How much does a car consume when idling?

What affects fuel consumption

Vehicle manufacturers do not indicate in the registration certificate how much gasoline the car consumes when idling. Therefore, the owner will have to look for this information himself.

You can try to find in the documents the amount of fuel consumed by an engine of a particular series. Gasoline consumption is directly dependent on the engine model and many other factors. Among them:

Season. In winter, it takes longer to warm up the car. Accordingly, more gasoline is spent. The colder it is outside, the higher the engine speed.
Active use of the air conditioner while the car is parked.
Additional devices that continue to work while the car is idle. Most of the fuel is spent on supporting the operation of the lighting system, audio receiver, and climate control. If all this continues to function when the vehicle is idling, fuel will be consumed 7-8 times more.
Both during driving and during idle periods, the amount of fuel consumed will be less if the engine is in order. Any malfunctions have a negative impact on this indicator.
Engine volume. While the running car is at rest, the engine consumes gasoline only for the sake of its own rotation. But when the air conditioner is turned on, the engine also bears its load. Therefore, owners of small cars will note higher fuel consumption at idle per hour than owners of large vehicles.

Also, the reasons why gasoline consumption increases include poor fuel quality. For example, if you use AI-92 instead of AI-95, then the fuel will run out 20% faster.

Why does my Lada Granta consume a lot of fuel?

On specialized forums you can find messages from people who complain that their Lada Granta, according to the on-board computer in the city, consumes 12, and sometimes 13 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. Why then, one wonders, does one car consume 7.4 liters, and the other 12? The answer is very simple. To more accurately measure fuel consumption, you need to drive at least a thousand kilometers and check the consumption, which is called “by receipt” or “from light bulb to light bulb.” How to do it? We are waiting for the fuel remaining lamp to light up - this means that you have less than 7 liters of fuel in the tank. We fill the tank full or the required amount of fuel, measure the mileage and wait until the fuel remaining lamp comes on again. In this way we refuel and measure until we travel a thousand kilometers. Next, we calculate the consumption using a simple formula: (Amount of fuel / Mileage) * 100 = average consumption.

Example: we filled up with 100 liters of fuel and drove 1000 kilometers. Our average consumption will be as follows: (100/1000)*100 = 10 liters per 100 kilometers.

Among other things, urban driving style will vary greatly depending on the congestion of the roads on which the car is driven, the duration of the trip, warm-up time, and the length of time it is parked with the engine running. Don't forget, idle speed tends to infinity. And even if, based on the results of the calculations, you received a result of over 10 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers of city driving, do not despair, this does not indicate a malfunction of the car’s systems. To check the serviceability of the systems, you need to carry out a simple test: reset the on-board computer, drive out onto an open highway and drive 5-10 kilometers at a constant speed of 80-90 km/h. If the result of the test is a consumption of 4.5-5.5 liters, then all the systems of your car are working properly, and the reason for the “great appetite” of your car in the city lies in the driving style, traffic congestion and the duration of the trips themselves.

Also, do not forget that the plant regulates fuel consumption indicators only when using fuel with an octane rating of at least 95. When using any other fuel, the manufacturer determines the fuel efficiency of its engines.

This question can be most fully answered by the following videos, which will show the summer and winter fuel consumption of the Lada Granta.

Winter:

Summer:

How to measure fuel consumption per hour at idle speed

To find out how much gasoline is spent when the car is idle, you need to find out by how many milliliters the volume of fuel in the tank of a static vehicle decreases over a selected time period. For research, the owner of a carburetor vehicle will need:

Pour a measured amount of fuel into the canister.
Replace the fuel line directed to the pump of the internal combustion engine with a hose lowered into the canister and thus connect the container to the engine.
Pump the frog pump several times and start the engine.
Leave the car running for 1 hour.
See how much fuel left the tank during the experiment.

You can reduce the time from an hour to 20 minutes. Then the amount of fuel consumed will have to be multiplied by 3.

This method is not suitable for cars with injection engines. The thing is that the pump in this case is located in the fuel tank, so it will not be possible to connect the canister to the engine. You can solve this problem if:

Fill the tank full.
Warm up the car for exactly 1 hour.
Fill the tank again.

