Tips:  Car Maintenance

Transportation accounts for 67% of U.S. oil use—mainly in the form of gasoline. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to improve gas mileage.

Car Maintenance Tips

• Use the grade of motor oil recommended by your car’s manufacturer. Using a different motor oil can lower your gasoline mileage by 1% to 2%.
• Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to improve your gasoline mileage by around 3.3%.
• Get regular engine tune-ups and car maintenance checks to avoid fuel economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems.
• Replace clogged air filters to improve gas mileage by as much as 10% and protect your engine.
• Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.

Long-Term Savings Tip

• Consider buying a highly fuel-efficient vehicle. A fuel- efficient vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or an alternative fuel vehicle could save you a lot at the gas pump and help the environment. See the Fuel Economy Guide for more on buying a new fuel-efficient car or truck.