12-13 mpg - Brand new 2023 Trail Edition

Looking for input on the lackluster fuel economy for the the 2023 Tacoma Trail Edition I bought in April 2023.

I mostly drive in the city (Tampa, FL) typically 1-4 mile trips through traffic lights.

I’ve got around 900 miles on it ytd, and I’m averaging around 12-13 mpg around town.

Highway miles have been around 20 mpg so that’s normal.

Just curious if that 12-13 mpg is normal for the Trail Edition with the small factory lift. I don’t have a heavy foot, and I’ve tried premium gas. Still about the same mpg. I didn’t buy my my new Taco for the fuel economy, but still seems really low.

Just looking for thoughts on why the mpg is so low or if this is normal for this year and trim.

 

When I first got my truck I was getting 15-16 mpg. I was driving it like I was with my previous car which was a 2018 Audi SQ5. I noticed break in for my truck seemed to be longer than I expected but after about 10k miles is when I started to avg 19.4 combined. With the AC cranking + new truck down in FL that doesn't seem too out of the norm to me.

You can take that for what it's worth but I suspect it has something to do with AC + driving style. You said you don't have a lead foot but these trucks are slugs and they eat a lot of gas even with normal driving.

*EDIT* Didn't even notice you said a lot of 1-4 mile trips. That will definitely play a big part too.

 

For that type of driving I'd say that is normal. You're burning almost as much gas sitting still as you are when moving. I used to have a Honda Fit that would get close to 40 mpg on the highway but would struggle to get 20 in that type of city driving. 12-13 is about right for that truck.

Very few people drive that way. Most, like myself get in a mix or city and open road and will average 15-16 for that type of driving and closer to 20 on the road.

If anything, running the AC will give you better fuel mileage than trying to drive with the windows down due to aerodynamics.

Running the AC will reduce power on some econobox cars that have marginal power in the 1st place. I would speed up 5-10 mph when driving up hills with the Honda if I turned the AC off. But with vehicles that have power to spare you will never notice the difference in power or fuel mileage.

 

Normal. You are going to get anywhere from 10-15 mpg with that kind of trip, on almost any stock trim.

Its not the speed that gets you, its the acceleration. Your trips are >95% acceleration and <5% coasting.

 

Have you actually done the math, or just relying what the truck tells you?
I can tell you if I just do only very short trips in the winter, my fuel mileage on the dash will show 17 mpg.

 

1-4 mile trips, that's what you're gonna get - the engine doesn't run very optimally until it's warmed up. Every red light, every stop and go, every time you have to hit your brakes, the mpg just tanks.

I'm from Pittsburgh...and remember I'd drive a vehicle around short trips that claimed to get 28mpg. I was getting about 9. Now around where I live now (corn fields and farm roads) I can get 20 easily in my Tacoma. If I take the highway (70 speed limit), I'll get around 15-16.

Even where I am now, if I fill up on a Friday and don't go anywhere but the local store Saturday and Sunday...my average mpg for the tank will be around 10. Just how it is.

 

Fuel efficiency isn’t something you should be looking at if you’re only driving 1-4 miles at a time. You’ve filled up the tank twice since you bought it? You need to be looking at fuel dilution in the oil. Seriously. That’s a terrible thing to do to an engine.

 

Burn a lot of gas sitting at stoplights.
I commuted through Tampa for ten years.
All my drives were right about 25m

I don’t miss Dale Mabry

 

Welcome to Tacoma … V6 with I4 power and V8 fuel economy.
And yes normal

 

Yup, 11 to 12 mpg around town is normal. Typically you need to travel at least 30 miles per trip on the open highway to get 19 - 20 mpg.

 

I do lots of 3-5 mile trips in a very hilly town. I average 16-17 mpg in those conditions.

 

These are warm blooded trucks so from a cold start with my 0.9 mile trips I was getting 13mpg too and I have a 4 banger. She seems normal it's just the type of driving unfortunately that gets low mpg. I almost considered getting a Jeep 4XE for those short trips but the battery is too small and on long trips it drives like a heavier Jeep so still 20mpg. The new Taco seems cool but I'll wait till they work out the bugs.

Oh and for all the time I spent thinking about mpg for those school drops... I realized it amounted to like $50 bucks in gas a year if I had a 24mpg vs 13mpg so I stopped caring.

 

After break-in it should get a bit better. I suggest getting out of town and giving it a nice little run 55-65-75 mph steady as she goes
keeping the RPM's under 2000. I get my best mileage at 70-75mph on the flat highway, upwards of mid 20's.... make sure tire pressure
is reasonable too - I keep mine around 35.

 

Agree, and also hard on the exhaust system. Too much residual condensation hanging around in there.

 

Trade it for a Rwd 4cyl AC while you can keep the wheels. Or trade it for a 4G Prerunner also Rwd and a 4cyl. There's always the Ford Maverick. I saw a TRD Sequioa this morning sounded like it was being propelled by the hybrid motor, I thought those only kicked in when giving it the jazz.

 

I get 14 to 15 MPG when I do all city driving. A couple of thoughts, you might try manually calculating your MPG to make sure your Combo meter MPG is accurate. Also, if you have an Auto, check your MPG with the ECT button on and off to see if there is a difference.

 

My personal experience - my morning commute is 11 miles. Its 4 miles of street, 7 miles of freeway. Depending on traffic I can achieve 20 mpg most days on that route. By contrast, my lunch route is 4 miles, all street. I get 9-13 mpg on the lunch run, depending on whether I hit the stop light and how much time is spent idling in the drive through.

 

This was after traveling 3 blocks of city/in town driving..

 

I get 19 city - 22-24 highway in the taco

I get 15+ city - highway in my Tundra.

 

My commute to work is about 4 miles, all city streets. I can get about 20 mpg if I hit all the lights green. Or about 15 mpg if I hit all the lights red. Take off another 1-2 mpg if the AC is cranked.