Winter blend gas. Mpg taking a hit

Can’t figure out an alarming drop in mpg as of late. Engine idles smooth, good acceleration, Oem copper core plugs replaced 6 mo. ago. Nothing obvious detected. Was getting good mpg up until 2 weeks ago. But wow! Now almost 5 mpg less! Is it probably winter blend gas? I imagine winter blend gas must hit 1st generations with their aging engines. Heh, it’s gotta be that!

 

I usually take a 2-3 mpg hit with the winter blend.

 

Winter blend gas will clean out your fuel system and clog filters up, too. It takes more ethanol to make power than gas, so expect a mileage drop.

 

Still a half tank late summer gas in the tank.

 

There are so many different blends across the country some are much worse then others.

Myself ! do notice in the winter it is not uncommon to idle a extra 30 minutes a day

 

I track my mileage in an app I wrote to manage my finances. I've noticed the MPG hit in the winter for a couple of years now. It goes from about 18 to 16 with the winter blend.

 

It might be the Circle K gas I been getting for a drastic drop in MPG. 4 months ago, that station’s gas got me kick ass MPG. Last few fill ups, crap MPG. Stopped by a Sinclair station and filled up. So far I notice my fuel needle not practically dropping as I drive. 45 miles so far and the needle still at the full mark! Where you buy gas matters, maybe, or…what batch they got, or…? BTW, when Circle K got me kick ass MPG, mainstream big name station gas got me a lot less MPG. Go figure. There’s probably a lot of factors as to why.

 

I try to stick to top tier gas stations to eliminate that out of the equation. Circle k’s are not known for their good gas. TBH I will never pump at a circle k.

 

Have you tried the winter blend from Dunkin?

 

People really worried about MPG's with these old trucks?

 

5 mpg drop is significant.

I'm sure some is due to winter blend. Are you idling on start up to warm up the engine? This will have a BIG impact of fuel usage.

Snow/ice on the road will also impact fuel usage.

Probably nothing needs fixing.

 

That’s what stokes me. It’s not my engine. It’s the freaking gas! Smooth idle, no oil loss, fairly recent plug change. I was getting batty about my recent plunge in MPG. A big plunge. Watching the needle drop as I drove. Circle K gas at this one place done me well before. Wha happened? Heh. Also, stations are supposed to show a symbol on the pump that their gas here in So. Calif. is rated as being of a certified quality. Circle K has no such a sticker…for awhile now…used to. I noticed that sticker not on the pumps now. Circle K gas is labeled as CFO gas. WTF is that?Canadian in origin I believe.

 

Same here and more warm up times with the cold temps as well.

 

Yes. The difference each way of 5mpg on a trip out to my parents’ house (330miles) is $25. Not to mention that a truck that one day makes 20mpg and the next makes 15mpg is something worth looking into and/or fixing

 

Not that much but I take 2-3 a gallon loss in winter. Regardless of the time of year I don't idle it to warm up the engine so I can say my experience is consistent.

 

5mpg is insignificant. If the vehicle is in the shape OP described, then chalk it down to crappy gas. Simple.

Maybe sell the truck with crappy gas mileage and buy a hybrid or something. I daily my Tacoma and am probably one of the people that pays the most for gas. If I wanted to save gas then I wouldn't drive the truck, although my Audi on E40 isn't exactly a gas saver either.

 

5mpg is not insignificant. That’s a 25% increase in consumption. That’s worth at least understanding the source of the change. Could be bad gas, could be broken shit.

I'm glad you don’t care about fuel mileage, and that you spend more on gasoline than I do, but don’t hassle those of us who care.

 

I'm in Socal and I don't see a difference in gas mileage. I'm at ~200mpt year round, it will probably be less now since I just installed steel bumpers. A regear should help.

 

Sometimes you have to remind people that they're driving a terrible mileage truck that's over 20 years old because for some reason they're expecting Prius mpg's.

 

Nobody is expecting Prius mpgs. Not sure where you got that from. I get 20mpg and am happy with it. if I suddenly got 15, I’d try to figure out why