[Rav44DP]

Hi there,
after owning the Rav4 LE AWD for 3 months i decide yesterday to do a mpg test, because always after i filled up the tank was showing me that the maximum miles i can do are 284 miles. I did 90 miles in one direction on I95 using ECO drive and the car just barely did 22mpg with the speed around 75mph. When i came back i use normal drive and i reached 22.9mpg with the same speed 75mph. In the city is around 17mpg. Im very disappointing, i use the same gas all the time, i do not abuse the car in any way. I use only Shell nitro gas.

Is a setting what i can do?

Do i have to reset something?

At the end of the month i have the first appointment with the dealer, do you guys think they can do something about it?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

 

[Nodnerb]

Well obviously the numbers will be worse the faster you go. Expected mileage from toytoa is likely spec'd at 60mph and certainly under totally ideal conditions ie, no wind resistance, no passenger load etc. My rpms are around 2k at 60mph, and likely near 2.5-3k at 75. That's probably enough right there to show the lower numbers.

No one here has ever noticed fuel savings using eco. If there were a difference though, it wouldn't be recognized on the hiway, it would be in the city.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

There's no magic cure but keeping you speed under 70 will help. That's what most cars with CT plates run in my part of I-95 in CT. If someone blows past me they invariably have MA, NY or most likely NJ plates, and are probably heading to or from one of the casinos so gas is their least expense.

FWIW, in combined driving my Accord's MPG display ALWAYS settles out at 27.6 after 400-450 of combined highway/town miles on a tank. I don't check my wife's RAV4 often, but figuring 8 mpg less puts it at 19.6, about what you're getting.

 

[pico]

From my experience, the dash display of MPG is always wrong. It is really necessary to set your tripmeter to zero, then put on some miles, divide the miles by the gallons. The longer the trip the better for calculating so that the data 'smooths out' differences.

Finally, the MPG printed on the sticker is not calculated at 75MPH. Highway miles-per-gallon tests are simulated at an average of about 49MPH, with a maximum speed of 60MPH to include interstate mixed with some rural roads. That is a shocking difference! City driving is another story. I never get good city mileage. (Regarding wind resistance, the simulation is done on a dyno and resistance is added to the tires to simulate wind speeds.)

And your RAV4 isn't broken in yet. Mileage might get better.

I have the V6 which is kinder on gas at realistic highway speeds.

 

[Rav44DP]

Thank you guys for help and infos. Well from what i read on the internet posts / comments, a lot of people posted that they did around 28-29mpg on highway with this model (2015). i really thought something must be wrong with it...

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Speed is the critical factor in highway mileage. So much so that on my Accord MPH + MPG = 110 meaning every mph faster loses one mpg.

I'm in SD now returning from the Sturgis rally. With the speed limit on I-90 being 80 mph, very few people are doing it. I'm towing at 70 and so are most everyone else towing something. The reason - MPG! My rig would go 80 but probably get 7-8 mpg instead of 10-11.

 

[manhog]

My 2 cents it might be cause of the awd factor? Just asking. I have a fwd and get about 30 to 31 out on the highway going about 70 mph. In the city about 25 to 26. In the winter i get alittle less in city 23 to 24 mph.

Not to make it political but maybe Iran will flood market with gas and oil after their deal and pricing will remain somewhat in a the current middle ground around $2.55 a gallon. So called experts are calling for lower pricing. I think it all resolves around your state current gas taxes. In PA tax is very high. So pricing will never go down very low. 1 expert perdicts $1.99 where ever that will be.

 

[lacro]

Hi there,
after owning the Rav4 LE AWD for 3 months i decide yesterday to do a mpg test, because always after i filled up the tank was sowing me that the maximum miles i can do are 284 miles. I did 90 miles in one direction on I95 using ECO drive and the car just barely did 22mpg with the speed around 75mph. When i came back i use normal drive and i reached 22.9mpg with the same speed 75mph. In the city is around 17mpg. Im very disappointing, i use the same gas all the time, i do not abuse the car in any way. I use only Shell nitro gas.

Is a setting what i can do?

Do i have to reset something?

At the end of the month i have the first appointment with the dealer, do you guys think they can do something about it?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

If your actually calculating the MPG's by actual miles driven divided by fill-up gallons then you are getting poor mileage, but as others have said - 75mph is possibly the culprit.

Also, in the overall scheme of things considering a new RAV can easily push $30,000, and depreciation is in the thousands annually, the difference between 23mpg and 28mpg at current gas prices, isn't really all that much. $200 annually, 4 bucks a week!

 

[Iron Bender]

I'm in SD now returning from the Sturgis rally. With the speed limit on I=90 being 80 mph, very few people are doing it. I'm towing at 70 and so are most everyone else towing something. The reason - MPG! My rig would go 80 but probably get 7-8 mpg instead of 10-11.

