Opel Astra high fuel consumption

alanc2003

Are there any 2011 1.4vvt astra sc owners who could help me? I have had this car back to opel a couple of times over excessive fuel consumption but they keep telling me the car is fine. the fuel consumption seems to averaging over 10l per 100km with a good bit of motorway driving. According to opel it should be averaging 5.5l combined per 100km. Thats highly unlikely I know but i would be expecting better than 10l. Im pulling my hair out at this stage cos im convinced there is somthing wrong but opel tell me otherwise. Any suggestions?

anthony4335

Possible fuel issue ,excessive ethanol. Other issues are the ignition module (coil packs) or spark plugs, Or temp sensor (may think that the engine is running cold all the time) should be easy to spot this one using a diagnostic device.

Ronnie Beck

alanc2003 wrote: »

the fuel consumption seems to averaging over 10l per 100km

Have you worked it out properly or are you just using the computer reading?

alanc2003

anthony4335 wrote: »

Possible fuel issue ,excessive ethanol. Other issues are the ignition module (coil packs) or spark plugs, Or temp sensor (may think that the engine is running cold all the time) should be easy to spot this one using a diagnostic device.

well according to opel they ran the diagnostic check and it didnt show up anything.I dont have much faith in them tho as i had it back for a cruise control issue(would work randomly). According to the check they did there was nothing wrong! eventually after being back 3 times, i told them to take the car and drive it themselves. sure enough they found the problem then, a spring had gone in the pedal:mad: should i just bring it to a local mechanic because opel are beyond useless!

alanc2003

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

Have you worked it out properly or are you just using the computer reading?

would you believe on a 2011 model it actually doesnt have a trip computer, doesnt even tell you are low on washer fluid! its not even the base model. I had to work it out manually. Seems to be doing just over 10l per 100km. thats blatant false advertising by opel in that case.

listermint

Are you confident on your maths ?


What process are you using to determine the figure as it does as you say sound very excessive. My mothers petrol RAV 4 does that sort of figures.

alanc2003

listermint wrote: »

Are you confident on your maths ?


What process are you using to determine the figure as it does as you say sound very excessive. My mothers petrol RAV 4 does that sort of figures.

yep, fairly confident. i waited till the warning light came on.i took note of how many litres i put in and set the odometer to zero. when the warning light went on again i checked the mileage. i did that a few times just to be sure! always working out just over the 10l

Ronnie Beck

If your sure bring it too a a decent local mechanic then. Could be a good old fashioned mechanical problem and opel cant see beyond their scanner.

ION08

alanc2003 wrote: »

yep, fairly confident. i waited till the warning light came on.i took note of how many litres i put in and set the odometer to zero. when the warning light went on again i checked the mileage. i did that a few times just to be sure! always working out just over the 10l

That's not exactly the most conlusively scientific method youre going by either.

Brim the tank, reset trip to 0, drive until nearly empty and brim it again, take note of mileage.

The amount of fuel that it takes to brim the tank the second time is the exact amount of fuel you used to travel X miles/kms indicated on your trip computer.

You can work out your consumption a lot more accurately this way.

Also 10L/100km average isnt extremely unrealistic for a 1.4 astra.

Manufacturers figures really need to be taken with a pinch of salt as they are in optimum conditions on flat ground, mininal drag constant speeds etc. they are just marketing tools reallt.

My GF's 1.0 Micra averages 6.8/100km in "real life" driving.

Averaging 5.5/100 in a 1.4 astra is a lot more unrealistic than averaging 10/100km

alanc2003

ION08 wrote: »

That's not exactly the most conlusively scientific method youre going by either.

Brim the tank, reset trip to 0, drive until nearly empty and brim it again, take note of mileage.

The amount of fuel that it takes to brim the tank the second time is the exact amount of fuel you used to travel X miles/kms indicated on your trip computer.

You can work out your consumption a lot more accurately this way.

Also 10L/100km average isnt extremely unrealistic for a 1.4 astra.

Manufacturers figures really need to be taken with a pinch of salt as they are in optimum conditions on flat ground, mininal drag constant speeds etc. they are just marketing tools reallt.

My GF's 1.0 Micra averages 6.8/100km in "real life" driving.

Averaging 5.5/100 in a 1.4 astra is a lot more unrealistic than averaging 10/100km

well its the best idea i could think of as the car doesnt have its own trip computer. i realise 5.5 would be a bit of a stretch but from looking around the web the average usage seems to be 6.7 per 100km. i know my calculation method might not be exact but i doubt im 3ltrs out per 100km! on a full tank, which is 56 litres on a drive up and down to belfast i got 550km. i have on 06 1.4 focus which does better mileage than that!

