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Do you notice a change in gas consumption?

5K views 30 replies 24 participants last post by  tmel88 
#1 ·
Now that the outside temperatures are dropping (at least here in Canada), do you notice a difference in gas consumption for the Hybrid?
 
#4 ·
Colder temps isn't the only reason for lower winter fuel economy in North America, both US and Canada switch to winter fuel blends every fall.


 
#13 · (Edited)
Where do you live? In the MidAtlantic US we have had 10% Ethanol year round for years. The winter fuel blend here has the same ethanol content as the rest of the year. It does however result in a bit worse MPG which combined with the direct effects of the cold (cold engines use more fuel till warmed up etc etc) really makes for a noticeable drop.
BTW around here, E free stations are very far and few between and prices are at least a couple dollars more per gallon than E10. Its simply not practical to use.

This has been argued about before here but Ethanol has about 1/3 less energy content that gasoline. If you mix in 10% ethanol to gasoline then you have reduced the final products energy content by between 3 and 4%. A Fuel economy loss of 10% solely due to the addition of ethanol??

Here's two data points . . .
My wife's XSE has been returning over 40mpg combined over 2k miles with about 60/40 Highway/City driving. This is with Top Tier 87 octane E10. So we should expect around 45mpg if we were to somehow find and pay out the nose for E free??

My 14 Ridgeline saw between 3-5% improvement in fuel economy in the one road trip (around 700 miles, 2 consecutive tanks worth) where I was able to find 87 octane E free and see for myself.
 
#14 ·
Just a reminder that tire pressure tends to drop 1 PSI per 10°F drop in ambient temperature. So in those cold locations you might need to add air to your tires. I don't believe the TPWS will warn you of being 3 or 4 PSI low. That could help a bit with millage, but of course the colder weather does hurt your mileage also.
 
#16 ·
Alcohol isn't the only winter fuel additive that affects fuel economy, oxygenates like RFG and formerly MTBE also reduce it by a little.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/factors.shtml

Some fuels contain less energy than others.

Using oxygenated fuels or reformulated gasoline (RFG), for example, can cause a small decrease (1%–3%) in fuel economy.

Most of the gasoline now sold has a small amount of ethanol in it—up to 10% by volume depending upon the region. Using gasoline with 10% ethanol decreases fuel economy by 3%–4%.

The energy content of gasoline varies seasonally. Typical summer conventional gasoline contains about 1.7% more energy than typical winter conventional gasoline.
 
#17 ·
Yes. My MPG dropped by about 10% about 2 weeks ago. Probably winter fuel blends hitting local station tanks. My dad in PA has also reported this to me with his hybrid. We're both getting 36 or so, down from around 39-40.

I noticed the drop despite running 2 tanks of ethanol free gas. Most gas is 10% ethanol year round in my area, so it is something other than ethanol causing this. It is likely colder temps causing the ICE to run more often/longer, and winter emissions blended fuel.
 
#21 ·
With my winter tires on and the colder climate, I went from 5.7-6L/100kms to about 8.5L so far. Seeing a huge difference in how much the ICE engine turns on WAY more often. Also notice that the battery indicator is never missing more than 3 bars, compared to during summer, it would sometime goes as far as 2 bars left.
 
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