MSN Autos: With America’s increasingly mobile lifestyle, and with fluctuating gas prices eating away at budgets, many people today put a premium on fuel economy whether they’re buying a new car or continuing to drive the same vehicle for years.While fuel-efficient driving, such as avoiding heavy accelerating and braking, can make a difference in going farther between fill-ups, regular and proper automotive maintenance is still one of the best ways to get the most miles from each gallon of gas. Click through to discover some quick fixes and long-term strategies to improve fuel economy.
Quick fix: Cap it off
Ensuring that your gas cap is closed until it clicks can save you from having your gas dollars disappear into thin air. Lauren Fix, an automotive columnist known as the “Car Coach,” says that improperly seated gas caps allow 147 million gallons of fuel to evaporate each year in the United States. “How many times have you seen people driving down the highway with their gas cap hanging out because they forgot to put it back on?” she asks. Fix adds that a loose or missing gas cap is the No. 1 reason for activation of a car’s check-engine light. “It’s an easy fix,” she says. “The first thing to do when your check-engine light comes on is tighten your gas cap.”
