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Mpg Woeful On Motorway.


Badgers
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I've known the Auris T180 mpg isn't great, but nothing prepared me for my recent work trip Glasgow > Kent > Glasgow.

This is the first time I've made this trip in the Auris, and indeed my first really long journey since I bought it. I had previously owned a modified Audi S3 pushing around 280bhp, which did this trip at around 32mpg on cruise control and air con on!

Anyway, Auris did this trip, with cruise control set at a GPS speed of 74mph, no air con, at a rather staggering 28.4mpg approx when calculated (29.1mpg on the computer), going by the trip computer my average speed for the journey was around 68mph (I was driving through the night, so very little traffic on road). Now I consider that a work mate also did this trip, taking 1hr less than I did, in a Passat 2.0 Sport (170bhp), averaging 46mpg, I'm pretty annoyed at this.

I bought this car in the expectation of getting low to mid 40's on a long journey, it's way short of that. Even doing the short B road journeys, with no real concern for economy I still get 33mpg (ish) average on the computer. On this trip I was really expecting, at worst, high 30's.

I've did the clearing of soot thing. Really what else can be done?

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I owned a Fabia VRS not long ago it returned 45-50MPG most of the time, since changing to the Auris 2.0 the average trip computer has not gone up no more than 41MPG.

Your best would be to give it a service usual items Oil, filters etc

Some people advise to drive a little hard every so often to clear up any soot helping the engine to breath better etc. The weather does not help either.

With respect dont know your driving style but try not to labour the engine in higher gears.

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I'm a little jerky with the throttle, but I'm not a hard driver in the Auris, I don't find it a particularly rewarding car to drive hard thus am not inclined to do so. I find it more a good cruiser with overtaking power if need be. I'm driving down an empty motorway overnight in good weather at an average of 68mph over 450 odd motorway miles, so, I'm not driving that hard.

The car is in cruise control so driving hardness is outwith my control. However taking it off cruise control makes very little difference to the MPG, nor does aircon. I find these things are the difference between 28mpg and maybe 29.5 mpg on the computer.

I'm realistic, it's a 180bhp diesel car, I'm not expecting uber economy. However I'd like to think I could leave my home near Glasgow, and drive 495mls down to Ashford in Kent, without using not far off 2 tanks of diesel. I really do expect a diesel car to do that on a full tank. ***** the S3 just about made it the full way before needing refilled (it did hold about 15L more fuel though). I sold the S3 and bought a sporty diesel purely because of economy.... and I am getting worse!

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welcome to my world its nothing to do with driving style yes you may get better mpg with a different style

but like me my t180 avg 30mpg i drive my car the same as previous cars s60 d5 49mpg passat 170diesel 47mpg

so the comparison is with your previous vehicles with your same driving style if you change your style then you have

no comparison the t180 is rubbish on fuel its a fact

drive like a nun watching every gear change and go very easy on brakes and it does improve i done this in my volvo and t180

it just made the gap in comparison even bigger

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I did London to Edinburgh back to London and got 43MPG overall for that trip, this was done in November and happens to be my best tank ever.

Driving very much similar to how you described (70ish mph - cruise control - 2 people in car)

My overall running average is 38MPG since September 09.

The lowest MPG over 1 tank was 33MPG and that was one week of pure urban traffic.

Things to look out for:

1. My car had an ECU re-flash recall (not official recall) that was done during one of my services, apparently most T180/SR180 had this done.

2. More usual things like tyre pressure

3. I find MPG is very sensitive to throttle movement, you will need time to get use to using as little throttle as possible to reach the same speed.

If all else fails then let your dealer know, EGR clean out helps and personally only run on main brand diesel.

My colleague had an identical T180 and he never got better than 35MPG throughout the time of ownership, so there is an element of luck of the draws.

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I'm amazed at that. I never dropped below about 33 and that was a short cold winter trip. Motorway was always around 40 - 44mpg.

Its not the bhp as I'm in a 312bhp diesel which did 42.8mpg on a recent return trip from the midlands to Bristol and I spent a long time in crawling traffic. It did 47mpg at its best.

I just think the egr implementation on the toyota diesels is too aggressive. More so in the higher powered t180 which needs a 5th injector.

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40 is the worst i have had, and 47 is the best, so i'm either doing something different to everyone else, or my car must be a 'good un'

Things i have done since buying it are:

Clean the EGR

Clean the air filter

Clean the MAF

Inflate tyres

Use Shell Fuel only.

If any or all of that has made a difference then i wouldn't be able to prove it as it was all done as soon as i bought the car. I also fitted a Kingo tuning box, so the extra torque may be helping too.

