Mpg Woeful On Motorway.

[Daveyonthemove]

220 miles?

If mine doesn't see 300 miles before i reach half a tank then i'm annoyed!

[Cyker]

I nominate this man for contribution of the year 2011

Why thank you :D

In my defence, there was more there, but for some reason the in-line editor ate them

[baba_metca]

"Badgers" I do believe that your car is the black sheep in the production line. Sorry for that you got the short straw :( , may be some high level Toyota manager should get that car so that they see that they too have bad cars leaving the factory. The things that broke on you car are so many that it's just shame for Toyota. My girlfriends 2.0 d4d 93KW Auris just returned 47.8mpg and she is not very good at that. This figures were achieved with 100miles on a motorway (average 70mph), 160miles on an A road (average 55mph) and 190miles city driving. This is really close to the factory figures.

[Badgers]

Thats my 4th tank of fuel in those 680mls (admittedly not always empty when filled) of mostly motorway driving

I took that last week after completing a journey from Glasgow to just south of Ashford, Kent. I don't find it that inaccurate.

[Rick D4D]

Mate I know how you feel mansfield - swindon (around 130miles) T180 did 32mpg but CRZ on the way back did 49.3mpg

[baba_metca]

Have you tried taking a toyota's mechanic to an one hour trip. He could drive. You could even pay toyota a one hour wage for that man, but then you and they will have some kind of a proof that the car is spending too much fuel. Or you could see that the driving style of the car is not for you and just sell it, knowing that there is nothing wrong, but it's just not for you.

[T Sport 1978]

There is something wrong with these cars.

You can't have people (from a long run) able to achieve 43mpg whilst you can only achieve 28, it is obvious and needs attention.

[Rick D4D]

There is something wrong with these cars.

You can't have people (from a long run) able to achieve 43mpg whilst you can only achieve 28, it is obvious and needs attention.

tell me about it we used to get 45MPG easy enough on a steady run and when I took our T180 130 miles mainly motorway to get the CRZ we only got 32MPG yet on our short work journeys what are less than 5miles each way we still get 30-32MPG. Now this does not make sense to me but I did suspect that something was wrong with the DPF as I cant see where all the fuel is going but Toyota assured me it all checked out ok.

Here is the thread from when I took our car back to Toyota about the sudden loss in MPG http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110857&st=0 TBH not much to say about it other than I was told nothing was wrong with the car and its our driving etc.

[Daveyonthemove]

I'm really shocked at your pictures, that sort of MPG could be beaten by a lot of big thirsty petrol engines.

A few things i always do when i change cars is:

Check and clean EGR if needed.

Check and change air filter if needed.

Check when fuel filter was last changed, and change if not done in last 20K

Clean MAF with some contact cleaner (aerosol from Maplin)

Put electrical grease on MAF connection plug

Run a fuel cleaner through the tank.

Ensure tyre pressures are correct.

Reset ECU.

On top of all that, i only use Shell fuel (mainly because i trust it and seem to get the best fuel economy and engine response, but also for the money off vouchers) and all my cars have performed near the book figures for MPG.

Tonight i have reset the ECU as i have just passed the 20k mark, so i make a point of resetting it at milestone's, and i'm going to run it on Vpower for a month as the last few times i have used it i have had better MPG.

I don't know if any of that will help anyone, or put people off, but its something i have always done and all of my cars have performed well.

[acetip]

I'm really shocked at your pictures, that sort of MPG could be beaten by a lot of big thirsty petrol engines.

A few things i always do when i change cars is:

Check and clean EGR if needed.

Check and change air filter if needed.

Check when fuel filter was last changed, and change if not done in last 20K

Clean MAF with some contact cleaner (aerosol from Maplin)

Put electrical grease on MAF connection plug

Run a fuel cleaner through the tank.

Ensure tyre pressures are correct.

Reset ECU.

On top of all that, i only use Shell fuel (mainly because i trust it and seem to get the best fuel economy and engine response, but also for the money off vouchers) and all my cars have performed near the book figures for MPG.

Tonight i have reset the ECU as i have just passed the 20k mark, so i make a point of resetting it at milestone's, and i'm going to run it on Vpower for a month as the last few times i have used it i have had better MPG.

I don't know if any of that will help anyone, or put people off, but its something i have always done and all of my cars have performed well.

with any s/hand car i always changs engine oil and filter so i know whats oil has gone in the sump, whoever i buy car from.