Atlantic Dawn

Are you buying petrol from the same station all the time? Could be dud fuel.

Do you use 5th gear at al?

MuppetCheck

How fast are you going on the motorway? The last 1.6 5 speed car I had would do 27mpg (slightly worse than yours) at 140kph on the motorway with cruise control on as it was revving so high. Small petrols and 5 speed gearboxes aren't good motorway tools.

alanc2003

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Are you buying petrol from the same station all the time? Could be dud fuel.

Do you use 5th gear at al?

Yep same station mostly. Yes I use 5th gear as much as possible. I think I have bought a dud

alanc2003

MuppetCheck wrote: »

How fast are you going on the motorway? The last 1.6 5 speed car I had would do 27mpg (slightly worse than yours) at 140kph on the motorway with cruise control on as it was revving so high. Small petrols and 5 speed gearboxes aren't good motorway tools.

I'd say between 120 to 130kph on the motorway. I would have thought it wud be alright on the juice on the motorway but apparently not!

MuppetCheck

You're hitting 3k rpm plus at that speed I'm assuming?

jimgoose

MuppetCheck wrote: »

You're hitting 3k rpm plus at that speed I'm assuming?

You'll hit 3.5K and more at that speed with a 1.4 five-speed. This amazes some people, but caning a little car like that along at 90mph on the motorway will ate fuel!

alanc2003

jimgoose wrote: »

You'll hit 3.5K and more at that speed with a 1.4 five-speed. This amazes some people, but caning a little car like that along at 90mph on the motorway will ate fuel!

if the car could get to 90mph id be doing well! i wouldn't say 120kph is exactly caning it but there ya go. it drives very smoothly at that speed

anyway my point was that i think its excessive fuel use.for comparison i have an 06 1.4 focus which does about 8l/100. my mate has a 1.4 golf that does about 7l/100. opel claim it does 5.5l/100 and from a bit of research most astra owners claim its doing about 6.7l/100. my one is currently doing about 10l/100. all i was wondering was there any astra owners on here experiencing the same issue as opel have been no help

Autosport

Take it to a different opel garage if you can. I'm shocked that you dont have a trip computer as i had 2011 astra diesel and it did.

alanc2003

Autosport wrote: »

Take it to a different opel garage if you can. I'm shocked that you dont have a trip computer as i had 2011 astra diesel and it did.

im not sure why it doesnt have one either, the menu button is there for it. doesnt do anything tho. how was the astra diesel? was that economical?

MuppetCheck

SC models didn't have it, but the funny thing is that there's one fitted. It just needs to be enabled...

No way the 1.4 golf is doing 7l at 120 either as an average.

It sounds like the fuel usage is excessive, but not wildly so.

alanc2003

MuppetCheck wrote: »

SC models didn't have it, but the funny thing is that there's one fitted. It just needs to be enabled...

No way the 1.4 golf is doing 7l at 120 either as an average.

It sounds like the fuel usage is excessive, but not wildly so.

I'm saying combined usage, he wud prob do a lot more urban driving. its still way better than what I'm getting for the same size engines in both golf and focus, which are both 5 years older

caz25

Do you know anyone that could enable those functions?:D
I have a 2012 Astra that doesn't have these options :eek:

MuppetCheck wrote: »

SC models didn't have it, but the funny thing is that there's one fitted. It just needs to be enabled...

No way the 1.4 golf is doing 7l at 120 either as an average.

It sounds like the fuel usage is excessive, but not wildly so.

Jesus.

Not calling the OP a liar, its just that he mightn't notice it. But he must be killing that little engine out on the Motorway. Probably doing around the 90 mark without really realizing it. Probably tears the arse out of her in low gears too. I have a mate who revs the absolute sh*t out of his little Fiesta. I'm surprised the engine hasn't melted at this stage.

But even at that, despite flogging it half to death, 28 mpg still seems pitiful.

Best get to a decent mechanic.

MuppetCheck

caz25 wrote: »

Do you know anyone that could enable those functions?:D
I have a 2012 Astra that doesn't have these options :eek:

Have a read through this thread it might give you an idea. I'd imagine someone somewhere should be able to do it if you're in for a service.

http://www.astraownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?107532-Activate-trip-computer-astra-j-(1-7-cdti-exclusiv)&highlight=Trip+computer

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

How fast are you going on the motorway? The last 1.6 5 speed car I had would do 27mpg (slightly worse than yours) at 140kph on the motorway with cruise control on as it was revving so high. Small petrols and 5 speed gearboxes aren't good motorway tools.

My 2001 1.6 5 speed, does about 34-35mpg at 120km/h in 5th and pulling 3.5k revs.


