Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?

136 Responses to “Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?”

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1. 101
   Ed Says:
   January 3rd, 2010 at 11:26 am

   YES! Agreed. We need Ethanol mpg metrics. since the EPA can’t do this by law, then private metrics are needed, otherwise we will go on discussing this forever with no hard data.

   Read post #66 above, we have no idea if the E content is E4 E5 E10 E15 or even E24 in each tank we use. This probably explains why my mpg are fluctuating all over the place now in my Prius from 37 mpg to 47 mpg, normally, they are now usually below 39 mpg (bad for a Prius). So each tank needs to be analyzed for E percentage.

   The one time in my life that I would like some government input

   Since the EPA can’t or won’t give us the data, wouldn’t this would be perfect for one or even a dozen university masters or PhD thesis someplace? Even if testing it only on a couple types of vehicles. Maybe someone out there is already doing this or thinking about doing this. If so we would be very interested in seeing the results.

2. 102
   Tom Paris Says:
   January 3rd, 2010 at 3:13 pm

   I would be glad to participate in a scientific study as well,

   I don’t see why Ethanol has to be add to gasoline to cause problems for older cars, or to cars that were not designed to run on.
   I have one of the cars that don’t run on ethanol fuels
   E10, if I use this fuel the car stalls,

   I found non-ethanol gas and now the car runs good. and I dont have that problem stalling, and I do noticed I get better gas mileage, the car gets 40 to 50 mpgs, highway miles.

   I do like the government to wake up, and take the ethanol out of gasoline and stop forcing crap on the people.

   IF the ethanol companies go out of business they need to invest in a new companie to start like gasoline.
   or electric cars.

   take care folks
   Tom

3. 103
   Interloper Says:
   January 4th, 2010 at 8:40 am

   Really, we need Consumer Reports to tackle this. The trick is getting them to understand what really needs to be tested (real cars, different years, on e10 and e0).

   This whole thing is one of the most heinous acts of sabotage against the collective good to benefit a favored few in years. It isn’t supposed to be possible to fleece us all like this in the age of Internet transparency.

4. 104
   KeoweeHarry Says:
   January 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm

   Thanks to those who sent e-mails. As reminded by Ed and Dr_SFZed, getting data to accurately compare gas mileage between E10 and E0 takes a bit of doing. Although I did correct for average speed, I have to recognize that the ethanol content does vary. This explains why there is so much more data scatter on the E10 curve compared to the one with pure gasoline.

   As a minimum, the following should be done to get each data point:
   1. Record the miles driven between each fill up and the gallons to fill the tank. Use MPG calculated as miles divided by gallons. The trip computer MPG is not usually accurate.
   2. Measure the ethanol percentage in the tank after the fill up. There are test kits on the market. One is sold online by “fueltestkit”. If you know of others you like, please advise. I think the best thing to do is to draw a sample from the tank after at least 10 miles of driving from where the tank was filled. This assures that the fuel is mixed.

5. 105
   KeoweeHarry Says:
   January 4th, 2010 at 3:40 pm

   This is a continuation of post no. 104 —
   There are other factors that can affect accuracy such as air temperature between fill ups, the number of cold starts, driving style, etc. I think a large number of data points and good record keeping should provide convincing data. Interloper’s idea of getting consumer reports to do this testing is fine. If anyone is a subscriber, please request CR to do this testing.

   Hopefully, armed with this data from several of you in different parts of the country, or even better from Consumer Reports, we can persuade some courageous legislators to do something to cause congress to back off on the ethanol mandates which do the nation absolutely no good other than to enrich farmers and ethanol producers at taxpayer expense. Have you been writing to your legislators? I have. If any of you can persuade a TV or radio personality to do a show on the cost of the ethanol scam to motorists and taxpayers, go for it.

   For all those who e-mail me at srphantomo@yahoo.com, I will send you the graph I have of MPG vs. MPH for both E10 and E0. I will also provide a data sheet you can use to log the data.

