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Car maintenance tips, extend the life of your car, improve gas mileage

Car maintenance

Taking care of your car can help improve its efficiency.
Proper car maintenance can extend the life of your car, but did you know it can also impact your car’s fuel efficiency? Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind.
  • Fix any problems right away to improve gas mileage

    Fix any problems right away

    Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4%, though results vary. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40%.†

  • Check tire pressure, to increase fuel efficiency by up to 3%

    Check tire pressure

    Checking and adjusting the pressure of your tires once a month can increase a car’s fuel efficiency by up to 3%.†

  • Gear up, higher gears are more economical in terms of fuel consumption

    Gear up

    Get into the habit of shifting up to a higher gear as soon as you can. Higher gears are more economical in terms of fuel consumption.†

  • Upgrade your motor oil to improve gas mileage up to 1–2%

    Upgrade your motor oil

    You can help improve your gas mileage by as much as 1–2% by upgrading the manufacturer’s recommended motor oil. For example, using 10W-30 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your gas mileage by 1–2%. Using 5W-30 in an engine designed for 5W-20 can lower your gas mileage by 1–1.5%. Also, look for motor oil that says "Energy Conserving" on the API performance symbol to be sure it contains friction-reducing additives.†

  • Change air filters to improve fuel economy and acceleration

    Change air filters

    Replacing a clogged air filter on an older vehicle with a carbureted engine can help improve both fuel economy and acceleration by a few percentage points under normal replacement condition.† Replacing a clogged air filter on vehicles with fuel-injected, computer-controlled gasoline engines — such as those manufactured from the early 1980s to the present — or diesel engines does not improve fuel economy, but it can improve acceleration.

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†The data has been sourced from the U.S. Department of Energy