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There are hundreds of fuel saving gadgets being advertised these days some of which don't work. Not only do they not work, but they can also cause damage to your vehicle.

Tests that were carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency on over 100 fuel saving gadgets showed that most of them did nothing to improve fuel mileage, and for the ones that did work, the results were not that great.

The fuel saving devices available come under many different classifications. These include, driving habit modifiers, fuel line devices, mixture enhancers, ignition devices, engine modification devices, fuel and oil additives, vapour bleed devices and air-bleed devices.

The EPA evaluates or tests products to determine whether their use will result in any measurable improvement to fuel economy. However, the EPA cannot say what effect gas-saving products will have on a vehicle over a long period of time. It is possible that some products may harm the car or adversely affect its performance.

For example, if an "air bleed" device actually adds significant amounts of air to the air-and-fuel mixture, it may cause an engine to misfire, a condition which greatly increases the potential engine damage or mechanical failure. This is especially likely to happen on cars manufactured between 1974 and 1982, because their carburetors are pre-set for a maximum amount of air to be burned with the fuel. "Air-bleed" devices will not work at all on many cars manufactured after 1982, because these cars have "feedback" carburetors that automatically adjust the air-and-fuel mixture rendering the device useless.

There are too many factors that affect fuel consumption such as driver's habits, condition of the vehicle. Because of this it is hard to believe the claims many of these product manufacturers make.

In one case a consumer sent a letter to a company praising its gas-saving product. But what was not mentioned in the advertisement was the fact that the consumers vehicle also had an engine tune-up at the time the device was installed.

There are also cases of manufactruer's claim that their device is approved the a government body. This is never true. No government body would endorse one of these devices. At best it would have been tested by the EPA and then they should be able to show the official test results.

You may have already bought one of these devices. If you are not happy then you are well within your right to ask for a refund. Any honest company will offer a money back guarantee. If they do not, you can file a complaint with the state consumer protection agency.

Regular maintenance and servicing is one of the best way to ensure that your vehicle is running at it's maximum fuel efficeincy. You can find out service intervals by looking in the vehicle manual.

Three simple steps that will help improve gas mileage in all vehicles:

Get your engine tuned properly.

Maintain correct pressures in your vehicle tires.

Take out any unnecessary objects from your trunk to rid your vehicle of excess weight.