The Service Checklist That Actually Restores Lost Mileage

If your mileage has dropped noticeably over a few months, the cause is almost always on this list. Work through it in order — it is sorted by likelihood.

Check first, and free

• Tyre pressure. The most common cause by a wide margin. Costs nothing.
• Parking brake drag. If a rear wheel is warm after a drive, the brake is binding.
• Roof rack or carrier left fitted. Worth 5-10% on the highway.
• Boot contents. Weigh what you are carrying around every day.

Cheap fixes that matter

• Air filter — every 10,000 km, or 5,000 km in dusty conditions. ₹400-900.
• Spark plugs — every 30,000-40,000 km for petrol; worn plugs cause incomplete combustion. ₹1,200-2,500.
• Engine oil and filter — at the manufacturer's interval, using the specified viscosity grade. ₹3,000-5,500.
• Wheel alignment and balancing — every 10,000 km or after any major pothole. ₹800-1,500.

Bigger jobs worth investigating

• Oxygen sensor — a lazy sensor makes the ECU run rich. Typically 80,000-1,00,000 km.
• Throttle body and injector cleaning — genuinely useful at 60,000+ km on cars driven mostly in the city.
• Clogged fuel filter — more common on diesels; changes at 30,000-40,000 km.
• Brake pad or caliper seizure — a stuck caliper can cost several km/l on its own.

Usually an upsell

• Engine flush on a car with a full service history
• Fuel system additives beyond what BS6 fuel already contains
• Nitrogen tyre inflation — harmless, but the mileage benefit is negligible if you check pressure regularly
• Premium 95+ octane petrol in an engine not designed for it

Track it, don't guess

Log a tank-to-tank figure before and after any service using our mileage calculator. Two data points before and two after tell you far more than a service advisor's assurance.