MILES TILL EMPTY

[themerc24]

I've had my 4 Runner since late October and when I would first fill up it would say 300 some miles till empty. The last couple times it shows 270 miles till empty. Is this normal?

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[Desmolicious]

Is it now cold where you are? Lower/freezing temps can reduce mpgs.
Does your area switch to a winter blend gas?
Have you checked your tire pressure recently?

 

[brumey]

Heavy right foot?

Mods, larger tires, roof rack, etc.

 

[themerc24]

It has gotten colder but I live im florida so it doesn't get super cold here that we need a gas mix. Tire pressure is also good. Also does the the miles till empty reading take all of that into consideration?

 

[themerc24]

Heavy right foot?

Mods, larger tires, roof rack, etc.

I thought the mile till empty number was always a fixed number. Sorry if this is general knowledge but this is my first time buying a new car. I had an 09 and 2015 vehicle and it didn't have this feature

 

[get.outside.75]

I thought the mile till empty number was always a fixed number. Sorry if this is general knowledge but this is my first time buying a new car. I had an 09 and 2015 vehicle and it didn't have this feature

It's a calculated number, likely based on current fuel mileage. If I have been doing long highway drives, I get a higher number when I fill up.

 

[127.0.0.1]

yes, the ecu is always tracking actual fuel in tank, vs actual fuel amounts delivered in injector pulses, and resultant miles travelled, and tries to give as close an estimate as possible and it is based on prior results. factory setting is factory tires in ideal conditions.

so if you install more external air friction, or tires with more rolling resistance, or drive with a heavy foot, that number will drop to a standard level for your particular situation.

number will climb and fall with the seasons too.

 

[themerc24]

yes, the ecu is always tracking actual fuel in tank, vs actual fuel amounts delivered in injector pulses, and resultant miles travelled, and tries to give as close an estimate as possible and it is based on prior results. factory setting is factory tires in ideal conditions.

so if you install more external air friction, or tires with more rolling resistance, or drive with a heavy foot, that number will drop to a standard level for your particular situation.

number will climb and fall with the seasons too.

Wow I didn't know that. I appreciate it. I do have a heavy foot when i drive but i always thought that miles till empty was a fixed number. I appreciate the help.

 

[Tarekith]

Someone a few months ago here said it’s calculated based on the MPG from your last two fill ups.

 

[kekecarioca]

Someone a few months ago here said it’s calculated based on the MPG from your last two fill ups.

It is, you can see it change every fill up. I typically get 340-350 displayed. In some instances of known low mpg it displayed 290-310.

 

[Sween77]

What’s the actual range you guys are experiencing?

 

[spyder40]

What’s the actual range you guys are experiencing?

I'm in the high 300's

 

[KYGamerDad]

Also remember since this is turbo, as the air gets colder, it gets denser which means more air to the engine per stroke. More air means the ecu needs to add more fuel to compensate. We call this boost season.

 

[MikeD]

Wow I didn't know that. I appreciate it. I do have a heavy foot when i drive but i always thought that miles till empty was a fixed number. I appreciate the help.

See lots of discussion of DTE on this thread (and others like the real world milage threads). DTE

I can confirm based on detailed analysis that it is NOT based on the milage of the last two fill-ups (will share my spreadsheet if anyone really wants to dig in). I've researched this quite a bit and do not have any real clarity on exactly how it is calculated beyond being related to previous MPGs. The question is how far back does it look and how does it weight the data over earlier time/miles. Many sources say its the previous 30 miles or 30 minutes of driving but I've not been able to confirm that through real data analysis. (but it sort of does seem to be a fraction of a tank)

All that said, 270 miles after full fill-up is .... fairly low. I've been under 300 exactly twice (out of 35 fill-ups) - both times when I had my big heavy tires on (285/70R18 - 57# vs 37# OEM tires) and air dam off and mostly local short trips with some off-roading and 4HI/4LO thrown in.

 

[MikeD]

What’s the actual range you guys are experiencing?

My average over 33 fill-ups is 336. Average for OEM tires w/ air dam (17 fill-ups): 348.
(Yep - i have anally recorded it at ever fill-up starting with the 4th - in part because of the threads I linked above getting me curious - AND I have swapped tires several times and will continue to - big tires with triple peak rating for off-roading and snow, OEM tires for long trips outside winter weather)

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