2007 T180 Avensis Fuel Economy

[mattwprice]

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry my first post is one that is asking questions.. BUT... I have recently purchased a 2007 T180 Avensis with 52 k miles on the clock. Love the car in alot of ways, but am extremely disappointed in others. Firstly the speed from off is appauling, making pulling away from a T junction or roundabout a dicey thing till around 2000 revs when we have lift off.. From looking at this forum I think that might be due to the EGR valve which I will clean this weekend if I get a chance. The second is the fuel economy. I am averaging around 33 miles per gallon. I can have a heavey right foot along with the best of them but generally I accelerate hard to the speed I want and then change up and cruise. I have been driving as economically as possible, I always leave a good distance between me and the car in front so I am not always on and off the brakes and accelerator and still nothing. I can not get the fuel economy beter than 33 no matter if I am on the motorway or A roads or round town. I am coming from a chipped Seat Toledo Tdi 110 and used to regularly return 50 MPG and didnt hang around. The car was quick from the off and was great. The standard in the Avensis is a step change. Its a real luxury in comparison to what I am used to. I did not however expect petrol economy to achieve that however. I have read other threads here with lost of other people complaining of the same thing, I am unable to find anyone confirming what the reason for the poor fuel economy is. Has a solution been found? Does anyone know of anything that might be the problem. Where should I look. It is NOT my driving, or if it is I am unable to drive in such a fashion that will achieve anything like the claimed figures. At this rate I shall have to seel up and get a different car, which will be a shame to say the least.

Thanks in advance

[Myko]

Welcome Matt,

First of all i'm new to a Toyota Avensis T180 too and also asked that question on the forum. Its a 2007 and has now 28k, I get about 42 MPG. Your EGR will cause the fuel consumption to be worse so that may be causing all your problems.

I drive like an old man most the time, not letting the revs go above 2500

[Pat2u]

Plenty of post in the forum about the EGR i would take a look at them. I have a T180 tourer not been in it for a long while for a long drive due to health problems, i no boy racer but do have a heavy right foot now and again but last time i took it out i averaged 44 mpg, "yes" i feel the EGR needs to be looked at in your case, they are great motors when running in tip top condition.

[nitrochicken]

Hi,

I bought an 07 T180 just over a week ago. When I picked the car up the computer was saying 35mpg average.

I had already read up on EGR valve clean and did this as soon as I got the car home. It was clogged up very badly with only one small hole left.

Yesterday, I filled up for the second time and worked out my mpg to be 44 ish. This is also roughly what the computer was telling me.

I would recommend, you do the same and clean the EGR valve/manifold and hopefully you will achieve similar mpg.

With regard to the slow pulling away issue, I have noticed the same even after EGR clean. I assumed this was a characteristic of turbo diesels as I previously have only had petrols. I have been getting better though, just letting the revs build for a second before pulling off seems to get you away quicker

Thanks

Dale

[adamc260]

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry my first post is one that is asking questions.. BUT... I have recently purchased a 2007 T180 Avensis with 52 k miles on the clock. Love the car in alot of ways, but am extremely disappointed in others. Firstly the speed from off is appauling, making pulling away from a T junction or roundabout a dicey thing till around 2000 revs when we have lift off.. From looking at this forum I think that might be due to the EGR valve which I will clean this weekend if I get a chance. The second is the fuel economy. I am averaging around 33 miles per gallon. I can have a heavey right foot along with the best of them but generally I accelerate hard to the speed I want and then change up and cruise. I have been driving as economically as possible, I always leave a good distance between me and the car in front so I am not always on and off the brakes and accelerator and still nothing. I can not get the fuel economy beter than 33 no matter if I am on the motorway or A roads or round town. I am coming from a chipped Seat Toledo Tdi 110 and used to regularly return 50 MPG and didnt hang around. The car was quick from the off and was great. The standard in the Avensis is a step change. Its a real luxury in comparison to what I am used to. I did not however expect petrol economy to achieve that however. I have read other threads here with lost of other people complaining of the same thing, I am unable to find anyone confirming what the reason for the poor fuel economy is. Has a solution been found? Does anyone know of anything that might be the problem. Where should I look. It is NOT my driving, or if it is I am unable to drive in such a fashion that will achieve anything like the claimed figures. At this rate I shall have to seel up and get a different car, which will be a shame to say the least.

