Federal Trade Commission n Bureau of Consumer Protection n Office of Consumer and Business Education

FTC Consumer Alert

Gas-Saving Products: Proceed with Caution

Washington, D.C.  Gas prices are up, causing many drivers to look for ways to improve fuel efficiency.

Although there are practical steps you can take to increase gas mileage, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

suggests that you proceed with caution when you consider buying automotive devices or oil and gas additives

based on gas-saving claims. The FTC says that even for the few products that have been found to work, the

savings to consumers have been small.

According to the FTC, its wise for drivers to be skeptical of the following kinds of advertising claims:

 This gas-saving product improves fuel economy by 20 percent.

Claims usually tout savings ranging from 12 to 25 percent. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) has evaluated or tested more than 100 alleged gas-saving devices and has not found any product

that significantly improves gas mileage. In fact, some such products may damage a cars engine or cause

substantial increases in exhaust emissions.

The products on the market that claim to save gas fall into clearly defined categories. Although the EPA has

not tested or evaluated every product, it has tried to examine at least one product in each category. Check

www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/devicefs.pdf for category descriptions and product names of devices tested by

the EPA.

 After installing your product on my car, I got an extra 4 miles [6.4 kilometers] per gallon

[3.8 liters].

Many ads feature glowing testimonials by satisfied customers. Yet, few consumers have the ability or the

equipment to test for precise changes in gas mileage after installing a device or using a product that claims to

save gas. Among the many variables that affect fuel consumption are traffic, road and weather conditions, and

the cars condition.

Take the example of the consumer who sent a letter to a company praising its purported gas-saving

product. At the time the product was installed, the consumer had received a complete engine tune-up  a fact

not mentioned in the letter. The entire increase in gas mileage attributed to the product may well have been the

result of the tune-up alone. But other consumers couldnt have known that from the ad.

 This gas-saving device is approved by the federal government.

No government agency endorses gas-saving products for cars. The most that can be claimed in advertising

is that the EPA has reached certain conclusions about possible gas savings by testing the product or by evaluating the manufacturers own test data. If the seller claims that its product has been evaluated by the EPA, ask for
July 2001

) & ('(5$/75$'( 200,66,21 )7& 25 +( 21680(5

)7&+(/3 ZZZIWFJRY

a copy of the EPA report, or check www.epa.gov for information. In some instances, false claims of EPA testing

or approval have been made.

Product Complaints and Refunds

If youre dissatisfied with a gas-saving product, contact the manufacturer and ask for a refund. Most

companies offer money-back guarantees. Contact the company even if the guarantee period has expired. If

youre dissatisfied with the companys response, contact your local or state consumer protection agency, the

Better Business Bureau or the FTC.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the

marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to

get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or

use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, identity theft, telemarketing and other fraudrelated complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal

law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.