T 180 Fuel Consumption Figures

[vann]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

[chillyjeff]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

I have averaged 38.77 mpg and have covered just over 12,000 miles in my T180. My daily commute is a 40 miles each way journey on A roads.

[Steve@Aberdeen]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

I have averaged 38.77 mpg and have covered just over 12,000 miles in my T180. My daily commute is a 40 miles each way journey on A roads.

That look's very good; for comparison, my XT4 D4D has returned 38.76mpg over its first 10,000 miles - a mix of dual carriageway and single carriageway A and B roads. That figure is calculated from odometer and pump readings from new - the on-board computer has generally recorded around 41/42 when reset at each tank refill.

[Bernie H]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

I have averaged 38.77 mpg and have covered just over 12,000 miles in my T180. My daily commute is a 40 miles each way journey on A roads.

That look's very good; for comparison, my XT4 D4D has returned 38.76mpg over its first 10,000 miles - a mix of dual carriageway and single carriageway A and B roads. That figure is calculated from odometer and pump readings from new - the on-board computer has generally recorded around 41/42 when reset at each tank refill.

[sywy]

Well, I must have a heavy right foot, cuz I'm only averaging around 33/34 mpg in the 5k miles I've done. This consists of a 20 mile each way commute, consisting of around 15 miles of dual carraigeway, and 5 miles urban/country roads. I find the fuel consumption a bit strange, as when I'm out and about town, the fuel consumption computer shows that I get better mpg than when i'm on the motorway at 70 (ish) mph. when in town, it tends to bounce off the max fuel consuption, whereas on the motoryway it'll generay sit just above 30mpg, probably around 35.

[Sussex_Paul]

Getting an average of 36ish when doing local driving (school runs, shopping etc) on a mix of urban and A roads and get 38-39 on longer runs with dual carriageways/motorways.

I do notice a drip off in economy on motorways when the speed is over 75/80 mph, then it's more likely to return in the low 30's as an average.

I have seen better fuel economy with 'better' diesel too - On the same journeys the difference between the diesel from my local Sainburys and BP Advanvced is 2 mpg better for the BP stuff, only problem is it costs 3p more per litre.

The engine feels more responsive too.

I'd like to think that the economy will improve with mileage as the engine loosens up, because other than driving everywhere at a snails pace, I can't see where I'll ever get the quoted 40mpg from.

And I didn't buy the T180 to drive slowly in............

[sywy]

I've just driven 135 miles, mostly on the motorway. Stuck the cruise control on at approx 75mph (which is slow for me!!) and the computer says I've averaged 41.5mpg!! Best I've ever achieved doing my normal mix of driving is 35mpg, but it's usually 32/33mpg. So it IS possible to get good fuel consumption figures, if you are prepared to drive moderately!!

[Storm_SouthWest]

i drive quite a few motorway miles.. i average anything from 26mpg upto 30mpg depending on speed/mood - i dont drive it any differently from my past cars.

i guess aerodynamics plays a huge part in that figure.

On a full tank my computer indicates 320 miles.

my best was 41mpg on a 70mph journey and a few A roads (had my bike on rack so didnt want to risk faster)

.. which i was impressed with

[anchorman]

Ignore the trip computer, mine is about 3 or 4 mpg high. It does about 38ish mpg.

[Steve@Aberdeen]

I've recently been doing some checks on the odometer in mine and it's looking to be 3-5% low (for example, the RAC route planner gave me 520 miles for a recent trip and the odometer read 505 each way; comparisons with my Garmin on shorter journeys also show it reading short by up to 2 miles on a 50 mile journey). Not a conclusive calibration but it's fairly consistent.

Correcting the trip readings and recalculating fuel consumption from pump readings is giving my XT4 an overall average of 40.1 for its first 13000 miles; the trip generally reads around 42 when I come to fill up.

[stevenson]

Have now driven 4k miles in my 56 reg T180 and have struggled to get above 34 mpg (calculated) in any circumstances.

Could someone tell us how to get better than this (I suspect a fault, but Toyota says no).

I have tried using the cruise control slavishly, nothing above 2000 rpm (apart from at 70 on M-ways), no flogging it at low rpms, slow, smooth accelerations, no excess weight, no windows open, handbrake off, standard aerodynamics (no roof bars/rails), standard tyre pressures, tried advanced fuels.... Leicestershire is not mountainous.