Even with a high of 47mpg i was always hoping for low 50's in this car, so i can understand your disappointment with anything in the 30's or below.

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I use BP fuel, I don't have a Shell garage within 15mls of me. However BP/Shell/Esso/etc, I don't find any significant difference. Even using the ultimate diesel makes little if any difference.

I have cleaned the EGR, I found it made some difference for a short time, but.... It might of been down to me subconsciously driving super cautious. Either way it was last cleaned about 1000mls ago. I've never had a car I've had to drive super cautious before as a tiny difference makes huge differences in MPG. It's a pretty useless scenario if the Auris is going to be like this.

If I drive my mums car, a 5 speed 1.7TDi Astra, and I tend to drive that hard as I find you need to get speed out it, I still achieve 54-55mpg. I've never had any MPG problems with any previous car, all have got around what I'd expect, and without really thinking about what I'm doing so.... I don't think my style of driving is the problem. I drive the Auris thinking a lot about what I'm doing and achieve not very good results.

The bit I don't get with the car, is no matter what style I seem to drive it in, or the type of road I am driving over, the end mpg stays about the same on an average. I'd say 32mpg +-3mpg is normal, no mater what I'm doing or how I'm doing it.

I'm going to be entering a phase of work that is going to see me driving 30-40k miles over the next year. I'm starting to think it's time to trade the Auris in and go back to the German cars. If it wasn't for the fact I'm going to take a big hit on a car I've did less that 10k on, thus not really had value out of, I'd already of did it. However on long journeys I want to be cruising about 78-79mpg down the motorway, and getting low 40's at worst, the Auris just simply does not let me do this, or achieve anywhere near this.

I'm not expecting a miracle, I understand it's a fairly powerful diesel car, I just don't think I'm getting good value for cash with this, considering other cars I considered with similar power like the GTTdi Golf, Leon FR, VRS, C4 VTS, etc all achieve mid 40's fairly easily. I would NEVER of bought the Auris if I had been made aware of the low MPG rating. In the forecourt I seen the facts and figures presented to me, and made my decision based on the car I liked most.

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I would of thought the big derv would of been good on the motorway, my 1.33 can get over 50mpg on a motorway cruise with ease.

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I seem to be the only one unable to remove my EGR!! The 2nd bolt (the one on the right) which is securing the metal pipe/tube will not budge!! :hang:

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Made this journey today.

Left at approx 6am, got back home around 2pm.

Topped up the tank about 20mls from home. Filled up somewhere south of London, and set the milometer and trip comp, refilled around Manchester (got something to eat) and filled again in Glasgow, about 20mls from home, with 3/4 bars left.

Heres the trip computer.

27yo02r.jpg

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First of all the on board computer can be adjusted for sensitivity of MPG calculation (http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85638) so therefore it is only as accurate as the settings allows it to be.

Have you calculated this by hand and does it match?

I always calculate by hand but my onboard always comes to within 0.4MPG for accuracy (re: above setting, mine is set to 95%).

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First of all the on board computer can be adjusted for sensitivity of MPG calculation (http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85638) so therefore it is only as accurate as the settings allows it to be.

Have you calculated this by hand and does it match?

I always calculate by hand but my onboard always comes to within 0.4MPG for accuracy (re: above setting, mine is set to 95%).

My calculation for that trip today, would indicate about 29mpg +-0.5.

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If you are confident that your driving is up to scratch :thumbsup:

Then i would be talking to my dealer about this car returning unusally poor MPG.

I use to get this sort of return in my TSport and that was a thirsty little thing, certainly not right even for the infamously thirsty 2.2.

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That is ridiculously low MPG if your figure back it up.

Speak to Toyota and see if there is an ECU update available for your car, this may help.

If not, sell it, buy a Porshce, and have a bit more fun for the same MPG :lol:

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If you are confident that your driving is up to scratch :thumbsup:

Then i would be talking to my dealer about this car returning unusally poor MPG.

I use to get this sort of return in my TSport and that was a thirsty little thing, certainly not right even for the infamously thirsty 2.2.

I've been driving 11yrs, owned 20 odd cars, and can't say that I've ever had any problems with poor fuel economy without reason.

I've always got around what I'd expect.

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Well then with your vast experience and 20 odd cars worth of knowledge go talk to your dealership and tell them how to fix it.

These forums are pointless arent they?

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:thumbsup: my heart bleeds mate.... 29 mpg!,,, blimey, i used to get 48-50 from my 1.8gs Avensis 10 years ago....

