beautypg.com

Maintenance and care – FORD 1999 Escort User Manual

Page 158

background image

• Idling for long periods of time (greater than one minute) may waste

fuel.

• Anticipate stopping; slowing down may eliminate the need to stop.
• Sudden or hard accelerations may reduce fuel economy.
• Slow down gradually.
• Driving at reasonable speeds (traveling at 88 km/h [55 mph] uses 15%

less fuel than traveling at 105 km/h [65 mph]).

• Revving the engine before turning it off may reduce fuel economy.
• Using the air conditioner or defroster may reduce fuel economy.
• Using speed control (if equipped) may improve fuel economy. Speed

control can help maintain a constant speed and reduce speed changes.
You may want to turn off the speed control in hilly terrain as
unnecessary shifting between third and fourth gears may occur and
could result in reduced fuel economy.

• Warming up a vehicle on cold mornings is not required and may

reduce fuel economy.

• Resting your foot on the brake pedal while driving may reduce fuel

economy.

• Combine errands and minimize stop-and-go driving.

Maintenance

• Keep tires properly inflated and use only recommended size.
• Operating a vehicle with the wheels out of alignment will reduce fuel

economy.

• Use recommended engine oil. Refer to Lubricant Specifications.
• Perform all regularly scheduled maintenance items. Follow the

recommended maintenance schedule and owner maintenance checks
found in your vehicle Scheduled Maintenance Guide.

Conditions

• Heavily loading a vehicle or towing a trailer may reduce fuel economy

at any speed.

• Carrying unnecessary weight may reduce fuel economy (approximately

2 km/h [1 mpg] is lost for every 180 kg [400 lb] of weight carried).

Maintenance and care

158