Watch this for final word on which fuel to use (Hint: Premium fuel matters)

Slightly off-topic, but the S85 v10 engine in the E60M5 is a mighty nice engine.

On-topic, the gas debate can go on and on, which tells me one thing, really nobody knows other than the engineers and petrochemical engineers.

That V10 is insane. Sounds soooo good. I might have driven one at super extra legal speeds on an empty interstate one time. Maybe. The SMG is actually a pretty great fit with it assuming you never go under 20mph. :ROFLMAO:
 
That V10 is insane. Sounds soooo good. I might have driven one at super extra legal speeds on an empty interstate one time. Maybe. The SMG is actually a pretty great fit with it assuming you never go under 20mph. :ROFLMAO:
I manual swapped mine :P
 
Update: I'm now at 12k miles and have never touched my fuel efficiency gauge. With regular gas, my average has climbed to 23.5mpg. Lovely! And I'm saving so much over those using premium gas. For fun, I switch between ECO and SPORT mode.
 
Toyota knows a lot and if they say to change your engine oil at 10k miles, then you better listen to it because they know better than the average smart person.
Also, it doesn’t matter that they won’t tell you why the 4Runner and taco with the hybrid drive is perfectly okay to run on regular because they know better than the average smart person.
You just do it as it says in most religious book because if you don’t, then you’re playing with fire.

Don’t go to hell. Just do it!
 
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Toyota knows a lot and if they say to change your engine oil at 10k miles, then you better listen to it because they know better than the average smart person.
Also, it doesn’t matter that they won’t tell you why the 4Runner and taco with the hybrid drive is perfectly okay to run on regular because they know better than the average smart person.
You just do it as it says in most religious book because if you don’t, then you’re play with fire.

Don’t go to hell. Just do it!
Devil, upon seeing me arrive at the fiery gates: “Too many oil changes?”
Me: “Too many oil changes.”
 
Toyota knows a lot and if they say to change your engine oil at 10k miles, then you better listen to it because they know better than the average smart person.
Also, it doesn’t matter that they won’t tell you why the 4Runner and taco with the hybrid drive is perfectly okay to run on regular because they know better than the average smart person.
You just do it as it says in most religious book because if you don’t, then you’re playing with fire.

Don’t go to hell. Just do it!
That is a very good way to look at it and for the record I do use Premium fuel.

With that said, (and to be clear) I have absolutely no idea if the person is accurate or not, but I have heard it said that since the Land Cruiser is a global model, vs. the 4Runner/Taco which are designed for the USA models, some recommendations are based on the global market and not specifically the USA market.

Is fuel one of those recommendations based on it being a global model? I have absolutely no clue.
 
In conclusion....STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES.
Ypou knew it needed premium when you bought it. Don't be a cheap SOB.......Probably part of the no wash jeans movement to to save a penny....
Bout the only thing I have learned is we in the US are blessed with about the most reliable quality fuel on the planet. Rest of the world as I learned from my LR days tunes to about 65% to allow for crap fuel.
 
I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t been said, and I’m not going to weigh in on the “why” the LC’s 2.4T iFM requires premium exclusively.

If asked why I choose to put 91-93 in my LC, the answer is personal experience. I’ve driven WRX and STIs, belonged to those forums and those groups, and seen what can happen when high compression ratio, low displacement, turbo charged engines are ran on fuel below the manufacturer’s recommendation. Yes, many of those guys and gals rag on their cars. Many, like me, did not. Say what you want, justify it all you like, I’ve actually seen enough to make my decision.

I’m also old and mature enough to not give a darn about what other people think about my personal choices and opinions. Use your 87 grade all you want. I hope you get 200k worry-free miles. You do you, I’m gonna do me. Just don’t act like those who run premium are fools for doing so. If you’re one of those people, I hope you throw rods and burn through seals.
 
What octane level are you defining as ‘premium’ fuel?
Greetings in Christ to all the members of the list from Buena Vista, Colorado!

