what "should" gas mileage be on a 1999 2.4L engine and auto tranny

what "should" gas mileage be on a 1999 2.4L engine and auto tranny when regular driving and then light towing (1000 lbs trailer)

I haven't really accurately checked both yet, but im seeing 16 mpg when towing the boat at 60mph for 140 miles without overdrive

I tried checking with just driving and saw something around 21 mpg but I did tow the boat for 40 miles during that time so its a somewhat scewed test result.

the thing is I don't drive much so its hard to run a full tank without towing the boat at least once.

my brother has a 1985 taco with the 2.4L and gets 29 mpg but his is a standard tranny so I know it will be higher then mine but shouldn't I still be close?

 

1985 was long before the Tacoma, it was the Pick up back then so it was even smaller and lighter than the Tacoma which is why it got better MPG. Yours should be getting around 23 mpg at best.

 

My 96 2.4L manual trans is getting 27-29mpg. I would assume your auto should get mid 20s?? That is assuming you are not towing, and your are going close to the speed limit, and you are doing mostly highway driving. Im riding 53 miles one way....

 

According to toyota 27-29. Realisticly, fill it up drive it till it dies and divide miles by gallons in your tank. Make sure you have a gas can though haha. Did this twice in my 2002 3.4 V6 supercharged T4R, running premium and came out with 18 city-21 highway

 

I'll assume a 2WD since you don't specify.

I've linked the EPA ratings. Contrary to popular banter, they are pretty accurate when normal driving conditions are applied.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Powe...1999&make=Toyota&model=Tacoma 2WD&srchtyp=ymm

Running w/o OD will be a killer. Towing is a killer.

And your auto vs manual theory is not always accurate. If you play around with the site some you'll find many modern autos match or exceed manuals in MPG.

 

The fact that he said 2.4l specifies 2wd. 2.7l was the 4x4 and prerunner 4cyl. The 2.4l is the 5 lug 2wd engine, and only came in 2wd..

I have personal experience with both engines and have put hundreds of thousands of miles on both. When I tell you my 96 2.4l manual Tacoma is getting 27-29 mpg all highway, that's not banter, thats based on a lot of fill ups and lots of checking. I even use my GPS to keep track of miles.

 

why are you running at 60mph without OD on? that's a killer right there with the rpms. I understand if you're city driving but when you're on the highway put OD on, that's it's purpose. since you live in LA most of the roads are flat no? shouldn't be shifting once up to speed.

auto trans should get mid-to-high 20's depending on driving "style". If you're easy on starts and drive reasonable then this would be correct.

with my 3.4 4x4 I get ~16mpg when I tow my bike/trailer (~1100 lbs) and I can get 19mpg normal driving with hills (20-21 on flat roads)

 

because I was read the riot act for trying to tow with OD on http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...inder-towing-speed-engine-limit-question.html

yep, the only hills around here are the bridges lol.

the truck is still "new" to me so im feeling it out and learning how to drive a 4 cylinder after 35 years with big v8 engines and tons of power so its a learning curve to get used to the truck and how it feels and acts.

I was planning to start using OD again when towing because it stays at 3k rpm the whole time without OD on and while that isn't terrible I see no reason not to use OD since it has no trouble maintaining speed in OD at 60 mph even though the first time I towed when I was at 70 mph it does keep downshifting every 10-15 seconds but I found out later I had needed air in both the back tires so im sure that was part if not all of the reason for it. the only time I think I should need to turn OD off is when going up the long bridge to cross the river.

when towing im pulling a 17ft flat boat by the way, like 1000 lbs maybe including boat, motor, and trailer weight.

 

Thanks for the info. Still learning.

If you'll re-read my post, my banter comment was related to the EPA ratings, not anyone's personal results. OTOH, if reported personal results don't have the goodie to back them up (yours does) then it's just banter as well.

The folks that don't go to the effort you do (and I do as well, but don't have Taco history yet) I don't pay much attention too.

Now if you want to know long term Highlander or Miata statistics, those I have years of data on

 

didn't realize what you were pulling. just read that post. that's about the same weight I pull and I "notice" the trailer behind me (3.4 V6).

the power robbing comes from you basically doubling the weight the engine is usually pulling. that little truck alone probably weighs around 1600 lbs so adding almost the same weight is going to make it seem sluggish.

I towed at 70mph for my trip to Florida and it rarely shifted on flatter roads (below VA, out of the mountains) and hit a good stride on the way back taking 95 all the way.

but the main question you asked was mpg, you will not get that towing even a ski-doo due to drag and weight.

3k rpm shouldn't kill the engine but steady builds up heat as well so just keep an eye on the temps

the pre-runner 2.7 would probably be better at towing that (engine hp and rear-end gearing) but would ultimately get less gas mileage due to the extra weight of everything.

 

You don't need to use up all the gas in the tank. Just fill it when it close to E and record the miles. divide the gallons into miles for MPG. I.E., if you fill up and then drive 320 miles and it took 11.4 gallons, 320 / 11.4 = 28.07 MPG

 

BTW- I get 24-27 combined with mine. I got 29 mpg on a highway trip averaging 75 mph. when i towed a 2000lb car, MPG was 20- 24 max speed 65. average around 60.

 

and if you don't like doing math just fill up right at 100 miles and the math is super easy on that, you don't even need to count on your toes lol

 

ok, little update:

used OD doing 60mph the whole way going 98 miles round trip I burned 5.4 gallons of gas which adds up to 18mpg.

a lot better then 16 mpg and the truck acted like it didnt know I was towing anything until it went up the bridge.

still haven't driven without the boat long enough to check that way. might have to go burn gas just to be able to test my mileage when not towing lol.

I bet if I slowed even more down to 55 mph I might get 19mpg out of it

 

just be careful cause if you fall out of the torque range you may end up gear hunting more at a slower speed due to lower rpm. sustaining a speed is better than trying to get better mpg and coming out worse

 

Checkout Fuelly.com