27mpg is shocking.

Jesus.

166man wrote: »

27mpg is shocking.

Agreed. Muppet, there was something wrong there as well mate.

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

My 2001 1.6 5 speed, does about 34-35mpg at 120km/h in 5th and pulling 3.5k revs.


27mpg is shocking.

They are different speeds you're comparing there. It would do similar to the figure above at 120. Don't see the relevance of comparing them two different things on a two month old post tbh.

MuppetCheck

Jesus. wrote: »

Agreed. Muppet, there was something wrong there as well mate.

There was nothing wrong with it. That was normal for the car. 166man is saying what his does at 120 to what an old car of mine did at 140 - of course it's going to be worse. Most people could see that it would be.

ednwireland

i've driven a few of that age astras (usually 1.6) as rentals and they do some to get through juice (uk motorways) (not as bad as hyundai getz i had a few months ago with stop start mind)

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

They are different speeds you're comparing there. It would do similar to the figure above at 120. Don't see the relevance of comparing them two different things on a two month old post tbh.

Not as a big a difference between 120 and 140 as you seem to believe. Mine will still do 32mpg roughly at that speed and mine's a twin spark, you should know that they're not renowned for their fuel economy so I'd have thought 27mpg is fairly poor, must have been driving the arse out of it tbh.

Don't really see what the time difference between posts has to do with anything, I was comparing posts regardless of when it was posted.

Jesus.

MuppetCheck wrote: »

There was nothing wrong with it. That was normal for the car. 166man is saying what his does at 120 to what an old car of mine did at 140 - of course it's going to be worse. Most people could see that it would be.

27mpg is still desperate Muppet

MuppetCheck

Jesus. wrote: »

27mpg is still desperate Muppet

Im in total agreement with you. One of the reasons it got sold!

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

Not as a big a difference between 120 and 140 as you seem to believe. Mine will still do 32mpg roughly at that speed and mine's a twin spark, you should know that they're not renowned for their fuel economy so I'd have thought 27mpg is fairly poor, must have been driving the arse out of it tbh.

Don't really see what the time difference between posts has to do with anything, I was comparing posts regardless of when it was posted.

I wasn't driving the arse out of it. That's pretty hard to do on a motorway with cruise control on. You've said that line in the past when I have quoted MPG figures. I have been driving a long time 166man, I know how to drive. I was over the limit and the high revs caused this consumption.

As for the time difference I was just highlighting it knowing how you like to have a pop at me whenever you can either on here or via abusive pms (remember that ban?). Picking a two month old post, misquoted in the way only you can do, stinks of that again to me.

Hugs and kisses.

Over and out.

cabb8ge

166man wrote: »

Not as a big a difference between 120 and 140 as you seem to believe. Mine will still do 32mpg roughly at that speed and mine's a twin spark-

166man wrote: »

My 2001 1.6 5 speed, does about 34-35mpg at 120km/h in 5th and pulling 3.5k revs.


.

Only 10% extra fuel usage when speed increased from 120km/h to 140km/h?
considering aerodynamic effect is akin to exponential model (exagerated) I struggle to find your claim factual.
Am wondering how do you determine these mpg figures? Can you tell me please? Car display or calculate?

derry

Yes 28MPG is ridiculous even my 1999 fiat SX aspirated 1400 engine will be slightly more than 30MPG at ~130KPH ( tested in EU mainland motorway regions )

1.4 engine is fine for motor ways if car is empty for daily commutes they eat up the miles no sweat.

Modern 1.4 like that should be easy 8/100k at 120kph probably more like 7/100k at 120kph

Need more info assume you bought he 2011 car in 2013 recently

What is the mileage on it and has the timing belt been changed yet .
Whats its service record

I suspect the car has been thrashed before you got it or has ballooned by some bad mechanic or has been given some really bad fuel that has created problems ..

The bad fuel can come from putting Diesel in the mix by accident or accidentally putting in E85 fuel or if car was left unused for long period the fuel could have gone bad and then car when driven was using really crap fuel .
Bad fuel can screw up oxygen sensor and other important parts so fuel consumption goes orbital (E85 fuel hasn't been around since 2010 I think so not likely to be the problem )

The thrashing well some people have ability to use cars and can thrash them always in low gears and rev the crap out of them..This can overheat the CAT and worse if they drive through big water puddles with very hot CAT this can thrash cat and this will send the fuel figures through the roof ( A CAT that has multi colours on the metal casing is thrashed )

Boboon mechanics Ireland is chock a block with them and I wont bore with the horror stories I know off .

