Been watching this for a while, had heard on the Tacoma forum that the trucks Tank Average Fuel Economy is very close and within 0.5 MPG vs calculating it the old fashion way… I check mine most of the time and it has always been within 0.5 MPG or closer…
But it seems like on here most vehicles TAFE is nowhere near accurate… Maybe the newer vehicles have gotten better??
Well, finally remembered to take pictures, and mine is only 0.2 MPG off what shows on the DIS screen…
For many years I kept a small notepad log of gas mileage for my cars. Finally realized a few years ago that my 2014 Camry’s readout of mpg is always so close to manual calculation that I quit keeping the log out of habit. Easy to briefly reinstate at any time if I think there is reason to double check against the car’s computer version.
Mine have always been very close. Even without a working gauge, the computer told me what was used. As they say though, what fdifference does it make? Kind of like getting a receipt on a debit card. Doesn’t change the balance at all. Unless like my CPA BIL who saves them all to compare monthly statements.
I only us3 credit cards for car rental, hotels, etc. I have security notifications set up on my debit cards and never had a problem. Daily Cash and purchase limits. I have a thing against credit cards. Why would you encourage young people to use credit cards in this day and age. It has been the financial ruin to many.
Many visitors to this forum have been criticized for relying on the vehicle’s computer for fuel economy data, I guess a 0.5 mpg difference isn’t close enough for some people.
The cars I used to own did not have a trip odometer and certainly not.a miles per gallon indicator. I had a little device that clipped on the sun visor. It had 5 dials that I could set to match the odometer reading. It ws a freebe from my insurance company. I would set the dials to match the odometer when I filled the gas tank. The next time I filled the gas tank, I would subtract the reading on the dials from the reading on the odometer. I would divide the difference by the number of gallons I put in the tank. With a little rounding of the numbers, I did the arithmetic in my head. I would get a pretty good estimate of my gas mileage. The little freebe from the insuranc company has long since disappeared. I use the mpg readout on my present vehicle, but it doesn’t give my brain the exercise in mental arithmetic that I used to do.
Exactly, that is the reason I made this thread, I remember seeing, as you said, many visitors being criticized for complaining about their MPG being to low or whatever and not manually calculating MPG… I was very curious what the members had experienced with their vehicle computers MPG readout…
My previous vehicles did either have an accurate Miles per gallon or they were quite a ways off depending on how much city driving I did . Now our 2024 Subaru Outback is very close most of the time.
Now if you want to see many posts by people who have no idea how to check mpg or even understand the dash readout just visit Toyotanation forum.
Math is hard. The older I get the more I find myself thinking what difference does it make? It’s not like I’ll have more or less gas in the tank if I get 25 or 30. Unless in a diagnostic mode or just for fun on a long drive. That’s why I fiddle with the nav system. Just something to do. Wont get there any faster.
Just for reference, both my earlier Mustangs still have 1.5 gallons in the tank when the range says zero miles. My wife’s Saab and Audi are also that way. Very conservative so you won’t run out.
I only checked my '03 Prius readout once, and it was pretty close. But I mostly watch it just to see if anything changes. It generally averages out at 46mpg. A bit less in the winter, and esp if I put the winter tires on. Or if anyone else drives it. I know how to milk it.
But it’s tricky checking with a Prius (or any hybrid) because it’s so sensitive to the kind of driving that’s been done. During COVID and working at home I did some experimenting as I had more slack time from not having to commute. If I stay on rural back roads (figure 45 mph roads) and I milk it some it gets close to the mid-50s. Using backroads and rural highways (55 mph roads) it’s about low 50s. Interstate driving is more like low 40s.
The point is that if I want to cross-check by actual fill ups and mileage I have to be very careful to keep some consistent driving mix. Either that or keep my log for lots and lots of miles to let everything even out.
My 2018 Versa with manual transmission is consistently 1 to 2 mpg optimistic. Best it ever showed after 2 tanks was 49.3 mpg which I believe was off by several mpg.
Strange though, I showed 10 miles to empty and was still able to get 18.115 gallons in my tank… BTW, this was the lowest I have let it go before filling up…
I have never seen the low fuel message on either of my cars. I have no idea how big the tank is. Traveling or not, I usually fill up at half a tank. Maybe it goes back to my diesel days where they even provided a list of stations available. Maybe it had something to do with being out of gas in the middle of the night in Wisconsin in 1958 and having to call the sheriff to get a station open.
When he was still alive we rented a van with friends to drive to Florida. H3 was the fire chief so should have been a little concerned with safety on the road. He had first shift and drove and drove. I kept looking at the gas gauge getting closer to empty. I said how about we get gas before we hit Missouri? He said he just wanted to see how far we could go before hitting empty. I still don’t understand. I’ve driven over night on unfamiliar roads many times and always make sure I have gas for unexpected lack of stations, bad weather, closed roads, and traffic stops. During the gas shortages days I had to make sure I could get gas to get home again after going to the in-laws 200 miles away. I’ll never drive on fumes.
