Best Ways to Save on Gas in Michigan

The first and most important contributing factor to better fuel efficiency is maintaining a healthy engine. To do this, routine maintenance is essential. The main goal of routine maintenance is to reduce strain on the engine to help it run more smoothly and efficiently. The most important routine maintenance service is an oil change. Oil ages over time, and as it does so, it can get contaminated with debris, metal shavings, and dirt. When oil becomes dirty, it will not provide the right amount of lubrication to help your engine run smoothly, causing extra strain and using more fuel. Oil changes should be performed every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. However, your owner's manual will tell you the exact mileage recommendation, as it can vary between different vehicles. The engine air filter is also an important factor, as it cleans the air going into the engine's cylinders. When this filter becomes clogged, it doesn't allow the proper amount of air into the engine, forcing the engine to work harder to provide the power being requested. Lastly, you should have your car's spark plugs inspected every 30,000 miles and replaced whenever necessary. Located at the top of the cylinder head, spark plugs ignite the air/fuel mixture inside the cylinder. When the spark plugs become burnt out or begin to malfunction, it will force the engine to work harder, and, in some cases, bad spark plugs can trigger a check engine light and cause cylinder failure.

There truly is an app for everything! For saving on gas, there are actually quite a few apps. One of the most popular is Upside, which, in its early days, was known as GetUpside. With Upside, the app will show users cashback offers at nearby gas stations by showing cents off per gallon. When drivers fill up at these participating gas stations, they can earn cash back on their purchase by simply uploading a picture of their receipt to the app. Customers can choose to get their cash back by direct deposit or with gift cards to a wide selection of businesses, including Amazon and Walmart. Another app is GasBuddy, which shows you gas stations with the best prices filtered by the lowest price and distance from your current location. GasBuddy can also be linked to your bank account to give you a discount each time you fill up. Users can also subscribe to GasBuddy Premium, which saves members 20 cents per gallon for up to 50 gallons each month. Another popular gas app is Gas Guru. Like GasBuddy, this shows you the nearest gas stations with the lowest gas prices.

As we mentioned before, you have a significant amount of control over your car's fuel efficiency. One way in which this is true is with routine maintenance. Another way is by monitoring your driving habits. The number one cause of increased fuel consumption is aggressive driving with quick acceleration and high cruising speeds. To help maintain a more fuel-efficient speed, it's good practice to use your car's cruise control feature to help minimize speed fluctuations while driving on the highway. Also, you should avoid idling for long periods of time. While this can be tempting to warm up or cool down your vehicle in the dead of winter and the height of summer, it uses fuel that could otherwise be used to get you to your destination. To help save while idling, many modern Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram vehicles come with Engine Stop-Start or ESS. The ESS feature powers down the engine while idling by cutting off fuel flow and deactivating the cylinders. Once the brake pedal is released, the engine will seamlessly fire back up. Last, you should avoid traveling with excess cargo in your car as often as possible. Every 100 pounds of additional cargo in your car can decrease your fuel efficiency by 1% per mile. While this may seem insignificant, it adds up, especially when driving long distances.

When you're looking to save on fuel, you should start by ensuring that your car is running its best. To do that, you can trust the service center here at Rochester Hills Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram to perform the necessary routine maintenance to keep your engine running smoothly and efficiently. To schedule your next service appointment, we invite you to request an appointment right here on our website. If you prefer, you can call our service center directly or visit our service team at the shop. We look forward to serving you!