6. 106
   Tom P Says:
   January 4th, 2010 at 7:08 pm

   I converted my car to start on fuel vapor at idle then switches back to fuel injectors at normal temperatures, I have noticed this increases gas-mileage
   I think thats why I get 50 mpgs.

   I use non-ethanol gasoline as I stated before, I can’t use ethanol in my car causes the car to stall.

   I think the fuel systems needs to be redesigned for better fuel economy.

   Cheers

7. 107
   Matt Says:
   January 5th, 2010 at 9:45 am

   Hello guys I have a 1986 Jaguar xj6 has 40,000 miles on the car and it has been stalling on me for the past few years, I have drained the gas and parked the car for now, till a date when regular gas will be avaliable to use. I think the ethanol gas is making the car stall but cant get regular gas to prove it.

   _ does anyone know where I can get regular gasoline?

   I now drive a 2006 mazda 4 it only gets 28 to 30 highway miles, but the govenment websites has the car getting 35 mpgs why am I not getting that mileage out of it? can it be the ethanol gas?

8. 108
   Tim Says:
   January 14th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

   I religiously monitor my gas mileage in my Hyundai Elantra, and my brother does also in his Chevy Avalanche. He is experiencing 15% reduction, and I am seeing 10-20% depending on what kind of driving. Highway driving was always 35mpg for me, and I’m lucky to hit 30, and local driving has gone from 30 to 26 or 27mpg.
   I’m sure like you all, I’m really bothered by this, and think its one of those things that would make a good 60 Minutes expose’. Somebody must know somebody who knows how to submit to them for consideration. I think the other interesting angle to all of this is the CAFE standards for auto manufacturers. I’m pretty confident that they can’t make their numbers using this gas… so you have a gov’t mandate being met on paper or limited testing, but no fuel available to meet it in real life. There should be pressure applied to the gas companies to fess up to the profit scheme, and there should be a logical way ahead for CAFE standards.

9. 109
   KeoweeHarry Says:
   January 15th, 2010 at 8:41 am

   I have been informed by a U. S. EPA staff person that they specify pure (ethanol free) gasoline to be used by car mfrs. to test for emissions and to establish the MPG ratings for new vehicles. I have asked my representatives in congress to challenge them on this. I hope you all will do the same.

   If only the general public knew the absurdity of ethanol, something might be done. There are waaaaay more taxpayers and motorists than corn growers and ethanol producers. Please write to your local news editors and to any broadcasters that might listen.

10. 110
    Tom Says:
    January 15th, 2010 at 8:46 am

    Hello

    I have a car that does not run on ethanol fuel at all it stalls, (1993 Nissan stanza Altima) and its hand book states not to use oxygenated blends of gasoline, which causes statling and hard to start conditions.

    Id like to see the mandate repealed!!

11. 111
    Dave Says:
    January 24th, 2010 at 9:18 pm

    I measure my gas mileage religiously! I have experienced 13.6% drop exactly. Repeatable results. Every time I fill up.

12. 112
    Tom Says:
    January 25th, 2010 at 7:45 am

    Hello its me again Tom P

    I seen a boat marina its gas pump has non-ethanol fuel and the lable states this fuel will increase fuel mileage and reduce co2.

    —Then why is the government pushing ETHANOL useage that has lower gas mileage and increases C02
    over non-ethanol which has an increase in gas mileage and lower Co2 levels.????

    I think we need to revolt and Repeal Ethanol usage and kick out these Ethanol producers and Governments that support it.

    Ethanol lowers my gas mileage on both my cars.

13. 113
    David Says:
    January 25th, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    I think the best way to get real-world data would be to outfit a car with an auxilary fuel tank and switch, plus an engine sensor scan tool (like the import tuners use). With any mid nineties vehicle on up, you could see exactly what the sensors are telling the computer on regular vs E10 gasoline under actual driving conditions. There are three possible reasons I can think of that would cause more fuel to be dumped into the engine under steady-state running conditions. One, detection of detonation, which would result in timing retard and fuel addition. Two, lean Air/Fuel mixture detection by the oxygen sensor, which would cause fuel addition. Three, insufficent fuel in the exhaust gas to keep the catalytic converter lit, which would also result in extra fuel being added. If you got definite changes between E10 and regular gas that corresponded with 10% plus changes in fuel economy, you’d have visual-type data changes that might interest the media.

