How to: Save as Much Money as Possible with Your Vehicle

Even if you’re not struggling to afford gas prices, there’s nothing favorable about paying a ton of money to fill your tank. There are always options to drive less, but some people just can’t drive less and need to travel in their own vehicles. Here are a few regular maintenance tips that will improve the miles you’re getting per gallon, and we’d be more than happy to help you with them at Burlington Subaru Service.

1. Tire Pressure – your tires need to sit nicely at the right pressure; both too little and too much can be dangerous, but the suggested amount of air in your tires will help boost your fuel efficiency and smooth your ride. If you’re not sure how much air your tires need, it should be on the driver’s side door or in the owner’s manual. It’s said that having the right amount of air pressure in your tires alongside having them properly aligned can improve your gas mileage by 10 percent. When your alignment is off, you have to redirect your car, which takes energy for you as well as your vehicle (not to mention, both of these affect the lifetime of those not-so-cheap tires!). “Car tires are like bicycle tires, the less air you have in them, the more energy it takes to go anywhere”

2. Using the Right Grade Oil – Like tire pressure, your vehicle has a specific oil grade that can be found in the owner’s manual. Using a thicker grade than recommended takes up more of your vehicles energy to get through, so you need to make sure you’re using the proper kind. Using oil of the right viscosity can improve your gas mileage by up to 2 percent. There are also oils that say “Energy Conserving” and have friction-reducing additives to improve your mileage even more.

3. A Clean Fuel Injection System – Basically, the fuel injector is an electronically-controlled valve that determines the amount of fuel that goes into the engine based on how long it stays open. The more efficiently this works, the better your fuel economy (5).

4. Oxygen Sensor – this sensor is what tells your engine’s computer how much fuel it needs. When your sensor needs to be replaced, it sends false signals to the computer, which in turn sends more (unnecessary) gas to the engine.

5. Spark Plugs – When anything needs replacing in your ignition system, it means one or more of your vehicle’s cylinders may not be firing properly. This means gas is wasted and goes out of the exhaust while other cylinders are forced to use more and pick up the slack, taking more energy and gasoline, thus reducing your fuel economy.

6. Brake Repair – anything that’s off with your brakes can cause your vehicle to use more energy to assist it in braking. Not only should your brakes be up to par for better fuel economy, but for safety too!

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7. Most Important: Regular Maintenance – with regular maintenance, your service technician will be able to see things that are going wrong with your vehicle that you may never even know were there! Service technicians are trained to see these things, and they can give your car a boost you didn’t even know it needed.

Head to our online Service Center to book an appointment, and don't forget to book your free inspection, and use your coupons for $25 dollars off of cabin air filter service, as well as 10 percent off of all parts and labor.

Stay tuned for Monday's post, Maintenance is Done, What Next? Which will focus on ways you can drive that will improve your fuel economy and keep more money in your wallet.


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Image 2 via Roy's Tire and Auto Sales
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Image 3 via LIC Motorsports
Image 4 via Road Magnet
Image 5 via Thunder Bay Auto Repair