Why increased fuel consumption? Causes of increased fuel consumption

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

A car is a complex system where each element plays a huge role. Almost always, drivers face various problems. For some, the car drives to the side, others experience problems with the battery or exhaust system. It also happens that fuel consumption has increased, and suddenly. This puts almost every driver in a stupor, especially a beginner. Let's talk in more detail about why this happens and how to deal with such a problem.

Some general information

There are a huge number of reasons and factors that lead to increased fuel consumption. They are usually divided into two large groups:

• technical auto problems related to wear, heating and other moments of components and assemblies;
• human factor. Most often, fuel is wasted due toaggressive driving style, overloading, headlights on, etc.

But no matter why fuel consumption has skyrocketed, the problem needs to be addressed, and as soon as possible. It's one thing if you drive a small car and consumption has increased from 5 to 5.5 liters per 100 kilometers. But it is completely different if it is an SUV or a powerful sedan that consumes more than 10 liters per hundred. In the latter case, an increase in consumption can significantly hit your pocket. Let's deal with all the causes and try to understand how to eliminate them.

Electronics errors

If the sensors show incorrect information, then fuel consumption can increase significantly. It’s even difficult to name any figure here, it can be either 2-3% or 10-15%. A malfunction of the electronic engine control system of a car can be caused by an elementary failure. As a result, the sensors show false information. In particular, this applies to devices that are responsible for calculating the air-fuel mixture. These include the throttle position sensor (TPS), as well as the temperature sensor. But that's not all. For example, the mass air flow sensor may also display incorrect data. But this is most often due to untimely replacement of the air filter, resulting in increased fuel consumption. If the engine receives a "poor" fuel-air mixture, then power is lost, and if it is "rich", then consumption increases significantly. It is most often difficult to solve all these problems on your own, since without diagnostics this is a very laborious task. Therefore, if sharpfuel consumption has increased, go to the service station and solve the problem.

Faulty injector and catalytic converter

If the engine injectors are not cleaned in a timely manner, consumption will increase over time. This is due to the fact that the efficiency decreases, and in the worst case, the engine starts to triple. It is worth noting that due to the contamination of the injectors, the quality of fuel atomization deteriorates, which leads to an uneven air-fuel mixture. Fixing this problem is quite simple. The nozzles need to be cleaned. In most cases, the work can be done independently, without outside help.

Catalyst is temperature sensitive. Under normal operation of all systems, this is a fairly durable element. But under any circumstances, the catalyst becomes clogged over time, which leads to the formation of a “rich” air-fuel mixture and an increase in catalyst heating. As a result, it can burn out, which significantly reduces engine power and increases fuel consumption.

Increase in fuel consumption: causes and solutions

Engine temperature also plays a big role. And there are two sides: insufficient temperature and overheating. We will consider each case. If the motor is running at 98-103 degrees Celsius, then this is normal. When the system overheats, the fuel mixture becomes thinner, reducing engine power. Another point is an unheated engine. If you turn on the suction, then in the cylindersa rich fuel mixture is supplied in a larger amount, which contributes to a high rate of heating of the internal combustion engine. For you to understand, at a motor temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, the flow rate increases by about 20%. After all of the above, the obvious conclusion can be drawn that operation for short distances on a cold engine leads to more expenses than trips over long distances. If the operating temperature cannot be reached, then most likely the reason is the thermostat. This kind of malfunction is a serious increase in fuel consumption. Causes are sometimes not so deep, such as incorrect throttle position. It is treated very simply and quickly.

Why fuel consumption has increased

It is not always necessary to sin on the technical part, sometimes the drivers themselves are to blame. For example, aggressive driving, which involves hard starts and stops, as well as dynamic fast travel, can increase overall consumption by more than 30-40%. This applies to driving around the city, where a traffic light is installed every 300 meters, on the highway the situation is less tragic. By the way, if the wind on the road is oncoming, then the consumption also increases. Most experts recommend closing windows if you are driving at speeds above 50 km/h. This is due to the fact that the aerodynamic characteristics of the car deteriorate and the consumption increases by about 3-5%. In principle, it is rather difficult to unequivocally answer the question of why fuel consumption has increased, because there are a lot of options for the development of events. Let's look at a few more relevant reasons.

Headlights and loads

Many people buy a vehicle not only to travel to and from work, but also to transport various goods. It should be noted that in this case you can prepare for increased gas mileage. According to statistics, for every 100 kilograms of cargo, approximately 10% of fuel consumption is accounted for. If we are talking about the roof rack, then its full load leads to a figure of 40%, which is very sad. Things are even worse with a loaded trailer, because of which, instead of the declared 10 liters per hundred, you will have to spend 15, or even all 16 liters. As you can see, there are a variety of reasons for increased fuel consumption. Another one is headlights. If, when the ignition is off, the battery takes on the entire load, then with a roaring engine, all this goes to the generator. The latter significantly increases the appetite of the engine. So, the constant operation of the dipped beam leads to excessive consumption by no more than 5%, the main beam - by 10%.

A few more causes and a solution to the problem

After replacing silent blocks, all motorists do wheel alignment. So, after this event, quite often experts overtighten the wheel bearings. This leads to the formation of a bad roll. Of course, the consumption will not increase much in this case, but the phenomenon is very unpleasant, as it is noticeable when driving. Another important point is under-inflated tires. In general, a lot has been said about what normal pressure in the wheels should be, in ourcase, it should not be lower than the permissible minimum. It is better to pump a little than to drive on flat tires. Although both excessive and insufficient pressure leads to the fact that the tire wears out much faster. So we, in principle, considered the main causes of increased fuel consumption. Now a few more important details.

How to normalize consumption

Many are asking this question, as it becomes especially relevant, especially given today's fuel prices. There are several solutions that require almost no effort from the driver. One of them is to remove unnecessary equipment, such as a spoiler or body kit, of course, if any. The point here is rather not the weight of all this, but the fact that aerodynamic indicators are violated. Multimedia systems, as well as air conditioners operating at full capacity, also lead to an increased “appetite” for the engine. So, testing of electronic systems, which for a long time worked at 70-100% of power, led to an increase in diesel fuel consumption by about 7%, and climate systems increased fuel consumption by 13%. For many, these numbers may not seem that big, and this is true. But if you add up a few of the above factors, then it will no longer be so imperceptible. Many people drive vehicles that consume 15% more fuel than they should on average and don't pay any attention to it.

A few golden rules to save money

If fuel consumption has increased, the reasonswhat we have already covered, you need to fix the problem, and then follow a number of requirements that will help to avoid this in the future. First, remove everything unnecessary - this will improve aerodynamics and reduce the amount of gasoline consumed. Secondly, try not to drive too aggressively. Starting and braking should be smooth. This is especially true on city roads. Thirdly, maintain optimal tire pressure, and you will be happy. Try to warm up the engine not at idle, but under load. So the engine will warm up much faster than on a standing vehicle.

Conclusion

So we talked about what are the causes of increased fuel consumption. Injector or carburetor? There is not much difference here. The differences are that in the first case there are more electronics, which must be constantly monitored. Although the carburetor is a mechanism quite sensitive to low-quality fuel, and it often clogs too. For this simple reason, it is necessary to clean at least once a year, otherwise the car may stall at idle and not leave without suction. Here, in principle, and all the useful information on this topic. As you can see, maintaining optimal fuel consumption is not so difficult.