[shenjw0704]

RAV4 MPG FORUM
Hello, everybody. I am new to this forum. I have a problem with my rav4 that has been bothering me for the past two years. I bought my 2014 rav4 limited AWD exactly two years ago. I take good care of it. No accidents so far. I drive 80% on highways and 90% during the day. I drive alone, no passenger, no cargo. My tire pressure is at the ideal 32 psi. I am very gentle on the gas pedal. I use AC very lightly, usually at the lowest fan speed. I listen to the factory JBL radio while I am driving.
I sensed I’ve getting very low mpgs when I fill it up at the gas station. So I started keeping track of my mpgs at my weekly fill ups. I’ve been getting 17 to 21 mpgs on highway. I googled the real world mpg, somebody on this forum said that they have a v6 rav4 (the older model, 2012 or earlier), and they’ve been getting 26 mpg on highway going 70mph. What?!!
You must be kidding me! I have a 4 cylinder engine, and I’ve been getting 17 mpg on highway?
I went to the Toyota dealership, and told them about my low mpg problem, they just told me it’s the winter blend gasoline and the all wheel drive. But I’m not buying it. The difference between awd and fwd is only 2 mpgs. I really doubt the winter blend gasoline makes that big of a difference either.
I am getting 12 mpgs less than I should be getting on highway (17 instead of 29 mpg)
What’s going on with my rav4? Please help!

 

[vanib]

How do you calculate your mpg? Computer? Miles driven since last complete fill-up/gas purchased at next complete fill-up?

 

[shenjw0704]

I calculate both manually with a calculator and with an app

I calculate both manually with a calculator and with an app called "fuel buddy".

I write down the odometer on my receipt each time that I fill up to a full tank.
Then I subtract the odometer reading from the last receipt to get the miles I driven. Then I take that and divided by the gallons of fuel I filled to get the mpg.

I take the average of 8 fill ups for the past two months. (4/6 to 5/14)
I've tried different gas stations: costco & exxon. It makes no difference.
I've tried 30 psi or 35 psi tire pressure, again, it makes no difference.

 

[MTL_Sienna]

The dealer needs to run diagnostics on your car. Something isn't right. I would get 17 mpg (and I live in Canada) if I were in heavy traffic in sub zero temperatures. In the dead of Winter, I get 23 mpg on the highway. Last week, I was getting 27 mpg at 75 mph. Your dealer's answer was lazy, if they won't look at it go to another Toyota service dept. in your area. The problem should show up when the tech runs tests on your car and actually takes it on the road to see how it is performing. Good luck to you and let us know what they find.

 

[shenjw0704]

Thank you so much for your advice, MTL_Sienna. I will try to speak to the service manager tomorrow at my local Toyota dealership because I bought the RAV4 from them. I want them to fix it, and not some other dealership. I think it's more fair that way. I will demand some answers, and will not leave until I get some.
I've been paying $300 extra every year for the past two years for fuel because I've been getting 17 mpg instead of 29 mpg like advertised on the highway. It's such a shame. I should have discovered this sooner.
I drive a fuel-efficient RAV4, yet I am paying the fuel cost of a 4runner (1,000 lbs heavier and has a V6).

 

[shenjw0704]

Update:
I went to my local Toyota dealership today, and spoke with the service manager. After I showed him the mileage data and gas receipts that I've collect over the past two months over 10 fill ups, he finally agreed to perform a fuel consumption test on my RAV4. I was so certain that there was something wrong with my car that I was dumbfounded when I discovered the test result. The test result says that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my car. The technician drove my car for 20 miles of mix city and highway, with an average speed of 37 mph. He got 29 mpg from the computer. When they showed me the computer print out, I couldn't believe it.
All this time, my driving habit is the culprit of my low mpg's? Not my car? But wait a minute, I'm not an aggressive driver, and I am very light on the gas pedal. Great! I am back to where I started. It looks like this mpg thing will remain a mystery for the rest of my life.

If anybody else who is reading this post can shed some light, I will be really grateful.

 

[nouse4aname]

It's actually not the gas pedal that you need to worry about so much with fuel efficiency but rather the brake. Every time you brake you convert that momentum into useless heat at the brake pads.

 

[pico]

It's actually not the gas pedal that you need to worry about so much with fuel efficiency but rather the brake. Every time you brake you convert that momentum into useless heat at the brake pads.

Forgive, but I do not understand that at all.

 

[NewRavFan]

A car uses the chemical energy in the gas to power the engine and move the vehicle. Some of that energy is converted into heat and some is converted into kinetic energy (or momentum). When you press on the brake, some or all of the kinetic energy is converted to heat through friction at the brake pads. A hybrid car can recapture some of this energy by using the motors as generators to make electricity which is stored in the battery. In a conventional car, it all goes to heat and is lost. When you accelerate again you burn more gas to regenerate the kinetic energy you need. So frequent stops and start burn gas at a higher rate than holding a constant speed. So choosing a route/speed/following distance that minimizes starts and stops = increased fuel economy.

 

[nouse4aname]

Forgive, but I do not understand that at all.

Yeah, what NewRAVFan said. Accelerating is fine in general. Accelerating to a stop or a tight turn where you are just going to have to brake, not so much. Don't follow traffic so close that you have to brake frequently. Use Waze to avoid traffic. Avoid unprotected left turns at rush hour that leave you sitting idle for a long time. Things like that.

 

[erapmicks]

Just trade it for a R4 hybrid


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shenjw0704]

Thank you folks for giving me good advice. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to my special situation because I drive 80% on interstate at 65 mph. I don't have stop and go. I rarely use the brakes.

 

[shenjw0704]

Getting a hybrid won't help either since, I drive 80% on the interstate.

 

[Quickdtoo]

Getting a hybrid won't help either since, I drive 80% on the interstate.

You would be in error in your assumption, the Hybrid gets much better fuel economy than you think, CR got 36mpg on their highway test at 65mph, MT got 39mpg. I got 38.8mpg at my last fill up, all highway.


Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Most Fuel-Efficient SUV Ever Tested

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Review and Rating - Motor Trend

 

[erapmicks]

Getting a hybrid won't help either since, I drive 80% on the interstate.

Even with all hwy driving, hybrid still more efficient

 

[shenjw0704]

These are all very good suggestions, folks, and I will consider trading in for a hybrid RAV4 in the near future. But they still doesn't answer my question of what I've done so wrong driving my regular gasoline RAV4 that I've been getting only 17 mpg (12 mpg less than the advertised 29 mpg on highway driving). I am no "racecar driver", always obey the speed limit.

 

[BAH]

You wouldn't have a blocked up muffler? Surely not at only 2 years old?

 

[nouse4aname]

The problem's not with the car if when someone else drives it(dealer tech) it gets 29mpg.

Though I'm also struggling to come up with how that's possible if it's just being highway driven at the speed limit. Failing something entirely silly like driving with the parking brake on or your foot overlapping the brake and gas at the same time....or you weigh 1800lbs.

 

[shenjw0704]

No, the dealer did a thorough check of all sensors or anything that could be mechanically wrong with the RAV4. They didn't find anything wrong. The thing that really drives me nuts is the technician claims that he got perfect 29 mpg from his 30 minute test drive of my RAV4. He even showed me the computer report to prove it. That's a kick in the gonads.

 

[Quickdtoo]

Do you brake with your left foot instead of right? Drivers who do so usually ride the brakes with their foot constantly on the brake pedal which is very detrimental to fuel economy and brake pads/rotors.