Calculating Your Gas Mileage The Easy Way
Jason Lancaster
If you want to calculate your gas mileage, you can very easily. Each time you fill up, you can figure out your own gas mileage.
Here's how - we're going to figure out how many miles you drive between fill-ups, then we're going to figure out how much gas you used. Finally, we're going to do some really simple math and come up with a very accurate estimate of your gas mileage. All you'll need is a piece of paper, a simple calculator (the one in your cell phone will work fine), and a minute or two at the gas station right after you fill up.
Step 1: Put gas in your gas tank until it is full.
Step 2: Before you leave the gas station, you need to reset your trip odometer to "0" (zero). If you don't know how to do that, or if you don't have a trip odometer, then you need to write down your car's total miles and save the piece of paper you write it on.
Step 3: Drive around normally until it's time to put gas in your car.
Step 4: Put gas in your tank, filling it completely.
Step 5: Now you need to calculate the number of miles you have driven since between fill-ups. If you reset your trip odometer (in Step2), check it now for this number. If you wrote down your vehicle's mileage in Step 2, subtract it from the current total mileage of your vehicle. Write down the number you get because this is the number of miles you have driven between fill-ups.
NOTE: In most cases, the number of miles you have driven between fill-ups (step 5) is somewhere between 100-500 miles. If it is less or much more, recheck your calculations.
Step 6: Now that you know how far you've driven since your last fill-up, it's time to figure out how much gas you've used. This is easy - just look at the gas pump. You'll see exactly how many gallons of gas you just put in your car - that's the amount of gas you used since your last fill-up. Make sure to write down the amount of gas you used, and make sure to include the numbers after the decimal point.
Step 7: Using your calculator, divide the number of miles you've driven by the number of gallons of gas you just bought. The resulting number is your gas mileage!
If you're driving a truck or large SUV, your mileage should be between 12 and 20. If you're driving a small SUV or a large car, your mileage should be between 18 and 25. If you're driving a mid-size or compact car, your mileage should be between 25 and 35. If you're driving a scooter, your mileage should be really good and you shouldn't worry about it. Also, if you car's mileage is a lot more or a lot less than we've listed, there might be something wrong with your math or your car.
Author Jason Lancaster, a car business veteran, created AccurateAutoAdvice.com. You'll find accurate advice on http://accurateautoadvice.com/tag/gas-mileage/) gas mileage advice and http://accurateautoadvice.com/tag/gas-mileage/) how to figure out gas mileage.
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