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7 Possible Reasons Your Car is Consuming excess fuel

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vintage black car parked near gas station

Right now, global inflation is at a record high. And fuel prices are skyrocketing by the day. Unless you’re excessively rich to the point you don’t care how much fuel your car consumes, I expect you to read this post until the very end.

Today, we’ll be talking about the reasons your Lexus, Mercedes, or Toyota cars are consuming more fuel than they ought to.

I advise you to brace yourself because some of the points we’ll mention may come as a shock. But they’re all mechanically proven.

Without much ado, let’s get to it.

7 possible Reasons Your Car is consuming excess fuel

1.   Oil is due for a change

Yes, you read that well. The oil-fuel relationship of cars is designed in such a way that the performance of one influences the other. Not changing your engine oil for a long time can negatively impact your car’s fuel efficiency.

If you drive a new car model – like the 2017s, 2018s, and beyond – you’re advised to change the oil every 10k miles. For drivers of models before 2010, an oil change is expected after every 3k mileage. Driving past these marks and not changing your oil can cause fuel efficiency decline.

If your car suddenly starts demanding more liters and you haven’t changed your oil in a while, know that the issue may be from the oil.

2.   Certain parts demand urgent attention

For many of us, as long as a car starts, there’s no reason to assume any of its parts are in bad shape. But I wish that was true.

A car can start even when many of its parts aren’t working correctly. In such scenarios, one of the ways the car communicates with us is via its fuel efficiency.

If you notice your car’s fuel consumption rate has gone up a notch in recent days, it may be an indication that certain parts aren’t working well. Usually, four parts of a car may be linked to fuel consumption.

These are the oxygen sensors, fuel injectors, air filters, and spark plugs. If any of these four is in a bad place, it can cause your car to use more fuel than normal.

To determine which one of the four is the culprit, visit a car service near me.

Note: If you find yourself in a new environment and in need of a quick fix to your car troubles, use Nicelocal to connect with the best car service closest to you.

3.   Poorly inflated tires

According to the laws of Physics, an under-inflated tire will rotate more times than a well-filled tire to cover the same distance.

What does that mean for your fuel consumption? It means if your tires aren’t well inflated, your car will spend more time on the road trying to cover the same amount of distance. And the longer you spend on the road, the more your fuel usage.

On this note, it’s advisable to check your tires every morning before setting out for under-inflation. You can also use your tire pressure indicator to keep track of the pressure gauge in your tires.

4.   Prolonged air conditioning usage

Your car’s air conditioning unit relies on the tank’s fuel to operate. As such, if you leave your AC unit ON for long, your car will use up more fuel. And vice versa.

To keep your daily air conditioning demands low, you’re advised to do the following:

  • Open the sunroof and doors before you start driving to let equalize the outside temp and temp inside the car
  • Only start the AC while driving. Putting on the AC before driving is a total waste of fuel.
  • Use Window shades. Window shades help to reduce the amount of sunshine entering your car, thus reducing the amount of work your AC unit needs to do.
  • Once you start driving, turn the AC control to ‘fresh air mode’ and open your sunroof and windows. This will send any hot air in the car out. Do this for a few minutes and then shut all windows and the sunroof. Now, put the AC in recirculation mode.

 5.   Leaving your car idly ON

Many of us are guilty of leaving our cars turned ON even when we aren’t driving. For example, when we’re stuck in traffic or waiting to pick someone on.

Please, when you can, try to turn OFF your car engine, as it saves your fuel consumption in the long term. Some people might say, but it’s only for a few moments. Yes, that’s true. But don’t forget a lot of ‘few moments’ quickly add up to plenty of time and fuel wastage.

So, whenever you can, turn OFF your car’s ignition.

6.   F1-like driving style

It is beautiful to watch Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton blow through their races. But guess what? For every ‘vroom vroom vroom’ you hear, a gallon of fuel is being burnt.

So, if you notice your car’s been using up too much fuel lately, check yourself. Perhaps you’ve started taking a page from your favorite F1 driver’s playbook.

The bad habit of driving too fast, accelerating too quickly, and slamming on brakes suddenly are all recipes for negative fuel efficiency.

My advice: when you can, try to drive as gently as possible. When stuck in traffic, ensure there’s plenty of space between your bumper and the fender of the driver in front of you. That way, you can stop slowly whenever you need to and not slam on your brakes.

7.   Too much weight

A vehicle’s overall weight is directly proportional to its fuel consumption. The heavier the weight your car carries, the more energy it expends on moving. And the more fuel it consumes as a result. If you use your car to haul heavy duties, you can expect a surge in fuel consumption.

Final words

The pump price of fuel is rising by the day. As such, it’s important to do all we can to reduce how often we pay a visit to the gas station. Our hope is that the tips above should be enough to help you cut down on your fuel consumption today.

 

 

 

Kossi Adzo is the editor and author of Startup.info. He is software engineer. Innovation, Businesses and companies are his passion. He filled several patents in IT & Communication technologies. He manages the technical operations at Startup.info.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Julius Kuloba

    November 19, 2022 at 8:17 PM

    Very good tips to cross-check on my car’s fuel consumption and my driving habits.

    Julius.

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