Blog

Make Simple Changes to the Way You Drive to Save Fuel

A stock photo of a person filling their car with gas.

How Can You Increase Fuel Efficiency?

The first few months of 2022 were a mixed bag of events. None of them were more unwelcome than the spike in fuel prices facing drivers. Everyone at Autohouse Kingston is just as affected by the high cost of gasoline as you are, and nobody is happy about it. It might seem like there is nothing we can do, but that would be wrong. There are a few simple things you can do to help conserve as much fuel as possible, thus saving a little money each month. So, how can you increase fuel efficiency? Our team of product experts did a little homework in their off-hours to bring you these tips. Let’s see what they found.

READ MORE: Sell Your Call to Us, Today!

5 Tips For Decreasing Gas Consumption

Driving to and from work is just a part of our lives. Even if someone is fortunate enough to work from home, they will still need to go to the store or to appointments. Take a look at these suggestions to ease some of the pain we’re all experiencing at the pump.

  1. Slow Down: A lot of vehicles are designed to operate most efficiently around 80 km/h. Exceeding this set speed by only a little means fuel-efficiency can drop by up to 14 percent.
  2. Soft Touch: Mashing on the gas pedal and slamming on the brakes at the next stop sign is a great way to hurt fuel economy. Needlessly aggressive driving can reduce fuel economy by between 15 and 30 percent.
  3. Keep It Light: Remove unnecessary items from your vehicle. Every extra 45 kg of weight in your vehicle can reduce fuel economy by one percent. It’s not much, but every little bit helps.
  4. Cruise Control: Holding a constant speed is crucial to maintaining efficiency. Use cruise control when appropriate to improve fuel economy by up to 14 percent.
  5. Stay Ahead of Problems: Regular maintenance is so important to a vehicle’s health. Keep your tires properly inflated. Don’t skip wheel alignments. Replace spark plugs and get your oil changed on time. All of these things will keep your car’s engine running smoothly, help you save fuel, and, importantly, could help it retain as much resale value as possible.

How Far Can a Car Go When The Low-Fuel Light is On?

Most vehicles are equipped with a low-fuel warning light that comes on when there are only a few litres left in the tank. On average, a lot of vehicles will be able to travel another 60 to 80 km on just the fuel reserve left at the bottom of your gas tank. However, this is not a great habit to get into. Regularly driving with little gas in the tank can cause sediment or contaminants that naturally collect at the bottom to be sucked into the fuel system, which isn’t great. Also, routinely driving around with the low-fuel light on could damage the fuel pump, a notoriously expensive repair.

Make an appointment with Autohouse Kingston, today, if it’s time to move on from your gas guzzler and get behind the wheel of something more efficient.