How much fuel will fit in the gas tank after the car has been idle for an hour can be considered the required number.

Eliminating the first cause of high fuel consumption

It is worth dwelling in more detail on ways to eliminate the first and second reasons for high fuel consumption on the Lada Samara-2. So, on-board computer. When dealing with electronics, you need to be very careful and attentive, even if you are theoretically savvy and can ask the right questions to the technicians. The part that you can safely take on is checking the mass air flow sensor. First of all, you need to make sure that the sensor is actually faulty and the increased fuel consumption of your car is associated with it. To do this, you should turn it off and drive like this for a while. If you feel that the car has begun to move easier and more vigorously, do not rejoice, because the mass air flow sensor is really coming to an end.

A VAZ 2114 with an engine, for example, 1.5 liters, up to 1000 rpm consumes about 10 kg of air per hour, at 2000 it already reaches 21 kg. If these figures are lower, it means that fuel consumption is lower, although this cannot but affect the dynamics of the engine. But if the standard is exceeded, fuel consumption increases accordingly. And don’t let the increase in dynamics in this case console you, since starting the car in low temperatures will be very difficult, if not impossible.

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A difference of even 2 kg upwards can lead to the entire electronic system constantly freezing, you will get nervous, turn off the sensor completely and drive in emergency mode. This is hardly pleasant and convenient, so diagnosing the air flow sensor is your first task.

Unscrew it and use a tester to measure the voltage with the ignition on (the engine is not running). With an operating range of 2 Volts, 1.01 and 1.02 are a good sign, which means the sensor is in order. At 1.04, you don’t have to think any further - just replace the sensor with a working one. Of course, all cars are individual, the indicators may differ slightly, but the principle of diagnosis and testing is generally unchanged.

About the alarm

A function such as an alarm system with auto start makes it possible to start the car for a few minutes. In the basic setting this is 10 minutes. But the car owner can reduce this value to 5, and on some devices even to 3.

There are several autorun options:

immediately before leaving home;
after a specified period of time;
when cooling, i.e. as soon as the car has warmed up, the engine stalls, but when it cools down, the engine activates instant start;
from the window if the car is parked under the windows.

Most car owners use methods 1 and 4. Rarely does anyone change the alarm settings, so almost everyone has to wait for the car to warm up for 10 minutes. Therefore, fuel consumption during autostart should be calculated for this period.

The principle of operation of the fuel system

High fuel consumption on the VAZ 2114, then follow the instructions below. Of course, few people would want to drive such an “expensive” car and throw money away. There are not many options: go to an official service center and let them fix the shortcomings, or do it yourself, if you know a lot about it. Only in the latter case you need to be especially careful, since you can violate the warranty period, if it still exists. So, if you decide to fix everything yourself, then first you need to outline the range of sources of problems: electronic control unit (ECU), sensors, filters.

Before taking specific steps, analyze the style and manner of driving your car, brand of fuel, average speed, geographic and climatic operating conditions. It would seem like a small thing, but it can significantly increase the car’s appetite by several liters in the plus position. Drive the car into an inspection pit or overpass, let the engine cool, put on rubber gloves and begin visual diagnostics.

Pay attention to the fuel system, namely:

Unscrew the nozzles one by one. Examine them. If you have a tester, clean it with injector fluid. Possible deposits or other foreign particles;
Fuel pump: if there are no leaks or mechanical cracks, then the cause may be internal. You should disassemble it and clean the internal diaphragm (see the article “Signs of a fuel pump malfunction”);
Remove and replace the gasoline filter with a new one; if there is no obvious sediment in the old one, this does not mean that it is clean. Microparticles are not visible to the human eye;
Malfunctions in the speed sensor. At first glance, it has nothing to do with it; it may be a source of increased gasoline consumption;
Instability in the operation of the phase sensor, which records the position of the crankshaft at certain moments of rotation;
The oxygen sensor allows less air to pass through. The fuel system begins to starve, the mixture becomes leaner and the engine requires more ignition costs. In this case, only complete replacement, no resuscitation;
In addition to the fuel system, we will check other components. Each part must be checked separately, so that you do not spend money on purchasing the entire set, but it turns out that the filter, for example, is to blame.
The air filter is the second source after the fuel system. It can squeeze out a maximum of 3.0 liters/100 km. mileage