[Daveyonthemove]

I have done that on older cars, but with my Auris i didn't simply because it had already had 2 services done by the time i collected it with only 15k on the clock, and it was due its 3rd service next month, but i had it done early at the end of Jan.

On a car with higher mileage i would service it too

[acetip]

I have done that on older cars, but with my Auris i didn't simply because it had already had 2 services done by the time i collected it with only 15k on the clock, and it was due its 3rd service next month, but i had it done early at the end of Jan.

On a car with higher mileage i would service it too

Hi dave,

dont trust what the salesman tells you.even though the book is stamped.

my auris had done 19600 odd miles,was told it had been given its 20000 mile service,booked stamped,but could not produce workshop service sheets (lost?).

when checking car out on a ramp was obvious that oil filter or sump drain plug had been touched both still covered in road grime.a service price cuts into their profit.

if you got the service sheets with yours,then your ok.

[GoSlow1981]

Something I noticed with our 2.0 D-4D is that I can get higher mpg (49) when driving B roads (40/50mph dual carrigeways, roundabouts etc), and lower mpg (46) when sat at "70" (maybe it was 75 officer!) on the motorways... Very odd, maybe something to do with emissions at this speed/rev range where most of the civilised worlds cars spend most of there time? If this is the case surely there's an electrical modification to fool the ecu out of doing this? Has anyone else noticed this or am I just special? My mum says i'm "special"

[Phil_1985]

Just to add to this post.

2007 T180 41,000miles

According to the trip, at a constant 'cruise controlling' speed on a what appears to be a flat road. The instant consumption fluctuates between:

20-35mpg @ 70mph in 6th gear

20-45mpg @ 60mph in 5th gear

20-50mpg @ 50mph in 4th gear

If I reset my trip, and drive for 10 miles at a constant 50mph on an A road with slight uphill and downhill sections, I see an average MPG figure of 32mpg. Not too impressed!

Yesterday, I cruised in 3rd gear at 3500rpm, which was about 60mph I think (I can't remember). After a while (only about 5 miles) I got a load of white smoke coming out of the exhaust for about 10 seconds. DPF regeneration??

Anyway that journey didn't make a difference to the above instantaneous figures.

My EGR valve was cleaned by myself 600 miles ago, MAF sensor cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and my tyre pressures checked and confirmed.

[Rick D4D]

Just to add to this post.

2007 T180 41,000miles

According to the trip, at a constant 'cruise controlling' speed on a what appears to be a flat road. The instant consumption fluctuates between:

20-35mpg @ 70mph in 6th gear

20-45mpg @ 60mph in 5th gear

20-50mpg @ 50mph in 4th gear

If I reset my trip, and drive for 10 miles at a constant 50mph on an A road with slight uphill and downhill sections, I see an average MPG figure of 32mpg. Not too impressed!

Yesterday, I cruised in 3rd gear at 3500rpm, which was about 60mph I think (I can't remember). After a while (only about 5 miles) I got a load of white smoke coming out of the exhaust for about 10 seconds. DPF regeneration??

Anyway that journey didn't make a difference to the above instantaneous figures.

My EGR valve was cleaned by myself 600 miles ago, MAF sensor cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and my tyre pressures checked and confirmed.

Well I know exactly how you feel and we found with our T180 we got around 29-31mpg driving to work and back which is around 4 miles involves a few stop starts etc but the funny thing was around 18months ago that was around 39mpg. Car went to Toyota all checked and ok ECU reset but still no better, ERG valve cleaned etc still the same no matter what we did we could not get any where near the 39mpg we used to get for the same weekly trips. The other strange thing was we go on a long motorway drive and still only get around 35mpg and the day we got rid due to poor mpg I drove around 120miles mainly A road and motorway to Swindon and only got 32mpg, this does not make any sense to me but to be honest this is no longer my problem and will say as far as mpg is concerned the T180 was the worst car we ever owned for being well of what the manufacturer states the car does and was also the main reason we got rid.

[Cyker]

Something I noticed with our 2.0 D-4D is that I can get higher mpg (49) when driving B roads (40/50mph dual carrigeways, roundabouts etc), and lower mpg (46) when sat at "70" (maybe it was 75 officer!) on the motorways... Very odd, maybe something to do with emissions at this speed/rev range where most of the civilised worlds cars spend most of there time? If this is the case surely there's an electrical modification to fool the ecu out of doing this? Has anyone else noticed this or am I just special? My mum says i'm "special"

It's probably just physics ;)

Most cars run most efficient at about 60mph - I guess that's where the air resistance starts to make a bigger difference or something...

