How to Save Gas While Driving: 20+ Fuel-Saving Hacks

When gas prices spiked up to just over $5 all across the country, I think it’s safe to say that all of us were suddenly scrambling to find any way to cut down on gas costs. Even though gas prices have cooled, saving at the pump is still important. Thankfully, learning how to save gas while driving is relatively easy to do!

Key Points:

• Adopt fuel-efficient driving habits such as driving at moderate speeds, avoiding excessive acceleration and braking, and utilizing cruise control on highways.
• Proper vehicle maintenance, including regular oil changes, tire inflation, and air filter replacement, can optimize fuel efficiency and help you save on gas costs.
• Plan your trips efficiently, combining multiple errands into one trip and avoiding unnecessary idling or detours, to minimize fuel consumption.
• Consider alternative transportation options such as carpooling, using public transit, or biking/walking for short distances, all of which reduce fuel usage.

20+ Ways to Save Gas While Driving

There’s practically an endless list of ways to save gas while driving. To get you started, here are 20+ ways that can help you right away. 

1. Plan Your Trips in Advance

Getting lost can be a huge waste of time and gas. If you’re traveling somewhere new, it’s always a good idea to plan your trip ahead of time. This allows you to not only make sure you’re taking the most direct route, but to ensure you’re stopping at the most affordable gas stations. 

2. Take the Most Efficient Route

If you plug your desired address into any GPS, it’ll bring up the shortest route, time-wise. Most often, this is also the shortest route distance-wise, but not always. Look at the actual length of your trip. Does the shortest route take you up and down hills and around sharp curves? If so, that’s going to have you riding the brake which leads to higher gas costs. 

3. Use Highways When Possible

Highways are designed for higher speeds and usually have fewer traffic lights and stop-and-go situations than city streets. This means that you can maintain a more consistent speed, which is generally more fuel-efficient. Constant acceleration and deceleration in urban areas consume more gas due to the energy required to get the vehicle moving from a standstill. Highways also offer more direct routes with fewer detours or congested areas., meaning you can reach your destination faster, spending less time on the road and consuming less fuel overall.

4. Avoid Rough Roads

Depending on where you live, you may not be able to avoid rough dirt roads, but if you can, do your best to avoid these roads. When you go down rough roads, you’re likely stamping on the brake frequently, which creates wear and tear and uses up more fuel. 

5. Combine Trips

Rather than going out daily to run errands, go to appointments, or what have you, bundle these trips together. You can save on distance traveled, which, in turn, can help you save on gas. 

6. Ride Share with Others

One of the best ways to save on gas? Don’t drive yourself. If you use rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, you’re reducing your environmental impact and saving on gas. That said, ridesharing isn’t always cheap, but you’re not making car payments, paying for gas, or paying for insurance, so it may even out. 

7. Drive During Off-Peak Hours

Traffic congestion is typically at its highest during peak hours, resulting in frequent stops and starts, long idling times, and slow-moving traffic. These conditions harm your car’s fuel efficiency.  If you can, avoiding peak hours can help minimize the time spent in traffic congestion and reduce the number of stops and starts, thus optimizing fuel efficiency. 

8. Avoid Excess Idling

When you’re waiting in the car for someone, or you’re out running quick errands, you should always turn your car completely off. If left idling, your car is using up gas for no reason. 

9. Enable Eco Mode

Many newer cars, especially hybrid and electric vehicles, come with a feature called eco mode. When activated, eco-mode adjusts various vehicle settings to prioritize fuel economy over performance. 

10. Drive at a Steady Speed

There’s a reason driving on the highway can provide better fuel efficiency on most cars. On the highway, you’re driving at a steady speed for a lot longer. This means less stopping and going which uses much less gas than you would if you were in a busy city. 

11. Don’t Exceed the Speed Limit

Driving the speed limit helps you save on gas by optimizing fuel efficiency and reducing aerodynamic drag. Most vehicles are designed to operate efficiently within a specific speed range (often corresponding to the posted speed limits). When you drive at or close to the speed limit, your engine operates at its optimal performance level, using fuel more efficiently. 

12. Use Cruise Control

I always wondered, does cruise control save gas, really? The answer is a resounding yes. Using cruise control helps you save on gas by promoting a more consistent and efficient driving experience. Setting cruise control allows the driver to set a desired speed, and the vehicle maintains that speed automatically without requiring the driver to push on the gas or brake. By keeping a constant speed, cruise control minimizes unnecessary fluctuations and improves fuel efficiency.

13. Come to a Slow Stop

Coming to a slow stop, rather than a sudden or abrupt stop, can help you save gas by utilizing a technique known as "coasting." Coasting involves gradually reducing your vehicle's speed by releasing the accelerator pedal in advance of a stop, allowing the natural deceleration of the vehicle to slow it down rather than relying solely on the brakes, which helps reduce gas usage. 

14. Maintain Your Vehicle 

Maintaining your vehicle can help you save on gas by ensuring that it’s operating at peak capacity. A well-maintained engine operates more efficiently, burns fuel more effectively, and reduces fuel wastage, leading to better gas mileage. Tasks such as changing the air filter, replacing spark plugs, and ensuring proper lubrication optimize engine performance. Maintaining the correct tire pressure also reduces rolling resistance and makes the engine work less to propel the vehicle forward, resulting in increased fuel efficiency. Regular wheel alignments and balancing minimize energy loss and maximize fuel economy.

15. Purchase the Correct Fuel Grade

Purchasing the correct fuel grade can help you save on gas by ensuring optimal engine performance and fuel efficiency. Fuel grades, such as regular, mid-grade, and premium, are determined by the octane rating, which measures a fuel's resistance to knocking or pre-ignition. Using a higher octane fuel grade than what your vehicle requires is unlikely to provide any significant benefits in terms of performance or fuel economy.

