Question about winter fuel mileage

It's normal for fuel economy to drop in the winter for many reasons. Adjust your tire pressure accordingly.

 

Yep very normal as the car will use energy to warm itself for proper operation. You should hear how much low temperatures impact EVs....it's shocking!! (40% range reduction in some!!)

 

Where are you located? How cold does it get at night? Is your car parked in a garage?

How high do you run the heat? In my experience (in my 2017), cabin heat usage has the biggest effect on MPG. If you keep the heat minimal or low, you'll see better results. In the winter, I'll tend to start fairly cold, and then slowly raise it every few minutes till the car reaches a comfortable temperature. Or even turn the heat off the first 5 minutes till the car warms up a bit.

Also, on the road trips, wind has a huge effect - could it be on the poor MPG trip that you had a headwind in one direction and then headwind again or neutral wind in the other direction? I seem to have bad luck with that. For example, wind out of the north when I head north and then it switches to from the south when I head south the next day!

 

Durham NC, assuming the number in his location field is a zip code. Mildly irritating when people don’t spell it out, obligating everyone to look it up.

 

In very cold weather the engine may run a little more to maintain heat.

Tires will lose significant pressure in the cold and impact mpg. Generally the low pressure alarm threshold is 25% lower than tire pressures when initialized.

 

From this site: Fuel Economy in Cold Weather | Department of Energy.


Cold weather and winter driving conditions can significantly reduce fuel economy. Fuel economy tests show that, in city driving, a conventional gasoline car's gas mileage is roughly 15% lower at 20°F than it would be at 77°F. It can drop as much as 24% for short (3- to 4-mile) trips.

Cold weather effects can vary by vehicle model. However, expect conventional gasoline vehicles to suffer a 10% to 20% fuel economy loss in city driving and a 15% to 33% loss on short trips.

The effect on hybrids is typically greater - with fuel economy dropping about 30% to 34% under these conditions. For hybrids, fuel economy typically decreases by 20% to 40% in city driving and 25% to 45% on short trips.

For electric vehicles (EVs), fuel economy can drop roughly 39% in mixed city and highway driving, and range can drop by 41%. About two-thirds of the extra energy consumed is used to heat the cabin. When the cabin heater is not used, EV fuel economy is 8% lower at 20°F than at 75°F. Driving range is about 12% lower.

 

FYI... also located in Raleigh-Durham and noticing my fuel economy with 2023 LTD has has dropped 10% with the cooler weather, 43 mpg with yesterday's fill up. I also garage park at night.

 

op has been a member here for 6 years. i wonder what they were driving before and never noticed winter fuel economy reduction?

 

Hey I’ll survive lol. But how about changing it? Say Durham, North Carolina, USA.

 

Let's not forget about the rain. ICE cars tend to do better in moist thick air, but our EV's tend to get worse mileage under those conditions. Then again I live in a "dry" heat environment and notice the change vs those of you in high humidity zones. The car uses more energy pushing through wet streets than dry.

 

Or even just a region of the state is enough info for most of us to figure general climate.

 

I live in a relatively obscure suburb of "Greater Vancouver". Just consider your audience, what they need to know.