issue is the problem with fuel injectors that may be clogged after the fuel filter is not working properly. The bad air supply is also one of the culprits.
To avoid these issues, I recommend doing the following:
- maintain your 4Runner regularly and change all the filters when needed (or even more often than that);
- use high-quality parts and fluids when maintaining and repairing your off-road vehicle;
- never experiment with the quality of fuel – this is important for all 4Runner engines;
- have the engine inspected at least every 30,000 miles by a professional;
- don’t ignore problems – once something goes wrong, visit the repair shop and have the issue solved.
Especially, you will need to pay attention to the parts and units that are connected to the fuel and air supply. Given the 4Runner engines are pretty simple and don’t have all those super-modern technologies, there is basically nothing to go wrong. It means that the engine will go for ages but its fuel consumption needs more attention. If something is wrong with the fuel or air supply, the engine will not work at its full potential and will most likely burn much more fuel than it should.
By the way, if you modified the engine or other units of your 4Runner, you will need to pay a lot of attention to those modifications. If they malfunction, the vehicle may lose all its advantages and the gas mileage can become disastrous.
Final words
You should understand that the Toyota 4Runner is not a vehicle that is made for fuel economy. When engineering this car, Toyota didn’t even think about fuel. Off-roading and reliability – are two main factors that were in their mind.
So, if you want to drive your 4Runner with the best possible fuel economy, you should remember that the car needs a certain approach. Remember about RPM limits, speed limits, and careful driving. Also, you shouldn’t expect good gas mileage when you go off-roading.
Other than that, the 4Runner is the perfect vehicle that was made for special purposes. But it’s not that good as a daily driver.
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Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