The usual baldly fitted items are timing chains belts, Wrong engine mapping wrong filters, and filters in the wrong way , wrong spark plugs wrong timing ,wrong oils, wrong gaskets on important parts and one time they sent my father home in car with no brake fluid in the system lucky he always used the gears to stop car from habituate so he got home OK .

if its second hand car look for crash damage like did oil sump get taken out and car run with no oil for too long . If you can check compression .
If there is crash damage then its any bodies guess what got done to car .Sometimes another engine is put in so the log book is where to look for that .

My father bought a second hand one year old BMW from a reputable dealer and didn't have it checked out .I drove it and it pulled to the left and i told him there was something not right and to have it checked .Anyway he hit something the next week while in car park and the repair people found the car was previously severely crashed and rebuilt car with a still bent frame that was never straightened out properly .So the car got fixed properly and drove perfectly straight after that .

My instincts are CAT is stuffed or oxygen sensors is stuffed or mapping is wrong or worst is the timing chain is wrong or has slipped


Derry

Jesus.

derry wrote: »

1.4 engine is fine for motor ways if car is empty for daily commutes they eat up the miles no sweat.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that Derry. Perhaps modern TSI's or something but not older engines. In a small, light car (supermini) they might be sufficient but not in something bigger. I have a 10 year old 1.6 and its just not up to Motorway driving to be honest. Well, not in comfort anyway.

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I wasn't driving the arse out of it. That's pretty hard to do on a motorway with cruise control on. You've said that line in the past when I have quoted MPG figures. I have been driving a long time 166man, I know how to drive. I was over the limit and the high revs caused this consumption.

As for the time difference I was just highlighting it knowing how you like to have a pop at me whenever you can either on here or via abusive pms (remember that ban?). Picking a two month old post, misquoted in the way only you can do, stinks of that again to me.

Hugs and kisses.

Over and out.

I only compared a supposedly uneconomical twin spark engine to the car you're on about. Just noting how when I push it up on towards 140km/h I still maintain 32mpgish in my car. I was mainly noting how bad 27mpg must be if mine can do over 30, just thought you must have been driving it heavy to get that fuel economy, not that you're a bad driver, never said that anywhere.


I actually didn't even look at the date and just replied to the post, make what you wish of that but I really have better things to do then to spend my days trying to stir stuff really. As for the ban I do indeed remember it but don't worry, so do the mods and people know of the ''abusive pm's'' and believe me, I certainly don't look a fool.

I also didn't misquote, merely commented on how bad 27mpg is.

But yeah the last thing I want is another ban so over and out as you say. Sorry for derailing OP, this will be left right here and no more to be said. Sorry!

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

I certainly don't look a fool.

If you say so.

cabb8ge

166man wrote: »

---Just noting how when I push it up on towards 140km/h I still maintain 32mpgish in my car. [///

How do you derive at this infomation? summisation ?

166man

cabb8ge wrote: »

How do you derive at this infomation? summisation ?

I'm sorry but who are you? You consistently post rubbish with respect to many of my posts so I have zero interest in replying to any of yours, I ignored the first one so lets just leave it.

Cheers

cabb8ge

So you cannot share how 32mpg figure at 140kph was found?
Maybe perhaps becasue it is rubbish figure
Why does who I am matter, I on boards.ie same as you

166man wrote: »

---

and just replied to the post, make what you wish of that but I really have better things to do then to spend my days trying to stir stuff really. --. Sorry!

Ok for you to reply to posts but not ok for me or others?

GavMan

Can get at least 35mpg out of my 1.6 147

Try another dealer, get a 2nd opinion from a good indy.

If he finds a problem, write yourself a letter of complaint to Opel Ireland

alanc2003

well i finally got rid of it, its someone elses problem now. got a 1.6 focus diesel. it does nearly twice the milegage and is €25 cheaper to fill

MuppetCheck

alanc2003 wrote: »

well i finally got rid of it, its someone elses problem now. got a 1.6 focus diesel. it does nearly twice the milegage and is €25 cheaper to fill

It's not cheaper to fill - that depends on how much you put into it based on size of the tank and whatever is in it!

It has a smaller tank than the Astra but you will get more mpg. Best of luck with the new car. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the DPF requirements and service requirements for that particular engine. It's worth a search here. Either way best of luck with the new car.

alanc2003

MuppetCheck wrote: »

It's not cheaper to fill - that depends on how much you put into it based on size of the tank and whatever is in it!

It has a smaller tank than the Astra but you will get more mpg. Best of luck with the new car. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the DPF requirements and service requirements for that particular engine. It's worth a search here. Either way best of luck with the new car.

Sorry, yep its a smaller tank alright but each trip to the petrol station is costing €25 less and im going alot further on the smaller tank. im just happy to be rid of it though, i was just throwing money away with the astra