I decided to make a posting today for everyone’s consideration that I hope will be useful for those who are mildly disappointed in the fuel economy numbers of the Land Cruiser. I’m going to share with you a chart which shows almost every fill up we have done since taking ownership of this car last year in December.

We are in the habit of using 91 octane fuel without any ethanol, whenever possible. I think this has contributed to the marked increase in fuel economy since March of this year to some extent.

We have also noticed that it’s possible at cruising speed for the engine to turn off and to run for several miles exclusively on the hybrid system, depending, of course, on terrain. On our recent trip to Payson and Phoenix, we saw the fuel economy climbing above 27 miles per gallon. For the entire trip there and back, we averaged 25.6 mpg.

The following website presents a national list of no ethanol stations in North America.


I hope this proves to be helpful!

Καλυ Θεία
 

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Greetings in Christ to all the members of the list from Buena Vista, Colorado!

I decided to make a posting today for everyone’s consideration that I hope will be useful for those who are mildly disappointed in the fuel economy numbers of the Land Cruiser. I’m going to share with you a chart which shows almost every fill up we have done since taking ownership of this car last year in December.

We are in the habit of using 91 octane fuel without any ethanol, whenever possible. I think this has contributed to the marked increase in fuel economy since March of this year to some extent.

We have also noticed that it’s possible at cruising speed for the engine to turn off and to run for several miles exclusively on the hybrid system, depending, of course, on terrain. On our recent trip to Payson and Phoenix, we saw the fuel economy climbing above 27 miles per gallon. For the entire trip there and back, we averaged 25.6 mpg.

The following website presents a national list of no ethanol stations in North America.


I hope this proves to be helpful!

Καλυ Θεία
Welcome to the asylum.

Back in 2008 when ethanol was added to all the fuel sold in America, my highway fuel economy immediately dropped from 21.5 mpg to 19 mpg on the first 87 octane fill up (at Costco) in my 2006 Chevy Avalanche.

I have used 93 octane (almost exclusively) ethanol free fuel since Miss Daisy was new (1 yr, 1 month, 4 days ago). I could only find 89 or 90 octane a few times while traveling, so I topped of the tank at ‘half’ empty so as to effectively have ~91 octane in the tank until the next 93 octane fuel could be found using the pure-gas.org app on my iPhone.

I too have seen the occasional 28 to 31 mpg reported mpg on certain trips, especially when the AC compressor light on the dash isn’t activated, but the tank averages calculated at the pump are usually 26 to 28 mpg.
 
Just downsized my 2024 Sequoia Platinum for a 2025 4R TRD Off Road Premium iForceMax last month. The wife has a 2024 LC that we got in November. We each put about 20k miles a year on our vehicles, and both cars are getting 20 MPG here in the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania. That said, we each will use around 1000 gallons of gas per year, and premium is $0.80 more per gallon here. The engines in these vehicles are identical, get identical HP, torque, MPG and on and on an on. I’ve religiously only filled her car up w 91 or 93, but after owning the 4R for a month, I’ve realized the fuel recommendation on the LC is a joke. $800 more per year to fill the LC. Own the vehicles for 3 years, and it’ll cost almost $2,500 more to drive the LC to get the same MPG and performance with the exact same setup in the 4R. I’m done with this non-sense. Either both engines need premium, or neither of them do. I’m saving that money and going w the latter. See you all at the pump!
 

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I won't keep flogging the dead horse.

I have been feeding our Land Cruiser a steady diet of Chevron 94 octane ethanol free fuel (available in my area) since we brought it home. I justify this by understanding that a full tank of 94 in the LC is cheaper than it used to cost to fill my old Jeep and lasts longer than the aforementioned full tank o' Jeep juice.

