What could cause bad petrol consumption

Iseedeadpixels

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.


I'm at my wits end with my cars consumption, it seems to be getting worse every week, it's a 1.4 Honda Civic 2005 4 door saloon, at the moment the tank is at just under half and I've only done about 290 kilometres since Thursday, tyres are at correct pressure and the the car is booked for a service, I bought it in August I think just after it passed the NCT so never serviced it but the consumption was nowhere near that bad, any other issues known to civics or petrol cars that could cause bad consumption?


Thanks in advance.

Del2005

The first thing that you need to do is calculate your actual fuel consumption. Do this by brimming the tank and then driving for a few hundred km then rebrim the tank, to be extra needy you can use the same pump and do a few to average out. Once you have your MPG then you can find out if its good or bad.

A quick check you can do is see if your wheels are hot after a run. If any or all are hot then check them out.

_Brian

Start with a full service.

Make sure the mechanic knows your concerns. Ask him to check dragging breaks etc.

What sort of journies are you doing ?? Loads of short hops are brutal for fuel consumption.

Iseedeadpixels

Del2005 wrote: »

The first thing that you need to do is calculate your actual fuel consumption. Do this by brimming the tank and then driving for a few hundred km then rebrim the tank, to be extra needy you can use the same pump and do a few to average out. Once you have your MPG then you can find out if its good or bad.

A quick check you can do is see if your wheels are hot after a run. If any or all are hot then check them out.

Thats the plan this week, I'll check the tyres out later.

_Brian wrote: »

Start with a full service.

Make sure the mechanic knows your concerns. Ask him to check dragging breaks etc.

What sort of journies are you doing ?? Loads of short hops are brutal for fuel consumption.

Kinda mixed, I have an extra 90 kilometres so far due to xmas shopping(motorway) usually its filled Thursday afternoon then a 10 min drive home, later that evening its a 5 min drive to the gym and back.


Friday is a 10 min drive to work then a drive from Tallaght to Coolock and back in the evening on the motorway.


Saturday and Sunday morning will be limited to the shop etc and sunday eve is another drive from Tallaght to Coolock and back.


Monday to Thursday again will be the usual 10 mins in the morning and evening with the gym run twice and the odd 5 min drive for lunch.

rgodard80a

Have you tried any of those injector cleaning treatments, adding a bottle of additive to a full fuel tank.

I tried one recently and it wasn't great.. think it was "Liqui Moly".

I remember using https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/gasoline-fuel-system/bg-44k-fuel-system-cleaner/ in the past, and tried ordering it but Amazon won't ship it to Ireland.

Maybe someone has a better recommendation?

But I imagine the cold weather, maybe turning on the aircon/heater to demist the windows, increased traffic in December etc, will affect fuel consumption.

Isambard

is it leaking? first thing to check

vandriver

Fuel consumption is going to be bad with how horrendous the traffic has been this month.

Iseedeadpixels

Isambard wrote: »

is it leaking? first thing to check

I've tried but it has rained so much it's hard to check.

vandriver wrote: »

Fuel consumption is going to be bad with how horrendous the traffic has been this month.

Traffic where I live is always bad

antodeco

When were the spark plugs last changed? Also the air filter?

Also, what is your driving style? When do you change gear (revs wise) and how do you accelerate/brake?

Something to try also is red line it and clear out any carbon build up. The italian tune up is something i swear by!

FDave

Fuel consumption will always be worse in colder weather. All good sugestions above. New plugs can restore a few mpg if your set are bad enough. When you are getting it serviced ask the mechanic to test the emissions to see if its a fueling problem . Lambda should be around 1 and low HC emissions. Fresh oil will help consumption too or maybe the car needs to be tracked.

Iseedeadpixels

Cheers lads honestly no idea when it was last serviced as I bought it 4 months ago after it passed a NCT, any good recommendations for a Mechanic in Tallaght for servicing?

mikeecho

rgodard80a wrote: »

Have you tried any of ....


remember using https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/gasoline-fuel-system/bg-44k-fuel-system-cleaner/ in the past, and tried ordering it but Amazon won't ship it to Ireland.

Maybe someone has a better recommendation?
.

If you're looking for BG44k or BG 244,

Try www.powerenhancer.co.uk and use parcel motel.

Always works for me, and if you use promo "Club " that's 10% off.

But if u use "Santa20" you'll get 20% off until the new yr
And if buying Archoil stuff, use Santa25 for 25% off.

That's just the info I got in their last email.


Great company to deal with.


If you want to go with a cheaper option like RedEx, look in your local MrPrice , they usually have it behind the counter.
http://www.mrprice.ie

RedEx isn't listed online In mrprice , but I have seen it in store.

Iseedeadpixels

Quick update: The tank is near empty coming up to 450 kilometres, so at 50 litres my MPG is about 25

seamus

Saw my consumption skyrocket when my clutch started to die. Worth checking out.

Iseedeadpixels

seamus wrote: »

Saw my consumption skyrocket when my clutch started to die. Worth checking out.

Getting it serviced this weekend I'll ask him to check it out thanks.

Heres Johnny

If you used 50 litres covering 450km that's 9 km per litre or 11 litres per 100km which is about 25/26 mpg so you have it right.
Sitting in bad traffic as you said all the time, plus the fact you are doing 5 to 10 minute drives mostly, I bet there's nothing wrong with your car at all.

It's cold outside, your engine is always cold, you're in traffic.........its a 2005 car too.
I don't think you've a problem with the car, just your driving style doesn't suit good economy at all.

