How Car Malfunctions Affect Fuel Consumption: What You Need to Know

Many motorists face the problem of increased fuel consumption, and this may happen for unobvious reasons, and not just because of driving at high revs. Automotive experts explained why this happens. The main reason for increased fuel consumption is often various vehicle malfunctions.

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Such malfunctions may be related to the fuel or air filter. The car’s electronics, trying to compensate for the problem, increase the opening time of the injectors, which creates an air barrier and limits the access of the required amount of oxygen to the engine combustion chamber. As a result, the engine begins to consume more fuel.

A clogged air filter also leads to air shortage, which causes the mass fuel flow sensor to work incorrectly. This disrupts the proportions of the fuel-air mixture and makes the car more “gluttonous”. A less obvious cause may be a malfunction of the mass air flow sensor, which causes interruptions in engine operation. The coolant temperature sensor may also fail. In addition, cars with high mileage may have problems with compression in the cylinders, which reduces engine efficiency.

Clarifications

Petrol — a flammable mixture of light hydrocarbons with a boiling point from +33 to +205 °C (depending on impurities). Density is about 0.71…0.76 g/cm³. Calorific value is about 10,600 kcal/kg (44.4 MJ/kg, 32.7 MJ/liter). Freezing point is about −60 °C if special additives are used. Gasolines are used as motor fuel and raw material in industrial organic synthesis.

Engine — a device that converts any type of energy into mechanical work. The term motor was borrowed in the first half of the 19th century from German (German Motor — “engine”, from Latin mōtor — “driving”) and is mainly used to refer to electric motors and internal combustion engines. Engines are divided into primary and secondary. Primary engines include those that directly convert natural energy resources into mechanical work, and secondary engines include those that convert energy generated or accumulated by other sources. Primary engines (PE) include a wind wheel that uses the force of the wind, a water wheel, and a weight mechanism — they are driven by the force of gravity (falling water and gravity), and heat engines — in them, the chemical energy of fuel or nuclear energy is converted into other types of energy. Secondary engines (SE) include electric, pneumatic, and hydraulic engines.

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