I know my Yaris D4D gets better efficiency as I approach 60, but drops off quite sharply as I start getting closer to 70mpg.

[GoSlow1981]

I can understand that in a straight line at a constant speed, you can use more fuel at 70 than 60, but when i'm doing 40, roundabout, 50, roundabout, stop, go, 40 etc I can't see why this should happen I'm not too bothered as i'm getting reasonable figures anyway it just makes me wonder....

[Red diesel]

I have done that on older cars, but with my Auris i didn't simply because it had already had 2 services done by the time i collected it with only 15k on the clock, and it was due its 3rd service next month, but i had it done early at the end of Jan.

On a car with higher mileage i would service it too

Hi dave,

dont trust what the salesman tells you.even though the book is stamped.

my auris had done 19600 odd miles,was told it had been given its 20000 mile service,booked stamped,but could not produce workshop service sheets (lost?).

when checking car out on a ramp was obvious that oil filter or sump drain plug had been touched both still covered in road grime.a service price cuts into their profit.

if you got the service sheets with yours,then your ok.

Interesting stuff - family member went to look at a car - salesman says we will do the 90 000 mile service (car was due or was slightly overdue

can't remember) so i asked the salesman if there would be a record of the service. No i was told - just a sticker in the engine cover - :censor: that for a load of crap. I wouldn't have minded as much if it were a small garage and the car was being sold for buttons, but it was a main dealer. Good salesmanship though lol - my family member was impressed with "his honesty" the reason i wasn't happy with a sticker is

that anyone can do up one. A nice official invoice/sheet with the garages official logo and all proper official would have looked a lot better,

i actually assumed they would do the service though lol, didn't buy the car so it was all irrelevant in the finish.

Red diesel

[baba_metca]

Badgers, any progress?

[Phil_1985]

Just to add to this post.

2007 T180 41,000miles

According to the trip, at a constant 'cruise controlling' speed on a what appears to be a flat road. The instant consumption fluctuates between:

20-35mpg @ 70mph in 6th gear

20-45mpg @ 60mph in 5th gear

20-50mpg @ 50mph in 4th gear

If I reset my trip, and drive for 10 miles at a constant 50mph on an A road with slight uphill and downhill sections, I see an average MPG figure of 32mpg. Not too impressed!

Yesterday, I cruised in 3rd gear at 3500rpm, which was about 60mph I think (I can't remember). After a while (only about 5 miles) I got a load of white smoke coming out of the exhaust for about 10 seconds. DPF regeneration??

Anyway that journey didn't make a difference to the above instantaneous figures.

My EGR valve was cleaned by myself 600 miles ago, MAF sensor cleaned with electrical contact cleaner and my tyre pressures checked and confirmed.

Well I know exactly how you feel and we found with our T180 we got around 29-31mpg driving to work and back which is around 4 miles involves a few stop starts etc but the funny thing was around 18months ago that was around 39mpg. Car went to Toyota all checked and ok ECU reset but still no better, ERG valve cleaned etc still the same no matter what we did we could not get any where near the 39mpg we used to get for the same weekly trips. The other strange thing was we go on a long motorway drive and still only get around 35mpg and the day we got rid due to poor mpg I drove around 120miles mainly A road and motorway to Swindon and only got 32mpg, this does not make any sense to me but to be honest this is no longer my problem and will say as far as mpg is concerned the T180 was the worst car we ever owned for being well of what the manufacturer states the car does and was also the main reason we got rid.

I imagine my MPG will never improve Rick, although I'll only find out once the temperatures get warmer and the switch to summer diesel. I rarely do long (as in 50+ mile) journeys, so as long as I average more than 32mpg, I'll be prepared to accept it . How is the CRZ Rick? It's looking very nice!

[Rick D4D]

I imagine my MPG will never improve Rick, although I'll only find out once the temperatures get warmer and the switch to summer diesel. I rarely do long (as in 50+ mile) journeys, so as long as I average more than 32mpg, I'll be prepared to accept it . How is the CRZ Rick? It's looking very nice!

I know how you feel and today I saw diesel at £1.40pl and petrol £1.33 so not looking good there either, the CRZ is great but dont get me wrong does have limitations like head room in the back (if your above 4ft tall your not getting in) but we knew this when we bought it. MPG wise I went to Doncaster Sunday to pick my wife up and as I was in no hurry so I went up the A1 at 62MPH with the cruise control and returned 60.4MPG :) but all in all as its got 2 MPG trips I can tell you since we have had the car we have averaged 45MPG which is around a 50% increase on what we was getting with the T180 (30MPG) so with rising fuel costs no complaints and at that the engine is still tight.

