Poor Mileage 2015 1.6D-4D

[En1gm4]

First post from a newbie so be gentle ;)

I recently bought an ex lease Verso 1.6 D-4D. It was leased by my company so I know its history and that it was well taken care of. It has done about 58,000 miles with full (and on time) Toyota service history.

It's a great little car, however I am concerned/confused by the relatively poor mileage it is getting compared to my expectations.
The official combined mpg is 62.8mpg and I'm not getting close despite Honest Johns real MPG showing users getting 93% of that and Toyota celebrating the fact that they are closer than many manufacturer claims.

In my drive to work which is 17 miles each way through relatively un-congested bits of north Somerset and at least 50% open A road, the verso is getting worse mileage than my 15 year old honda civic 1.6 petrol despite being driven far more gently. I'm quite sure it is not driving style.
I've been careful to make sure that I shift when indicated, never rev it, use engine braking downhill, let the engine shut off in traffic, few short runs from cold, good tyres (B rated for economy I think), no extra weight, tyres at correct pressure, buy good fuel (BP) stick to the speed limit, etc etc. but only seem to be getting about 45MPG.. getting the even the RealMPG average of 58 would be a huge improvement.. close to 30%

On the most recent tank which included a long motorway run from Bath to Hertfordshire with little traffic i still only managed to get 47.8MPG. This doesn't seem right for "extra urban" consumption (which should be 72.4 according to spec! ). I've checked the computer figures vs the actual amount filled and it is close.

I've seen other posts about people getting poor mileage but never a resolution. While the car is still under warranty I'd like to make sure that  if it is a manufacturer issue that it gets rectified. Poor mileage is a pretty hard thing to prove... although I'd be happy to drive around with a data logger

Anyone got any experience they can share?

thanks

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Ignore the official New European Driving Cycle figures as they have become increasingly unrealistic over the years - which is why they've been replaced with a new system in September.

The Real MPG figures show that owners are getting anywhere between 43 and 69.5mpg. When was it last serviced?

[catnash]

Might be winter fuel and the cold weather?  I'm also a believer in archoil and BG 44k 244k fuel additive.

[En1gm4]

It was last serviced in April at the dealer.

The employee that had it complained that the fuel allowance allowed by HMRC did not cover the the fuel costs... so i think it has been going on a long time.
I noticed it in the summer so it's not a cold weather thing.

Given my driving style and extra care, getting close to the bottom of the table in RealMPG just does not feel right.
It runs well enough, otherwise I would suspect a bad sensor somewhere... but that could still be the case.

Catnash, thanks for the tips.. I'll look into the products and see if I can find any "scientific tests" 

 

[Fisherofmen]

I've got the same model with 1.6 D-4D diesel powerplant - your experience is probably about par.

I average around 44mpg; on a long run I may see 48-50mpg - but as has been suggested this drops in cold weather.

I'm afraid that I doubt you'll get much improvement ... but if you, I'd love to know how!!

[Byzii]

Are you sure of the oil grade in your engine currently? Your engine probably needs 0(5)W-20 but the 5W-30 is also supported and dealers are known to put cheaper 5W-30 and then fill in 0W-20 in paperwork. You'll find many cases even in this forum where people just change their own oil after experiences like this or at the very least buy their own oil and bring it to dealership.

[En1gm4]

Fisherofmen, thanks for that. Always good to have another data point. It does make me wonder about the validity of the realmpg web site though.

I'll ask at the next service if there is any way to get a data logger on the engine for a proper test drive.... Depends if there is anyone at the dealer that actually understands such things and gives a damn.

Byzii, no, I don't know what oil is in it, but it's a good question. It has always been serviced by Toyota dealers so I assumed it is whatever is their spec for an annual service. Sad to think they might not do the job properly.  I'll see if I can find out. I recall better oil making a difference in my Subaru years ago (I changed my own.. although it was Canada so much tougher on oil...and cars)

Anyone got recommendations for great oil for this engine?

