How to improve your vehicles gas mileage

1: Check your tire pressure. If it is too low, add air to bring tires to their recommended pressure.
2: Check your air filter. If it is dirty or old, replace it.
3: Run your car's air conditioner less.
4: Drive calmly. Avoid unnecessary acceleration and braking.
5: Tune up your car if these steps do not improve your mileage.
6: Ask a mechanic to check the gap on your spark plugs. Adjust or replace as necessary.
7: Ask a mechanic to look for fouled fuel injectors. Replace them as necessary.
8: Replace spark plug wires.
9: Fill unadultered gas from a decent/same gas station as much as possible.
Tips & Warnings
Sport utility vehicles naturally have poor fuel efficiency, mainly due to their large size.
If you cannot improve your car's gas mileage, seek ways to lower fuel consumption. When possible, walk, ride a bicycle, or form a carpool.
Depending on your car's make and model, driving with the windows rolled down instead of running the air conditioning may cause increased drag, and therefore be less efficient than running the air conditioning with the windows up.
If your gas mileage suddenly plummets, see a mechanic. Your car may have a serious problem.

Powertrain related symptoms

Engine
The following symptoms indicate engine trouble. Get a diagnosis and schedule the repair.
1. Difficulty starting the engine.
2. The "check engine" light on the instrument panel is lit.
3. Rough idling or stalling.
4. Poor acceleration.
5. Poor fuel economy.
6. Excessive oil use (more than one quart between changes).
7. Engine continues running after the key is removed.

Transmission
Poor transmission performance may come from actual component failure or a simple disconnected hose or plugged filter. Make sure the technician checks the simple items first; transmission repairs normally are expensive. Some of the most common symptoms of transmission problems are:
1. Abrupt or hard shifts between gears.
2. Delayed or no response when shifting from neutral to drive or reverse.
3. Failure to shift during normal acceleration.
4. Slippage during acceleration. The engine speeds up, but the vehicle does not respond.
5. TCM failure and TCC solenoid error codes.
6. Trans Oil leak. ( remember trans oil is very corrosive and can kill the seals).

Brakes related symptoms

Brake problems have several symptoms. Schedule diagnosis and repair if:
1. The vehicle pulls to one side when the brakes are applied.
2. The brake pedal sinks to the floor when pressure is maintained.
3. You hear or feel scraping or grinding during braking.
4. The "brake" light on the instrument panel is lit.
5. ABS and ESC failure code also set in the ABS light on the dash

Ride and Handling related symptoms

1. Worn shock absorbers or other suspension components - or improper tire inflation - can contribute to poor cornering.
2. While there is no hard and fast rule about when to replace shock absorbers or struts, try this test: bounce the vehicle up and down hard at each wheel and then let go. See how many times the vehicle bounces. Weak shocks will allow the vehicle to bounce twice or more.
3. Springs do not normally wear out and do not need replacement unless one corner of the vehicle is lower than the others. Overloading your vehicle can damage the springs.
4. Balance tires properly. An unbalanced or improperly balanced tire causes a vehicle to vibrate and may wear steering and suspension components prematurely.

Steering related symptoms

1. Misaligned front wheels and/or worn steering components, such as the idler or ball joint, can cause wandering or difficulty steering in a straight line.
2. Pulling - the vehicle's tendency to steer to the left or right - can be caused by something as routine as under-inflated tires, or as serious as a damaged or misaligned front end.

Yoko

Loud noise when you go over a bump.

Possible ares to watch out.
1. suspension system (particularly look for bolts)
sometimes the radius arm or LCA might miss it bolt or may be worn out. Its a good idea to check the
2. Check for exhaust system hanger mounts and its fasteners.
3. Check driveline components ( need a hoist for this)
Yoko

Powertrain Mounts and Exhaust system

Shifting and abrupt throttle inputs cause the powertrain to move on its mounts. The exhaust system is attached to the engine and is hung by its own mounts from the body. The powertrain movement causes the exhaust system to sway on its mounts and contact the powertrain or body. With the vehicle on a hoist, the exhaust system can be pushed in each direction to see if there is a contact. Also look for signs of contact such as gouges in the metal or paint. The powertrain can also be moved on its mounts using a long lever arm such as a wood 2x4 to pry on various parts of the powertrain using the body as a fulcrum, again listen and watching for contacts. If greater than normal vibration is noticed at idle, the powertrain mounts may be failed causing the powertrain to move more than normal and to be out of design position to begin with.

Coolant leaking into your cylinder ???

Well, here is how to figure out if you have a head gasket faliure or even a cracked head.
1. A small amount of white smoke in the exhaust.
2. Coolant coming out of the tailpipe.
3. Your oil looks like a milkshake.

if any of these apply to your car you should talk to a specialist to avoid ruining the engine.

Yoko

Overheated engine

List of things to check for.
1. Replace wiring, fan switch, alternator, battery, starter, gasket,
2. Check electrical or (CTS), coolant temprature sensor relaying wrong messages to the ECM
3. Faulty thermostat. should manifest as "check engine" light on yur dash.
In the long run could lead to enigne damage.
4. Some coolant systems require bleeding the air out of coolant system. Sensor might read the hot superheated trapped air rather than the coolant. More of a false alarm on "check engine" light.

Yoko

Does your car stall when hot and hesitates ??

Well, here are the few reasons why it might do this.
1. Faulty fuel pump or leaking fuel line.
2. Clogged injectors and wiring between ECM and injector.
3. Plugs and Crankshaft position sensors (CPS) and its wiring with ECM.
4. Skipped timing belt. (check base ignition timig and valve timing setting on ECM)
5. Sometimes, even the Torq convrtr control solenoid.
6. Overheated ignition module

Yoko

What does oil stain tell you ??

An occasional stain or drop of fluid under your vehicle may not be cause for concern. However, if you consistently find the ground wet, or ever find a "puddle," check it out immediately.
Here's what to look for in some of the most common leaks.
1. Bright colors including green, pastel blue, and orange usually indicate an overheated engine or an antifreeze leak caused by a bad hose, water pump, or leaking radiator.
2. Red spots indicates that you are losing either transmission or power steering fluid.
3. Dark brown or black spots let you know that the engine is leaking oil. This could be caused by something as simple as a bad seal or gasket.
4. A clear puddle of water is usually not a problem. Quite frequently it is the normal condensation from running your vehicle's airconditioner.
Once you've diagnosed the leak, you have a couple of options. I usually recommend trying out a simple "stop leak" product. These run around $5-10/can and for that price you don't have much to lose. If the "stop leak" doesn't shore up your problem, your options become fairly limited. If you have a radiator fluid leak, you may be able to find the source of the leak and fix it yourself. Oil, transmission fluid, and power steering leaks, usually take a few more tools than the average person has on hand.