Questions and Answers
Toyota Gas Milage Drops
Q. My name is Shaun and I currently own a 1997 Toyota T100 truck.
In recent weeks I noticed the gas mileage has dropped from about 29 mpg to 24 mpg. I checked the fuel filter (which I had just replaced back in June with a WIX filter) and found it to be almost completely blocked. I could hardly blow through it. I replaced it with a new Toyota filter hoping to return to my normal 29 mpg: no luck. A friend of mine who "tinkers" with Toyotas said that the computer needs to be recalibrated. Is this true? It doesn't make a whole a lot of sense to me but I would like to fix this problem.
- 2.7 Liter
- 5 speed manual, 2wd
- P/S & P/B (no options at all, very plain)
- 54,000 miles.
Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
ShaunA. I once recalibrated a computer with a BFH and when I was done, it did still didn't work. Other than using a BFH there is no way to recalibrate a computer. The chip in that computer is not even replaceable separately. If your friend knows how to recalibrate the computer, I wish he would tell me how it's done.
I don't think you have a major problem here. As an engine gets older, fuel milage will drop a bit. All you can do is make sure the filters are clean, tune ups are done once a year or 15,000 miles and the tire pressures are up to spec. You can take the truck to a Toyota dealer and have the fuel mixture checked to make sure that is within spec's. (Maybe that's what your friend means.)
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