 

[Devon Aygo]

3 hours ago, Byzii said:

Are you sure of the oil grade in your engine currently? Your engine probably needs 0(5)W-20 but the 5W-30 is also supported and dealers are known to put cheaper 5W-30 and then fill in 0W-20 in paperwork. You'll find many cases even in this forum where people just change their own oil after experiences like this or at the very least buy their own oil and bring it to dealership.

The 1WW 1.6 Bmw diesel engine requires 5w30 C3 specification diesel engine oil this oil is unique to the #WW Bmw diesel (within Toyotas range)

[Perfection]

Does the car have dpf? If so, from my experience of a dpf car owner. The mpg gets worse as the car puts on mileage.

My current non-dpd verso gives 55mpg mixed driving. 

[En1gm4]

I assume so.

It's been mostly motorway driving through and so the dpf has had plenty of opportunities to regenerate.

I'll do a little research on that one though... Would not have thought 60k miles would be an issue

Still, all of them would have the same dpf yet mine underperforms what seems like the only real mpg data... Unless all the people getting poor mileage are just not saying 😉

 

 

[Perfection]

If the dpf is full, yes it will regenerate. And it's this constant regeneration kills you mpg.

 

[Fisherofmen]

I think the DPF may be something of a red herring 🐠

Certainly all Verso with the 1.6D-4D engine have a DPF - but the issue of actual vs "real" mpg (to say nothing of the official figures) seems to be unrelated to the DPF regenerating.

I previously owned a 2.0D-4D, and had expected to see a improvement in economy when I bought my present 1.6D-4D, but I have not seen any significant difference. My present mileage is 35,000 and as I use the car predominantly on long runs I have no reason to suspect the the DPF is full.

Slightly changing the topic ... why don't Toyota put an indicator on the display to show when the DPF is regenerating and warn not to turn off the engine until regeneration is complete?

[Byzii]

8 minutes ago, Fisherofmen said:

Slightly changing the topic ... why don't Toyota put an indicator on the display to show when the DPF is regenerating and warn not to turn off the engine until regeneration is complete?

Because:

1. People are scared of the indicators. Seriously, compare 1990s car's dashboard to modern car's dashboard. Your average Joe absolutely HATES driving and the focus for all car manufacturers in the past decades was to isolate the driver as much as possible. Road noise reductions, lane assists, adaptive cruise controls, etc, etc is all so that the human doesn't have to concentrate and do work. That's why self-driving cars will be very popular. Ever remember that there used to be voltage, boost and oil temperature gauges? Now you're lucky if you get the speedometer.
2. Don't know about Toyotas, but every other manufacturer has a system where if the DPF hasn't regenerated in a long while, it will force the regeneration even when the car is off. That's why you can run into seemingly running cars in parking lots, the fans are working as if the car was turned on but it's just regenerating. Maybe Toyota's have something similar.

[Fisherofmen]

I for one mourn the loss of the temperature gauge, but would happily exchange the TPMS indicator for a DPF regenerating tell-tale.

[FROSTYBALLS]

24 minutes ago, Fisherofmen said:

....... but would happily exchange the TPMS indicator for a DPF regenerating tell-tale.

..... which isn't possible as TPMS is a legal requirement on vehicles built after November 2014

[En1gm4]

Is there any way to know dpf status from the odb2 port?

Just wondering how much data might be available to try to understand what the car might be doing well or badly.

 

[Perfection]

You can tell when the dpf is regenerating.....at idle the engine speed is much more faster than normal speed.

Just keep an eye on it next time you drive when you stops at traffic lights. 

[En1gm4]

just had a 60,000 mile service and apparently there was a code related to the swirl flaps

not serious enough for  check engine light but apparently could be an issue for mileage. won't really know until the computer sorts itself out after a few days/drives

(the whole thing about BMW swirl flaps breaking off makes for very grim reading though! hope these engines fare better)

[Fisherofmen]

Thanks Doug,

Do keep us posted on whether you record any improvement 🧓

[Heidfirst]

2 hours ago, En1gm4 said:

(the whole thing about BMW swirl flaps breaking off makes for very grim reading though! hope these engines fare better)

at least Toyota tend to stand behind their longer warranty better than BMW.