What Is Normal Gas Mileage?

[My 1st SUV]

We have a 2002 RX 300 with 4WD in Vancouver Canada. We bought it at 50,000 miles this summer and it was in excellent condition with new Michellin tires. We have used 91 fuel only (from national fuel companies only) and the tire pressue is at 30 psi. We have taken off the roof rack, and don't keep any cargo in the back. My wife does about half highway and half city. Manual says mpg is suppose to be 18 City and 22 Highway.

The only disappointment so far is the mileage we are getting. We are getting less than 16 mpg. I am measuring using actual gas pumped and odometer readings. The screen in the console is not that accurate as it says we should be getting 16.6 mpg.

Any ideas or suggestions as to what else I should do before I bring it back to Lexus to check it out?

[lenore]

In town and highway mix mine has always gotten 16 to 17 miles per gallon. More highway and we have averaged 20 miles per gallon, however my wife's car is an AWD. Had the car for 8 years and that is what it gets. The computer is always been off.

[Benjamin Tang]

i am also a resident of vancouver bc. we purchased our 00 rx300 used from JP lexus northshore with less than 60k kms on the odometer, with brand new michelin x-terrains included. under normal conditions, i can get 13.8-14.1 litres/100kms on the computer in the city (a/c off). but in today's dismal winter weather, where i covered 2 blocks in 1/2 hour on w. broadway in total gridlock, i accomplished a dismal 16.9 litres/100kms :(

may i ask why you are using premium fuel? i'm assuming that's what 91 octane is... the book for our rx says regular unleaded is what should be used, and i usually go with 89 octane when the prices are good (which isn't often), or just the lowest 87 octane.

chevron is my supplier of choice.

[lenore]

We in the US were told that premium is the fuel of choice for the RX300, it will run with regular, but the book is kind of confusing. I find the mileage is better with the premium.

[mikey00]

We in the US were told that premium is the fuel of choice for the RX300, it will run with regular, but the book is kind of confusing. I find the mileage is better with the premium.

I am not sure exactly who in US says premium is the fuel of choice. I used nothing but regular except for some testing with premium in both my RXs. Regular is definitely my fuel of choice. I am not, however, looking to start another long discussion on regular vs. premium. It has been discussed many times before. Do a search here and at CL. Looks like opinion is somewhat divided.

As far as your mileage goes you are not too far off. I get 19.5 with a combination of city and country roads, almost no highway. The RX is geared kind of low so highway mileage does not go up as much as some other autos with higher gearing. Are your tires the proper size? This could affect odometer accuracy and result in lower mpg if you have larger tires. Check odometer accuracy with milepost markers on highway.

[RX in NC]

My wife's 2000 RX300 AWD has always run just fine on regular gas. She does a mixture of highway and around-town driving, and has always averaged between 18 and 20 mpg with 20 being the norm on the highway and 18 being the norm around town.

[gp1200x]

My wife's 2000 RX300 AWD has always run just fine on regular gas. She does a mixture of highway and around-town driving, and has always averaged between 18 and 20 mpg with 20 being the norm on the highway and 18 being the norm around town.

Ditto...I average between 18 and 20....sometimes 21 or 22 on long trips but usually right around 20 or a hair less with mixed driving.

[tmastres]

My wife's 2000 RX300 AWD has always run just fine on regular gas. She does a mixture of highway and around-town driving, and has always averaged between 18 and 20 mpg with 20 being the norm on the highway and 18 being the norm around town.

Ditto...I average between 18 and 20....sometimes 21 or 22 on long trips but usually right around 20 or a hair less with mixed driving.

Ditto for me too.

Hate to be a Ditto'er but in this case were trying to find what the avergae early RXs get in mileage. I get about 18 around town and just did about 22.5 on an 800 mile trip. I have a pretty light foot arouund town so I could easly see getting 16-17 if you like to jack-rabbit between stoplights.

[hadokenuh]

I have 99 RX300 2WD and average 22 (30% city, 70% highway @ 65-70) using Shell Premium. With the roof rack off, the number can go up to 23mpg (usually 22.5). Of course AWDs consume more gas.

I can tell the car pulls a little stronger (with less hesitation) when I use premium gas. I think it's worth paying extra $3 every fill-up.

The RX300 is a heavy and slow car, it takes longer to get from 0 to 30mph (e.g. city driving). So even though you think you have a light foot, you may not. To maximize the mpg with the RX, you'll have to "learn" how to drive the car using its existing momentum. I learned this habit by turning the trip info to current mpg and trying to adjust my foot so that the mpg is maximized.

I am a 22 year old male. When I drive this car, I am a totally different driver. And when I drive my Accord, I am back to "fun" mode. I'd love to own a RX350 though! That engine owns!