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I have been driving for 42 years- I ran multiple vehicles designed for leaded gas long after lead was phased out, and more long before the addition of ethanol to pump gasoline became a thing. Gas stations where I live prefer to be non-specific as to exactly how much ethanol can be in a given grade of fuel by saying things like "up to 10%," but my butt dyno has noticed that there is less energy in an ethanol blend than there is in ethanol free gasoline. With that said, I have been using ethanol free gas in almost every vehicle I have owned whether it calls for the increased octane rating that goes with it or not, and experience better performance and mileage as a result.

During the beginning of the pandemic I switched to a lower grade of gas in the Jeep after prices shot up (typically 89 octane to avoid knocking likely with 87), and I could visually see the fuel gauge needle move while driving or idling in traffic, so money saved at the pump over the higher grade w/o ethanol wasn't all realized. I normally got two weeks of driving out of a tank, but with ethanol blends it went through that Jeep like poop through a goose. I could "hypermile" with the Jeep on ethanol free and could get additional miles out of a tank. Yes you can concentrate on pump price alone, but it isn't the entire picture.

Back when I had the 2.0TSi in a couple of VWs I also exclusively used Chevron 94. We went on a trip down the Oregon coast- we made it there on a tank of the good stuff and could not find ethanol free, just 92 octane ethanol blend available at the pump. The Tiguan (which called for 93 octane on the fuel door) really dialled the power back for the ride home to the point it felt lethargic. Did it blow up? Not at all, but it certainly didn't run as well. The point being, fuel quality and blend varies by region. Most modern vehicles have no problem making small allowances when using different grades of fuel, but I didn't wish to find out if there were long term consequences for doing so. I don't plan on using regular gas in the Land Cruiser, but I know I'll end up somewhere that doesn't have what I am used to. You have to weigh pump price with availability, performance and mileage and make an individual decision as to what is right for your usage be it short term or long term.
 
For what it's worth, ChatGPT now says... "the 2024 and 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser is designed to run on regular unleaded gasoline (87 octane or higher). Toyota does not require premium fuel for this model. Using regular gas will not harm the engine, and you will not see any real benefits using premium fuel in terms of performance or efficiency."

This makes sense to me because it does seem to be the growing consensus these days among forums I frequent and interviews/reviews I see online with industry experts and Toyota engineers.
 
For what it's worth, ChatGPT now says... "the 2024 and 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser is designed to run on regular unleaded gasoline (87 octane or higher). Toyota does not require premium fuel for this model. Using regular gas will not harm the engine, and you will not see any real benefits using premium fuel in terms of performance or efficiency."

This makes sense to me because it does seem to be the growing consensus these days among forums I frequent and interviews/reviews I see online with industry experts and Toyota engineers.
ChatGPT is incorrect
 
For what it's worth, ChatGPT now says...
I put near zero value in anything ChatGPT returns. It aggregates data from public sources (forum opinions and user inputs included) to return a response based on a history of patterns. Just because the internet is inundated with the opinion that something is incorrect does not mean that the inverse is correct… yet this consensus is how ChatGPT arrives at this conclusion.
 
Man…This topic ;)…”infinity” (more than endless) 😜 life goes on…
Happy LCners just live with whatever ( Premium or Regular or else) you are happy with 😜
 
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I just want to see a Toyota engineer on camera to explain why the LC 250 requires premium but the 4Runner and Tacoma is perfectly fine to run on regular. Same engine, almost same weight (4Runner), same hp, same torque numbers.
Please find me a video where they breakdown the technical aspects to why the LC requires premium.

Also, why is it okay to change engine oil at 10k intervals. Every master mechanic on YouTube says to change the engine oil at 5k or less, but Toyota who cares so much to use premium in our LC wants us to change our engine oil at 10k intervals.

Hybrid engines, like the lc250s are known to have fuel dilution, but they still want us to change the engine oil at 10k intervals.

Use premium fuel, but change engine oil at 10k intervals 🤯

Btw, I’m one of those stupid people who has been using regular since day one on my premium lc250. I’ve got over 20k miles with over 7 oils changes. Also, I regularly get 25-26 mpg on my 20 inch heavy factory wheels.
 
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