From what I see a lot of people just seem to be more comfortable in the 70-75mph range. When I am in 80mph areas I usually lock the cruise control on 88-89mph and it is surprising how many people in vehicles of all types I end up passing. I also think that for most people the pucker factor goes way up at 80-90mph when towing. Things start getting to be a real handful at that point.

 

[RWMays]

Sorry, but the mileage you're getting is about what I believe the average Rav will get. I'm in the northeast, so almost all fuel here is 10% ethanol, and blended slightly differently according to season- I complained to the dealer multiple times about poor mileage when the Rav was newer- to no avail. I had them do a "fuel test," they called it. I believe all they did was check for out-of-range sensors and there were none. They will tell you to wait until you get more miles on it- the mileage will, in fact, improve slightly over time, just 1 or 2 MPG. I was once told to use BP gasoline and I was also told that many Ravs were getting even worse mileage than mine. I dis-believe the claims of exceptional mileage (unless downhill with a tail-wind). Just telling you my experience. Happy motoring!

 

[RAVN4RED]

... a lot of people posted that they did around 28-29mpg on highway with this model (2015)....

That's realistic. My 2009 has same engine, but with only a 4-sp tranny and probably less aerodynamic than the 2015. I routinely get 27 mpg highway at 75mph. The 2015 should easily get 2 mpg more.

The only way to know for sure is to track your actual petrol used that you put in the tank and divide it into the mileage. The onboard computer is useful but can be misleading.

Go to Fuelly.com and enter your car, track your gas receipts. Then you'll know for sure after several tanks calculated. I've tracked mine through 62 fuel-ups and 15,000 miles. My overall in 50/50 city/hwy driving is 24.8. You likely face a lot more traffic in the metro east, so you will take a big hit driving there.


The lowest I ever had was associated with a strong sustained headwind at 75mph with a full load of passengers and gear (18 mpg). Conversely, my best tank was at 75mph, full load of pax and a good tailwind (30 mpg). Darn barn door!

 

[pico]

I'm in SD now returning from the Sturgis rally. With the speed limit on I=90 being 80 mph, very few people are doing it. I'm towing at 70

The wind in SD can be a killer, too. I towed from Sturgis, against a wind that was so hard the bikers were doing 60! I was in my GMC 'burban w/454" doing 75 with a car trailer. Got 6MPG!

 

[Quickdtoo]

When I keep my speed at 50-60mph I get 29-33mpg highway(calculated at fill up), headwinds in the gorge make the difference, same trip each time.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

From what I see a lot of people just seem to be more comfortable in the 70-75mph range. .... I also think that for most people the pucker factor goes way up at 80-90mph when towing. Things start getting to be a real handful at that point.

Yep, people who've never towed and think nothing of running 80-85 in their cars don't have a clue quickly those faster speeds can take it from totally boring to way too exciting. :surprise

 

[manhog]

Not schooling but any fwd will get better gas mileage than any all wheel drive. Its a known fact. thanks

 

[Dr. Dyno]

When I keep my speed at 50-60mph I get 29-33mpg highway(calculated at fill up), headwinds in the gorge make the difference, same trip each time.

The wind in SD can be a killer, too. I towed from Sturgis, against a wind that was so hard the bikers were doing 60! I was in my GMC 'burban w/454" doing 75 with a car trailer. Got 6MPG!

The lowest I ever had was associated with a strong sustained headwind at 75mph with a full load of passengers and gear (18 mpg). Conversely, my best tank was at 75mph, full load of pax and a good tailwind (30 mpg).

Points out the often overlooked effects of wind on mpg. Even an unnoticed gentle breeze of 5 mph has a 10 mph effect on mileage depending on whether its a head or tail wind.

I also believe that lines and lanes of heavy traffic all moving at the same speed must have a dramatic effect on mileage since they are all drafting each other effectively creating a fairly substantial continuous tailwind.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Not schooling but any fwd will get better gas mileage than any all wheel drive. Its a known fact.

Yes and that's what I like about the RAV4 4WD. It isn't full time AWD, running instead in FWD until the rear drive is needed.

BTW, with all the replies to this thread, does everyone have the day off?

 

[lacro]

BTW, with all the replies to this thread, does everyone have the day off?

Well....In my case I put in 50 years of full time work, and decided that was enough:smile. So - yes I have today, and every day off:cheers:

 

[Mikey D.]

Well....In my case I put in 50 years of full time work, and decided that was enough:smile. So - yes I have today, and every day off:cheers:

Boy, you got me beat! I put in 30 years and decided it was time to go home...that was 14 years ago.?

 

[Nodnerb]

What is this, seniors day? lol Just kidding. ;p


I'm still putting in my time unfortunately.