One thing I will say if the figures had not been right we would still have the T180 for sure but all in with cheaper insurance and £20 road tax and then better MPG the CRZ is not costing us a penny more per month than we was paying for a three and half year old Auris so to us it made perfect sense to swap the car.

[briana]

My tuppence worth on the T180 mpg debate fwiw...

I have a 2007 T180, I bought it 18 months ago with 14k on the clock and since then I've put another 50k on it. Fully serviced by Toyota dealer. At first I was totally delighted with the car, I regularly got fuel consumption in the low 50s on a long run if I took it easy (I go from Ayrshire to Birmingham and back most weeks), as much power as I wanted etc etc. As part of the 20k service, the engine management system had a flash upgrade and since then the car has been dreadful, although the timing might be entirely coincidental. I've had the EGR valve cleaned, and Toyota subsequently found it was faulty and replaced it which gave a short term improvement but didn't last. I'm now stuggling to get over 40mpg on a long run, and local driving is in the mid to high 20s. The calculated average mpg understates by around 10% to what I get when I work it out by hand, so it is reading 36 or so at best and that is by cruising below 60. I struggle to get much over 350 miles on a tank, which is a pain when planning a 300 mile journey. Originally I could get well over 500 miles on a tank without having to think about how I drove. Slight improvement in the summer, which could be down to the winter diesel effect or just warmer air. I've also had occasions when suddenly lacking in power and great clouds of smoke from time to time out of the exhaust. It seems very sensitive to the tyre pressures being right so I check these every week.

I've raised this with Toyota at every service, and been told I'm imagining it and it is a great car, running just as T180 should. They seem to think that a road test where they get instant readings in the mid-40s on a flattish road proves something, and that the absence of fault codes on their diagnostics covers everything!

I hope other people are more satisfied than I am - this is the sixth Toyota I've owned over the years (previously I had an MR2 and 4 different Corollas) and my son has a Yaris so we've been keen supporters of the brand until now.

I'm sorry that I don't have anything constructive or a magic solution to add to the debate, but I thought that perhaps it was useful to add my experience to the mix. I've been scouring the boards for anything else to try, and it has been some consolation to see that I am not alone in this problem. I haven't tried restting the ecu yet, but I'll give that a go and see if it helps.

It is great to see such a supportive community,

Brian

[davethefish]

I struggle to get much over 350 miles on a tank, which is a pain when planning a 300 mile journey. Originally I could get well over 500 miles on a tank without having to think about how I drove.

My £0.02p, WOW

350 miles per tank is dreadful, but 500 + is amazing.

I've recently fitted a tuning box (Racechip) and have found a conservative setting. It is poor timing that I would undertake the following journey having fitted the box, as I haven't driven it without but... Knutsford (more or less) to Hull, a bit of mooching locally in Hull and back. Then about 4 days of 9 miles work journeys, not exceeding 50mph. I had correct tire pressures, clean EGR, V-power diesel, ECU is up to date. I got the LOW FUEL warning at 425 miles to the tank, continued to 450 before pooing myself and diving into the nearest garage for some go-juice. I was sooo impressed I'd managed 450 miles, but now I want more...

(57 plate SR180, 25000 on the clock, full Mr T service history)

Maybe on a longer motorway journey I'll see that magical 500 that so many of us T180/SR180 owner/drivers aspire to.

I'll be dreaming about that tonight. -_-

[lazer_mjj]

My tuppence worth on the T180 mpg debate fwiw...

I have a 2007 T180, I bought it 18 months ago with 14k on the clock and since then I've put another 50k on it. Fully serviced by Toyota dealer. At first I was totally delighted with the car, I regularly got fuel consumption in the low 50s on a long run if I took it easy (I go from Ayrshire to Birmingham and back most weeks), as much power as I wanted etc etc. As part of the 20k service, the engine management system had a flash upgrade and since then the car has been dreadful, although the timing might be entirely coincidental. I've had the EGR valve cleaned, and Toyota subsequently found it was faulty and replaced it which gave a short term improvement but didn't last. I'm now stuggling to get over 40mpg on a long run, and local driving is in the mid to high 20s. The calculated average mpg understates by around 10% to what I get when I work it out by hand, so it is reading 36 or so at best and that is by cruising below 60. I struggle to get much over 350 miles on a tank, which is a pain when planning a 300 mile journey. Originally I could get well over 500 miles on a tank without having to think about how I drove. Slight improvement in the summer, which could be down to the winter diesel effect or just warmer air. I've also had occasions when suddenly lacking in power and great clouds of smoke from time to time out of the exhaust. It seems very sensitive to the tyre pressures being right so I check these every week.

