How to Determine & Figure Out Gas Mileage

Do not overfill the tank. When the pump "clicks" off, stop fueling

You should keep track of how many miles per gallon your vehicle is getting on a monthly basis. If there is a sudden drop in your vehicle's gas mileage, there may be a mechanical problem. You may also want to check what gas mileage is using different grades and brands of gasoline. The higher the number of miles per gallon that your vehicle gets, the more economical it is to operate. Calculating what type of gas mileage your vehicle is actually getting is a simple task.

Things You'll Need

• Pen
• Small spiral notebook

Instructions

1. Fill your vehicle's gas tank as you normally would.

2. Before pulling away from the gas pump, set your car's trip odometer to zero by pressing the button.

3. Drive your vehicle until you need to re-fuel. Go to the gas station and fill the gas tank as you normally would. Before pulling away from the gas pump, write down the total amount of gallons used to refuel the gas tank and the trip odometer reading.

4. Write down the following equation: O / G = MPG. Substitute the odometer reading for O. Substitute the number of gallons required to re-fuel the gas tank for G.

5. Using the equation, divide the odometer reading by the gallons required to refuel to calculate how many miles per gallon your vehicle got with the last tank of gas. For example, if you traveled 249.2 miles and you pumped 12.4 gallons of gas you would divide 249.2 by 12.4 to find out that your vehicle gets 20 miles to the gallon of gas.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a pen and a small spiral notebook in your vehicle's glove compartment to record future mileage.

References

• fueleconomy.gov: Calculating MPG

Resources

• fueleconomy.gov: Calculating MPG