Toyota Camry Real World MPG
This topic is for Camry owners to post their actual MPG. Please be sure to include if it's automatic/manual, 2.4/4cyl, 3.0/6cyl, or 3.33/6cyl.
"Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates
"Real World" Fuel Economy vs. EPA Estimates
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Pure Highway, 55 -65 mph w/air on, wife and kids, 26 mph.
** I used to get 19mpg or so city, it seems that since my 30k service it has degraded (or my driving habits have).
***The lower the fuel level before I fill up the worse the mileage....this never made sense to me because you are dividing miles by gallons...I got into a routine of filling up at or just below a quarter tank when I switched jobs, coincidently (?) around the time I had my 30K service done as well. I consistently got/get 17.5 mpg. Interestingly, at a little under 1/2 half tank I filled up yesterday and it came out to 20 mpg!
If someone can explain a mechanical reason why filling up before the tank gets to less than 1/4 full yields better mileage, I'd love to hear it!
I think one needs about 3 consecutive tanks of highway driving to get a true mileage number. Will post again when I have that data.
Overall this car is very good: no mechanical failures, roomy, loaded with features, smooth, fairly quiet, and adequately powerful.
I have measured 30 mpg on the first 2 tanks with no occupants and some ac and defroster use on reg unleaded. Those tanks were with an odometer reading below 1000 miles during breakin. I do not top off my tank. A few times I drove at a higher rate on the way home of course.
My guess is 34-35 mpg in strictly hwy driving, similar to the EPA estimate. Oh, on one tank I refueled after the fuel light had just come on and it took about 15.5 gallons to fill it back up. I am very happy with this car.
..would do it again (but V-6 Toyota's require an AT)
.....guess I'm stuck in a time warp........... :confuse: best, ez......
It's well-known that gas engines operate most efficiently in the 30-50 MPH range (probably maxed in the low 40's just as it slips into overdrive) and that gas consumption starts to increase markedly at higher speeds. Another factor which might affect this would be frequent lane and speed changes for passing - I was in the right lane at a constant speed for almost the entire trip (did pass a few other vehicles, though). Took 30 minutes longer to get to my destination. I don't expect anyone else to do this - but if more people did, what might happen to our fuel import/trade imbalance problems?
Regardless, I don't think I'll be needing that Prius after all...
Based on other postings, I may be able to get 33 - 35 MPG by next year .... However, I don't think I'll get 40 MPG :-)
I have an unproven hypothesis that starting the car has a noticeable effect on mileage. It is not logical or provable. In other words, if I drive 15 miles, pick up some coffee, then drive the other 15 miles ... and I do this everyday. I feel like I get hit for 2 MPG, which seems like a lot ... but, again I can't prove it and don't intend to try to reproduce it. Otherwise, I'm sticking with 30 MPG.
- hank2
You'll get your best mileage in steady state cruising. It's not the starting per se, it's the slowing down, stopping, speeding up again in the middle of your 30 mile trip that will reduce your mileage vs the 30 mile straight shot. Probably not 2 mpg though.
Overall mileage for 3200 miles is now at 23.2. Best guess is that's about 40% highway/60% city.
I have a new 2005 4-cylinder, and the best I've done so far on the highway is 31 mpg. And I don't drive above 70.
Basically, your energy losses to wind resistance will be twice as much at 80mph than it is at 40mph. A similar thing happens to the losses in the driveline and tires. The losses in the engine will be the same at the two speeds assuming that the RPMs are the same. This will depend on the gearing of the transmission.
Generally a car will get its best gas mileage while going slow (low RPMs) in its tallest gear. As you speed up, you waste more energy bucking the wind and moving the fluids in the car around faster.
Now, you could design a car with super tall gears so that you're going 80MPH at low RPMs, but this wouldn't solve the problem since at higher speeds you're wasting almost all of the energy produced by the engine pushing the outside air. The most effective way to improve your mileage at higher speeds is to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle.
20-50, 25-70, 23-70, 25-80, 26-85, 33-90, 26-75, 22-70, 25-80, 24-80, 22-50, 27-75, 22-60, 22-80, 24-50, 25-80, 24-50, 21-75, 25-60, 17-05, 17-05, 18-20, 21-20, 21-60, 27-80
I will keep you all posted after I bring it back to the dealer (for the second time) and update you as to what if anything was done and if it was effective.
Out.
PhD86
An article I just read said to fill up early in the morning or late at night. Interesting, they say the fuel is "denser" and you actually get more for your money getting it in colder temps. The pumps measure by volume, not weight. Every little tip matters as high as the prices are going!
Nothing new - I heard that in the mid-fifties in grammar school. While true, it's also true that as the day wears on and wamrs up, that denser gasoline that fit so well in the tank when cold, expands and has to go somewhere. (Not a problem is you're on a long drive and have a chance to use the additional gas before it expands, but if you just drive to work and park in the sunlight on a warm day...) Used to be, it just vented as vapor out the gas cap, but since that's no longer an option, courtesy of environmental concerns, it is vented to the charcoal canister. If overpressurized, the result is poor engine starting and poor drivability - sometimes requiring replacement of pricey emissions control components if they're over-saturated with raw gas. Sometimes the harder you try for efficiency, the behinder you get.
Using the approach noted in previous posts - slowing to 65 - MPG has indeed climbed above 32 on the newer coupe. Hard looks, flip-offs and abrupt cut-ins nonwithstanding, it's a sign of the times................
best, ez.
On a stretch of I-70 in western MD on the way home, I had the cruise set at 65 mph in the right lane, and a steady parade of vehicles, almost nose to tail, passed on by in the left lane going at least 80.
The morons were probably in a hurry to get to the next filling station before they ran out of gas.
Just filled up today;
- 265 Miles
- 14 Gallons
- 18.93 mpg
99% city driving, currently have 1300 miles on the car. Best mileage to date was 27.5, mix of 50/50 city/hwy driving.
Hopefully mileage will improve as car breaks in. I drove it very carefully first 1000 miles, just as the manual directed. Still drive it easy as I baby my cars to try and make them last a long time.
Taurus_____Camry
Mixed suburban driving: 24 ______24
Steady highway, speed limit 31 ______28
So we went from a smooth, quiet, quick (more torque) V6 to a surprisingly noisy, buzzy 4, and buy more gas! Doesn't seem right, considering the Toyota reputation.
And the engine noise surprises me - this is the loaded model, so I would expect it to be quieter. I don't remember either of the Honda Civics I used to own making as much buzz.
BTW, in an earlier post, a guy stated he was getting XX mpg over the life of his Camry, as reported by his in-dash trip meter. If his meter is as optimistic as mine, no wonder his figures look so good. Gas mileage has to be figured at fill up time, with a calculator. My trip meter shows I'm averaging around 30 mpg ,which is a joke.
- 297 Miles
- 13.78 Gallons
- 21.55 mpg
Approximately 90/10 city/highway miles. Was off a bit on last reported total mileage, currently have 1632 miles on car. Best mileage to date was 27.5, mix of 50/50 city/hwy driving.
Plan on changing the oil in a week or two. Will run new oil to 5000 miles, change again, and then stick with 5000 mile/6 month interval.
- 314 Miles
- 15.98 Gallons
- 19.65 mpg
Approximately 95/5 city/highway miles.
Changed the oil at 1820 miles; Mobil 7500 semi-synthetic 5w-30 and a WIX 51396 oil filter.
- 289.4 Miles
- 13.15 Gallons
- 22.00 mpg
Approximately 95/5 city/highway miles.
Total miles on car; 2235. Mileage seems to be improving as the engine breaks-in.