Since cold weather has hit this week , I have noticed my gas mileage going down. I am using the heater to stay warm, but it is on AUTO. My mileage has dropped from 50 to 46 mpg. I am watching to see how the winter goes with the gas mileage. Anyone else notice the difference from summer to winter?

debbie

 

Yes lord, mine has dropped a bunch. It's not just a different tank of gas either, it started dropping during the last tank. Now I'm only getting about 52 mpg on the way to school, when at the same speed in warm weather I was getting close to 60. I think the bulk of the difference at highway speeds is that cooler air is denser, which imposes more wind drag on the car.

 

Been watching mine for 20 years non-hybrid and hybrid. I give up a solid 10% or more in the cold. Below freezing cold not 50F cold.

Winter tires on the car cost even more fuel but they are much safer on snow.

 

I also ride a 250L to my farm and an approximately 1 mile long hill that I coast (clutch pulled) the last half mile.
In the summer my speed at the bottom is 45 MPH +. In the winter my speed is never over 40 MPH. If I add additional weight to the bike it will be rolling faster at the bottom.
Conclusion. In the winter an engine burns additional fuel until reaching op temperature, but more rolling resistance is ever present in the winter, resulting in more fuel burn.

 

SoCal here...with weather turning from 70-80 down to 50-65 degrees, my mpg has dropped 1-2 pts, even if I have the HVAC off.
Last month struggling to get 43mpg.

 

Come on folks don't stress so much. Golf ***** don't go as far in cold. It's just physics. Tires are stiffer. Air is more dense. All the spinning parts like wheel bearings drag more.

Every vehicle does this. Some of us didn't pay much attention until we got a hybrid.

The real rude awakening in electric vehicles is how much the heater steals range. The reason heat in EV steals more range than A/C is in the coefficient of performance.

Electric heat in EVs is about 3.5 to 5 kW. For every 1000 watts of electric you get about 950 watts of heat.

A good A/C for 1000 watts can move up to 3500 watts of heat/cold.

 

I live in Chicago area - temperatures this winter are in 0 - 20 range. I get only 30-35 mpg..
Summer was around 45-46 mpg