14. 114
    Tom P Says:
    February 1st, 2010 at 8:11 am

    Hello Dr_SFZed

    I’d like testing of ethanol and non-ethanol gas as well in my car however if I was to add ethanol in my cars gas tank it would stall the car, I would know if ethanol is in my gas, if there was a test, and with ethanol running in my car for that short period when it does run it will have black exhaust from the pipe like a diesel, it will kick and jerk and stall.

    but with the non-E fuel I am using I dont have that problem and my gas mileage went up to 38+ mpgs got 45 a few times.

    with the ethanol I only go 29 was my highest mpgs

15. 115
    Tina F Says:
    February 4th, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    At least two people have mentioned lower ethanol stations in Florida. Which stations have lower or no ethanol added? Do you need to purchase a certain grade to have a lower percentage of ethanol?

16. 116
    Eric L. Foster Says:
    February 15th, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    I own and operate a Shell branded location in Gardner,KS, and sell all three grades ETHANOL FREE. In Kansas the pumps don’t require labeling until the Ethanol content exceeds 10%, causing the consumer to think they are saving money when they buy at a lower price per gallon. WRONG!!! Some People have learned the hard (expensive) way. The ones that actually track their mileage and gallons always have better fuel economy averages on ETHANOL FREE. I personally won’t knowingly purchase E10(gasohol) even when I travel. The last road trip I made in my 1995 Mustang GT ( 302 c.i. & 5 speed)I averaged 29.6 at hiway speeds on pure unadulterated Gasoline. If we use fewer gallons to travel the same distance, we pollute less, don’t add to the cost of food, and don’t add to federal debt, by way of “ETHANOL SUBSIDIES”.

17. 117
    Lillie Says:
    February 18th, 2010 at 10:41 am

    I haven’t seen any reduction in mileage myself, but my daughter states that she can tell the difference. It will be interesting to know the real deal.

18. 118
    Peter Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    I own a 1999 Toyota Camry LE with a 4 cylinder engine. I used to get 26-28 mpg all year round in the Maine. Since the Ethanol has been added to the gasoline, I am getting 20-21 mpg. I have spent so much money trying to find out what was causing the sudden drop in mpg (gas adatives, new oxygen sensor, fuel filter, air filter etc). Finally came to the conclusion as to what was causing the problem all along…..ethanol! Don’t waste your time doing what I did unless your vehicle actually needs one of the parts that I replaced above. You’ll just have to live with the drop in mpg. Ethanol is making some rich people very rich!

19. 119
    Tom Paris Says:
    April 20th, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    Hello folks
    I have been running my car with out ethanol gas I have gotten at a boat yard for the boats, and my car is doing better gas mileage the car gets 51 highest at highway miles, and no more stalling runs great.

    with the 10% ethanol in the gas the car was getting 28 highway miles max, and the car would stall on this fuel,

    why does the government force ethanol to us to use if some of us don’t want that fuel mostly for me, since I can’t use it in my car.

    well have a good one folks.

20. 120
    MrBigAxe Says:
    April 26th, 2010 at 11:24 am

    I experience a 15% drop in fuel efficiency with the use of the 10% ethanol blend. This is not a guess, nor is it computed on only one tank of gas.

21. 121
    Ed Says:
    April 26th, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    I have a 2008 Prius, my mpg dropped from 46-47 to 38 when I used E-10 Ethanol from ARCO in Southern California. I am finding that if I use only Shell gasoline, which I assume is also Ethanol, I am getting usually 43 or 44 mpg. Would anyone know what Shell might be doing different in S. California? Or has anyone else experienced anything similar?

22. 122
    Refiner Says:
    May 10th, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    I have noticed about a 10% drop on my 2004 F-150, and except for a slight judder or stumble it drives pretty much the same as before.

