Getting less Miles per Gallon lately?

Question

If you are getting less miles per gallon than you were 3 or more months ago, and still have the same vehicle and your driving habits are the same, then you may want to consider the following. Our government is not analyzing the fuel tanks that are located at our gas stations, and the level of Ethenol has been raised, in other words, the real gasoline has been "thinned" out and thus we get less miles per gallon. Do you really believe that little label on the fuel pumps that says, "contains less than 10% ethenol" ?????

Answer 1

Yes its true.I found that adding Marvel Mystery Oil every other tankful,gets me more mpg with this new fuel.

Works good in diesels also.

Answer 2

I've been using both E10 and regular for years, and have never noticed a difference.  Chemically, E10 should give about 3% fewer miles per gallon, but that's hardly noticeable.

I can't believe that any gas station would intentionally sell something higher than 10%.  Ethanol costs more than regular, so a station selling E20 at the same price as the guy selling E5 would be loosing out.  I can believe a station would sell a mixture less than E10, or even mix in a little diesel with the gasoline to "water it down" (and s***w over their customers engines).  I've even heard of guys selling regular as premium.

If you buy your gas at the same station all the time, then it may be possible that he has ground water leaking into his storage tanks.  Water can mix with E5 or E10, and quite literally water down the gas.  It can also promote the ethanol to separate from the gasoline.  I'm sure I've run into bad gas a handful of times.  Even at a couple of places that I'm pretty sure didn't carry an ethanol mixture.

If you get consistently poor mileage using the gasoline from one specific station, but get better mileage from other stations, then you can pretty well bet there's something up with that one station.  I would notify the EPA about it so they can inspect the guy's tanks and gas.

It depends on your state, but there may also be a state agency to complain to.

Answer 3

The chemical composition of the gasoline that goes into your tank is one of the most highly regulated liquids in all of commerce.    It's more heavily regulated than blood from a blood bank.

Answer 4

You are dead on.

My cars  mileage suddenly dropped four miles per gallon, had the car checked everything was spot on so for eighty bucks had the fuel tested and found 17% ethanol when the pump said 10 percent.

The lab told me ethanol needs to be constantly mixed or it tends to concentrate or pool.

Now I vary the stations I get gas from and mileage is back where it should be.

Answer 5

The change in temperature at a gas station pump will menially affect the volume of gas you get. If anything, I would be more worried about the pump readings being inaccurate.

As for getting less miles per gallon, I would check/replace your air filter and make sure all tires are inflated to proper psi.

Answer 6

I thought I was crazy or that there was something drastically wrong with my little 4 cylinder 5 speed which used to get really good gas mileage. Granted I do sit in at least 2 hours of stop and go traffic a day (got to love NY), but i do always use the same gas station...maybe there is something to that theory, never thought about it, but it is so sad that at one time $25.00 used to fill my tank and now $25.00 is like a 1/4 of a tank. Very, very sad state of affairs here in America when you have to pay $4.35 for a freakin gallon of regular gas....

Answer 7

It's basic physics.  Gasoline expands at higher temperatures, meaning that in warmer weather you will get a lower mass of gasoline for a given volume.  Because it's the mass, not the volume, that dictates the amount of energy your mpg will be lower in warmer weather.  Compounding the problem is the fact that warmer air is less dense, meaning that most cars run rich during the summer which can be less efficient.

FYI in Canada all gas pumps are corrected to the standard temperature of 15C, meaning that in warm weather you actually get more fuel than the pump indicates.  That's why a fillup in the summer will show a lower volume than the same fillup in winter.