Limited power on high gears

[Agis]

I have a toyota avensis 2009 1.8 liter with a manual 6 gear gearbox. When driving on 1-3 gear and checking the fuel consumption I can get a max 3l/100 km by pressing the accelerator down. In 4th gear I can get max 2l/100 km and in 5th and 6th gear I only get 1.5l/100km even if I press it as far as it can go. The car is very slow to accelerate and doing takeovers at high way speeds feel dangerous as I need to shift down to 3rd gear from 6th to get some acceleration.

Has any one else noted this? Is it supposed to be like this? I had an avensis 2003 2 liters before and it had much better performance. Checking the numbers of the cars the 1.8 liters has about 10% lower torque but the power is the same so I would expect that they would perform similarly.

/Marcus

[furtula]

Have you tried to reset it? (Battery off for 10 minutes, connect, let idle for 10 minutes, then drive)

[flash22]

A Good service and change the gearbox oil/fluid if it hasn't been done, not sure where you are from but fuel quality maybe a factor - a change of brake/clutch fluid will also help, another thought would be the clutch or pressure plate is worn

[Catlover]

Marcus, are you complaining you getting 3litre/100km in gear 1-3, and 1.5litre/100km in 5-6 gear?

[Agis]

I do not think it is a general problem with the gearbox as It behaves as it should on low gears. I tried this at the same speed or at the same revs but the fuel consumption meter always give me the same result. I noticed this when driving with a trailer. The car became even more week than normal but I could not get it up by pressing the accelerator. I suspect that it is an electronic limit on the fuel injection that depends on the gear am in but I am not sure. I talked to my local Toyota garage but they had no Idea. I also had the garage go through the car to try to find out why it was so slow on acceleration(this was before I noticed the fuel consumption limit), but they did not find anything, no error code or anything obviously wrong.

[Agis]

@Catlover

No, I am using the fuel consumption as an indicator of the power of the engine. The more fuel injected the more power it should generate and that should be independent of the gear. My problem is that at high gears the fuel injection seams to be limited, hence giving me half the power of the engine which makes accelerations slow on high gears, even slower than if the engine were delivering full power.

[Konrad C]

To be honest, I am not sure what Agis (Marcus) is saying, but I know he has the 1.8 2ZR Valvematic Avensis T27. I drive the Tourer (estate version) with the 6 speed manual. I don't understand or use the metric version of fuel economy, so will be basic on that. My car is averaging 36 mpg with mainly short and local driving. When on the motorway the instant guessomonitor shows in the 30 - 60 range, more to the 60 mpg marker, say upper 40's - 50 mpg. 
Now the power delivery and torque in a given gear. The engines real power comes in above 3000 rpm, and 4000 and above the car is fast. At lower rpm the car is fine, unless it is loaded. Basically, unless you are always in a hurry, there should be know problem. I tend to drive along at 30 mph in 4th or 5th gear without any issues. On the motorway unless really steep inclines, will be in 6th gear. On some fast A roads, when I have overtaken, I have dropped down to 4th or even 3rd. Remember this car revs up to 6600 rpm! But since most road are getting more restricted and enforced, more dual carriageways and I try and leave enough time to get to my destination without rushing, I don't always push the car.
The engine is serviced using 0w-20 'prefered grade fully synthetic oil, air and oil filters, Denso Iridium spark plugs, and tyre pressures checked. The oil is important to the efficiency of the engine.
I carry a kick scooter and sometimes a folding bike with 26" wheels (12kg), full size alloy spare wheel, tools for emergencies. Brakes work fine and no dragging!
The T27 will be a heavier car than the previous T25, plus the torque of the 2.0l gives it an advantage over the 1.8l valvematic, unless revved. 
I have been in all three Avensis - T22 (1.8 leanburn hatchback, owned), T22 vvti 1.8 hatchback, T25 vvti hatchback and estate 1.8, and 1.8 valvematic T27 estate. The T27 6th gear is basically additional to the other gears. I notice that the 5th gear on all models are the same revs for a given speed - roughly 3000 rpm @ 70 mph. So you have to come out of 6th gear, whilst the other models are happy in 5th. 
If your car is not performing like another identical model, then there could be something wrong with the vvti controllers. You will need to find someone local to you and see if their car drives like yours.  
      

[Konrad C]

Can I add a few possible causes, if you still have an issue - 

 

I cleaned my MAF sensor a couple of years ago, using CRC mass air flow sensor cleaner. That may help with your situation.