Why is fuel consumption so high for short-distance driving
3 Answers
When car owners drive, most of their trips are within 6 kilometers, and 5% of trips are even within just 1 kilometer. This situation is quite evident among domestic car owners as well. In fact, this kind of short-distance driving consumes the most fuel. During short trips of less than 5 kilometers, the car's engine generally cannot reach the optimal operating temperature, and fuel efficiency is usually at its lowest, resulting in the highest fuel consumption during such journeys. Moreover, due to the excessively short distance, even some environmentally friendly models like hybrids or diesel vehicles can only achieve minimal fuel-saving effects. Some eco-friendly models with emission-reduction functions may even have to stop before they can start functioning.
I've been driving very short distances to and from work recently, just a few kilometers round trip each day, and I've noticed that the fuel consumption is particularly high, with the fuel gauge dropping rapidly, which really hits my wallet. After doing some research, I learned that the main reason is cold starts: when the engine is first started, it's cold and needs to inject more fuel to heat itself up to reach normal operating temperature. With short trips, the engine doesn't have enough time to warm up before being shut off, so it never operates efficiently. Additionally, I often have the air conditioning or radio on, which are powered by the engine and consume extra fuel. Frequent stops and starts in traffic also worsen the problem—the car just accelerates and then brakes, wasting a lot of fuel. Now, I'm trying to reduce short-distance driving, like walking to the nearby supermarket instead, which helps save some money and is also good for me.
As a stay-at-home mom, I often drive to pick up the kids and go grocery shopping, but the high fuel consumption from these short trips is really frustrating. I later realized that the engine consumes a lot of fuel during cold starts because the lubricant hasn't fully circulated, leading to higher resistance and lower efficiency. Using the heater or defroster on short trips also increases the load. Frequent stops and starts in the city while shuttling the kids mean constant switching between the gas and brake pedals, resulting in incomplete fuel combustion. Now, I've adjusted my habits by combining multiple short trips into one outing, saving both time and fuel costs. During car maintenance, checking the spark plugs and air filter also helps avoid unnecessary fuel consumption.
