Can Anyone Explain Whats Going On Here

[aaron_auris_sr180]

see images below.

as you can see, the range just after filling up is displaying 240 miles and the average mpg is stating 41.6 mpg.

if my maths is right. a 55 litre tank of diesel with a range of 240 miles equates to around 20mpg... so whats going on here? can anyone shed some light on this?

thanks.

[smudge-1991]

My car does this all the time when was the last time your average speed was reset

[aaron_auris_sr180]

not sure about average speed. the average mpg gets reset all the time.would that have something to do with it then?

[smudge-1991]

Ye from what someone one at Toyota told me it does the maths between average speed average mpg and some other stuff

[aaron_auris_sr180]

i'll give it a try later and see what happens

[FROSTYBALLS]

The range is a prediction and the average consumption is what you have achieved over a period of time - the two won't necessarily correspond.

[Heidfirst]

if it's like an Avensis it's range to reserve (on an Avensis ~2 gallons) not to empty ...

[smudge-1991]

However 240 miles range is very low on a full tank ... Has it had some abusive miles recently

[aaron_auris_sr180]

However 240 miles range is very low on a full tank ... Has it had some abusive miles recently

nope

if it's like an Avensis it's range to reserve (on an Avensis ~2 gallons) not to empty ...

that only brings it up to 23 mpg. 55 litres - 2 gallons (9 liters) = 46 litres over 240 miles is 23.72 miles per gallon. still doesnt match up with on board average mpg.

[baba_metca]

The onboard computer calculated the range from the last 15-20 miles. So if your last 20 miles were fast ones with low mpg this will be the normal reading .

[superfast808]

Mine does this sometimes. In fact it varies substantially depending on where I get fuel. Enough times to notice a pattern.

Scenario 1. I put in £15 at the local Gulf station - Range ~103 miles (on multiple occasions)

Scenario 2. I put in £15 at the local Asda - Range ~ 160 miles (on multiple occasions)

In scenario 1 - the 103 miles takes a long time to reduce. In scenario 2 - the 160 reduces very quickly. Bizarre.

[Parts-King]

I think you have to take all these readings as an "indication" Just like when the fuel level is low and shows a warning light. regardless of what the range says, just put fuel in it when the guage shows low! I never ever take any notice of the range

[smudge-1991]

Range is definitely a guesstimation as I normally double the range it says I can achieve ... And I fill up at all sorts of places .... But I do mainly motorway apart from about 20 miles a week round town I do about 1400 miles a month on the motorway

[Parts-King]

Exactly, but i would not put myself in that situation if I could possibly avoid it

[smudge-1991]

My range said 0 miles the other day and yet I had 6 bars of fuel.... Either my fuel tank is optimistic or my range has no faith in me

[aaron_auris_sr180]

the range display has been spot on in all other cars I've owned. all the way from full tank to empty. maybe toyota have a different way of doing it but i cant see that being the case as @smudge-1991 just mentioned 6 bars and a range of 0 miles. that's a fault in my eyes. not a miscalculation or a few heavy footed miles.

edit: in my work car (skoda octavia) there are two average consumption displays. one is a "journey" cons. or short term cons. and the other is a long term. both are resettable. if i reset the long term consumption then the range will adjust itself accordingly once data starts coming in. it appears that the range is NOT linked to the average consumption on the auris because if you reset the counter it does not affect the range. come to think of it. resetting the average consumption in all of my previous cars has directly affected the range display instantly. toyota will be looking at this issue when it goes in AGAIN on the 25th alongside an ever increasing list of faults to be fixed that they sold the car to me with. I'll be interested to see what they say about this.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think if one puts less than 15 litres in, you can get erroneous readings.

[smudge-1991]

Well mine was a brimmed tank to travel to Cornwall and back

[baba_metca]

The range is calculated for the average consumption from the last 10-15 miles. I'm not sure if it is 15,17,18 or 13. I do not know the exact number specified in the algorithm. But I know this from my personal experience, driving two toyotas and riding in my fathers. This is done because the range should specify how many miles you can do before you ran out of fuel at that point of time. Well think for a moment, you are driving with 50 mph for the first 400 miles and you have another 200 on the range. Then you start to climb a mountain and you start to enjoy the corners, and giving a punch on the right pedal. What do you expect, driving 200 miles!? No, after 5-10 miles your range will drop dramatically. Then after 50 miles (if you still have fuel left) you again start to drive with 50 mph and at that point your range does not change for a couple of miles. But if you drive in short cycles - first a 3-5 mile steady 50 mph, then 3-5 mile city driving, then another 3-5 mile steady 50 mph, and so on repeating (let's say a daily commute to work), then in this case your range will be constantly dropping and you will have a good estimation of the range. If it's changing every mile or so, what help is it gonna be then. Have you thought about it, when you fill up, sometimes the range is 600 miles, sometimes 400. Well this because, before you went to the gas station your average consumption was different for the last 10 or so miles, although your overall consumption for the two trips was the same. So this is an estimation based on the average consumption for a specific distance. Well the distance could be 10 miles, or 100 miles, or 1 mile. But 1 mile is too short, or the range value will change every 60 seconds going up and down. 100 miles is too long and Toyota decided to be around 10-15.... (I'm not sure on the exact number). So if your car has a problem with the range value, then there is something wrong. Could be the computer, and the easiest way to deal with a computer is to restart it (a well known problem solving technique for this type of issues). Or it could be the values that this computer receives for the algorithm. In that case the problem is elsewhere - sensors, bad fuel, bad fuel delivery, bad air delivery.... all kinds of problems.

So the first, easiest, free and fast method is to unplug the Battery for 10 minutes. If that doesn't help go to update the software. If that doesn't help then the problem probably is more complicated and expensive.

[smudge-1991]

Ye my range is gets better as I fill up every time as I spend most of my time doing around 70 on the motorway sometimes my range is 400+ sometimes 280 I use the same fuel and my car is probably over maintained if anything

[Uncle Buck]

Your average fuel consumption should therefore be pretty consistent Ben ? I would agree that a '0' range estimation while showing several bars remaining is ridiculous, perhaps a reboot (as suggested) is worth a try ?

Just as a side note, I once reached the '0' remaining mark & had to drive another 26 miles because the garage I was expecting to fill up at was closed with a power failure ! So I know the car will go beyond the '0' mark easily, but obviously I don't ever want to run out so fill up with 2 bars remaining normally. That was just an unexpected one-off situation.

[baba_metca]

The range value is set to show 0 when you have around 5 liters in the tank. That's around a gallon. This is your final reserve.

[smudge-1991]

The 0 range and several bars was after a reset and I drove to Cornwall from Derby and showed 0 range about half an hour from where my journey ends as usually the 320 mile journey only takes 3 bars of fuel ... But then gradually increases over time (refills)

[smudge-1991]

When u reset it just puts a range in that it should achieve I'm guessing but I have done Derby to Cornwall and back in one journey and it's hit 0 miles range with two bars I think personally it should update as you go as it doesn't seem to on the whilst driving along

[Uncle Buck]

Still seems odd to me - mine hits 2 bars with approx 70-75 mls remaining on the range indicator. Sometimes a bit more ......