Apologies if this has been asked, I’m still new to this site and didn’t see it anywhere. The IS 500 has a 17.4 gallon tank and I’m averaging almost 24 mpg but the range it’s giving me after just 32 miles on this tank is only 250 miles. Any idea why this might be? I’m still in my break in period which I’ve heard can cause worse fuel economy, but it’s pretty simple math that just isn’t adding up. And obviously I didn’t buy this car for it’s fuel economy but I’m still wondering why this would be.

 

The problem is that the calculation is linked to your previous average - Make sure you always reset your consumption after each fill up (at least I do) and use the range as a rough estimate and nothing to really hang your hat on. To me, I have had cars where I have seen range increase as the fuel consumption improves on my tank, that is one situation where I trust the range. Not every car does and a car displaying the range at fill up based on previous fuel consumption and not adjusting upward when applicable should never be trusted....Fuel consumption is not static, neither should the range. That is my 2 cents

 

I have it set to auto-reset after I fill up and it seemed to work. Maybe it didn’t though, I’ll look into that on my drive home, thanks.

 

Don't worry it'll get smarter over time and increase.

 

Toyota is notoriously cautious about range. When the low-fuel light is illuminated, you should still have about 3 or 4 gallons left in the the tank. So when the low-fuel warning illuminates, you can likely travel another 60-75 miles before hitting true empty.

 

Thanks, that’s good to know. This is my first Toyota product.

 

Running fuel down to truly empty makes your fuel pump work harder which can lead to premature failure so Toyota probably has that in mind as part of the range.

 

I've noticed that changes to that setting don't affect the range calculation. After all, all you doing is asking the car to display the average MPG after refueling; the range number is a totally separate thing. I think it's based on a sliding window average of your fuel economy. If you suddenly start driving more efficiently, the full impact your driving has won't reflect in the range numbers until a couple of tanks have been used.

 

So Here is something I did with my Drive Info Settings to give more usable screens to me. Hopefully this will be useful to you.
Since selecting ECO Mode the MPG has been climbing up from what is in the pictures. I find I am actually OK with ECO mode on this car. I have pretty much hated it on any car I have been in but the IS 500 seems to have enough low end torque the short shifting is not a bother.

I put Range and After Refuel on my Drive Info 1 Page

Drive Info Page 1

I put After Start and After Reset on my Drive Info 2 Page

Drive Info Page 2

To Change the Drive Info pages go to Meter Settings

Meter Settings

Lots of Options to Choose under Drive Info 1 page in Meter settings. I selected under Distance Range and After Refuel.

Meter Settings Drive Info 1

Lots of Options to Choose under Drive Info 2 page in Meter settings. I selected under Elapsed Time After Start and After Reset.

Meter Settings Drive Info 2

 

^ I have After Refuel as well, though I like to see my Range remaining (even if it is not always accurate).

I need to honestly get rid of the instant fuel economy as it's kinda worthless.

 

I made my Drive Info 1 page my fuel economy page. I saw instant is a useless gauge so I figured the resetable fuel economy was more useful on page 2 with the total elapsed time.

 

Yeah eco mode on this car isn’t bad but it actually makes a difference when you want it to. I’ve noticed in freeway driving with it turned off the car is much more prone to downshifting and holding revs even when I’m not really driving hard. On other cars I’ve owned all it seemed to do was kill throttle response, Lexus did a good job with this.