01' Alero - Bad gas mileage in cold weather
 

I have a 2001 olds alero 3.4 that seems to have an issue.. or at least to me... I have found that during the summer i can drive my on avg about 350- 400k per tank of gas.... now as soon as we get a little cold weather that mileage immediately drops to about 250 - 300.. now this was never really a problem until last year thats when it first appeared... just looking for some suggestions on how to fix this.

2nd problem.... as of today my temp sensor does not seem to be moving. This morning as i was driving to work i noticed that the little needle was not moving... although the car was blowing out nice warm air....

Any help is appreciated...

Mark

Well when it is cold people let there cars warm up and blow there heaters to get the ice of the windows and that takes a lot of gas to do that. I would say your car is probably fine. I dont know if winter mix gas makes a difference for gas mileage but that may also be the other problem.

colder air = denser air
more air = more fuel

I normally keep my heater turned down until the car is warm.... and its not that it has be freezing cold... it can just be cool like an early fall morning.

They also change the fuel mixture in the winter time. They run it witha little more alcohol to prevent the fuel from freezing in your car. Alcohol burns quicker than gas, therefore making you go through more to get the same place.

Our gas had not switched over as of yet...The supply I believe is still the summer gas. Normally when they switch to winter gas all the gas stations put up new signs to advertise there winter gas.

theres winter and summer gas? man im retarded i never knew that, but i live in florida so guess that has never been a problem for me

it doesnt matter where u live you dont pick where ur gas comes from so there's winter and summer blend for everywhere

The further north you go the ratio for the winter blend increases. If your car isn't coming up to proper operating temp the computer will run it in "choke" mode and it will burn more fuel.

What can I do to find out if its coming up to temp.-

Do you have your winter tires on yet? That will also make you lose some MPG since it is a lot stickier more aggressive tread it takes more power to move your car.

No winter tires Vtolds... I have Potenzas on my car I spent alot of time trying to find a good tire for all season..something better than the crappy Eagles RSA's

For the temp. The temp gauge. If you want to verify that it's working right a meat thermometer that goes up to 190 . Not sure if the overflow tank is circulated with the coolant. But thats the only spot tou can put the thermometer. A thermastat isn't very expensive. To test that the thermastat is not working put it in a pot and boil it checking the temp it opens with the meat thermometer. I believe we have an 195 thermastat stock. Try putting your hand around the upper rad hose. From dead cold you should be able to feel the thermastat open (when the hose begins to warm up). Check your gauge if it isn't close to normal op temp then you need a thermastat.