Drop In Mpg

[Grosvenor]

Hi everyone,

I've recently noticed that our car is doing lower than normal mpg.

Our Ford Fusion 1.6v auto (05 plate) used to gt around 27mpg urban.

It's now dropped to around 22-23mpg. At the pump I always put in 8.25ltr (around 2 gallons), so the cost of petrol has nothing to do with it.

There's no leaks and the tyres are correct inflation.

Hope someone can shed a light on this.

Thanks

[paul-eb]

Hi everyone,

I've recently noticed that our car is doing lower than normal mpg.

Our Ford Fusion 1.6v auto (05 plate) used to gt around 27mpg urban.

It's now dropped to around 22-23mpg. At the pump I always put in 8.25ltr (around 2 gallons), so the cost of petrol has nothing to do with it.

There's no leaks and the tyres are correct inflation.

Hope someone can shed a light on this.

Thanks

[paul-eb]

Hi,

Have you only had this problem over winter? the reason i ask is. I have the 1.4tdci which in the spring/summer/autumn it returns about 48-52 to the gallon. Once the cold of winter comes my mpg will easily drop to 42-44, the car takes longer to warm to working temperature. this tells me the cold weather means more fuel usage.

This might be a guide as to why.

If you still have doubts, you could always have it checked by a garage.

Hope this helps.

Paul.

[skyman114]

Hi everyone,

I've recently noticed that our car is doing lower than normal mpg.

Our Ford Fusion 1.6v auto (05 plate) used to gt around 27mpg urban.

It's now dropped to around 22-23mpg. At the pump I always put in 8.25ltr (around 2 gallons), so the cost of petrol has nothing to do with it.

There's no leaks and the tyres are correct inflation.

Hope someone can shed a light on this.

Thanks

Is it a series 2 ?

How did you get the figures ?

Full tank to full tank or from the onboard computer ?

If the latter there is another post in the C MAX section which may be of interest.

[paul-eb]

Hi again,

Mine is a 57 plate,

The mpg was worked out via filling tank to the top each time, not using onboard computer.

Paul

[Grosvenor]

HI

It is really only recently and I've heard about the winter difference in mpg. However I was under the impression that is was only the servere winter weather that makes a difference. I hope I'm wrong because that would mean there's possibly nothing wrong with the car.

It's a Fusion 3 and my mpg method isn't very accurate really. I wait for the warning light to come on then top up with exactly(!?) 2 gallons, reset the mileage to zero and wait for the warning light to come on again, then see how many miles it did. If that's the on-board computer, then yes.

I don't think our car has an on-board computer, there's no display that tells you how many mpg you're getting. It's an 2005 model.

Cheers

[DaveG]

The cold does effect mpg quite a lot; engine warm up, electric windows & heaters being used etc all knock off mpg.

About now with a tdci you should get between 46 + 52 (depending on above, useage & external tempertures.

In warmer weather you use don't use your heating/heated windscreen etc, but aircon might do, summer mpg i'd say is around 55mpg, a long steady run can give over 60mpg.

Regarding testing fuel consumption, Imho the worst way is to fill the car to brimming, simply because you'll be making the car a lot heavier thereby reducing mpg, I heard somewhere once that filling your car up can lose you a lot of fuel. I forget the exact amount, I never fill up and never leave it until the light comes on, again tank sediment may clog fuel lines etc.

It's probably not accurate but i simply bang in £15-20 and when the needle gets to where it was pre-fill up, I refill with the same amount and work out the consumption from there, I did it last year (before fuel prices went thru the roof, i.e when prices remained more or less the same).

That's how i worked out my Ex mazda 323 (34.7mpg) and my current cars mpg,what i would like to know though is which is more accurate; re-fill on warning light, fill up or my method ?. Re-filling on the warning light can be interesting, especially if going up a long steep hill ;-) and my method needs the price to remain the same.

[Claxxon]

I'm not aware of a huge difference in MPG during the winter unless it's a really bad snowy day where there's lots of wheel spinning and sliding. According to my on board computer I'm currently getting around 67mpg out of my 1.4TDCi. I know this is a big exaggerated but I originally worked out that the computer reports an error of about +7% so I'm guessing that I'm actually getting around 62mpg. This hasn't really changed much from what I was seeing in the summer, if anything I would say it's a bit better as I tend to be a bit more careful when the weather is bad.

[DaveG]

I'm not aware of a huge difference in MPG during the winter unless it's a really bad snowy day where there's lots of wheel spinning and sliding. According to my on board computer I'm currently getting around 67mpg out of my 1.4TDCi. I know this is a big exaggerated but I originally worked out that the computer reports an error of about +7% so I'm guessing that I'm actually getting around 62mpg. This hasn't really changed much from what I was seeing in the summer, if anything I would say it's a bit better as I tend to be a bit more careful when the weather is bad.