    Just for clarification, It is not the oil companies secretly pushing for E15. They would be happy going back to no ethanol at all. It is the corn lobbyists such as ADM that are doing the pushing for E15 or E20.

23. 123
    bobbydee Says:
    May 17th, 2010 at 10:03 am

    Great Blog. My late father and now I, ALWAYS check fuel mileage at each fill-up. My older truck was consistent with 7% less MPG with E10. Our new Scion has on board computer that shows an immediate drop of 10% MPG using E10 fuel. My manual calculation backs up that info. I have never had any drive ability problems with any vehicle.

24. 124
    Dr. G Says:
    May 23rd, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    The lower the gas mileage, I would think the happier the governments (Federal and State), since the more gallons of gas will needed for any given distance, and therefore the higher the tax revenue, since the taxes are levied on the “per gallon” basis – 18.4 cents per gallon for the Feds, up to around 32 cents per gallon (varies by state) for states!

25. 125
    Bill T. Says:
    June 5th, 2010 at 3:33 am

    My city mileage for my 1998 Toyota Corolla went from almost 27 MPG to 19.5 MPG! And, I drive very conservatively, i.e., letting off the gas way before a red light, etc.

    My mechanic told me that ethanol can damage oxygen sensors and catalytic converters too! Well, my “check engine” light came on today and it said I have a bad oxygen sensor. He re-set the computer. We’ll see what happens.

    This ethanol thing is business as usual. I am NOT a communist, but here in the USA, the Feds need to stop this crap. Ethanol is evil!!!

26. 126
    Harvey Nash Says:
    June 20th, 2010 at 9:08 am

    I have a 2009 seirra 1500 with flex fuel 5.4 liter. Shell has just changed where I was buying my fuel. My milage was 18.5 to 19.3 on a 20 gal tank about 370 to 400 miles at $55.80. After the change milage 16 to 16.2 320 miles per tank. This is 50 miles per tank diff. same price it takes 23.12 gals to get 400 miles at 2.79 a gal. The new gas 10% ethnol is 2.3 gals of ethnol, takes 2.49 gals more real gas to burn it at the same price. adds up to $64.50 in my book. Where is the savings in fossil fuel when it take more to do less. It takes .19 gals more fossil fuel to go the 400 miles (thats gov. at its best) save our planet by using more not less.

27. 127
    Jared Says:
    June 21st, 2010 at 11:15 am

    I’m a little alarmed with Mr. Nash’s report — I’d always sort of figured that while those of us who drive vehicles optimized for actual gasoline would suffer greater than 10% drops in fuel economy with E-10, folks driving flex fuel vehicles would only suffer the drop you’d expect from the lower energy content (a couple of percent).

    If even flex fuel vehicles are burning more E0 once ethanol is introduced to go the same distance, this is truly a disaster of the first order.

    Shame none of us are multi-billion dollar corporations, or maybe we might be able to get our representatives to listen to us.

28. 128
    Tom Paris Says:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    Hello there,

    Yeah I don’t know why the asses put shit in the gas to have it cleaner but its not, it uses more gas releases more co2 then non-ethanol gasoline the proof is in the mileage loss from ethanol fuels, so why use it, I mean it does not take a wild eyed scientist to find that out.

29. 129
    Laura Ward Says:
    July 11th, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Since I was force to use E10 my gas mileage in my 1996 Toyota T100 went from around 19.75 to 17.10. My Murray riding lawn mower does not want to run at all with the E10 plus my Operator’s Manual says DO NOT USE GASOLINE CONTAINING METHANOL (WOOD ALCOHAL). GASOLINE CONTAINING UP TP 10% ETHANAL. What do I do when you can not find a gas station that does not sell anything but?????

30. 130
    Tom Says:
    July 12th, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    Hello, I replied on this site before, I’m the one with the 93 Nissan Stanza Altima that stalls on the shit Ethanol gas,
    But that’s ok, it made me design a new fuel system for my car.

    as I recall they used to use this back in the 80’s for the same reasons of today to lower co2 and lower prices, but was found to be bad, and not much people was buying that fuel. so it was dropped. then Bush the SHIT HEAD passed that law to use the shit..

