AAA Texas offers tips to help save you money at the pump

HOUSTON - With summer just around the corner, more drivers will be hitting the roads, and with all those miles racking up, it could be pretty costly.

“We haven’t seen gas prices this high since actually last year in October so drivers are definitely noticing a hit to their wallet when it comes to gas prices,” said Joshua Zuber with AAA Texas.

So to help your vehicle's fuel economy: there’s a few obvious tips to making sure everything is in tip top shape.

“Properly maintaining your vehicle, making sure your oils been changed, transmission fluid Is changed. Making sure your tire are in proper working order,“ Zuber said.

To maybe a few tips you might not think of like some of the junk we carry around.

“It’s all about lightening your load. You can save up to 2 percent on your fuel economy by removing up to 100 pounds from your vehicle.”

“If your vehicle uses premium and you’re putting in regular, that could deplete your fuel economy and the other way around if your vehicle requires regular but you’re putting in premium, you’re really not doing much to improve your fuel economy there and you’re taking a big hit to your wallet.”

Plus, it's not only what you are feeding your car, but how you’re driving it.

“You wanna drive gently. Don’t slam on the gas. Don’t slam on the brake,” said Zuber. 

And lowering the windows at the right time.

“If you’re driving at low speeds, you can actually turn off the air conditioner and roll down those windows. In older vehicles you can actually save up to 5 percent in your fuel economy. As you speed up and you get on the highway, you want to roll up those windows and crank up the AC because your vehicle will be more fuel efficient at those higher speeds.”

And lastly, AAA Texas sugguests being a wise consumer and double check the cheapest gas prices online.