Hi guys im new here, reaching out to you guys because im racking my brains with these 2 faults especially the mileage one!

I drive a Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost 2012

 

Problem 1: Getting very low mileage/high fuel consumption in SHORT JOURNEYS

I am getting maximum 140 miles out a FULL TANK when doing short journeys/city driving. I know city driving there is alot of breaking/gear changing but I was told my car is very economical and should be averaging around 250-300 mile on city driving. But I am getting only around 140 miles and nearly toppig up EVERY MONTH. Im loosing alot of money. When im doing LONG drives like dual carriageway/motorways im getting aroun 300 miles on a full tank. Im not sure what the connection is between short drives = high fuel consumption in my case as its abnormally high. The dashboard miles interface thing which shows how many miles you got left till 0 sometimes shows me a jump in 5 miles when I have driven 1 mile in a day. Example I wll start my drive showing 180 miles left, after 10 mins of driving it will go to 175. I did not drive 5 miles yet in that short drive its using up petrol equivilant to it. Im so frustrated, what could be the cause? The computer says im getting around 16MPG which is ridiculosuly LOW. My car has been fully serviced and passed MOT, has had all filters changed too and topped up fully with engine oil, coolant and brake fluid. Please help!

 

Problem 2: Right side sensor beeping when not near anything

I have noticed past 2 day my right side far sensor starts beeping even when its not remotely close to anything. Like I know when it starts beeping and the distance it needs to be activated but it feels like its beeping too early. Its really confusing me as I keep thinking someone or something is close to my car. I have checked all 4 sensor dots on the back and there are no debris, dirt or loose bits on it. What could be causing this?

 

Appreciate all the help I get!

Full spec of car please, BHP and gearbox, how many miles and service history (recent)

Manual, has 87k miles bought it when it was 85k. Serviced around few months ago, has had regular servicing by previous owner.

Journeys as short as a mile really will give very low MPG, if thats all you are doing in a day. The car will be running cold, and rich, until it warms up - and it doesn't warm up!

London journeys will ruin MPG.  But 300 miles to a tank of motorway on a 1.0EB is ridiculous.  That's not even 30mpg.

Is the car totally standard or is it possible a previous owner might have remapped it?

Were there any MOT advisories for brakes binding at all?

Do you ever drive the car 'hard' when away from traffic?  I'm just thinking if you give it a hard boot, that may trigger some fault codes for the MAP sensor or lambda sensor or something fuel related...

Even our 2017 1.0 auto used to do 27MPG Town (300 to a tank) or 42MPG Motorway (450 a tank)

There is something seriously wrong.

Start with injectors

Then ignition system, change spark plugs

Make sure correct oil is used and air filter is clean and not damp and MAF sensor is clean.

What fuel are you using?

Our 1,0 hated every E10 except Esso

Ran better on E5 with Tesco being the better value

 

On 7/11/2023 at 10:24 AM, TomsFocus said:

London journeys will ruin MPG.  But 300 miles to a tank of motorway on a 1.0EB is ridiculous.  That's not even 30mpg.

Is the car totally standard or is it possible a previous owner might have remapped it?

Were there any MOT advisories for brakes binding at all?

Do you ever drive the car 'hard' when away from traffic?  I'm just thinking if you give it a hard boot, that may trigger some fault codes for the MAP sensor or lambda sensor or something fuel related...

Hi thanks for the reply and apologies for my late reply. Nope no advisories on brake binding, only breaks pads wearing thin. 

What do you mean by drive the car 'hard' when away from traffic? (sorry im not that knowledgable on cars haha)

How do I give it a hard boot?

On 7/11/2023 at 12:24 PM, DaveT70 said:

Even our 2017 1.0 auto used to do 27MPG Town (300 to a tank) or 42MPG Motorway (450 a tank)

There is something seriously wrong.

Start with injectors

Then ignition system, change spark plugs

Make sure correct oil is used and air filter is clean and not damp and MAF sensor is clean.

What fuel are you using?

Our 1,0 hated every E10 except Esso

Ran better on E5 with Tesco being the better value

 

Hi thanks for the reply and apologies for my late reply. Yup 100% theres something seriously wrong and im gutted haha. 

What is it with the injectors, ignition system, spark plug that can cause this problem?

Where can I go to check these? local garage or ford? if its ford, how do I book this?

Air filters have been renewed in last service.

How do I clean MAF sensor? what is this?

I use E10 oil becuase its the cheapest, I will test it out with E5.

 

I will appreciate all and any answers to my questions please!!!

10 hours ago, TheGeneral said:

What do you mean by drive the car 'hard' when away from traffic? (sorry im not that knowledgable on cars haha)

How do I give it a hard boot?

When away from other cars, on a clear, safe stretch of dry road, give it maximum throttle from a low gear and hold each gear until 5000+ rpm before changing up to the next one.  Do that a few times during a drive of say 20-30 minutes.

Cars are designed to be driven, engines are meant to be used over a wide range of revs.  If you only ever drive them at low RPM, things start to get sticky and clogged up, and overall performance and efficiency drops.  It's a common misconception that driving as 'carefully' as possible at all times is best for MPG.  I'd recommend giving any car a good hard drive once or twice a month to keep everything clean.  In this case, it may also trigger some fault codes that won't get triggered at lower speeds.

(PS - Make sure your brakes and tyres are in good condition before giving it a thrash!)

On 7/16/2023 at 9:46 AM, TomsFocus said:

When away from other cars, on a clear, safe stretch of dry road, give it maximum throttle from a low gear and hold each gear until 5000+ rpm before changing up to the next one.  Do that a few times during a drive of say 20-30 minutes.

Cars are designed to be driven, engines are meant to be used over a wide range of revs.  If you only ever drive them at low RPM, things start to get sticky and clogged up, and overall performance and efficiency drops.  It's a common misconception that driving as 'carefully' as possible at all times is best for MPG.  I'd recommend giving any car a good hard drive once or twice a month to keep everything clean.  In this case, it may also trigger some fault codes that won't get triggered at lower speeds.

(PS - Make sure your brakes and tyres are in good condition before giving it a thrash!)

Thanks will do!

 

In regards to repairs who can diagnose this problem? Can ford do it?

9 minutes ago, TheGeneral said:

In regards to repairs who can diagnose this problem? Can ford do it?

Ford will charge you around £100 to read the fault codes first.  If you're not seeing any warnings on the dashboard, it's not likely there are any codes present.  At that point Ford will just tell you that there is no fault and send you away.

Sadly, until a bigger fault symptom appears, I'm not sure any garage will be able diagnose the low MPG.  If you want to try a random part, you could replace the MAP sensor, as that one is used heavily to calculate fuel injection amounts.  However, as the car passed the MOT test, it seems like it's not over-fuelling badly.

Have you checked that the fuel isn't leaking under the car?  Petrol evaporates quickly so you won't see a big puddle of it from a slow leak.  I would check the rubber elbow between the fuel tank and the fuel filler neck myself.