Buy a hybrid.... A least 60mpg and goes like stink when you hit the pwr button :yahoo:

Seriously, if thats all you are getting then a visit to Mr T is called for... Good luck

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Badgers, at what RPM to you change gear roughly.

A diesel engine at light load is very inefficient and temperature can be lost very quickly. This has a compound affect on economy with several engine components.

An abundance of heat is created at low revs. Try to change gear at around 2-2.5k unless you nail your foot down for quick acceleration. Don't sit at around 2.5k or more. You will loose a lot of heat from the engine and the engine will be very lightly loaded and a lot more fuel used.

I.e. use quick acceleration from about 1.6k changing at 2 - 2.5k t get up to speed and keep the revs under 1.8k at a steady cruise accept m-ways.

To be honest, that figure it so low i'd be surprised if there wasn't a problem. It could be a thermostat on the car that isn't working correctly, circulating too much coolant perhaps. What's the state of your air filter, try giving that a clean. You would need to take the car to toyota to read for error codes and also check the injector timings.

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I seem to be the only one unable to remove my EGR!! The 2nd bolt (the one on the right) which is securing the metal pipe/tube will not budge!! :hang:

have you tried moving when engines nice and hot,this sometimes works.

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Badgers, at what RPM to you change gear roughly.

A diesel engine at light load is very inefficient and temperature can be lost very quickly. This has a compound affect on economy with several engine components.

An abundance of heat is created at low revs. Try to change gear at around 2-2.5k unless you nail your foot down for quick acceleration. Don't sit at around 2.5k or more. You will loose a lot of heat from the engine and the engine will be very lightly loaded and a lot more fuel used.

I.e. use quick acceleration from about 1.6k changing at 2 - 2.5k t get up to speed and keep the revs under 1.8k at a steady cruise accept m-ways.

To be honest, that figure it so low i'd be surprised if there wasn't a problem. It could be a thermostat on the car that isn't working correctly, circulating too much coolant perhaps. What's the state of your air filter, try giving that a clean. You would need to take the car to toyota to read for error codes and also check the injector timings.

Well when driving down the motorway I don't tend to change gear often :P. The car is just sitting steady at around 2k revs.

As for usual driving. I change pretty much when the shift indicators come on. Possibly have a tendency to slightly over rev, but not too bad.

I've got the car booked into Toyota. Just a pain in the ***** having to make the round trip, and take a day off work, then find something to do for 5-6-7-8hrs while I wait.

Car had it's 40k mile service not long ago, so everything should be fine.

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Fingers crossed for you mate. I hate seeing mine hover around the 40-42 mark as i feel thats too low, so i can see how frustrated you must feel about yours.

:thumbsup:

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Badgers, at what RPM to you change gear roughly.

A diesel engine at light load is very inefficient and temperature can be lost very quickly. This has a compound affect on economy with several engine components.

An abundance of heat is created at low revs. Try to change gear at around 2-2.5k unless you nail your foot down for quick acceleration. Don't sit at around 2.5k or more. You will loose a lot of heat from the engine and the engine will be very lightly loaded and a lot more fuel used.

I.e. use quick acceleration from about 1.6k changing at 2 - 2.5k t get up to speed and keep the revs under 1.8k at a steady cruise accept m-ways.

To be honest, that figure it so low i'd be surprised if there wasn't a problem. It could be a thermostat on the car that isn't working correctly, circulating too much coolant perhaps. What's the state of your air filter, try giving that a clean. You would need to take the car to toyota to read for error codes and also check the injector timings.

Well when driving down the motorway I don't tend to change gear often :P. The car is just sitting steady at around 2k revs.

As for usual driving. I change pretty much when the shift indicators come on. Possibly have a tendency to slightly over rev, but not too bad.

I've got the car booked into Toyota. Just a pain in the ***** having to make the round trip, and take a day off work, then find something to do for 5-6-7-8hrs while I wait.

Car had it's 40k mile service not long ago, so everything should be fine.

Hate to tell you all but I have been here around a year ago and my car had a lot of checks done at Toyota and was even took on a run by someone from Toyota (thread is here somewhere). The result was nothing wrong with the car and it was a combination of me and my wife's driving and super market fuel and was also told over the phone that the extra urban 56mpg is not achievable but 45mpg is, yes I can smell the same s*** as you all but at the end of the day I have put this all down to the government's forcing manufacturers to cut emissions and Toyota's over effective clean but costly DPF system.

