How to Figure A Car's Gas Mileage

So you want to calculate gas mileage in your car? You can calculate your gas mileage with a few simple steps. Figuring your gas mileage can help you determine how much you are spending on gas. It can also tell you if there is a potential mechanical issue with your car. This is how to find and figure your gas mileage.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. First you will need to fill your car completely full with gas. You want to fill the tank until the pump stops. Be sure not to overfill the tank. This can cause a spill of fuel on the ground.

2. Now you will need to reset your trip meter. This is done, typically, by pressing a button on the front of your dash. It may look like a little stick, protruding from the plastic where your speedometer and tachometer is located. Be sure the trip meter reads 0 before leaving the station.

3. Travel where you normally do, if you travel on the highway you will get better mileage than if you drive in town. You can either wait until the tank is completely empty, or wait until the tank is half full.

4. Stop at the gas station and fill the tank once again. Below the dollars in which you owe on the gas pump you should see a gallon meter. This is how many gallons you are pumping or have pumped. After you refill the tank, write down how many gallons it took to fill the tank, two decimal places to the right. Pay for your fuel and get back inside your car. Check your trip meter and find out how many miles you have gone since your last fill up. Take that number and divide by the number of gallons you used. For example, if you traveled 230 miles and you pumped 6.2 gallons of gas, you would get 37. This is how many miles per gallon you got for that tank of gas. That is all there is to figuring your gas mileage.