Does cruise control use more gas? One of the most commonly-held myths about fuel economy has to do with cruise control.

So you’ve probably heard that you can save gas by turning on your car’s cruise control feature, letting the car take over the task of holding the speed steady while you relax behind the wheel and take in the scenery.

But is this true?

Or just another example of drivers and passengers around the world being suckered into believing something that isn’t true?

What does cruise control actually do, and can it really save you money on gas?

The Truth About Cruise Control

As it turns out, cruise control does have a positive impact on your car’s fuel economy.

According to research conducted by AAA, driving at steady speeds can help you save as much as 15 percent in gas costs.

This means that when you drive long distances, cruise control can be a great way to help stretch your budget a little further.

In addition to saving money at the pump, cruise control also has numerous safety benefits.

By helping you maintain steady speeds and distances between cars, cruise control helps ensure smoother traffic flow and decreased chances of accidents.

How Much Gas Does Cruise Control Save?

While there’s no question that cruise control can help you achieve optimal gas mileage… exactly how much is still up for debate.

According to some car experts, using cruise control can decrease your fuel economy anywhere from 2% to 8%.

But the truth to saving relies on combining cruise control with a slower speed…

Keep reading to learn more.

How To Get The Maximum Gas Saving With Cruise Control

Cruising slower between 55 and 65 miles per hour reduces fuel consumption. The best is that it allows you to cruise without changing lanes frequently. 

When you drive faster, in case of heavy traffic, you spend most of your time changing lanes and passing slow drivers. This ends up costing you in gas and attention draining your energy!

How to Adjust Your Driving Style

If you’re ready to start using cruise control, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

Adjusting your driving style can be effective at helping you get better gas mileage with cruise control, but these changes may take some time to adapt to.

So be patient! Here are a few tips: don’t hit your brakes or accelerate quickly when trying to maintain your speed.

Don’t brake so hard that you lock up your wheels and skid—this wastes gas and isn’t safe.

It takes a little getting used to, but once you do it right, it will be well worth it!

How to Adopt the Cruising Mentality

After you’ve adopted a more fuel-efficient driving mentality and installed a few tricks to improve your vehicle’s mileage, it can be tempting to kick back!

Slow down and relax.

However, every second of cruise control use is an opportunity to save gas—even if it doesn’t seem like you are getting behind the wheel of a Prius.

So, keep track of how much money you saved over time when you used cruise control.

Conclusion

There are two major reasons cruise control might save gas. The first is that using cruise control keeps your car at a steady speed…

and driving at a steady speed, even if it’s slower than traffic, is almost always more efficient than accelerating, stopping, and then speeding up again.

Second, combine cruise control with a reduced speed. Just reducing 5mph will help you save a lot of gas and avoid you changing lanes to pass slow cars!

Adapt a cruising mindset to save you time and energy!