I live in Michigan and I have 1999 V6 Camry for over 5 years, with 157000 miles, and getting 18/28 city/freeway miles a gallon. I just bought 2000 Camry, with 51000 miles, and is giving me 17/26 city/freeway miles a gallon. I replaced all 4 spark plugs and K&N air filter but no change. Car runs smooth and has no obvious problem. Any idea what’s the problem and what shall I do to improve the mileage? Thanks.
Tire pressure right? Tires in alignment? Trans fluid full and recently changed? The Toyota v6 often gets mpgs close to the i4.
It seems you are getting excellent mpg performance from your V6. The 4 should be doing better. There are so many possible factors. My guess is the V6 is “coasting” better meaning there is less drag for some reason. Perhaps the brakes on the 4 are hanging up a bit, or some wheel bearings are old and tight.
If you can find a hill that you can coast down, like a soap box derby, and see if the V6 coast for a longer distance than the 4. This would rule out or confirm my “coasting” theory.
Also, have you changed the oil? If it’s got the wrong (to heavy) oil, it could be a real problem in Michigan this time of year.
Thanks for the replies. I changed the oil and the oil filter also and the air pressure in all tires is same and 30 lbs. The previous owner has replaced the muffler. After starting the engine when I accelerate in standing there is a slight vibration and sound like the engine is trying to suck more air. It is also felt while driving and this condition disappears after pushing down the gas pedal a bit more.
There are quite a few reasons why your 4 cyl car is getting worse mileage than the V6 car. First one would be how much time do you spend on your commute accelerating from a stop to high speeds? A 4 cylinder car will give worse gas mileage than a V6 if this is a common thing, since it has to work harder to make the same speed in the same distance.
Next up would be typical maintenance items, like your air filter, fuel filter, and even the brand and size of tires between the two cars. Different tires between the two cars can really change the fuel mileage results.
BC.
I don’t know how much difference the number of cylinders actually makes in gasoline mileage. Back in 1960, the Studebaker Lark V-8 (259 cubic inch) got about the same mileage as gthe Studebaker Lark 6 (169 cubic inches). I had a 1985 Ford Tempo 4 and its highway mileage wasn’t as good as the 1988 Taurus V-6 that replaced it. A friend of mine bought a 1987 Ford Taurus with a 4 cylinder engine and I could also best him with my 1988 Taurus V-6. One difference was the the V-6 Taurus had a 4 speed automatic overdrive transmission and the 4 cylinder Taurus had a 3 speed automatic transmission.
There are other factors that make a difference. My brother and my dad both owned 1963 Buick LaSabres. My brother’s LaSabre had a manual transmission, no power steering or brakes and no air conditioning. My Dad’s 1963 LaSabre was loaded and had almost every option including air conditioning. On a cross country trip where they traveled together in the two cars, the loaded Buick with the air conditioning running got 19.7 miles per gallon while the stripped Buick LaSabre only managed 19.2. The loaded Buick had a higher compression engine and required premium gas, while the bottom of the Line LaSabre had a low enough compression to run on regular.
In short, there are too many variables involved to predict whatthe mileage should be. In your case, I would drive the V-6 Camry and be comfortable. Let someone else bump along in the Camry 4.