Winter cold killing everyone's MPG?

[ThermionicScott]

I don't have any data to report. I accidentally snapped off my key in the ignition a few days before Christmas, and I haven't been in a big hurry to fix it. A combination of riding my bike to work, telecommuting on really crappy days, and occasionally riding in with the wife have filled my commuting needs.

That said, now that I finally have a new ignition cylinder and key, I ought to go ahead and put everything back together just in case.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by jonorok

Lakes region New Hampshire here. Lots of cold, lots of wind.

I'm getting 16mpg in my 4banger Tacoma. Average is 21 for me.

Winter gas usually costs me 10%, and 4wd / idling costs me about 10%. But I spend a lot of time with it in 4wd and a recovery strap attached to one end. So far I've recovered 4 pickups, 3 sedans, and the school bus that drops off my neighbor's kid. I leave tools and recovery gear in the vehicle constantly as that's its primary use case for me. I get my peace of mind helping people in the winter - and I don't have to drive to get to work.

My solution to the winter mpg problem? Don't drive it till I have to!

Cool first post!

Welcome to the forum. That was a looooong lurk.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott

I don't have any data to report. I accidentally snapped off my key in the ignition a few days before Christmas, and I haven't been in a big hurry to fix it. A combination of riding my bike to work, telecommuting on really crappy days, and occasionally riding in with the wife have filled my commuting needs.

That said, now that I finally have a new ignition cylinder and key, I ought to go ahead and put everything back together just in case.

Update on this: my brother helped me reinstall the new ignition cylinder today (we had trouble since the switch in the steering column had rotated out of alignment, my year of Subaru depends on it being in the "Acc" position to assemble everything) and after more futzing around, got the car to start again.

I'm still gonna try to avoid driving it as much as possible.

[DSMHondaGuy]

I don't have any warm weather to compare things too, but the dead WB o2 sensor in my HX is.

[nowackim]

Have not read the entire thread, but... is it no longer true that the additive package in gas is formulated specifically for winter cold, and yields lower mileage?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by nowackim

Have not read the entire thread, but... is it no longer true that the additive package in gas is formulated specifically for winter cold, and yields lower mileage?

According to this article at AAA, summer gas has 1.7% more energy density than winter gas. So yes there is a difference but the difference is small.

What is the Difference between Summer- and Winter-Blend Gasoline? | AAA NewsRoom

[herektir]

Well I’ve had a drop from 31 mpg or so over the summer to 25.5 to 28 mpg. Still beats epa in my 20 year old pickup.