Quote:
Originally Posted by bburt  While the indicator will show somewhere near the actual gas mileage, the only really reliable way to check it is to do fill to fill at a pump you are certain is accurate, then do the simple math to get the mileage. Also, try to use the same pump and don't top off. That way everything is the same. Don't be surprised if the actual mileage is not what is shown by the dash readout. Also, don't be surprised is actual mieage is well below the advertised. The mileage posting rule are being redone right now to reflect a more realistic measure of expected mileage. There isn't any easy other way to do it accurately. The problem isn't just the indicator, it's tire wear, and the variation in the speedometer reading. It's a whole lot better now than in the past, but there still can be a 10 to 15 percent variation right there. |
filling at the pump is a good way to get a close estimate..however, there are more than 1 variable that will effect the pump to stop. it is based on backpressure on the pump, the more fuel the pump is pushing out the more air is pushed back towards the nozel, the more pumps running the less power your pump is given, all pumps will have a different sensitivity as to when it "pops" and shuts off.
i dont see how you could get even close to a accurate amount of gas used other than filling up to the top, driving then topping off to see how much you used, but as stated previously, this wont be perfect.
where did you get this 10-15% variation? just curious if this is a fact of your estimate.
i would trust my cars reading more than the fill then top off method. or check them both and do the exact same drive at the exact same speed 3x then average it out.
