More Fuel Range Than You Think - 2014 Toyota Highlander Limited Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited November 2014 in Toyota
imageMore Fuel Range Than You Think - 2014 Toyota Highlander Limited Long-Term Road Test

Last week I drove our long-term 2014 Toyota Highlander out to La Quinta, California to visit my parental units.

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  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    My wife's 2007 Sienna would give a low-fuel light when it had 5 GALLONS of fuel left in the tank. This and the incessant chimes and buzzers if you tried to open a door, remove your seatbelt, etc. were some of the reasons we got rid of it. Wife still can't believe my GTI will allow us to enter a destination into the nav system WHILE WE'RE IN MOTION!

    Toyota can keep the nailbiter/bedwetter demographic as its owner base.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Plus you're hurting your mpg by carrying that "extra" weight around by filling up too often.
  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    what does the fuel gauge indicate when the light goes on? i'd be more interested in that vs. the light. if that shows empty when there is still almost 3 gallons left that would be irk me.
  • piredonpiredon Member Posts: 50
    My 2014 5 series has about a 2 gallon "reserve" that is not included in either the range or on the needle. Meaning indicated fuel capacity is 14.5 gallons instead of the 16.5 it actually can carry. So even BMW is building in a "safety" margin these days.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    s197gt said:

    what does the fuel gauge indicate when the light goes on? i'd be more interested in that vs. the light. if that shows empty when there is still almost 3 gallons left that would be irk me.

    Oh, they're right down on the "empty" mark when it comes on. Then they continue to drop, below the "E".

    If I ran the world (scary thought...), all low-fuel warnings in passenger vehicles would come on when there is 30 miles of range left, per the vehicle's EPA City MPG rating. That would give this Highlander almost 2 gallons of gas - that's plenty. It's not like that warning is the first indication that fuel is in fact running low...there is a gauge there right in front of the driver.

  • rcummelinrcummelin Member Posts: 184
    FWIW, the Toyota 4Runner does exactly the same thing: it complains about being empty when there are 3-4 gallons left in the tank. Stupid.
  • a1addicta1addict Member Posts: 5
    I too noticed this right away with my wife's '14 Highlander AWD. It is annoying but what is less annoying is that it drinks minimum 10-15% less fuel and doesn't pathologically lie about its mpg the way her Pilot did. It also accelerates, brakes and handles better so while not perfect its a nice upgrade vs. the Honda and feels nothing like the previous Highlander from behind the wheel which I view as a great thing. Highway ride could be better, Nav screen set back a bit, and fuel gauge and range not be so overly pessimistic- those are my top 3 complaints and the car doesn't see that much highway so we're quite pleased so far.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,696
    So how many of you so upset that the system alerts you to go refill the tank before is completely empty considered the fact that they do that in order to try and protect the fuel pump from starvation which can cause cavitation. By preventing the pump from starving for fuel they improve its service life potentially making it a lifetime component.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited November 2014
    The 97 Outback I drove for 11 years had a 15.9 gallon tank and the most I could ever cram into it was 14 gallons.

    The '99 Quest had a 20 gallon tank. In 15 years I filled it up 630 times. Eight times I was able to put 18 gallons or more in. The most it ever held was 18.9 gallons. And that includes the time I intentionally ran it out of gas.

    The current '09 Grand Caravan is the first car I've owned in 20 years that appears to actually let me run the tank down to empty if I ignore the low fuel light. I've managed to cram 19.6 gallons into its 20.5 gallon tank.

    Usually I fill up when the gauge is around the quarter tank mark or a bit below, with maybe 80 to 100 miles of range left. About 10 percent of the time the low fuel light comes on before I get to a station. The Caravan's fancy Low Fuel warning on the instrument panel has come on about three times in the last six months.

    I've never experienced a fuel pump failure but the current van may be my first.
  • tdivertdiver Member Posts: 18
    you need to leave some gas in the tank to cool the fuel pump. I usually fill shortly after it hits a quarter tank. Better safe than sorry.
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