Focus 1.6ltr poor mpg

[mcouchard]

Hi my wife drives a 54 plate 1.6 zetec that has covered 89K. Since we bought it our fuel bills have been a third larger than before around £300 - £350 pcm.

I calculated over the last three fill ups that it is only achieving an average of 28mpg. She drives a lot of short journeys mainly city but does have a few stretches of 40mph A roads in her week.

But the official urban cycle figure for the car is 30.1 mpg. I have given my wife some green driving advice and she has stopped using the aircon but there has been littel improvement what do you think could be causing such poor economy.

Thanks, Matthew

[stef123]

at this time of year your mpg does tend to drop slightly so that could explain why your getting a poor return right now.

is the car serviced regularly etc?

[mcouchard]

at this time of year your mpg does tend to drop slightly so that could explain why your getting a poor return right now.

is the car serviced regularly etc?

Thanks for your reply it was last serviced when we bought it and that was only 6K miles ago in march. But I might check the air filter but would this affect it that much?

[stef123]

Thanks for your reply it was last serviced when we bought it and that was only 6K miles ago in march. But I might check the air filter but would this affect it that much?

a dirty air filter could seriously affect your mpg, worthwhile checking it

[mcouchard]

a dirty air filter could seriously affect your mpg, worthwhile checking it

Thanks will do I paid extra for a full sevice but found a few months later that they hadn't changed the pollen filter so I wouldn't put it past them to not have bothered with the air filter also.

[mickyfree]

I was told the same. And was also told the oil/engine filter affects mpg too

[stef123]

regular oil and filter changes will help to maintain a good mpg. do you know what kind of spark plugs is in the car? original motorcraft ones are by far the best plugs for the focus.

[artscot79]

one thing to remember the mpg stated is not the real world mpg that figure you have is with the car on a test track doing certain speeds over certain distances it doesnt cover short journeys right now its very cold you are using more lights wipers heater etc this affects the mpg ignore what ford says youre mpg is my 1.8 zetec is meant to be 37mpg combined ive had 45 mpg out of it at this time of year i doubt you have much to worry about.

by the way do you fill up at asda or tesco the reason i ask is i did a comparison usimg there fuel to normal Shell fuel i get 3mpg more from shells fuel my old passat was the same i got more mpg from Shell asda etc put a lot of cleaning soloution etc in there fuel so you dont actually get as much as you think

[InstructorPiggy]

ensure not waiting in the mornings for the car to defrost itself in the cold....takes loads of fuel coz the engine can't get up to temp...

cover car/or scrape it off yourself and get that car moving!!

yea, no need for AC at the mo, keep it off!!

[mickyfree]

one thing to remember the mpg stated is not the real world mpg that figure you have is with the car on a test track doing certain speeds over certain distances it doesnt cover short journeys right now its very cold you are using more lights wipers heater etc this affects the mpg ignore what ford says youre mpg is my 1.8 zetec is meant to be 37mpg combined ive had 45 mpg out of it at this time of year i doubt you have much to worry about.

by the way do you fill up at asda or tesco the reason i ask is i did a comparison usimg there fuel to normal shell fuel i get 3mpg more from shells fuel my old passat was the same i got more mpg from shell asda etc put a lot of cleaning soloution etc in there fuel so you dont actually get as much as you think

just outta curiosity which petrol company do you feel is the better one?

[artscot79]

just outta curiosity which petrol company do you feel is the better one?

i always use Shell i get better mpg and never had injector problems etc.

my mate has a recovery company and he says the amount of cars that just arent happy running on asda fuel is ridiculous .

i looked in to it and what i found out was the fuel is basically all the same but the supermarkets fuel has more additives put into it like cleaning soloutions and isnt quite as refined either so if for example you get 5 litres of fuel you actually dont because a larger portion of that is additiives and soloutions compared to other fuels iver had diesels and they were a lot quieter smoother and dare i say it quicker with Shell diesel i used asdas for a while cos it was cheap but the car didnt like it at all my old passat hated asda fuel it was a totally different car i took it to vw they told me to change my fuel and it worked so for me Shell fuel

[stef123]

i always use shell i get better mpg and never had injector problems etc.

my mate has a recovery company and he says the amount of cars that just arent happy running on asda fuel is ridiculous .

