Land Cruiser mpg on warm engine

[teghogh]

My lc has about 900 miles on the clock and my daily commute consist of short 6 mile route with 1000 ft decline for a mile or so and 5 miles of some what flat street roads. My gas mileage on daily commute is about 17mpg.
This afternoon I decided to travel the same loop 2x totalling 24 miles with the only difference being the engine is already warmed out through daily useage while having the boost and I force max guage on to see if I notice a difference
Right off the start the engine would completely turn off anytime I was off the gas pedal under no load. And when it would come on, the I force max gauge would provide torque upto 25% with very little to no boost on the gauge, resulting in 21mpg on 33 inch tires. This is a massive 4 mpg gain compared to what I normally get with the cold engine .
I could easily achieve 25mpg if my commute did not involve 1000 ft of elevation change.
Another interesting thing to point out is that every time the ignition is cycled , regardless of engine temp, the truck would use 100% of electric motor torque ( iforce max guage at 100%) and 0 boost for Atleast 2 min before defaulting to normal boost operation.

I read a lot of comments about mpgs improving after 1k miles and I’m wondering if it is due to higer usage of the hybrid system over the engine like I have been experiencing today

 

[lcat63]

At 1000 miles, a round trip (134 miles) from Chesapeake, VA to Kitty Hawk, NC gets me 20.1 MPG. Primarily rural highway driving, which normally returns the best MPG. I’ve hit 64 MPG driving a TDI Jetta on the same route. I really don’t know how anyone gets 25 MPG out of their Land Cruiser. I don’t think 50 PSI in the tires and a tailwind would do that in mine. I may take a slight hit for the Nitto Ridge Grappler upgrade, but surely not 20% worth.

 

[Marinna]

25 MPG sounds about right to me.

In order to replicate EPA gas mileage, you have to drive your car like how EPA test vehicles. It is definitely not how average Joe drives their car on highway. This is how EPA conducted its test for highway:

What Does The EPA Highway Mileage Test Involve?​

Highway gas mileage tests are conducted in a lab rather than out on a road. Vehicles simulate highway conditions on a dynamometer, which allows their drive wheels to turn freely while testers run them through a very specific set of “schedules,” which is the term used to refer to different operational cycles that mimic actual driving.

The “highway” portion of the EPA's gas mileage testing is only 765 seconds long, or just under 13 minutes of operation. Called the Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule (HWFET), it's much more complicated than maintaining a steady cruising speed. Although its average speed is 48.3 mph, it calls for acceleration and braking across a distance of 10.26 miles, representing the surges and dips in speed that might be experienced during a typical highway run.

The highway test is combined with the “high speed” test (also known as US06), which takes almost 10 minutes to run. It includes a number of additional accelerations and slow-downs (with the most dramatic being several climbs from 0 mph to above 60 mph, cresting at a top speed of 80 mph).

Instead of relying on a fuel gauge, each vehicle's tailpipe is connected to a machine that measures the amount of carbon in its exhaust to determine how much fuel was burned during the schedule.

You can give it a try close to how they test the vehicle. I'd start with 30 mph, slowly increase my speed to 60 in 90 seconds, keep that speed for about 10 minutes or so, and then decelerate back to 30 mph in another 90 seconds.

EPA certainly don't drive the car at 80 mph to get that number that is for sure.

 

[MSINAL]

My lc has about 900 miles on the clock and my daily commute consist of short 6 mile route with 1000 ft decline for a mile or so and 5 miles of some what flat street roads. My gas mileage on daily commute is about 17mpg.
This afternoon I decided to travel the same loop 2x totalling 24 miles with the only difference being the engine is already warmed out through daily useage while having the boost and I force max guage on to see if I notice a difference
Right off the start the engine would completely turn off anytime I was off the gas pedal under no load. And when it would come on, the I force max gauge would provide torque upto 25% with very little to no boost on the gauge, resulting in 21mpg on 33 inch tires. This is a massive 4 mpg gain compared to what I normally get with the cold engine .
I could easily achieve 25mpg if my commute did not involve 1000 ft of elevation change.
Another interesting thing to point out is that every time the ignition is cycled , regardless of engine temp, the truck would use 100% of electric motor torque ( iforce max guage at 100%) and 0 boost for Atleast 2 min before defaulting to normal boost operation.

I read a lot of comments about mpgs improving after 1k miles and I’m wondering if it is due to higer usage of the hybrid system over the engine like I have been experiencing today

The hybrid definitively becomes more active after 1000 miles. You get the best benefit around town in my experience. We just drove 750mile interstate trip (AL to VA) and the biggest impact on the mpg was the outside temp. Driving under 80, mostly, we averaged 20mpg for the trip. Folding the mirrors in didnt seem to help much.
I have the nitto grapler upgrade btw.

 

[APIOQM]

This hybrid system definitely likes warmer temperatures. Partly due to cabin heating requirements preventing the engine from shutting off as much, and partly due to reduction in battery performance. EPA average MPG is easily obtainable in the summer, but would be a challenge in the winter.

 

[TakaraLC]

This hybrid system definitely likes warmer temperatures. Partly due to cabin heating requirements preventing the engine from shutting off as much, and partly due to reduction in battery performance. EPA average MPG is easily obtainable in the summer, but would be a challenge in the winter.

Plus it ECU tries to maintain catalyst temperature, which prevents the engine from turning off for extended periods.