    But today they did not give anyone a choice at the pumps to use non-Ethanol or Ethanol grades at the pump, so we are forced to use crap!!!Ethanol and they say we have freedoms and freedom of choice, its a slap in the face of all that whom fight for me to live here and be free. Like my Uncle’s.

31. 131
    darowden Says:
    July 16th, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    http://pure-gas.org/

    Tells you where to buy pure gas, with NO ethanol.

    Don’t believe the .gov hype, ethanol is nothing more than a farm subsidy at your expense.

    I get 5-10% better mileage with my Tundra rolling light, up to 15% better when pulling a heavy load, 5-6000 lbs with regular unleaded, non-ethanol gas.

    Find an Ethanol-free station near you and let the farmers sell corn for hog feed and grocery stores, and keep the ethanol OUT of your gas tank.

    We have plenty of oil in the US if the government will just stop putting drilling moratoriums in and let the free market work. And VOTE CONSERVATIVE in November if you love this country, or we may lose it.

32. 132
    bobbydee Says:
    July 16th, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    Thanks for the post Daro
    There is a station in Monmouth IL that I pass by every couple of weeks.

33. 133
    gregory carr Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 2:48 am

    i have a pontiac grand prix GTP. it is supercharged from the factory. it provies me with an average mileage readout that i can reset at will. one store in my area began carrying this e10 fuel and the prices were lower but i heard about the gas mileage issues so i decided to test. i am close to I40 and a very straight stretch of it at that. i ran the same road under extremely similar conditions (weather, humidity, temp. etc.) and at the exact same speed with cruise control. i set the cruise on 70 mph and then reset my mileage readout at ecatly the same mile marker and drove a distance of just over fifty miles never taking the cruise off. the results were: regular gasoline-31.2 mpg/e10-24.6. i ran the car all the way until the low fuel indicator came on and ran one full tank of e10 out then filled up with e-10 again before conducting the test just to make sure that it was purged as well as it could be (for an amateur experiment anyway). so my conclusion is that in a normal vehicle the results of a little lost mileage may be accurate but in a performance verhicle it is definetly worse.

34. 134
    Tom Says:
    July 18th, 2010 at 7:53 am

    HI Me Tom again

    I don’t use Ethanol in my car anymore, but when I did it would make my car stall at stops, and run very badly at normal cruse speeds the car would jerk and kick, with large amounts of black exhaust from the back of the car, was like running a train, and running this badly the car would get 16 to 26 Mpg at best High way miles,
    this is not good gas mileage for a 4CYL.

    As I stated I don’t use Ethanol in my gas anymore, now the car get up to 45+ mpg mark Highway miles only non stop driving, the average city and highway
    I get now is 34 driving in I-4 bumper to bumper traffic in Orlando FL, so I am getting good gas mileage in city too. I drive 190miles to work everyday.

    I could not do this with Ethanol no way at all.

    If there’s any petitions for Ethanol to get rid of Let me know so I can sign it.

35. 135
    StanP Says:
    August 18th, 2010 at 8:40 am

    I have a 2010 flexfuel escape and got on this site because my mileage dropped when I started using E85 and I see from these reports that confirms my suspicions that you get less mileage from ethanol gas.

36. 136
    Tom Says:
    August 18th, 2010 at 8:57 am

    Yeah I know you wont get much mileage from it, there’s no power to ethanol. unlike gasoline, you can even power a car 4cyl to run just off of the fumes from the gas idling the car.

    Have you ever added beer plus gas to your lawn mower and tried to run it, it wont run will not even start, this is the same crap they have in gas, but formulated to mix with gasoline, but when it get damp or water in to the gas then you notice the problems it will cause,

    I work for Lowes, and I have noticed a lot of lawn mowers ridding, push mowers, weed eaters, come back to the store that customers complain that they dont run, or stop working. and the mowers state can use Ethanol but not to exceed 10%, that means must have more then 10% for the mowers to stop working,

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