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Spark plugs: after unscrewing them one by one, we carry out a visual inspection. An ideal candle will have a light brownish tint; all other colors are considered a malfunction. Red, black, soot, white soot are symptoms of instability in work. There are two options: either completely replacing the spark plugs or cleaning them with a household cleaner and checking the gaps between the electrode and the tip. Electrical integrity: This primarily applies to high pressure wires. Damaged ones can shoot onto the housing, thereby weakening the spark in the combustion chamber. Age and condition of the engine: perhaps the compression level is below normal or there is none at all. Check with a compression gauge and compare the data with the instructions; A simple reason is the tire pressure, which also needs to be checked with the operating instructions. As we see, there can be many reasons why the VAZ 2114 has high fuel consumption, but they can be eliminated both in a garage and in a car service center. Choose a method and go for it.

How much does autostart consume?

According to statistics, most cars with a gasoline engine up to 2 liters consume an average of 1 liter of fuel per hour when idle in winter. In summer, this figure is slightly lower and amounts to 800 ml. These numbers have nothing to do with whether the vehicle has a manual or automatic transmission.

To find out how much gasoline is consumed when the car owner uses the autostart function, you should perform simple calculations:

In winter - 1000 (ml)/60 (minutes) xt.
In summer - 800 (ml)/60 (minutes)xt.

Where “t” is the engine auto-warm-up time.

Since many alarm devices are set to warm up for 10 minutes by default, in a car with a 2-liter engine capacity, autostart will consume approximately this amount of gasoline:

Winter period - 1000 (ml) / 60 (minutes) x 10 (minutes) = 167 (ml/h).
Summer period - 800 (ml) / 60 (minutes) x 10 (minutes) = 133 (ml/hour).

It follows that in the cold season, the automatic engine starting system burns 0.17 liters of fuel in 1 hour. It is important to consider that if the car has interior heating, the fuel loss figure can increase to one and a half liters per hour.

But you should not blindly rely on statistical data. To be confident in the result and know exactly the indicators specific to your car, you should carry out all measurements yourself.

How to reduce fuel consumption

All drivers want to spend fuel as economically as possible. To reduce the level of gasoline losses when idling, experienced car enthusiasts recommend:

warm up the engine only until the warm-up speed drops, i.e. 5 minutes;
do not turn on additional devices, such as headlights, and reduce the load on heating the interior as much as possible;
Warm up windows and mirrors if this is absolutely necessary;
insulate the engine and install an autonomous heating system - as a result, the likelihood of engine freezing will be reduced to a minimum.

When the engine speed drops, you need to start driving and complete the warm-up while on the road.

Factors influencing Granta's fuel consumption

In the technical parameters of the Lada Granta, AvtoVAZ indicates gasoline consumption per 100 km of 6.8-7.8 liters (it all depends on the configuration of the car). However, when operating a car, drivers are often faced with the fact that actual fuel consumption is almost twice as high as stated by the manufacturer. The main parameter influencing actual fuel consumption is the driving cycle.

This is a virtual route along which the car passes in accordance with a strictly prescribed acceleration and deceleration scheme, minimum and maximum speeds in a certain mode, and for a manual transmission a gear is determined for each moment of the cycle. That is, by simulating traffic on a city road or highway, fuel consumption is determined. In reality, various factors affect the gasoline consumption of Lada Granta.

Depending on the season, during the frosty winter months the fuel is used to heat the cabin. Warming up the engine takes longer. The process of braking in icy conditions also does not contribute to fuel economy. However, in summer, when using air conditioning, fuel consumption also increases by at least 1 liter.
The quality of gasoline, that is, what kind of gasoline is poured into the car. Based on test results and driver observations, it is much more economical to use AI-95 on Lada Granta than AI-92.
Driving style. Fuel consumption increases several times with an aggressive driving style with sudden braking and acceleration.
The scourge of large cities is traffic jams. Due to uneven city traffic, Lada Granta drivers in cities always have higher gasoline costs.
Faulty systems and components. When working in increased mode, the car consumes more fuel.