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Sunday, December 02, 2007

Should my Gas Mileage Stay the same all Year ?

With today's cars ( 1996 and newer ) the fuel usage is controlled by the engines computer. The computer uses several sensors to decide how much fuel to inject into the engine. The sensors on the engine determine outside air temperature, air flow, engine temperature, and how well the engine is doing its job. So if one of these sensors is not operating correctly, it will effect the fuel mileage.
The outside temperature can change the fuel consumption. If you are driving in a warm climate, take a fuel mileage reading and then drive in a cold climate, you will see a decrease in fuel mileage in the colder temperatures. Why? When the Engine is colder it takes more fuel to burn to get the engine up to normal operating temperatures. In the old days it was called a choke. Now the computer does this for you. So you can expect worse fuel mileage in the winter if it gets cold where you live.
If you live in the same climate year round then you will not see a change in fuel mileage unless you change your driving habits or let someone else drive your car....

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