Hello Everyone, I recently purchased a 1995 Toyota 4Runner. My decision was based on my great success with my 1989. Wow, did I get a shock in terms of fuel economy. I'm getting 13 MPG (CDN Gallon) in the city. (11 mpg US Gallon), barely touching the gas pedal. I changed the spark plugs but no differnce. Any ideas? What is an Oxygen Sensor?
Thanks Dan snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com
wow that's bad! is it the 4cyl (22re) or 6cyl (3vze)? in my '89 with the 22re, i get about 20-22mpg on tanks that are 50-50 highway/city driving. in my '90 with the 3vze, i can get 18-20mpg with the same driving. when my girlfriend drive, she get about 20-30% better milage, i assume that it's because her foot isn't as heavy as mine.
the oxygen sensor could be causing your problems, or maybe you have a clogged air filter or fuel filter. i had a clogged air filter suck gas milage away from an old jeep once. things could just be dirty too, maybe clean out the trottle body, i just did that on my '89 and it runs so much smoother, haven't gone through a tank of gas yet to check milage.
mike
An O2 sensor is what the computer uses to determine how rich or lean the engine is running. When they go out they send the same signal as a lean condition. The computer reacts by injecting more fuel. It stands to reason that this will result in poor gas mileage. Some computers will trip the Check Engine light when the O2 sensor continues to give low or high signals, some will not. I don't know if Toyota OBD I will trip it or not but you should be able to pull your codes without a code reader. Any decent shop manual should walk you through the procedure. Other than that finish up the basic tune up. New cap, rotor, wires, fuel and air filters. If that doesn't help then it's time to dig deeper. Timing, knock sensor, etc. How many miles does it have?
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