Skyrocketing fuel prices certainly have many Nigerians keeping track of their car’s fuel mileage. Once you find out your car is getting much worse fuel mileage than it should be, as frustrating as this can be, poor fuel mileage in your old car is a warning that something needs some maintenance.
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Here are a few things you should check immediately.
Check Out for Wear items: Tires, Filters, and Plugs
To fix a car getting poor fuel mileage, the first things to look at are the wear items. These are aspects of your car that you should be replacing regularly anyway. Some items, such as wiper blades and shock absorbers are likely not reducing your mpg. But other wear items may be costing you at the pump.
Begin by checking your tire pressure. Low tire pressure can rob you of mpg. You will probably see the best fuel mileage at the upper end of your manufacturer’s suggested psi. If your tire gets low again, check for leaks.
Another wear item that can destroy your mpg is your air filter. If your engine cannot breathe easily, it may compensate by burning more fuel.
Just like your air filter, a clogged fuel filter could conceivably reduce your mpg. So if you are taking a look at or swapping your air filter, see about your fuel filter too.
Finally, worn-out spark plugs can mess with your engine’s timing, preventing it from burning all the fuel in each cylinder. This means you are pouring unused fuel out your tailpipe. As you can imagine, this isn’t great for mpg. You can replace your plugs or clean and re-gap your spark plugs.
Check Out Your Car’s Fuel and Exhaust Systems
Because your fuel and exhaust system are critical for getting fuel into your engine and exhaust fumes out, a malfunction in either can reduce your fuel mileage. If your fuel filter is good, there are a few more components you can check out.
A bad fuel injector or carburetor is a very common cause of poor fuel mileage. Your old car uses one of these two systems to mix fuel and air and fill each cylinder with this mixture. Fixing either requires advanced mechanical skill. That said, you can mix an injector cleaner into one tank of fuel and hope this will breathe new life into your injectors.
Both your intake and exhaust system may have exhaust sensors that will likely impact your mpg when they malfunction. Luckily, they should trip your check engine light–if you have one–when they wear out. If you have a check engine light on, have a technician read the “code” corresponding to the light so you know what’s wrong.
Your exhaust system may have other components such as a catalytic converter or muffler that can fail. A leak or partial clog of your exhaust system also will reduce your engine’s efficiency and reduce mpg. This is an important system to have a professional look at.
Monitor Your Driving Habits
Yes, driving with a light foot is not really fun. But you will see the difference in your mpg. Accelerating quickly and revving your engine obviously burns fuel. But in addition, keeping your A/C on all the time will burn more fuel. Finally, idling your car for a long period of time eats through fuel.
Conclusion
There are many mechanical issues that can cause poor fuel mileage. The above list includes a few checks you can do on your own. But if you don’t see an obvious issue, it’s a good idea to take your vehicle to a professional. With the current price of fuel, it’s important to have a car with good fuel mileage more than ever.
