Gas can be expensive, especially if you fill your car up often. If your car normally doesn’t have bad gas mileage and suddenly you start noticing that it is getting worse—get your car looked at.
There are many causes of bad gas mileage, but below are three of the most common ones. If you are wondering why your vehicle is suddenly producing horrible gas mileage, it might be due to one of the following reasons.
Poor Driving Habits
The faster or more aggressive you drive, the more gas you use. If you are an individual who drives more aggressively, your gas mileage is going to be worse than an individual who isn’t an aggressive driver. You do not have to accelerate quickly, and doing so will only result in you using more gas than necessary.
Failing Wastegate
A failing wastegate is a direct cause of bad gas mileage. If this is the case, you are going to see a direct decrease in your overall gas mileage. What normally happens is that when the wastegate is failing, it is causing the raw fuel to be expelled from the system without being burned – ultimately wasting it.
You do not want this to be the case, so if you have a turbocharged engine and notice you are filling up your tank often – check this out!
Wrong Tire Pressure
This is one of the most common causes of bad gas mileage, but luckily it is the easiest to fix. Staying proactive and checking your tire pressure on a regular basis will ensure that every one of your tires has the correct tire pressure.
If your car does not have the right tire pressure, it directly correlates to bad gas mileage. This is because when your tires are where they should be, the engine must work harder and use more fuel to move your vehicle.
If you have noticed that you have been making more trips to the gas station than normal, check out these three causes of bad gas mileage. While it might be another issue that is occurring, these three issues are common and easily fixable! Be attentive to your vehicle and get it looked at when necessary.