62mpg ? that's Ford book consumption, if you look at all the reviews for the fusion and combine that with all the known articles and right ups about manfacturer's much celebrated mpg figures, ALL have been proven to be wrong, I can get 62 on a good run in the summer, but day to day motoring this time of year I'm lucky to hit anywhere near that.

[Grosvenor]

Well, that last post has made me think there maybe something wrong with the car.

It's petrol not diesel. Manual says 27mpg urban and we've definitely been near that in the summer months. It's mainly lots of short journeys, the wife uses it to go to work, only 2 !Removed! miles. I keep telling her that's not helping but she only moans about the mpg and isn't interested in what might be causing it. Sign....

So, is it a fact that mpg suffers in winter or not?

I'm seriously thinking of getting it checked out. Is there some kind of diagnostics that could be done?

[AliciaBeckman]

Yes you need your car to be checked immediately as there seems to be no probable cause for sudden drop in mpg.

[DaveG]

Well, that last post has made me think there maybe something wrong with the car.

It's petrol not diesel. Manual says 27mpg urban and we've definitely been near that in the summer months. It's mainly lots of short journeys, the wife uses it to go to work, only 2 !Removed! miles. I keep telling her that's not helping but she only moans about the mpg and isn't interested in what might be causing it. Sign....

So, is it a fact that mpg suffers in winter or not?

I'm seriously thinking of getting it checked out. Is there some kind of diagnostics that could be done?

Have you tried redex or any enchanced fuels like BP Ultimate, I put in redex etc every 3 months or so & whether it does any good or is just a placebo, I do recognise a difference in the engine's responsiveness and smell, as it goes thru the system.

As for short journeys, i.e JUST 2 MILES ??? unless it's given time to warm up before doing that great distance you ain't gonna get a decent mpg. I live rurally where there is a lot less public transport and the distance between things is greater, I'm about to change jobs, my new place of work is also 2 miles away, I'll be walking and cycling, saving me a lot of money on fuel, needless wear and tear on my car and I'll be getting fitter by doing so. Cycling in a urban area is also quicker e.g even in my little town I can get to the far side of the town on my push bike quicker than my wife in her car, she has to go around 7 roundabouts and thru 2 sets of lights, I can avoid them all.

Personally i would do this; walk or cycle the 2 miles to work, test my mpg now, add redex etc, leave 2-3 days and then test again, if no difference and the mpg is still low get my car checked and or tuned.

According to my copy of Which 1.4 petrols in 2008 were getting 38.7mpg. So something clearly is'nt right.

[weedavey1888]

HI GUYS

i have a 1.4 16v petrol and only get 22mls to gallon urban. engine idles at around 950rpm when warm.my last car was a 1.8i 8v single injection cavi and i got an average 25/26 mls to gallon. could it be that the injector system is maybe in need of attention? or is it time for a service .i have spent more money on this car (03 plate 60.000mls on clock). since buying it in november than i had on the cavi (65.000mls on clock )in 7yrs of ownership. begining to think these stats are trying to tell me something

[Grosvenor]

Thanks to everyone who posted.

Just a quick update:

1. I'll never get the misses to cycle or walk to work.

2. The initial bad mpg info came from my wife and she's been exaggerating the figures onto the negative side.

3. I've monitored the last top-up (£10), and we got 45miles before the Low fuel light came on. I found a mpg calculator on the web which gave a

figure of 26.91 mpg, that is good for our car, as the Ford manual gives an urban figure of 27mpg.

4. I think my wife has been driving with the low fuel light on for miles, and when she tops-up the warning light obviously comes back on quicker.

So I don't think the mpg is too bad for our 1.6v auto. I think we could get more if there weren't so many short journeys and the wife was a bit more gently on the accelerator with a cold engine.

Sounds like it's all her fault :)

[skyman114]

Sounds like it's all her fault :)

Brave man if you tell her !!!

[Grosvenor]

Brave man if you tell her !!!

Ah... well... No, I won't be putting it like that. Just saying that the car is doing what it should.

[Ray Miller]

Apart from the usual tyre pressure checks and weather differences there are two other things that can cause your fuel consumption to get heavier.

One being your air filter...it needs to be changed regularly at the correct intervals otherwise the clogging will change the o2 sensors reading and it adjusts to keep the car running smoothly.

Secondly..your fuel filter...just like your air filter it can become clogged through age and that will definitely increase consumption.

Both jobs can easily be completed by any amateur mechanic.