Winter Vs Summer MPG on newer vehicles

[rusty ol ranger]

I notice a pretty dramatic drop in MPG in the winter in my 17 Grand cherokee.

I know that in winter all vehicles use more fuel but this seems to be a bit much. During the summer, even after switching to BFG AT tires and removing some of the goofy air deflection stuff up front i was still pulling 22ish mixed driving.

Now in winter im down to 17-18.

No obvious signs anythings wrong. Runs fine, no lights on. My ranger, or F250 might lose a MPG or so but not 4-5mpg.

It is probably due for plugs (99k mi)...but it seems it dropped off as soon as it got cold....i noticed it last year too when it changed from winter to summer MPG went up quite a bit.

Anyone got input?

 

[franklin2]

Are you running the oil (water) that they recommend? The 0w or the 5w stuff? That makes a difference. Are you also warming it up and defrosting the windows? That will get it too.

 

[Blmpkn]

I was getting 21 in the Bronco all year, down to 19 now. The fiances focus st was averaging 32 and since it got cold its dropped to 29

 

[RonD]

Winter fuel has anti-freeze components so less energy per gallon
Colder air is heavier/denser so requires more fuel to be added(the point of a cold air intake)
Colder outside temps require longer warm ups, oil temp/viscosity included(as said)
People tend to idle engine(0 MPG) longer than in summer months, i.e. Remote start or start and idle to get heater warmed up
Open Loop, i.e. warm up period, Chokes the engine more and longer, based on colder outside temps
Shorter trips, under 10min drive time, uses quite a bit more fuel in winter than summer
Tire air pressure goes down with cold temps, so more tire to surface contact, times 4

People have often removed the Air Pre-heater setup that pulls in warmer air from around the exhaust manifold to help engine warm up faster
This is for better/lower emissions from faster warm ups, so also better MPG as well in winter months

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Someone discovered remote start...

 

[stmitch]

Going from 22mpg to 18mpg is around 20% loss.

15-25% loss is pretty common:

Fuel Economy in Cold Weather

Cold weather and winter driving conditions can significantly reduce fuel economy.

www.energy.gov

.

I bet that your Ranger and F250 losing 1-2mpg also represents around 20% efficiency loss too. The number is just smaller because they get crap economy to begin with.

Make sure the tires are properly inflated, and maybe reinstall some of the "goofy air deflection stuff".

 

[sgtsandman]

It's mainly the fuel and the warm up cycle to get up to operating temperature is longer. RonD pretty much hit the whole list on the nose.

 

[Shran]

My little shit box Ranger can pull off around 18-19 in the summer but it has seen as low as 12 in the winter and 14-15 is about average. Frustrating for a 4 cylinder, but it is what it is. The other RBVs in the fleet will lose 1-2mpg, not quite as dramatic a difference.

 

[bobbywalter]

Crazy different depending on vehicle...idle time being the same

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, my '97 Ranger is just over 24 in summer type weather but doesn't warm up for nothing so stays rich when it's cold and will drop to 22ish. Before I did some tune up stuff and such to it a couple years ago it was as low as 19...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

So i guess its normal then.

For the record i dont use the remote start unless its stupid cold. I think ive used it twice this winter so far...so i dont think thats really a factor lol

I just thought maybe it had to do with the new stuff being tuned real lean or something.

 

[DRanger024]

My wife’s ‘16 F150 3.5 EB loses roughly 2mpg (22-20) where as my ‘11 F150 EB will drop close to 4 (16.5-12.5). The Ranger has Rotella T4 in it so I’m sure that’s close to single digits with the cold weather. That oil will be coming out and 10w-30 going back in here over Christmas break.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

My wife’s ‘16 F150 3.5 EB loses roughly 2mpg (22-20) where as my ‘11 F150 EB will drop close to 4 (16.5-12.5). The Ranger has Rotella T4 in it so I’m sure that’s close to single digits with the cold weather. That oil will be coming out and 10w-30 going back in here over Christmas break.

Mine calls for that 0w20 stuff. Since its under max care ive been having dealer change it. Id be nervous about messing with weights on an engine with VVT

 

[2011Supercab]

Under pressure
A primary difference between winter- and summer-blend gas is their Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). RVP is a measure of how easily the fuel evaporates at increased temperatures.

The higher the fuel’s RVP, the more easily it evaporates.

Winter-blend fuel requires increased RVP. If the fuel doesn’t evaporate readily in cold temperatures, the engine will start hard and run rough when it’s cold outside.

To achieve this, refiners often blend winter gasoline with butane, a relatively inexpensive additive with a high RVP. They adjust the RVP of the final formulation to as high as 15.0 psi to help the gasoline ignite readily in the cold.

The Difference Between Winter- and Summer-Blend Gas - AMSOIL Blog

Summer-blend gas provides about 1.7 percent increased energy content, meaning it offers a slight boost in fuel economy. Here's how else it's different.

blog.amsoil.com

 

[19Walt93]

We used to get way more poor mileage complaints in the winter and they increased dramatically when remote starts appeared. Some customers refused to believe that their car got zero miles per gallon when it sat idling. One of the dealer's hunting buddies would often stop and visit for 30-45 minutes while his truck idled in front of the showroom and complained about loss of mpg. He grudgingly agreed to shut it off while visiting for 1 tank of gas to see if it made a difference. He never complained about it again, never told me I was right, and went back to leaving it idling. A cold truck bothered him more than less mileage.
Alcohol in the gas hurts mileage regardless of season, winter blend gas hurts mileage, snow tires hurt mileage, cold, thick gear oil hurts mileage, idling hurts mileage, driving on slushy, snowy roads hurts mileage, tire pressue loss from cold temps hurts mileage.
I check my tires a little more often in the winter. If my Escape didn't track average mileage, I wouldn't even check in during the winter months.