MPG Drop!

[Coolen11]

So i've noticed lately that my car's mpg has gone down from 31-32 to 24-25. has this happened to anyone else? and what is your guess on the issue????

[Sponsor]

[2008 Ford Focus]

The best way to check is after your car has warmed up, drive on a highway, reset your mpg readout and drive at 60 mph for 5 miles. You should get close to the 35 mpg rating. My mileage suffers when I make short drives.

[Elizabeth]

Crummy gasoline.
I had the same thing happen when the local pipeline broke. Seems they got gasoline from somewhere else. Gas which was just poor quality.
So for a month my gas mileage sucked. Last few weeks it has been back to normal.
And i use Premium all the time.

[gtferrari]

the refineries are switching over to winter grade fuel. it is a cheaper fuel to produce. my mileage drops this time every year but not as much as you are claiming. maybe more around 3-5 mpg at the heart of winter. there are many more things to consider.

cooler air is denser. more resistance (drag) on the car. cooler air contracts so check your tire pressure. your car will waste more fuel at first start up trying to bring the engine and cats to operating temp (thank the epa)

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by gtferrari

the refineries are switching over to winter grade fuel. it is a cheaper fuel to produce. my mileage drops this time every year but not as much as you are claiming. maybe more around 3-5 mpg at the heart of winter. there are many more things to consider.

cooler air is denser. more resistance (drag) on the car. cooler air contracts so check your tire pressure. your car will waste more fuel at first start up trying to bring the engine and cats to operating temp (thank the epa)

Fords seem to be the worst at this ... they seem to race a lot more than any other brand on cold start.

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by Miller88

Fords seem to be the worst at this ... they seem to race a lot more than any other brand on cold start.

I have owned four new Fords ina row.. All of them have been up about 500 rpm at the MOST in deep winter at cold start.
Usually my 2012 Focus is about 300 rpm over when first started. Within a block it is at normal rpm..
My last car also deep Winter would be warmed up in a few blocks.. I would start to have heat in six blocks..