4 Common Car Problems That Cause Increased Fuel Consumption
Does your car have poor fuel economy? There are many reasons why your car may be less efficient than expected. Before trying to establish what's ailing your car and how to fix it, it is important to check your driving habits.
If you've been pressing the accelerator and brake pedals accelerator too aggressively, and overworking the air conditioning system, you're guilty of wasting fuel. But if you've been going easy on the pedals and air conditioning, it is likely that your car needs to be repaired.
Here are some likely car problems that could cause poor fuel economy.
A Dirty Engine Air Filter
Your car's engine air filter performs the important job of preventing airborne contaminants from entering your engine. Similar to your car's cabin air filter, it also gets dirty and clogged with use and needs to be cleaned or replaced from time to time.
If your engine's air filter cleaning or replacement is overdue, the engine airflow rate will be reduced, meaning your engine will burn more fuel. This, in turn, will result in reduced fuel economy.
Old Spark Plugs
Spark plugs ignite fuel combustion in your engine compartment. Like other internal components of your vehicle, these little things become old and start acting up. The most common sign of bad spark plugs is engine misfiring.
Misfiring engines devour more fuel than they should when working efficiently. So, you should have your spark plugs checked if your engine is misfiring and causing you to spend more at the fuel station.
Under-Inflated Tyres
Low tyre pressure is another factor that can hurt your car's fuel economy. When your tyres are under-inflated, your car will have to put in more effort to move. As a result, your car's fuel economy will suffer because of the vehicle drag caused by the low tyre pressure.
Keeping your tyres correctly inflated at all times is the best way to avoid increased fuel consumption resulting from under-inflated tyres. In this regard, you should consider investing in your very own tyre pressure gauge so you can check your tyre pressure before getting behind the wheels, especially when you are making a long-distance trip.
Bad Fuel Injectors
Your car's fuel injectors are responsible for putting fuel into the engine. If they are dirty, clogged, leaky or faulty, they will lead to increased fuel economy in one way or another. Cleaning your fuel injectors periodically and fixing faulty injectors will pay for itself over time by allowing you to get more kilometres out of every litre of fuel.
If you want to maintain your car's fuel economy, you should mind your driving habits but also have your car checked by an experienced mechanic whenever you notice a spike in the vehicle's fuel consumption. If it's not your fault, then the mechanic will find out and perform car repairs to fix whatever is causing your car's increased appetite for fuel.
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