I agree with you on tank size. This thing should have a 20 gallons minimum, potentially 25. My Camaro has a 20 gallon tank and I can get 400+ miles on a tank.

I've never been a fan of people waiting until the gas light comes on. That's terrible for your fuel pump as it struggles to reach the required pump head, it can potentially overheat, and you suck whatever junk is in the bottom of your tank right through your system.

 

I recently realized how much the quality of the gas matters. I was putting BP gas in my car and my average mpg was steadily going down according to the car's computer.

I end up putting Murphy's gas from Walmart and my mpg started going back up.

So if your mpg is less than you expect then you should probably try another gas station.

 

You JUST realized this?

I have good luck with the BP near me as I only put 93+ into the car. Shell is about the best you can put into your car, with Sunoco and Chains (like Getgo, Sheetz, Wawa) being the worst as they will buy gas from anywhere.

 

On page 599 at the bottom of the page of my NX manual it states,

Lexus strongly recommends the use of Top Tier Detergent Gasoline. For more info go to website,
http://www.toptiergas.com/

TOP TIER Gasoline Retailers:
USA

76 Stations
Aloha Petroleum
ARCO
Beacon
BP
Chevron
Conoco
Costco Wholesale
CountryMark
Diamond Shamrock
Entec Stations
Express Convenience Centers
Exxon
Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN)
Holiday Stationstores
Kwik Trip / Kwik Star
MFA Oil Co.
Mobil
Ohana Fuels
Phillips 66
QuikTrip
Road Ranger
Shamrock
Shell
Sinclair
Suncor Energy Inc
SuperAmerica
Texaco
Tri-Par Oil Co.
Valero


Canada

Chevron Canada
CO-OP
Costco Wholesale
Esso
Petro-Canada
Shell Canada
Tempo


Puerto Rico

Puma Energy Caribe, LLC
Shell

 

on my 3rd tank of gas. first 2 tanks i got about 19 mpg. had a hard time keeping it out of sport mode
trying to have a lighter right foot during this tank to see the difference.

 

I've always known but this car seems to be particularly sensitive to the quality of gas you put in it.

The last 3 or 4 gas tanks of Murphy gas got me back up to 24 mpg from a low of 22.7 with the other gas.

 

2nd tank of gas in my AWD hybrid and I'm getting 29.8. Had 30.6 on my first tank with about a quarter tank left but then had to drop the car to the dealer so they could bring it to kar tunz for a clear bra install and when I got it back it was down to 28.2..

 

I noticed a solid 2mpg drop using Sunoco compared to BP on my road trip. It should have been even more considering that I drove OUT in heavy rain with BP gas, and drove home in the sun with Sunoco.

 

wow...makes you wonder if there are any standards or regulations that gas companies have to adhere to. 2 mpg drop is pretty significant. I've always felt that gas companies play around with the formula to maximize their prophets.

with the walmart gas, I'm averaging about 26 mpg per tank...while mostly driving on the highway. which is really good considering I have awd.

and yes I also agree with you that the tank is way too small. to fill up is cheap but you fill up so much more often. And I came from a toyota solara that had a 18.5 gallon tank and averaged about 29mpg. On the highway that thing ran for awhile before needing a fill up. made long trips a bit shorter.

 

Sunoco is known for diluting their gas to the maximum of E10, several times they have been caught with upward to E15. The more ethanol, the lower your mpg. I didn't want to go there, but in the middle of Hicksville, PA, there was nothing else before we started our trip home.

Also keep in mind that "walmart gas" is not a consistent blend. Walmart, like any other chain, will buy gas from any company that is the cheapest. You could have BP one week, and have a bottom end refinery the next. I stay away from chains for this exact reason. They have no standards.

 

I tried, albeit pretty briefly, to find any evidence of Sunoco diluting gas beyond E10, but failed. That said, Lexus recommends using only Top Tier gasoline, of which Sunoco is not. The list of top tier retailers is here:

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers/

 

That's odd, if I remember right, it was like a 2012 or 2013 CNNMoney article.

 

Costco is a chain and they are considered a Top Tier gasoline retailer. 🏆

 

Probably depends on the agreements they have with refineries.

 

Evidently, Costco has agreements with the Top Tier sources.