Iseedeadpixels

Heres Johnny wrote: »

If you used 50 litres covering 450km that's 9 km per litre or 11 litres per 100km which is about 25/26 mpg so you have it right.
Sitting in bad traffic as you said all the time, plus the fact you are doing 5 to 10 minute drives mostly, I bet there's nothing wrong with your car at all.

It's cold outside, your engine is always cold, you're in traffic.........its a 2005 car too.
I don't think you've a problem with the car, just your driving style doesn't suit good economy at all.

With the driving I was doing I was getting bout 650km up until 3 weeks ago, it started after I got petrol in Applegreen in Jobstown for the first time so I originally put it down to bad petrol but I went back to Topaz after that and it hasnt changed.

corks finest

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Cheers lads honestly no idea when it was last serviced as I bought it 4 months ago after it passed a NCT, any good recommendations for a Mechanic in Tallaght for servicing?

FFS first thing always,but always service a car ones just bought,can't believe anyone ref service history etc,at least do the oil/ filter ASAP

corks finest

corks finest wrote: »

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Cheers lads honestly no idea when it was last serviced as I bought it 4 months ago after it passed a NCT, any good recommendations for a Mechanic in Tallaght for servicing?

FFS first thing always,but always service a car ones just bought,can't believe anyone ref service history etc,at least do the oil/ filter ASAP

, Purchase a vacuum pump,basic tools set,and you tube has loads of information,if bobs are tight

_Brian

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Thats the plan this week, I'll check the tyres out later.





Kinda mixed, I have an extra 90 kilometres so far due to xmas shopping(motorway) usually its filled Thursday afternoon then a 10 min drive home, later that evening its a 5 min drive to the gym and back.


Friday is a 10 min drive to work then a drive from Tallaght to Coolock and back in the evening on the motorway.


Saturday and Sunday morning will be limited to the shop etc and sunday eve is another drive from Tallaght to Coolock and back.


Monday to Thursday again will be the usual 10 mins in the morning and evening with the gym run twice and the odd 5 min drive for lunch.

That sort of trips will be hard on fuel, car barely warmed up and your done. Still worth getting a service though.

Iseedeadpixels

_Brian wrote: »

That sort of trips will be hard on fuel, car barely warmed up and your done. Still worth getting a service though.

Booked tomorrow with a mechanic I've used a lot who hasn't let me down, he will call me out and point out anything wrong etc.

corks finest

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

_Brian wrote: »

That sort of trips will be hard on fuel, car barely warmed up and your done. Still worth getting a service though.

Booked tomorrow with a mechanic I've used a lot who hasn't let me down, he will call me out and point out anything wrong etc.

Best of luck

unkel

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Quick update: The tank is near empty coming up to 450 kilometres, so at 50 litres my MPG is about 25

What do you mean nearly empty? Did you do the brimming test? When you think it's near empty, it could have 50km left for all we know meaning close enough to 30MPG which is excellent for your bad traffic driving in winter in a slightly older car

I'm with Heres Johnny. Probably nothing wrong here. Don't waste your money diagnosing problems that aren't there.

Iseedeadpixels

unkel wrote: »

What do you mean nearly empty? Did you do the brimming test? When you think it's near empty, it could have 50km left for all we know meaning close enough to 30MPG which is excellent for your bad traffic driving in winter in a slightly older car

I'm with Heres Johnny. Probably nothing wrong here. Don't waste your money diagnosing problems that aren't there.

Was at 405km with a range of 50 left, by the time of refill, the petrol light was on at 427km

unkel

In most cars you have at leat 50km left when the light comes on, so you're talking very close to 30mpg / 1l per 10 km. Which is par for the course for your driving. But if you want to have more precise figures, you have to use the brimming method.

Why are you in a crappy Honda BTW, didn't you use to have a nice Saab?

Iseedeadpixels

unkel wrote: »

In most cars you have at leat 50km left when the light comes on, so you're talking very close to 30mpg / 1l per 10 km. Which is par for the course for your driving. But if you want to have more precise figures, you have to use the brimming method.

Why are you in a crappy Honda BTW, didn't you use to have a nice Saab?

Never owned a Saab always wanted one anyway for anyone that cares for an update, mechanic said car hadnt been serviced in ages getting an extra 100km atm after the service with the same kind of mixed driving and some up and down mountains driving, I'm happy enough with the extra mileage, thanks for all the advice

corks finest

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

unkel wrote: »

In most cars you have at leat 50km left when the light comes on, so you're talking very close to 30mpg / 1l per 10 km. Which is par for the course for your driving. But if you want to have more precise figures, you have to use the brimming method.

Why are you in a crappy Honda BTW, didn't you use to have a nice Saab?

Never owned a Saab always wanted one anyway for anyone that cares for an update, mechanic said car hadnt been serviced in ages getting an extra 100km atm after the service with the same kind of mixed driving and some up and down mountains driving, I'm happy enough with the extra mileage, thanks for all the advice

Saab equals Opel ( Vectra/had 2) honda by far more reliable

fancy pigeon

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Never owned a Saab always wanted one anyway for anyone that cares for an update, mechanic said car hadnt been serviced in ages getting an extra 100km atm after the service with the same kind of mixed driving and some up and down mountains driving, I'm happy enough with the extra mileage, thanks for all the advice

Did you check if the tyres are under inflated?

Iseedeadpixels

fancy pigeon wrote: »

Did you check if the tyres are under inflated?

I did about a week before this post, they were all at 27psi so pumped them up to 32.