How much is your MPG off in the winter cold?

[lairdwd]

Usually mine is off 10% or so, but this year it's off 15% to 20%.

In the fall, I changed my MTF and had to put in 85W-90 instead of 75W-90, and I know that's contributing to the additional delta. Most of my driving is short trip (13 mi to work one way, highway).

 

[simple_gifts]

about 5mpg, down to 40 from 45.

 

[chubbs1]

I am off 2 MPG's consistently in my Civic. I was getting 28 for about 9 mo's, just recently it is 26 for about the last 6 weeks. I live in FL. It is cold again this winter, but I think the real culprit is the GAS. I think they are messing with it to maximize profit. I even switched from 5w20 to 0w20, great oil but no MPG change. And you being off that much, don't you think it has to be the gas?

 

[AlanCanada]

Just plug in the block heaters guys! The faster your engine gets up to operating temperature the better economy you will see.

 

[DaHen]

The car does allot of idling at the kids school waiting for the doors to open on these cold morning.
Thus the MPG is not as good. I'd say it adds about two MPG.

 

[BobFout]

Short cold trips, 36 MPG. All highway at 65 to 75 MPH, 47 MPG.

 

[The_Jeff]

Down to 32 from 40. Blocky snow tires and wind resistance of cold thick air to blame. Old formula Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w30 in sump.

 

[Quest]

1.6L/100kms more during winter (city) than summer; no change on highway.

2004-Cmary LE (2AZFE)

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: AlanCanada
Just plug in the block heaters guys! The faster your engine gets up to operating temperature the better economy you will see.

That will help some. For me one of the biggest problems is the oxygenated fuel they use in the winter. My car is garaged, and I still see a drop of 5 MPG.

 

[NateDN10]

Before we moved, I had a 10-mile all-highway commute, and my mileage dropped from 36 mpg to 30 mpg.

Now my commute is 5 miles all city, and it's gone down from 32 mpg to 26.

This is with a 5-speed manual Chevy Cobalt.

 

[ernied]

since they started putting ethanol in our gas this year both went down about 5mg or more in the winter.my local station says they cant get gas without it because most of the gas here in northen ny comes from canada.i just do not under stand that.

 

[Big_Kat]

Was getting 36-37mpg in my Corolla now I'm getting 33-35mpg not too bad but still noticeable...

 

[crazyoildude]

wow down to 40>?
i could not dream of getting half of that in some of my cars

 

[crazyoildude]

what about the electric used for the block heaters?

 

[barlowc]

I generally average about 31.0 MPG in my Altima. During the cold months, that goes down about 1.5 MPG which is a 5% loss.

In August, I started using Fuelly to track stats associated with my fill-ups. On a tank ending 11/29 I got 31.7. From there it went down to 27.4 on 12/09 and then down again to 25.8 on 12/22. That's the lowest I've even seen it. During that last tank, I spent many hours sitting in traffic due to a winter storm that swept through here on 12/11.

 

[browning300wsm]

cut your own hair and use the saved money to buy gas ..i read the above postings and i can't figure out how people worry about chicken [censored] ..buy a toyota echo 45 miles to the gallon and get on with your lives ..

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: browning300wsm
cut your own hair and use the saved money to buy gas ..i read the above postings and i can't figure out how people worry about chicken [censored] ..buy a toyota echo 45 miles to the gallon and get on with your lives ..

What?

 

[fdcg27]

About -10% for all three now being used.
The combination of winter fuel, longer time to closed loop operation, and some warming up in the driveway all contribute to a loss in fuel economy.
Also, on a snowy morning, you may spend a lot of time in the lower gears.
On two mornings two weeks back, I never touched fifth, hardly used fourth, and spent a lot of my twenty five mile commute in third, and even second.
This cannot have helped fuel economy.

 

[NHHEMI]

2-3 MPG drop with the arrival of winter blend fuel and cold weather. I do not let the truck sit and run for any length of time to warm up or it would be really bad = 5 MPG drop +.

 

[SwampDweller]

Not sure how much winter blended fuel we get here in south Louisiana, but, I always seem to get better mileage because the A/C is not blasting away.