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How to Set Google Maps to Find Fuel-Efficient Routes

Google Maps can favor routes estimated to use less fuel. Here’s how to enable the setting, choose the right vehicle type and interpret the trade-off.
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Google Maps can favor routes estimated to use less fuel, but it does not guarantee that you will spend less on every trip. Turn on Prefer fuel-efficient routes, select the correct vehicle type, then compare the estimated arrival time and route before you start driving. Google says the feature is available only in select countries or regions; its help pages do not list every supported location.

Turn on fuel-efficient routing

  1. Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture or initial.

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  2. Go to Settings → Navigation → Route options.

  3. Turn on Prefer fuel-efficient routes.

  4. Return to Settings, open Your vehicles, and choose the engine type that matches your vehicle.

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Google’s iPhone/iPad and Android instructions use slightly different wording, and labels may vary by app version, language or region. If you already have directions open, you can also adjust the fuel-efficient routing preference and engine choice through the route’s More or Options menu, then confirm the change. Google Maps Help: iPhone and iPad and Google Maps Help: Android explain the platform-specific steps.

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Choose the engine type that matches your car

The selected powertrain affects which route Maps considers more suitable, so check it rather than relying on a default. Google’s setup guidance covers petrol/gasoline and diesel combustion vehicles, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. If your vehicle uses CNG or LPG, Google instructs you to choose petrol/gasoline.

For an EV, an energy-efficient route does not include charging stops. Plan charging separately if your trip requires it.

What Maps weighs when it recommends a route

Fuel efficiency is only one part of route selection. Google says Maps also considers real-time traffic, route simplicity and road conditions. Its efficiency estimate takes into account average vehicle consumption in the region, elevation changes, stop-start traffic and road type. Google says the estimates draw on insights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and data from the European Environment Agency.

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Maps generally recommends the more fuel- or energy-efficient option when its arrival time is roughly similar to the fastest route. If the time trade-off is significant or the savings are too small, it may show relative savings between alternatives instead. Compare the arrival time and route details with the efficiency indication; the efficient option is not necessarily the fastest one.

Does the setting mean you will pay less for gas?

Not necessarily. The route label is an estimate, not a promise of a specific reduction in fuel use or cost for your car and trip. Google’s help pages do not state a typical dollar or percentage saving. Actual consumption can differ from the regional averages used in an estimate, and your result depends on your vehicle, driving, traffic and trip conditions.

Use the feature to compare plausible routes, not as proof that a particular drive will cost less. The cited guidance does not identify fuel prices or toll costs as inputs to its fuel-efficiency calculation, so do not treat the route recommendation as a fuel-cost or toll-cost comparison.

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When to check the route before driving

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