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Money-Saving Tips: Car Care
- Don't let your car idle longer than 2 minutes. For every two minutes your car idles, it uses about 1 gallon of gas. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed.
- 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.
- Fill up your car in the mornings or evenings.
- Do not speed or drive aggressively. Aggressive driving wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%.
- Use overdrive gearing. When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces wear.
- Use the air conditioning only when necessary.
- Clear out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage.
- Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to buy a smaller car.
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%-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.
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