Thanks in advance

I just sold a 2008 corsa 1.2 that would only achieve approx 30mpg... so considering your car is far more powerful I wouldn't say that's so bad but maybe I'm wrong? My auris mind gets about 50mpg from its petrol engine

[mattwprice]

Hi Guys,

Thanks very much for the replies.

I cleaned out the EGR valve tonight and took it for a run down the motorway at just shy of 80 on cruise control and then very gently around uninterupted minor roads. I seem to be getting marginally better mpg but not hugely so.. I am now about 33mpg. The performance from stand still seems no better though. Its early days and I didnt go too far but none the less things arent looking good. My next stop to my mind is the MAF sensor. DOes anyone know if these are prone to faults with the Toyotas?

Thanks again for all your help,

Matt

[Myko]

Hi Matt,

Its a diesel so i'd expect you'd be best taking it for a good drive, ie 50 miles or so and average the MPG on that trip as a diesel takes time to warm up and once warm it runs smoother and uses less fuel.

It is a 2.2 with 180 horse power so you wont get what allot of people get in their smaller 2ltr 130BHP or 150BHP so dont expect you'll ever get 50MPG BUT I get on average 42.8 and I have roof bars attached all the time and once a week a kayak so mine is slightly less than you should get!

Reset your MPG and then go for a long drive giving it enough time to warm up, diesels are nlt the best engine to buy for short commutes!

[Parts-King]

If you want to smooth out the torque and power curve, fit a chip kit to it, gives you much more torque and you can use lighter throttle in almost all circumstances. PM me for more details

Kingo

[caveman_si]

If the car is new to you the first things i would ask is has it been recently serviced? Oil oil/fuel/air filters eetc?

After that the EGR is a good bet for needing a clean. Also pull the ECU fuse leave for a bit to reset it. Let the ECU learn how you drive.

In terms of driving I find that keeping it in a lower gear then you think keeps the MPG up. Ie Up to 60mph I stay in 4th, 5th up to 75-80 and then 6th above that. Try keeping the revs 2-2.5k. Works for me in my T180 tourer. I get 40-42mpg on my commute - mix of town and A roads.

And as Myko said diesel work better once warm so short journeys kill mpg.

[mattwprice]

Well I cleaned out the EGR valve and I seem to have gained a whole 2 MPG .. possibly.. I drove up to Newcastle and back this weekend and saw an average MPG of 35.. Mostly that was at speeds of about 80-85, but trying to drive as fuel economically as possible. When do you guys use 6th gear? Im not sure if when I use it the fuel economy gets worse...

Next thing for me to do as far as I can think of is to put it in for a service and see what Mr Toyota says. I suspect the MAF as there do seem to be flat points within the rev range. Particularly at low level, and this would be well beyond what I would normally expect to experience pre-turbo kicking in. Maybe I am expecting too much, but at these economies i may as well have just bought a petrol car. Have to say though.. REALLY nice drive :-)

[tubaman]

I have had a T180 for the past 18 months - generally speaking, I would use 6th for speeds over 80mph.

If you want decent fuel economy on a motorway, your cruise control is the way forward. as long as you are not too worried about lack of speed, I set mine at circa 55mph in 5th and see anything from 48-52 mpg. IMHO the cruise control on the T180 does a better job of fuel economy on a motorway than I do but it does not like undulations (eg. on some A roads) or small up & downs which you dont really get on a motorway.

Whilst 5th is an overgear, 6th seems to be a pretty high overgear. I bet if you set your cruise control to 80mph in 6th gear you would definately beat 35mpg.

Anyone else agree/disagree ?