i looked in to it and what i found out was the fuel is basically all the same but the supermarkets fuel has more additives put into it like cleaning soloutions and isnt quite as refined either so if for example you get 5 litres of fuel you actually dont because a larger portion of that is additiives and soloutions compared to other fuels iver had diesels and they were a lot quieter smoother and dare i say it quicker with shell diesel i used asdas for a while cos it was cheap but the car didnt like it at all my old passat hated asda fuel it was a totally different car i took it to vw they told me to change my fuel and it worked so for me shell fuel

btw, asdas petrol i believe comes from Poland? and since your a fifer too(as much as you said you always go to shell) stay away from sainsburys from now on. they are taking the same approach as asda and importing it from poland or where ever it is. sainsburys isnt far from my house but occasionally i have used it if i dont have time to go to Shell but i wont be from now on

[mcouchard]

regular oil and filter changes will help to maintain a good mpg. do you know what kind of spark plugs is in the car? original motorcraft ones are by far the best plugs for the focus.

Thanks, yes it has a full service history which is mostly Ford except for the last service. I asked them to change the spark plugs at the service when we bought it, whether they did of not is another matter. When the weather gets a bit warmer I will have a look at the make of them.

[mcouchard]

one thing to remember the mpg stated is not the real world mpg that figure you have is with the car on a test track doing certain speeds over certain distances it doesnt cover short journeys right now its very cold you are using more lights wipers heater etc this affects the mpg ignore what ford says youre mpg is my 1.8 zetec is meant to be 37mpg combined ive had 45 mpg out of it at this time of year i doubt you have much to worry about.

by the way do you fill up at asda or tesco the reason i ask is i did a comparison usimg there fuel to normal shell fuel i get 3mpg more from shells fuel my old passat was the same i got more mpg from shell asda etc put a lot of cleaning soloution etc in there fuel so you dont actually get as much as you think

No I never use supermarket fuel my other car really dislikes it, I tell my wife only to put branded fuel in. She normally uses BP, because it is convienient although I have found that recentely gives me less mpg on my Megane so I have been using Shell in that which, incidentely averages 42 mpg. The offical figure for the urban cycle of the Focus is 30.1 and I'm not even getting that it was 28mpg on the last three fill ups and it looks like it will be a lot less this time it is down to half a tank after only 120 miles so far.

[mcouchard]

btw, asdas petrol i believe comes from Poland? and since your a fifer too(as much as you said you always go to shell) stay away from sainsburys from now on. they are taking the same approach as asda and importing it from poland or where ever it is. sainsburys isnt far from my house but occasionally i have used it if i dont have time to go to shell but i wont be from now on

Sainsbury's fuel is the reason I don't use supermarket fuel. I used it twice on my Megane and it knocked out one of the four injectors each time. I find that Shell is the best for the Megane, using the ulimate unleaded I have achieved 56mpg out of my Megane on a 120 mile run. I don't think the Focus could ever achieve that even if I pushed it down a hill .

[hubballi]

Sainsbury's fuel is the reason I don't use supermarket fuel. I used it twice on my Megane and it knocked out one of the four injectors each time. I find that Shell is the best for the Megane, using the ulimate unleaded I have achieved 56mpg out of my Megane on a 120 mile run. I don't think the Focus could ever achieve that even if I pushed it down a hill .

This is interesting as My Focus 1.6 1999 at 76,000 used to give more MPG on Sainsburys. The cam belt went (nothing to do with sainsburys) and I had an engine swap for a newer Zetet 1.6 with only 33,000. Ever since I have driven it the fuel consumption is definatley poorer. Same engine cc , same car but not as efficient. I have even resorted to turning off the engine at lights now. It's a lovely car and very comfortable but how I miss the cheap running of my Peugeot 106.

[SierraYankee99]

This is interesting as My Focus 1.6 1999 at 76,000 used to give more MPG on Sainsburys. The cam belt went (nothing to do with sainsburys) and I had an engine swap for a newer Zetet 1.6 with only 33,000. Ever since I have driven it the fuel consumption is definatley poorer. Same engine cc , same car but not as efficient. I have even resorted to turning off the engine at lights now. It's a lovely car and very comfortable but how I miss the cheap running of my Peugeot 106.

