# 2003 2.4 tacoma is sucking up my gas **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 30, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714 "2011-07-30T13:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tammy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@Tammy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tammy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/1 "2011-07-30T13:47:06Z")
I just bought a 2003 tacoma 2.4l engine and it has terrible gas mileage.I haven’t checked the numbers yet,but it cost me 26.00 to drive for 2 hours. Where do I start looking. The air filter is clean,the tires have plenty of air.Help!!! ---
**Author:** ![Tammy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@Tammy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tammy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/2 "2011-07-30T13:48:20Z")
Tammy 8:47AM EditReport I just bought a 2003 tacoma 2.4l engine and it has terrible gas mileage.I haven’t checked the numbers yet,but it cost me 26.00 to drive for 2 hours. Where do I start looking. The air filter is clean,the tires have plenty of air.Help!!! ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/3 "2011-07-30T13:55:41Z")
**_I Think Tacoma Is A Toyota And I’m Pretty Sure It’s A Truck. I Don’t Know Tacomas Or Toyotas From Shinola, But I’ve Owned A Truck And Know Others Who Have. “Where do I start looking. [?]”_** Look underneath for leaking gasoline. If there isn’t any then look on a car lot. Trucks (2003 vintage) generally get poor gas mileage. It’s been in the news recently that people are selling trucks and buying cars. It’s possile that that’s why your’s was for sale. CSA ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/4 "2011-07-30T13:57:23Z")
You start by actually calculating the gas mileage. $26 in 2 hours doesn’t say anything. Fill the tank & reset the trip odometer. Drive about 1000 miles filling the gas tank until the automatic pump shut off activates. Keep track of the gallons to fill it each time. After about 1000 miles & right after a fill-up, divide the actual mileage driven by the number of gallons. Then compare what you have to the EPA estimates as a rough ballpark. Aside from that, you just bought it, so what do you know about its maintenance history? How old are the spark plugs & wires? Fuel filter? “plenty of air” in the tires is the wrong way to go. Find the manufacturer’s spec label, probably on your door pillar. Find what that tires are supposed to have in them in psi. Make sure all 4 tires are at the same psi, at or maybe slightly above the spec. Watch your engine temperature gauge. If it seems to stay very low ask someone to check out your cooling system including your coolant temp sensor. After driving for a while get out and carefully feel each wheel (if you have plastic wheel covers make sure you get to the steel wheel behind). If any feel hotter than the others or the front/back feel hotter you may have a dragging brake or two. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/5 "2011-07-30T15:31:40Z")
**_How Much Did You Pay Per Gallon Of Gasoline ? How Many Miles Did You Travel In Those 2 Hours Or How Fast Did You Drive For 2 Hours ? Manual Transmission Or Automatic ?_** If gas costs $4/Gal and you drove 2 hours @75mph, for instance then you got 23mpg and that doesn’t sound too bad to me. On the other hand, if you paid $3.50/Gal and only went 55mph then you got 15mpg and not so hot. It matters too, if it was a full 2 hours. What to expect : 2 WD Automatic: \_\_\_\_\_\_19 City - 23 Hwy 2 WD Manual: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_20 City - 25 Hwy CSA ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-2-4-tacoma-is-sucking-up-my-gas/66714/6 "2011-07-30T23:24:17Z")
**_See If This Makes You Feel Any Better._** I’ll bet the truck is your only vehicle, right ? Now imagine that you have a family with multiple vehicles and multiple drivers. Imagine that it’s you that has the account that people in the family tap when they fill up. Next, figure gas is $3.89/Gallon. These drivers average around a hundred thousand miles combined, each year. Now figure in changing the oil on each vehicle and doing all the maintenance and repairs, car registrations, insurance (one is 16 years-old), and replacement car purchases. Welcome to my world. The gas is the easy part. Then there’s the house, and the boats, and the . . . CSA