The Three Most Vital Car Maintenance Tasks to Help You Save Money on Gas

With prices hovering close to $4.00 a gallon all over the United States most people are looking for as many ways as possible to save money on gasoline. That’s understandable of course but, unfortunately, most people miss the three most important  automobile maintenance tasks that could easily save them up to $.30 a gallon every time they fill up.  With that in mind we put together a little blog about those three tasks, what they are and how they can increase your fuel economy and decrease the sting that you get at the pumps. Enjoy.

Task #1 – Make sure that you keep your car’s engine properly tuned at all times. If your car for example is noticeably out of tune or has recently failed and emissions test getting a tuned up can improve your gas mileage by almost 5%. This of course varies depending on the type of car that you have, it’s age and how well maintained it was before the tune-up. If your car is suffering from a serious problem such as an oxygen sensor that is working incorrectly, fixing this problem can improve your mileage by as much as 40%, which is a serious improvement. Even at only 4% this is an equivalent of approximately $.14 a gallon savings.

Task #2 – Make sure that your car’s tires are always kept at their proper pressure. For every 1 psi pressure drop your car’s mileage can actually be lowered by .3%. Also, keeping your tires properly inflated will allow them to last longer, thus lowering the cost to replace them.

Many people make the mistake of looking on the side of the tire and using the maximum pressure number that is printed there on the tire sidewall. Better to locate the driver side door-jam sticker or look in the owner’s manual to find the actual recommended psi and use that number instead.  Keeping your tires properly  inflated can thus give you a fuel economy benefit of approximately 3% or $.11 per gallon savings.

Task #3 – Find out what the recommended weight of motor oil is for your vehicle and use it every time you have the oil changed. This can actually improve your gas mileage by up to 2% and is also better for the car’s engine which will lower your maintenance costs overall.

If you use 10 W30 motor oil and the engine in your car was designed to run on 5 W30, using the wrong oil can lower your gas mileage by 2% and cost you more at the pump, obviously. When your car’s oil is being changed ask if they have energy conserving motor oil as it contains friction reducing additives that will also increase your gas mileage. The 2% bonus that using the correct motor oil can give you equals approximately $.07 per gallon savings.

Bonus Info – There is new information that has recently been released that shows that, while replacing a clogged air filter can improve a car’s performance and acceleration, it has little impact on a car’s MPG. This is mostly for cars that were made after the early 1980s. Thus, if you’re looking to improve gas mileage, replacing your car’s air filter is probably not going to give you much of a MPG boost.

Like practically everyone in America we hate filling up these days because the price of gasoline is doing so much damage to our wallets and purses. If you  can accomplish the three tasks above however you could save, as we said, up to about $.30 per gallon every time you fill up.

Over the cost of 1 tank of gas the savings might not be huge but, over a year’s worth of gas consumption, you could literally save hundreds of dollars. So make sure to keep your own mobile properly tuned, its tires properly inflated and use the manufacturer’s recommended weight of oil. Of course be sure to come back and join us very soon for more great money-saving information. See you then!