I've raised this with Toyota at every service, and been told I'm imagining it and it is a great car, running just as T180 should. They seem to think that a road test where they get instant readings in the mid-40s on a flattish road proves something, and that the absence of fault codes on their diagnostics covers everything!

I hope other people are more satisfied than I am - this is the sixth Toyota I've owned over the years (previously I had an MR2 and 4 different Corollas) and my son has a Yaris so we've been keen supporters of the brand until now.

I'm sorry that I don't have anything constructive or a magic solution to add to the debate, but I thought that perhaps it was useful to add my experience to the mix. I've been scouring the boards for anything else to try, and it has been some consolation to see that I am not alone in this problem. I haven't tried restting the ecu yet, but I'll give that a go and see if it helps.

It is great to see such a supportive community,

Brian

This is exactly the same problem im having with my T180, same response from the main dealer, car suffering in the same way, owned Toyotas for years. There has to be a way of Toyota acting on this. Ive taken my case up with Toyota UK directly but dont seem to be having much luck. Maybe if more people did the same they would be forced to look at the issue

[Rick D4D]

My tuppence worth on the T180 mpg debate fwiw...

I have a 2007 T180, I bought it 18 months ago with 14k on the clock and since then I've put another 50k on it. Fully serviced by Toyota dealer. At first I was totally delighted with the car, I regularly got fuel consumption in the low 50s on a long run if I took it easy (I go from Ayrshire to Birmingham and back most weeks), as much power as I wanted etc etc. As part of the 20k service, the engine management system had a flash upgrade and since then the car has been dreadful, although the timing might be entirely coincidental. I've had the EGR valve cleaned, and Toyota subsequently found it was faulty and replaced it which gave a short term improvement but didn't last. I'm now stuggling to get over 40mpg on a long run, and local driving is in the mid to high 20s. The calculated average mpg understates by around 10% to what I get when I work it out by hand, so it is reading 36 or so at best and that is by cruising below 60. I struggle to get much over 350 miles on a tank, which is a pain when planning a 300 mile journey. Originally I could get well over 500 miles on a tank without having to think about how I drove. Slight improvement in the summer, which could be down to the winter diesel effect or just warmer air. I've also had occasions when suddenly lacking in power and great clouds of smoke from time to time out of the exhaust. It seems very sensitive to the tyre pressures being right so I check these every week.

I've raised this with Toyota at every service, and been told I'm imagining it and it is a great car, running just as T180 should. They seem to think that a road test where they get instant readings in the mid-40s on a flattish road proves something, and that the absence of fault codes on their diagnostics covers everything!

I hope other people are more satisfied than I am - this is the sixth Toyota I've owned over the years (previously I had an MR2 and 4 different Corollas) and my son has a Yaris so we've been keen supporters of the brand until now.

I'm sorry that I don't have anything constructive or a magic solution to add to the debate, but I thought that perhaps it was useful to add my experience to the mix. I've been scouring the boards for anything else to try, and it has been some consolation to see that I am not alone in this problem. I haven't tried restting the ecu yet, but I'll give that a go and see if it helps.

It is great to see such a supportive community,

Brian

Brian this is exactly how our T180 ended up apart from the best we ever got was 46MPG but in the end 35MPG was hard to get, I will say ours started to drop bad around OCT 09 at which point we had 4 tyres, laser alignment and a service all within 10 days or so. I dont know if there was an ECU update but if there was like yours it would explain a lot.

Same response from the main dealer, car suffering in the same way, Ive taken my case up with Toyota UK directly but dont seem to be having much luck and they even took the car for a day and claimed to get 47MPG over 130miles but strange how within 1 mile that had dropped by around 2mpg and was dropping fast and I suspect the trip was reset outside the dealer and free wheeled in to give a good reading.

Would I buy Toyota again? well yes but not before a 50mile / 24hour test drive to make sure we are happy with the car and what is claimed it can do etc but this time we bought Honda as Toyota did not do any cars we liked that suited our needs and price range.