Range (small fuel tank capacity) is the kryptonite of the 4runner

[Brody_703]

Hard to understand the OP's frustration. The 5th gen that I had consistently got just over 16 mpg in stock form. 325 miles per tank on a 23 gallon tank like clockwork. This vehicle is fairly similar, with around 20-25 miles less range, but you are filling 16 gallons vs. 20 once the fuel light comes on. Everyone's experience/driving habits/terrain will vary, but at the end of the day, it's more efficient than any previous generation of 4Runner, which makes up for the smaller tank, IMHO.

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[get.outside.75]

Limited hybrid, 33” AT tires, Wescott lift, skid plate, no air damn and I get 18mpg on the highways going 80 and 17ish in the city.

I also can’t go 4hrs without having to take a piss on a road trip so a 280m range before I need to look for an exit is just fine for me. Who is driving 5-6hrs straight in their other car without having to stop before it’s empty

 

[josiahg52]

Limited hybrid, 33” AT tires, Wescott lift, skid plate, no air damn and I get 18mpg on the highways going 80 and 17ish in the city.

I also can’t go 4hrs without having to take a piss on a road trip so a 280m range before I need to look for an exit is just fine for me. Who is driving 5-6hrs straight in their other car without having to stop before it’s empty

Well, I did. I drove cross country twice in my X5. I drove tank to tank, about 650 miles on the highway and only stopped when I needed diesel or around 2000 hrs or later and made my own coffee or a sandwich from supplies in a small ice chest. I fueled before turning in for the night and only stopped when i needed diesel. I loved not having to stop because I had to get fuel every few hours. The last time I was able to get from central Oregon to southern Maine in about two and a half days. That's abnormal, but the fact is I would still do that if the vehicle supports it. I think if I needed to do it again, I'd climb back into my X5. It's more expensive to operate, but it is unmatched in comfort, range, power, and efficiency and it's never given me a lick of a problem..

 

[Nodak]

well going from a

1. 2014 limited with a 23gal tank and only averaging 16.7 mpg across 429 fill ups

2. 2025 4runner platinum 19gal tank and i started at 18-19 mpg per tank and now i have been averaging 20-21 mpg (after it broke in around 9k miles got above 20 mpg tank)


so comparing the two, 23 gals x 17 mpg = 391 miles (using the whole 23 gals)
vs
19 gals x 18 mpg = 342 or 19 gals x 20 mpg = 380

pretty close of 391 vs 380 on average.

1st pic the 2014, 2nd pic 2025

caveat, ignore day based numbers as the app still counts days after i retired the vehicle in the app (it still thinks i am using the 2014 with 429 fill ups)

 

[HVLA]

Limited hybrid, 33” AT tires, Wescott lift, skid plate, no air damn and I get 18mpg on the highways going 80 and 17ish in the city.

I also can’t go 4hrs without having to take a piss on a road trip so a 280m range before I need to look for an exit is just fine for me. Who is driving 5-6hrs straight in their other car without having to stop before it’s empty

People who live in the west.

 

[mfoga]

People who live in the west.

Yeah but depending what part of west 4-5 hours is only half a tank

 

[Evergreen104]

Even with the better mpg's of the 6th gen over my 5th gen, the fill up frequency is annoying with my iForceMax. But what's crazy is the wild discrepancies at fill up. 19 gal tank. Yesterday I showed 58 miles remaining yet took only 13.4 gallons to fill it up to a new 316 mile range. Last fill up took 15.6 gallons with similar remaining miles showing. What gives with this Toyota??

 

[JCinNC]

The tank on my '24 Land Cruiser is only 16.8 gallons....you wanna complain, that's a joke! But agree with some of the others - and I hate to get political - but if you live in these states where the gas is $6/gallon, then you should be complaining more about who you elected than the size of the tank on your 4Runner. I'm happy paying just over $3 at Costco, even if it is more often than I would if I had a G-Wagon (ridiculous comparison btw).

 

[Gator 22]

What Costco are you getting 3 dollar gas at?!!!

 

[Nodak]

Even with the better mpg's of the 6th gen over my 5th gen, the fill up frequency is annoying with my iForceMax. But what's crazy is the wild discrepancies at fill up. 19 gal tank. Yesterday I showed 58 miles remaining yet took only 13.4 gallons to fill it up to a new 316 mile range. Last fill up took 15.6 gallons with similar remaining miles showing. What gives with this Toyota??

the MTE always re-calcs after each tank or few tanks. so depending on how you drive it.

when i drive around town it sits around 300 tank on fill ups. when i go on my trip from ND to GA, it jumps up to 324-345 (1800 miles hi-way 1-way across 3 days, doing 75 in ND, 80 in SD, then 75-70 the rest of the way to ATL) and then goes back down after awhile when i get back home.

my mpg goes way up once i leave ND and SD as the wind in those states kills mpg and (imo) the quality of the gas gets better and i get better mpg

 

[HVLA]

Yeah but depending what part of west 4-5 hours is only half a tank

For me it is 300+ miles lol.

 

[jameschr14]

Agreed I get 300 miles on a tank with my hybrid averaging 19 miles a gallon…. My 4runner got hit and has been in the shop for a week and I’ve had the four-door Ford bronco for the past week averaging about 19 miles a gallon but with the larger gas tank was over 450 miles on the tank

 

[Everybodyduck]

Just needed to rant for a second because the range on this thing is ruining the experience for me.

Getting ~280 miles out of a tank is brutal. I can’t even drive to LA on a single tank without having to stop—unless I want to push deep into the fuel reserve, which I’m obviously trying to avoid so I don’t cook the fuel pump.

The worst part? There really isn’t a better alternative on the market ... well G-Wagon lol, and I don't want a bigger suv.

Is a 25-gallon tank from the factory really too much to ask for? In hopes someone from Toyota somehow reads this.

Vehicle	Total Tank (Gal)	Reserve (Gal)	Main Tank w/o Reserve (Gal)	MPG	Range Without Reserve	Reserve Range	Total Range (With Reserve)
Toyota 4Runner	19.0	2.5	16.5	17	280.5 miles	42.5 miles	323.0 miles
Mercedes G550	26.4	3.1	23.3	17	396.1 miles	52.7 miles	448.8 miles

I don't know anyone who ever bought a 4Runner after Gen 1 for mpg. If you go to a place where fuel is unavailable, take more fuel with you. If it really is ruining the experience of having the vehicle, get another vehicle; life is too short. Fortunately, your vehicle has good resale value despite the 19-gallon tank. You know what they say about fast cars: they can pass anything but a gas station.

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