[Parts-King]

6th Gear should be used as often as you can, that is what gearing is all about. By often as you can I mean as soon as engine conditions are right. I use 6th on my Verso anything above about 45 MPH. You will see a drop off in MPG above 80 MPH

As for the flat spots, you can see from this Dyno graph, (of an Auris T180) in the left hand pane, you can see the torque curve, the bottom red line is the standard curve which is all over the show, the upper purple line is when we have fitted a chip kit and the torque curve is smoothed out considerably. In the right hand pane, you can see a similar effect on BHP where the lower red line is up and down but the top purple line is much smoother after having a chip kit fitted, also note where maximum torque is, under 2500 revs, so use the torque and try not to rev over 2500 when accelerating as you are just wasting fuel. I'm don't know what you used to drive but I find that owners who previously drove petrol cars tend to drive their diesel in the same manner, and it does require a slightly different driving style, keeping the revs lower and using the torque

Kingo

[Myko]

Kingo,

Does fitting a chip not damage the engine? I thought thats what boy racers do in their small saxo's to make them go faster?

[Parts-King]

Not at all, our kits work well within the manufacturers tolerences, the power is only there when you need it, unlike some cheap kits you buy from auction sites. Those cheap kits work with cheap resistors, they fool the engine into thinking its running colder than it is, therefore causing permanant over fuelling and long term engine/injector damage. At the end of the day you get what you pay for, I would imagine the Saxo drivers going for the cheapest auction item possible

Fitting a chip kit is not a fix all for MPG problems but it can help, we cannot make any claims to better MPG as every driver and the driving conditions he encounters are different, however we do have anecdotal evidence from our own customers that if you change your driving style slightly, and use the new found torque, then it is possible to see small improvements in MPG.

We are able to supply chip kits for MOST Toyota D4D models, please PM me with your email address and I can send you more details by email if you are interested

Kingo

[tubaman]

I think most drivers that know what they are doing would be very wary of using a very high gear (6th) at too low an engine speed for the extra strain it would put on the engine.

Whilst it would in theory produce much better ecomony I would far rather use 5th at say 50mph than 6th.

[Parts-King]

Of course, that goes without saying, thats what I said about the right engine conditions. Labouring an engine is worse than revving it hard, but only the driver will know if its labouring, there is no way in the world that you couldnt get into 6th at 50mph, unless you were going uphill,

Kingo

[mattwprice]

HI,

I'm generally putting it into 6th around 70 as I seem to have to put my foot down more to maintain speed when in sixth.. Could just be my imagination. I have tried switching between 5th and 6th at the same speeds on cruise control, but always found i wasnt replicating incline, bend etc.. All very confusing. Last night on my way home I thought I needed to get the tracking done in addition to everything else as I seemed to be pulling to one side, which I thought could have been due to the camber of the road ( It was tipping it down last night also), but when i went out this morning i was presented with a half flat, so had to go get that repaired. Had that done now, booked the car in for a service and a half hour look at the problem... so thats another £200 odd gone.. Kingo, I may be interested in a chip box, but the whole reason for getting this car was that I would have enough power without chipping (My last car was a Seat Toledo TDI 110 2001 which I had chipped and loved, better power and better fuel economy.. everyone was a winner!) and I am not sure of the impact on insurance. Any further ideas or comments welcome. At this stage I am suspecting the MAF or a change in vehicle.

[T Sport 1978]

If the car is new to you the first things i would ask is has it been recently serviced? Oil oil/fuel/air filters eetc?

After that the EGR is a good bet for needing a clean. Also pull the ECU fuse leave for a bit to reset it. Let the ECU learn how you drive.

In terms of driving I find that keeping it in a lower gear then you think keeps the MPG up. Ie Up to 60mph I stay in 4th, 5th up to 75-80 and then 6th above that. Try keeping the revs 2-2.5k. Works for me in my T180 tourer. I get 40-42mpg on my commute - mix of town and A roads.

And as Myko said diesel work better once warm so short journeys kill mpg.

I have to agree with Caveman's comment on leaving it on higher gear than common wisdom...

I have the 2.2 T180 Auris and i find that the car is MUCH happier in 1 lower gear than what i would have done had i followed the common wisdom on gear usage.

For example driving around town at 30mph, it would easily do 4th gear but i find it is happier and better economically in 3rd (around 2k rpm).

The thing with 6th gear - As far as i am concerned it is a cruising gear for above at least 60mph, I do all my working/acceleration in 5th on the motorway when up to speed. I find if i try and pull in 6th there is a clatter that tells me the engine is labouring, I try to avoid this and generally my car is a happy car.

