Does using cruise control have an affect on gas mileage?

Question

Basically, does it help, hurt, do nothing for your gas mileage?

Answer 1

it normally improves it because you aren't slowing down and speeding up repeatedly. going at a constant speed helps improve your mpg.

Answer 2

An engine has three states: increasing RPM (accelerating), decreasing RPM (decelerating) and steady RPM. In order of fuel efficiency they decelerating, steady and accelerating.

Decelerating doesn't help much getting from Point A to Point B so ignore it. The next most efficient is steady state and that's where cruise control comes in. It holds a steady speed (not RPM, but speed). Of course roads are not perfectly flat so a little accelerating/decelerating is necessary but it's under computer control and will be done in the most efficient manner.

I recently took a trip in a 04 Toyota Matrix. This car is 90% town-driven with short highway trips and regularly gets 27-28mpg. On my trip using cruise control the whole time I got as high as 32mpg (which is the EPA-stated fuel mileage for this vehicle). That particular tank was 100% highway, no stopping at all.

Answer 3

cruise control hurts your gas mileage if there are any hills because it pushes in on the gas and usually shifts down to go up a hill. If there was such a thing as a throttle lock this would work the best. The best gas mileage would be if you can hold the gas pedal in the same place for the whole trip.

Answer 4

The answer is yes to all the questions. On level ground, it will help you save gas, on hilly roads, you may do better by manually using the gas pedal and not trying to maintain the constant speed up and down. On a combination of hilly and flat roads, the cruise could balance itself out and you would have no difference.

There are other advantages to using the cruise than just getting better mileage. There is the convenience of not having to adjust the speed and looking at the speedometer, and you can relax a little more and move your feet around since one of them is not planted on the pedal. It just makes driving on a trip, a little more enjoyable.

good luck.

Answer 5

Cruise control is a help to your gas milage on long trips of course. Setting your speed and maintaining it doesn't require the fast acceleration and slowing down that rob your car of fuel. However if you set your cruise at 85 then you will not be as fuel efficient as if you set it at 70. Most cars are going to peak out in fuel efficiency at about 65 to 70.

Answer 6

Yes. It keeps you from constantly having to press your gas peddle down when driving on an incline or flat terrain. When you press your gas peddle, you are opening a flap in your gas line that allows more gas to pass through and get used. And Face it, some of us are heavy-footed and open that flap all the way. The purpose of cruise control is to allow the car to determine what amount of gas needs to get through at any given time.

Answer 7

of course it help to save your gas. but it must be set to ideal engine speed. Around 3000 to 4000 rpm (for petrol engine). and make sure you shift to the top gear if your car is manual. this is because when in cruise control you did not accelerate and decelerate as often when you of it.

Answer 8

Yes, because it maintains a steady speed, avoids rapid acceleration. For maximum fuel efficiency on the highway, a speed between 55 & 60mph and RPMs under 2000, are recommended.

Answer 9

using cruise control will actually help improve your mileage on a long trip,or any trip where it can stay on longer than 5 minutes,all it does is make the vehicle hold a more steady speed.it does help it some,good luck on it.

Answer 10

It helps, quite a bit, by keeping the speed steady, and no on and off the accellerator, or speeding up to catch up to other traffic without thinking, and will save on tickets.