Toyota RAV4 Forums banner

average MPG question!!

10K views 31 replies 18 participants last post by  B'sRAV4 
#1 ·
Hello!

I just purchased this 2000 rav4 L recently and i decided to track my MPG after i went on a small trip.

The trip i went on was a total of about 250 miles. I usually like to drive kinda fast:smile I went about 75-80 mph the whole time w/my A/C on, I had two other passengers and a descent amount of gear in the back.

When i got back i found that my rig had gotten an average of 20-21 mpg. For those that have been tracking their mpg for a while, does this seem accurate? I bet i could have gotten better mpg if i had less weight and had driven a little slower..

But i believe i have seen other people on here getting much better hwy mpg...

I am in the stages of tracking my city mpg and i will post when im out of gas!:wink
 
#5 ·
Nice yeah i was going nearly 80 when i got 20-21 mpg. I did notice the rpms are pretty high when going that fast. I havent tried going on a trip and going slow yet..

But it seems my rav is getting about average mpg which is what i was wondering. It kinda makes a air noise when im in the bottom of shifts so i just want to make sure its not affecting my mpg. I will document my city mpg here soon.

Thanks for the reply's!
 
#7 ·
I have a fairly heavy right foot. In hilly twisty driving with a small amount of main road work I get just over 30mpg from my three door 97.

If you want to get good economy the most important thing other than driving style is a clean air filter, a really bad one will kill your fuel/air ratio. Also check the spark plugs are don't run the tyres under pressure.
 
#9 ·
I get around 23 - 25 average with only 1 passenger and no cargo (manual transmission). Usually 180 miles round trip consumes a little under half a tank (about 7.65 US gallons) which comes out to around 23.5 MPG. These are mostly flat freeway miles going around 75 MPH.

One time I somehow got 26 MPG average.
 
#12 ·
Yeah i got 21mpg when i had a fully loaded car and with two other people in it while i was going about 80mph.

Im just finishing up tracking my city mpg and i have found i am going to get about 24mpg. I also dont drive slow all the time. so these numbers are about average i would think
 
#14 ·
27.5 mpg on the 4.1 L 4wd? Its almost hard to believe lol. My car runs almost perfectly, the idol is perfect and the car has been garaged and babied most of its life and i just checked mine again and i got 22 city mpg. let me repeat the car drives GREAT!

Also the government tests conclude that the 4.1 4wd 5 speed gets 19 city 21 combined and 23 highway

I dont drive like a grandma but by the way my car drives i just dont get how you can get that good of mpg!
 
#16 ·
Went through a tank over the holiday weekend, ended up with 27 mpg. I'd say 80 percent of that was nonstop freeway driving (AC on, averaged about 70 mph, vehicle loaded with cargo).

Haven't checked the fuel consumption in years, needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
 
#18 ·
so again thats the 4.1 L 4wd right? Right on if you are able to get that good of mpg...my driving is all city tho...i also dont drive slow and never will lol

I just think its crazy that you are getting that much above the government standard ratings!!

Gas Mileage of 2000 Toyota RAV4

Well, my '97 Rav is a 2wd, not 4wd. Auto transmission. My mom drives the 4wd version however, and her Rav isn't as fuel efficient as mine.

Found the original window sticker for my Rav, and it looks like I'm pretty close to the EPA highway ratings (listed as 23 mpg city and 28 mpg highway).
 
#20 ·
Oh for sure. Yeah the 4wd or awd sure do have a drop off in mpg! Too bad they dont come with the 2wd or 4wd option...im still pretty happy with my mpg though... i just want to make sure my mpg is about average since i just bought it recently!
 
#23 ·
About 9 or 10 years ago, I drove my Rav across country, from Chicago to Portland. The AC was on the entire trip, the vehicle was loaded with cargo (including numerous boxes filled with heavy books), and I was driving at least 70 mph for the entire trip.

Back then, it was easy to find gas stations which supplied ethanol free fuel. I'm convinced that this is why my Rav had the highest mpg numbers I ever saw, 33 miles per gallon for most of the trip.
 
#27 ·
In US measurements.... Our 2000 L 4WD (purchased new in 2000) seems to always get about 23 mpg overall. Our best mpg, from a 2000 mile trip a few years ago, where I added air to the tires and drove trying hard to get the best mileage possible, we averaged 28 mpg, but it wasn't fun.
 
#28 ·
There are many things you can do to improve your MPG. Tire pressure, style of driving, fresh oil, even the weight in your vehicle. But there is a place that many people don't go for better mileage. That is your transaxle.

Try changing your transaxle to Amsoil or Royal Purple. I went further such as installing a engine/transaxle coolers. Optimizing your electrical system always helps. Their are many other places to go. But that depends on your desire to really fix this.
 
#31 · (Edited)
The best mileage I've ever achieved in my '00L AWD was right at 33 mpg. I was running 55-60mph (well below the speed limit of 75mph), with my grille guard and roof rack removed, windows up with some a/c, tires 225/70/16 Dunlop Radial Rover's, 85 octane, and no stopping for over 200 miles. With the stock 215's, I could have gotten better mileage.
Wow, I don't think I've ever driven my Rav at 80mph! Does the wheel shake at that speed? I actually don't think that I've driven anything over 78mph: I'm a commercial truck driver, so I drive rigs much more than my Rav; I'm usually governed at 67 - 78mph, depending on the tractor, even when the speed limit is 80mph (like Texas or Wyo).
That 33mpg in my Rav was very exceptional mileage; my usual is right at 25 mpg, with about a 50/50 freeway/streets commute. I'm not a fast driver, I'm more like a cruiser, LOL.
(Lastly, just because I'm a truck driver and have seen too many bad accidents: Remember that your headlights don't shine far enough to cover your stopping distance when you're running faster than 60-65mph in most cars, so if there's anything in your path that's not lit (like an elk, a tire tread, a sofa, or a jack-knifed rig blocking the entire road), you won't be able to stop in time, so your only options will be to hit it or swerve around, which can be bad. If you hit a jack-knifed rig, you'll die from impacting the underside if its flipped, and die from decapitation if its not. So just be careful at night with those speeds. These things really do happen, and its very, very tragic for people and families that someone dies in a way that could have been prevented. End of safety lecture :) )
 
#32 ·
Thats some serious MPGs! Nice!

I hear ya about the hazards on driving fast, but i try not to do anything too dangerous!

I live out West where we have long straight wide freeways that are 70 to 75mph speed limits so it is not uncommon to see people driving 80-85mph and doing so pretty safely.

When i tested this consistent 80mpg on the freeway i just wanted to make sure i was comfortable in the car doing this speed, which i was. Tires didnt shake at all! It was a little noisy inside the car, but i have actually never owned a vehicle that went down the road so perfectly straight, even at those speeds!

Since then when im on the freeway i dont like going any more than the speed limit of 75mph. I would normally drive a little bit faster but that is the speed where i feel like my rav is working hard, but not too hard.:wink

Funny thing is i actually dont track my mpg anymore :D The rav just plain old drives perfect and i just love driving it!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top