My overall MPG since september 2009 is 38.3MPG, best being 43 MPG over one tank and worst being 33 MPG.

I think the 2.2 is just very sensitive to driving conditions and your style of driving, it was never going to achieve the 45.6 quoted figure for 99% of real world driving. If i really REALLY tried i could do 45.6MPG, but this is not real world driving.

[tubaman]

I think my car must be unusual as I frequently travel upto Keswick from the Blackpool area (circa 91 miles each way), I set my cruise at 55mph in 5th and regularly achieve high 40's to early 50's mpg. I also fill up tank to tank so I know my figures are broadly accurate.

General fast A road and I`m in the early 40's (43 usually). Around town (average 19mph) and its anything from 33-38mpg depending on the temperature (low mpg's in winter) and the number of stop/starts.

In my opinion, putting the car in 6th under say 75mph is a waste of time, its really a high overgear and I would never dream of doing it around 50mph for a variety of reasons although clearly I could do.

The engine is quite flat under about 1800rpm (before the turbo kicks in) - I`m certain a decent made and properly mapped chip would help the situation. I would consider buying one tomorrow BUT for the potential insurance issues which we dont seem to have had a clear response on.

[mloc]

I have a 2003 Avensis 2.0 litre D4D diesel and I'm getting 55mpg out of it most times. Sometimes it can be as high as 65mpg. I would put his down to the way I drive it.

I drive between 50mph and 60mph all the time...(can't drive any faster on the crap roads we have here in Ireland.) I was once told that the optimal efficiency for the best miles per gallon for all cars is set at 55mph and I believe in it thoroughly. So if you keep your speed around this limit, your miles per gallon should improve.

[mattwprice]

I have a 2003 Avensis 2.0 litre D4D diesel and I'm getting 55mpg out of it most times. Sometimes it can be as high as 65mpg. I would put his down to the way I drive it.

I drive between 50mph and 60mph all the time...(can't drive any faster on the crap roads we have here in Ireland.) I was once told that the optimal efficiency for the best miles per gallon for all cars is set at 55mph and I believe in it thoroughly. So if you keep your speed around this limit, your miles per gallon should improve.

I think that is the difference between the 2.0 and the T180.. Am getting quite annoyed by this now.. :-(

[tubaman]

Don't forget, the T180's have much more power & torque. It's unrealistic to really expect similar mpg figures to the 2 litre models.

[theoilburner]

Don't forget, the T180's have much more power & torque. It's unrealistic to really expect similar mpg figures to the 2 litre models.

True, but lows 30s for the T180 still seems very poor. My 1.8 petrol is showing 37.1 mpg at the minute, with mixed driving. I've seen it show mid 40s on a long motorway run. Ok, the performance isn't anything to get excited about, but even so!

If the 2.2 T180 really is this thirsty it's no wonder Toyota are replacing it with a detuned 2.2 diesel for better economy, I would be gutted to have a diesel that did less than 50mpg.

I previously had a Vectra C 1.9 CDTI with 150bhp that averaged 51.1mpg over the 35k miles I owned it. Only marginally slower than the T180 too.

What's going on with Toyota diesel engines, I would consider a diesel Avensis for my next car, but the T180 seems a turkey?

[LEIGH T180]

I have had my 56 reg T180 for about 3000 miles or so.

I agree it really depends on how you drive it.

My mpg's have ranged from 36mpg to 47mpg.

My 36 was me having a bad week with work and driving it quite hard. I noticed at one point I was doing over 100 mph (private road ;) ) and actually spent a week driving around without caring about mpg.

I would say I mostly get 42-44 mpg, this is 20% A-roads and rest motorway.

My one and only time of getting 47 mpg - I haven't a clue. I must have sat behind a lorry.

All my figures are based per tank.

[tubaman]

"I previously had a Vectra C 1.9 CDTI with 150bhp that averaged 51.1mpg over the 35k miles I owned it. Only marginally slower than the T180 too."

I would lay money that the Vectra that averaged 51.1mpg didn't have all the fancy emision/particulate reducing filter gear that the T180 has (apparently its a very clean engine). If all that stuff was taken off the T180 (which it cant) I bet your mpg would improve substantially.