Why is winter *highway* mpg so low?

[Master Blaster]

If you have the block heater option, that will help get the engine temperature up a lot faster. Ford was definitely not thinking clearly when they did the cable routing, and I had to add a foot-long extension to the stupid wiring placement inside the hood to get the plug into a usable place.

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[todd92]

Winter fuel (10% butane added) gets 3% lower MPG. The rest is denser air, the colder it is, the more wind resistance at speed. Low tire pressure may play a roll if extremely cold.

There is NOT more ethanol in gas in the winter.

 

[Cherokee]

Years of experience.
But it should tell you individual trips automatically every time you turn the truck off. Lariats keep a running long-term total.

I’ve got two trip metes. I set one at mile 4 when I got my 24 AWD Eco Lariat.
At 1040 miles it’s showing 27.6 mpg’s. Once broken in, say 10,000 miles and on full synthetic I am expecting another mpg or maybe two.
Every model has two trip meters right ?
My 2021 Bronco Sport base model did.

 

[Cherokee]

Winter fuel (10% butane added) gets 3% lower MPG. The rest is denser air, the colder it is, the more wind resistance at speed. Low tire pressure may play a roll if extremely cold.

There is NOT more ethanol in gas in the winter.

I assume the butane is to keep the fuel system from freezing up or thickening up the fuel ?

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Winter fuel (10% butane added) gets 3% lower MPG. The rest is denser air, the colder it is, the more wind resistance at speed. Low tire pressure may play a roll if extremely cold.

There is NOT more ethanol in gas in the winter.

Every 10°F will change tire pressure about 1.1 psi. 35 psi at 70°F will drop to to about 30.6. depending on time of day, etc 3 hours parked in sunlight can add as much as 2 psi to sunny side tires. Check tp in morning before leaving around 30°F ambient and check tp in 10-12 miles of highway. You may be surprised.

 

[todd92]

I assume the butane is to keep the fuel system from freezing up or thickening up the fuel ?

No. In the carburetor days, it was needed to make the gas evaporate more easily so the car would start in cold weather. That and it's very cheap and high octane. The industry stores the butane which cannot be used in the summer and uses it in the winter.

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