Turning off the engine will have an adverse effect. Huge amounts of fuel are used to start and engine compared to nigh on nothing to keep it ticking over. Make sure your windscreen blowers arent on full demist if you have air con fitted as it will use air con to clear the windscreen quicker even though the little light isnt lit on the air con button. For a car with a 30mpg average text book, I dont think 28mpg average is poor at all this time of year. Engines love cold air. More cold air means more fuel used. Summer makes cars more economical. Mine pulls like a train this time of year and the mpg falls from 45mpg running around to about 42mpg. But in summer its back to normal.

[thesilverfox]

Aircon is a useful tool in the cold, as it draws moisture out of the air. Most people associate aircon with being cool, but it's a very quick way of getting your car up to a comfortable temperature this time of year.

Granted, it affects economy a little, but it's more useful than not :)

[artscot79]

Aircon is a useful tool in the cold, as it draws moisture out of the air. Most people associate aircon with being cool, but it's a very quick way of getting your car up to a comfortable temperature this time of year.

Granted, it affects economy a little, but it's more useful than not :)

gotta be honest 28mpg youre getting and its stated as 30.1mpg nowt to grumble about its pretty decent strange that my mk1 1.8 zetec has better mpg than a newer smallewr engine though

[mcouchard]

gotta be honest 28mpg youre getting and its stated as 30.1mpg nowt to grumble about its pretty decent strange that my mk1 1.8 zetec has better mpg than a newer smallewr engine though

Well 30.1mpg is the minimum stated cold consumption on the urban cycle combined is meant to be 40.9 mpg and extra urban is stated as 51.4mpg see: http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/us...ils.asp?id=7027

[artscot79]

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/ve...ls.asp?id=22699

thats what i found remember it isnt the reg but the build date of the car it may be an 04 but it can have been built a fair bit prior to that so it very well could be the older engine in the car

http://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do

go here enter the reg and youll get the details you need

also if you read the info on the link you had its tested in a lab at temps of 20-30 degrees max speed 31mph minimum 12mph for 2.5 miles thats not real world figures we dont drive in temp controlled labs at those speeds for a mere 2.5 miles it does not acvcount for minus5 conditions or the fact that with the temp outside the car is running cooler taking longer to heat up or that you are using rear demisters front heaters lights etc or that the car is burning more fuel to do this it also doesnt take into account driving styles no offence but some women brake too late too much and accelerate too hard men too not just women.

take the car for a run a good 15 mile should do it when you get home leave it running and get out sniff the exhaust if its burning too muvch fuel youll smell it also check the plugs if they are normal then the engines running as it should not over fuelling or running too hot/cold

[mcouchard]

http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/ve...ls.asp?id=22699

thats what i found remember it isnt the reg but the build date of the car it may be an 04 but it can have been built a fair bit prior to that so it very well could be the older engine in the car

http://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do

go here enter the reg and youll get the details you need

also if you read the info on the link you had its tested in a lab at temps of 20-30 degrees max speed 31mph minimum 12mph for 2.5 miles thats not real world figures we dont drive in temp controlled labs at those speeds for a mere 2.5 miles it does not acvcount for minus5 conditions or the fact that with the temp outside the car is running cooler taking longer to heat up or that you are using rear demisters front heaters lights etc or that the car is burning more fuel to do this it also doesnt take into account driving styles no offence but some women brake too late too much and accelerate too hard men too not just women.

take the car for a run a good 15 mile should do it when you get home leave it running and get out sniff the exhaust if its burning too muvch fuel youll smell it also check the plugs if they are normal then the engines running as it should not over fuelling or running too hot/cold

That is a extremely useful link thanks mine was a 2005 car I just entered 2004 on the VCA site so it doesn't show the MkII by mistake. The build date though on the etis website states 04.11.2004.

I used the Focus last night as my wife has been using mine in the snow and ice. When it started at first all I could smell was unburnt fuel for 2-3 minutes and the idle was quite high but then it settled down so I think it is struggling with the minus temperatures as you say. It also has the heated front windscreen I'm not sure if this is standard or not but could be putting extra strain on the engine. I'm going to do a 2 week swap in a week or so with my wife and see what I can get out of it on my daily 36 mile commute.

I will check the plugs when the weather is a bit better, as I don't have a garage and the prospect of being under the bonnet of a car in this weather is far too depressing.