16. Use the Right Motor Oil

Using the correct viscosity grade of motor oil recommended by the manufacturer forms a protective layer on the engine's surfaces, reducing friction and preventing excessive wear. This reduction in friction means less energy is lost as heat, allowing the engine to operate more efficiently and use fuel more effectively.

17. Change the Air Filter

Changing your air filter regularly helps you save on gas costs by ensuring a clean and unobstructed airflow to the engine (plus, it’s easy to do!). The air filter prevents dirt, dust, and debris from entering the engine, but over time, it can become clogged and dirty. When the airflow is restricted, the engine compensates by burning more fuel to maintain performance. By replacing the air filter at the recommended intervals, you ensure that the engine receives an adequate supply of clean air.

18. Keep Your Car Clean

When your vehicle is covered in dirt, grime, or debris, it creates additional resistance as it moves through the air, leading to increased drag. This increased drag, although small, requires your engine to work harder to maintain speed, resulting in higher fuel consumption. By regularly washing and maintaining the cleanliness of your car's exterior, you ensure a smooth and streamlined surface, minimizing drag and allowing the vehicle to move more effortlessly through the air. 

19. Avoid Hauling Cargo

Hauling campers, trailers, or anything else behind your car requires you to push harder on the brake since something is weighing down the back of your car. This is also going to take more gas, so when gas prices are high, you may be better off finding another way to haul anything you need to. 

20. Remove Excess Weight

I had a friend in college that always drove around with literal weights in his car. Since he traveled so much, he wanted to be able to exercise and lift weights wherever he went. While that’s cheaper than a monthly gym pass, having the excess 50 pounds in his car wasn’t doing much for his already poor gas mileage. Plus, the constant rattling of the weights drove every one of his passengers insane. 

21. Reduce Warm-Up Time in Winter

If you live in a cold climate, hopping into your car on a cold winter morning to drive to work doesn’t help reduce the Monday blues. That said, dealing with the cold for a few minutes can help you avoid idling your car, which can save you on gas. 

22. Close Sunroof and Windows 

Believe it or not, closing your windows and sunroofs can make a difference to your fuel economy. Sunroofs, when open or tilted, create an additional opening in the vehicle that disrupts the smooth flow of air over the car's body. This disruption increases drag, which means your vehicle has to work harder to maintain speed, resulting in higher fuel consumption. 

23. Limit Heating and Air Conditioning

Running the heat or air conditioning in your car uses up gas at a surprisingly high rate. While you may have to deal with being a little uncomfortable, you could save yourself a tank of gas. 

24. Avoid Aggressive Driving Habits

Aggressive driving habits like tailgating or speeding, most importantly, make the road unsafe for other drivers. They also wreak havoc on your fuel economy, causing you to waste gas for no reason. 

25. Use Toll Passes

Avoiding highways just because they have tolls can cause you to take long, indirect routes, causing you to use up the amount of gas that you would otherwise pay at the toll. Toll roads are typically designed to offer smoother traffic flow and fewer stops compared to alternative routes. By paying a toll fee, you gain access to roads with fewer traffic lights, stop signs, and intersections, allowing for a more continuous and consistent driving experience. 

26. Avoid Gas Stations Near Interstate Exits

Next time you get off the interstate, drive past the first gas station you see. Unless you’re in an extremely rural area, chances are you’ll find a gas station a few more minutes down the road with prices at least $0.10 cheaper than the gas station right off the highway.

These gas stations know that tired travelers are likely to stop at the closest gas station off the highway, so they can jack up their prices and no one will complain. 

Fueling Up Wisely: Gas Station Tips for Better Fuel Efficiency

When it comes to fuel efficiency, making intelligent choices at the gas station can go a long way. Here are some valuable tips to help you optimize your fuel economy:

• Fill up in the morning or evening: Fuel is denser when temperatures are cooler, meaning you'll get slightly more fuel for your money. Avoid refueling during the hottest part of the day when fuel may expand and result in a slightly lower quantity.
• Tighten the gas gap: After refueling, make sure your gas cap is tightly secured. A loose or damaged gas cap can cause fuel evaporation, reducing your fuel efficiency over time. 
• Check tire pressure regularly: Properly inflated tires reduce rolling resistance and actually enhance fuel efficiency. Maintain the recommended tire pressure indicated by your vehicle's manufacturer (this should be in your vehicle’s handbook). 
• Don't top off your tank: Resist the urge to squeeze in more fuel after the pump automatically shuts off. Topping off can lead to fuel spillage, wasted fuel, and harm to the evaporative emission control system. 
• Don't rev your engine: Revving your engine, especially when the vehicle is stationary or just before shutting it off, consumes extra fuel without any practical purpose. Excessive revving not only wastes fuel but also puts unnecessary strain on the engine components, potentially leading to increased maintenance and repair costs. 
• Use the highest gear possible: When driving, using the highest gear suitable for the road and speed conditions can contribute to better fuel efficiency. Higher gears allow the engine to operate at lower RPM (revolutions per minute), reducing the workload and fuel consumption. 

Final Word

When it comes to fuel efficiency, every small step counts. So remember to choose the appropriate fuel grade, fill up during cooler hours, and avoid topping off your tank. Plus, keeping your vehicle light, maintaining its tire pressure, and planning efficient routes all contribute to optimal fuel efficiency. By incorporating these tips into your routine, you can not only save money at the pump but also reduce your carbon footprint by consuming fuel more efficiently.