 

[ultane]

I never thought of ^THAT^.

 

[APIOQM]

This hybrid system definitely likes warmer temperatures. Partly due to cabin heating requirements preventing the engine from shutting off as much, and partly due to reduction in battery performance. EPA average MPG is easily obtainable in the summer, but would be a challenge in the winter.

Stock 1958 highway tires went back on yesterday, and I must say, this also makes a big difference. It was just above freezing this morning, and I did 27 mpg on my mixed commute. I notice the car cruises in EV mode much more frequently. Last week, in similar conditions I was doing about 23 mpg. On super cold days this winter, it was probably down to around 21 mpg. Total averages will be a bit worse, which include short trips to the store where the vehicle doesn't warm up.

 

[Futha]

Here's my weird finding on tire pressure:

I have been getting 22-25mpg, usually on the upper end with most trips at 24mpg. Stock Yokohamas, no roof rack, 1958. I'm in Ohio, so it has been fairly cold, and I'm on-call at night so I drive around on a cold engine in the middle of the night very frequently.

Last week I installed a Sherpa rack, JDM mud flaps, engine and transmission skid plates, and changed my oil with Liqui Moly.

Over this weekend, I noticed I was getting 20mpg tops. I fueled up Friday night and have watched my tank average drop to 18.4mpg. I was devastated, moved the roof rack around a couple of times-- I can't have 18mpg driving for work, it's just not reasonable. I was ready to (with a broken heart) take off the Sherpa rack until I actually need to use it.

I noticed my tires were running 33psi cold, which is recommended on the door sill, but they were filled to 40psi from the dealership. So, I filled my tires back up to 40psi.

I'm now getting 22-24mpg again, in fact I just drove 20 miles around town including a couple miles of highway and scored 26.4mpg.


Something is either goofed up with the stock Yokohamas, or the hybrid system doesn't like the little extra drag. Because 33 to 40 psi shouldn't affect fuel economy that much.

 

[ERROR504]

I made a post about my MPG results on another thread somewhere. I have a 1958 with a roof rack and toyo Open Country AT3s at 33psi. Highway driving I usually average around 23 mpg. I only fill up with premium as that seems to be a hot topic on another thread lol.

 

[kmershly]

I have posted on a few different threads regarding MPG and I have been stuck at 19.9 - 20.2 since driving the car off the lot.

The modification that I have made was to change the tires from the stock Michelin LTX Train Tires (which were terrible) to 260/70-R18 (stock size) KO3s.

 

[PDPete]

~6,500 miles on my 1958... I've noticed a lot of the same. The warmer weather has definitely brought my average MPGs up.

I find that extended highway trips get very impressive fuel economy for a vehicle of this size, I have to make a 100 mile round-trip about once a week, and was averaging about 21 MPG during the cold winter months, but am getting an average about 24 on the same trip now (as high as 26 MPG when traffic is light). Depending on wind, seems to do the best if kept below 75 mph though.

City driving and short trips are much more hit or miss...this hybrid system definitely doesn't aid as much in start/stop driving as it would in something like Prius (not a complaint nor unexpected)...definitely seems to be best to just get up to speed and try to cruise as opposed to trying to ease into starts, as the gas motor kicks in way too early to try to just rely on the hybrid motor alone.

Having said all of that, while I can't help myself from being observant of these things, if for no other reason than monitoring the health of the vehicle, I didn't buy my LC with any expectation of it being an incredibly fuel-efficient vehicle...and don't really stress too much about it

I noticed my tires were running 33psi cold, which is recommended on the door sill, but they were filled to 40psi from the dealership. So, I filled my tires back up to 40psi.

I've found 35~36 cold psi to a pretty decent sweet spot between where the dealership set it and the door sticker recommendation for road driving...still getting pretty decent MPGs and a good ride. I'll likely be upgrading the stock 245/70R18 Yokohama tires in the next few months, however...and I'm sure I'll take a hit at the pump when I do.

 

[Futha]

I'll likely be upgrading the stock 245/70R18 Yokohama tires in the next few months, however...and I'm sure I'll take a hit at the pump when I do.

I'm personally looking at the Toyo Open Country AT3 EV, especially now that I suspect the hybrid system may really dislike a little bit of extra rolling resistance. And it's a gorgeous tire, it looks really good and that's obviously priority #1!

 

[ultane]

Here's my weird finding on tire pressure:

I have been getting 22-25mpg, usually on the upper end with most trips at 24mpg. Stock Yokohamas, no roof rack, 1958. I'm in Ohio, so it has been fairly cold, and I'm on-call at night so I drive around on a cold engine in the middle of the night very frequently.

Last week I installed a Sherpa rack, JDM mud flaps, engine and transmission skid plates, and changed my oil with Liqui Moly.




Something is either goofed up with the stock Yokohamas, or the hybrid system doesn't like the little extra drag. Because 33 to 40 psi shouldn't affect fuel economy that much.

Which is why I think I am going to remove the OEM roof rack from Miss Daisy (First Edition). I can’t even reach it to put stuff up there without a ladder, so it’s just for ‘show’, and the wind noise is very noticeable and annoying.

 

[ct1958]

Yesterday, 04-14-25, I got 26.7 MPH on a 105 mile trip from Hartford, CT to Poughkeepsie, NY. My speed was between 65 - 75 MPH with slow downs for traffic. Bone stock 1958 with 40 PSI in the tires. Temp was 70 degrees.