| Checking Mileage |
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Your fuel receipt should show you not only the total cost, but also the price per gallon and, very important, the number of gallons of fuel required to fill it. Or, put another way, the number of gallons of fuel used since you last filled the tank. In the future you will zero your car’s trip odometer so you know how many miles were driven on this tank of gas. All cars have a total mileage odometer below the speedometer. Many have a trip odometer that you can push or twist to return it to zero. Otherwise, you can write the mileage at fill on each of your receipts and do the math later. Math? What math? The final step in your gas station maintenance procedure will be to calculate the car’s MPG or miles per gallon. Simply divide the miles driven by the gallons used. For example, the trip odometer (or notation on your receipt) show that your car traveled 280 miles since the last fill up and it took 14 gallons to fill it this time. Divide 280 by 14 and you get 20 miles per gallon. (Of course, if other cars are waiting for their turn at the pumps you can defer the math until you get home.) Why is mpg so important? Other than bragging rights, the mpg figure can tell you how well your car is running. If you write these numbers down in your Car Journal you’ll soon have enough of them to see trends. A gradual or sudden change in mpg can be telling you there are problems with your car. If your driving habits or type of driving (highway, city, country) are about the same, changing mpg can mean the fuel injection or carburetion system isn’t working as efficiently. Or it can indicate a deeper problem. The earlier you know that something is amiss, the earlier you can take care of it. That’s about it. Checking out your car as you fill it up can help you identify abnormal conditions before they become problems. And the more times you perform these simple checks the easier it will become to figure out what’s normal and what’s not. Even if you decide you never want to change oil or perform other basic maintenance, performing these quick and easy tasks will help you keep your car on the road longer at lower cost. Car Alarm Did you mpg suddenly drop? The fuel filter may be clogged and need replacement. Or maybe a neighborhood teenager is siphoning gas at night – get a locking gas cap. Also, check the garage floor under the fuel tank for a gas leak. (Look for a stain rather than a wet spot, because gasoline evaporates rapidly.)
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Once done inspecting under the hood, continue your walk around the car looking at tires and wheels until you arrive back at the fuel filler. Once the gas pump shuts off, carefully replace the hose, pay for the fuel, and get a receipt.