[mcouchard]

Just a quick update on the last tank of fuel the Focus returned only 26mpg which is now well off the urban figures and even taking into account the cold weather I think this is still pretty poor. I tried removing the spark plugs and they won't budge at all. Which is also concerning so I have left them for now as I don't want to damage the Aluminium head.

I have swapped cars with the wife so I now have the Focus to give it some long motorway runs. There is a part at the end on my journey that just is pottering around the uni campus mostly down hill so I usually dip the clutch in gear and freewheel I have noticed that the Focus unlike my Megane doesn't speed it it feels like it is going to then slows slighty. Could this be the brakes binding? it would certainly explain the poor economy.

Also should I be worried about not being able to lossen the spark plugs? I was using all the force I could muster but it was just a Halfords spark plug tool with very little leverage.

Thanks

[catch]

Just a quick update on the last tank of fuel the Focus returned only 26mpg which is now well off the urban figures and even taking into account the cold weather I think this is still pretty poor. I tried removing the spark plugs and they won't budge at all. Which is also concerning so I have left them for now as I don't want to damage the Aluminium head.

I have swapped cars with the wife so I now have the Focus to give it some long motorway runs. There is a part at the end on my journey that just is pottering around the uni campus mostly down hill so I usually dip the clutch in gear and freewheel I have noticed that the Focus unlike my Megane doesn't speed it it feels like it is going to then slows slighty. Could this be the brakes binding? it would certainly explain the poor economy.

Also should I be worried about not being able to lossen the spark plugs? I was using all the force I could muster but it was just a Halfords spark plug tool with very little leverage.

Thanks

Hi, have you recently purchased the Focus? If so like me [i bought mid October] your experiencing winter consumption. I also was disappointed with the fuel consumption, coming from a 2.0lr turbo diesel. Mostly knocking around town on 2 mile journeys at peak time and queuing in traffic. With the odd 13 mile round trip to the next village once a week. Returning on the last "brimmed" tank reading 28.06mpg [manual says 32.5mpg] The last two brimmed tank readings prove the trip reading to be accurate to 0.1 or 0.2 of a mile. So considering it is winter conditions, and the journeys undertaken, maybe it is not that bad after all.

I say this because immediately after my last brim tank visit to the petrol station, last Saturday. After resetting the trip meter, I set off on an evening 31 mile round trip on A roads. I had an adult passenger on board, with a full tank of petrol weighing us down. We did not experience any major traffic hold ups, though we had to negotiate three sets of traffic lights in a town on route. It was below freezing, verging on damp and fog, so was running with AC, heater, and lights. I was doing mainly between the mid fifties to sixty on the open road, with the trip meter at end of journey recording an average speed of 34 mph. And it recorded that the journey had returned 42.7 mpg. So I reckon that its not so bad after all, waiting to see what some sizeable mixed tour driving returns in the spring and summer months

PS: the spark plugs removal, have you tried slipping a bit of tubing over the tool handle, thus giving you more leverage?

[artscot79]

Hi, have you recently purchased the Focus? If so like me [i bought mid October] your experiencing winter consumption. I also was disappointed with the fuel consumption, coming from a 2.0lr turbo diesel. Mostly knocking around town on 2 mile journeys at peak time and queuing in traffic. With the odd 13 mile round trip to the next village once a week. Returning on the last "brimmed" tank reading 28.06mpg [manual says 32.5mpg] The last two brimmed tank readings prove the trip reading to be accurate to 0.1 or 0.2 of a mile. So considering it is winter conditions, and the journeys undertaken, maybe it is not that bad after all.

I say this because immediately after my last brim tank visit to the petrol station, last Saturday. After resetting the trip meter, I set off on an evening 31 mile round trip on A roads. I had an adult passenger on board, with a full tank of petrol weighing us down. We did not experience any major traffic hold ups, though we had to negotiate three sets of traffic lights in a town on route. It was below freezing, verging on damp and fog, so was running with AC, heater, and lights. I was doing mainly between the mid fifties to sixty on the open road, with the trip meter at end of journey recording an average speed of 34 mph. And it recorded that the journey had returned 42.7 mpg. So I reckon that its not so bad after all, waiting to see what some sizeable mixed tour driving returns in the spring and summer months

PS: the spark plugs removal, have you tried slipping a bit of tubing over the tool handle, thus giving you more leverage?

diesels are quite frankly rubbish in town driving and dont give good economy petrols are better in town but on long hauls the diesel will show its economy