Worried about your vehicles poor fuel economy? Would you like to know the reasons behind it, and improve the fuel efficiency? Then, go through this article. Following are the few common reasons that causes the poor fuel economy of your vehicle.
Fuel and vacuum leaks
Fuel and vacuum leaks can burn out your gas and can cause sudden drop in the fuel efficiency. Fuel leaks are very dangerous and can create fire hazards. Vacuum leaks introduces more air into the engine, making an unbalance between the air and fuel mixture. Common causes of vacuum leaks are – worn out gaskets, cracked hoses and loose fittings. Vacuum leaks may cause poor acceleration, rough idle and misfires etc. Fuel leaks can be identified i.e., smell of a strong odor near the vehicle or noticing of any wet spots on the ground where your car is located.
Clogged air filter
Air filter is a part of engine that traps the dust particles without entering them in to the engine. Over a period time, if there is no proper maintenance, the air filter gets clogged with dirt and doesn’t allow the clean and free flow of air into the engine. This may lead to poor acceleration and burn up the gas or fuel.
Driving habits
Driving habits also leads to the poor fuel economy. Especially, aggressive driving, exceeding the speed limits may all consume more fuel than the normal.
Worn spark plugs
If your spark plugs are worn out, it reduces the ability of the engine to burn all the gas in the combustion chamber. But, some gas remains unburden which is expelled into the exhaust. This leads to the reduced power of the engine causing the vehicle to consume more gas, lowering the fuel efficiency. You can identify this through symptoms such as – worn spark plugs, misfiring, reduced power, poor acceleration and reduced fuel economy.
Under inflated Tyres
This is one of the main reason for more fuel consumption. Under inflated vehicles increase the resistance to rolling, which requires more energy to move the car forward, making the engine to work harder, thus resulting in more fuel consumption.
These are the common reasons for poor fuel economy. To avoid more consumption of fuel, you need to regularly check the condition of the parts of your vehicles, and maintain them. Especially, in the winter where the car may face many problems. Regular maintenance of the vehicle not only reduces the consumption of fuel, but also increases the performance of your vehicle.