Strange thing was we was looking around a car supermarket the other day and to say we would want a medium 3-5 door hatchback like Auris size but no bigger as this would be to big for my wife who drives the car the most and that we would want a car around 18months old £13k then I kid you not as much as I could call the T180 (mainly MPG) there was not one car I would have swapped ours for :eek: What I will say is a CRZ is calling but with rumours of a CRZ type R I think we shall wait a while longer + the fact that a CRZ sport is still around the £16k mark and only 8 months old max.

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Badgers i would also suggest resetting the ECU as another thing to try.

When you buy the car from new the ECU adjusts to your driving style and over time automatically adapts to suit it.

Sometimes the fuel mapping can become too rich, essentially its injecting too much fuel. Resetting the ECU can force the ECU to relearn and can sometimes help with poor consumption.

It has been a while since i had my Auris; make everything is off and this is done with a fully warm engine... under the bonnet on the right hand side is a plastic box with 2 clips. Remove the cover and you will find the fuses. Locate the fuses labelled ecu-b and pull them out using the white tool. Pump the brake until it goes hard then replace the fuses and start the engine. Take it for a drive driving as follows to condition the engine mapping.

Keep the revs at around 1.5k when travelling at a steady speed. Use the least amount of throttle to maintain a stable speed (very important). Try to use the brake less, e.g. come off the accelerator earlier when you are due to slow down or stop at a junction (instead of using the brake at the last minute). When accelerating, accelerate with quite brisk acceleration between 1.5k and 2.5k RPM. Changing gear ideally around 2.2k rpm. Then occasionally put your foot down with smooth acceleration and take it up to 3.6k. Then revert to normal driving around 1.5k. Light throttle to maintain a speed. Repeat the acceleration between 1.5k and 2.5k a few times, take it up to 3.6k occasionally, ideally find a hill and load the car from around 1.7k and accelerate up hill, then run it at 2.5k at very light throttle for 30 seconds then change up and get back to 1.5k at light throttle, reset the MPG and monitor what you get.

All this to be done as soon as you reset the ECU. It is an idea to continue driving this way (very light throttle loading to maintain a steady speed, coming off the accelerator earlier to slow the car down naturally, using the brake less and keeping around 1.5k RPM and accelerating between that and 2.5k changing gear at around 2.2k rpm).

Using some training i've had i achieved a high of 54mpg using this method in the summer on the way home from work in my t180. It's all about how you drive it, gearing, RPM usage, accelerating when the car is producing it's highest efficiency and keeping momentum. 54mpg was achieved by constantly blipping the throttle to maintain a speed. Basically on/off/on/off/on/off with my right foot. Very tiring because without that i would typically get 43mpg. I also posted a little experiment on this forum but i can't find it. Essentially i drove the same dual carriageway, 3 runs 1 after each other, accelerating at the same points, braking at the same points. The only difference was gearing. I think i drove at around 55mph. 1st run in 4th, 2nd in 5th, 3rd in 6th. The results were something like this. 4th gear = 44mpg @ 2.6k rpm, 5th gear = 46mpg @ 2.1k rpm, 6th gear 52mpg @ 1.5k rpm.

As this is a massive post i might as well add some more. In the T180 the engine is at it's highest volumetric efficiency with lowest frictional losses at between 1.7k RPM and 2.5k RPM. What this means is it will extract the most power per unit of fuel used with lower losses. In simple terms using this range to accelerate and accelerate up to speed quite quickly.

The engine uses the most fuel whilst shifting 1.4 tonnes of car so do this when it's at it's most efficient. It uses the least amount of fuel maintaining a steady speed (apart from slowing down). So, using the RPM range stated will efficiently get the car up to speed, quicker so it spends less time accelerating all that weight and more time at an efficient cruise speed. And again most importantly adjust your footing so you are giving the car the lightest throttle input to maintain a steady speed. The throttle is very sensitive. You can actually use nearly twice as much fuel as you need with no gain in speed if your pressing down too much.

Also use good fuel, Shell fuelsave. It has some additives to prevent the formation or carbon on the injectors (not as aggressive as a 3rd part additive or v-power) but also it has a higher cetane rating which means the fuel ignites more easily. This means that it burns more completely which leaves less unbunrnt fuel. Less soot means less frequent DPF purges. A DPF purge means the car will inject fuel into the exhaust to raise the temperatures to burn off the soot in the DPF, essentially using your precious fuel to do other things other than create power. Additionally, in winter diesel contains additives to stop the fuel gelling at low temperatures. I'm not sure if some parts of Scotland has higher concentrations but this additive reduces the calorific power per unit of fuel so you actually need more fuel to create the same amount of power. Again lowering your mpg.

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