So what's the secret? Do I have a traffic cone jammed under the car?

or, what faults cause 10-20% excess fuel consumption with no other symptoms?

[duncerduncs]

Have now driven 4k miles in my 56 reg T180 and have struggled to get above 34 mpg (calculated) in any circumstances.

Could someone tell us how to get better than this (I suspect a fault, but Toyota says no).

I have tried using the cruise control slavishly, nothing above 2000 rpm (apart from at 70 on M-ways), no flogging it at low rpms, slow, smooth accelerations, no excess weight, no windows open, handbrake off, standard aerodynamics (no roof bars/rails), standard tyre pressures, tried advanced fuels.... Leicestershire is not mountainous.

So what's the secret? Do I have a traffic cone jammed under the car?

or, what faults cause 10-20% excess fuel consumption with no other symptoms?

I'm not sure what the secret is but I got 40.1 mpg from my last tank. We went to Harrogate for a few days so most of the tank was spent on the M1, we also went to the Baby Show at NEC (again on the motorway).

I wonder if poor fuel consumption could be a sign of EGR valve problems?

Have you had the ECU upgrade yet?

[Davrav]

Have now driven 4k miles in my 56 reg T180 and have struggled to get above 34 mpg (calculated) in any circumstances.

Could someone tell us how to get better than this (I suspect a fault, but Toyota says no).

I have tried using the cruise control slavishly, nothing above 2000 rpm (apart from at 70 on M-ways), no flogging it at low rpms, slow, smooth accelerations, no excess weight, no windows open, handbrake off, standard aerodynamics (no roof bars/rails), standard tyre pressures, tried advanced fuels.... Leicestershire is not mountainous.

So what's the secret? Do I have a traffic cone jammed under the car?

or, what faults cause 10-20% excess fuel consumption with no other symptoms?

Presumably properly serviced, clean air filter etc?

[stevenson]

I have a full service record from the same Toyota main dealer (whose CEO's wife's car it used to be). So I have presumed as you say.

I'll look at the air filter, but if it makes that sort of difference having been changes at 30k miles, that's pretty poor design (or filthy air!).

[sywy]

I've done over 30k miles now, and my average has dropped. I get between 31-33mpg now (on the clock). Serviced (30k) about 3 months ago, has had the ECU update, and a new EGR valve. I am doing a lot of short journeys now I'm unemployed, but I was getting the same before that too.

[stevenson]

ECU upgrade - good question.

I asked this myself, was told the service record says yes, but there is no sticker in the engine compartment.

EGR valve - interesting. The car makes a 'percolating' noise when the turbo cuts in at 1700 rpm (just like a petrol engine pinking). The diagnostic system has no flags - I just paid to have it read. Are there any diagnostics which would indicate EGR valve malfunction?

[duncerduncs]

ECU upgrade - good question.

I asked this myself, was told the service record says yes, but there is no sticker in the engine compartment.

EGR valve - interesting. The car makes a 'percolating' noise when the turbo cuts in at 1700 rpm (just like a petrol engine pinking). The diagnostic system has no flags - I just paid to have it read. Are there any diagnostics which would indicate EGR valve malfunction?

I'm pretty sure that the first time you know you'll need a new EGR is when the car goes into 'limp' mode!

Anchorman will be along at some point to confirm or advise me I'm talking rubbish

[sywy]

I'm pretty sure that the first time you know you'll need a new EGR is when the car goes into 'limp' mode!

Yep, that was how I knew mine needed replacing!!

[vivianM]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

Yesterday averaged 40.1 mpg on a cross country trip of about 150 miles - no motorway but dual carriageway, towns , minor roads, very best I have got is 44.00 mpg mixed dual /motorway - all figures from on board computer - round town 37/38mpg dropping to 36 mpg at worst on short runs.

Hope it helps

Guy

[MarsKy]

Could other owners of Rav 4 T180's please let me know what fuel consumtion figures they are getting both around town and on motorway driving. Thanks

Recently did a 220 mile round trip to Tighnabruich and round the Cowal Peninsula - a good mix of A8 and M8, single carriageway and single track roads. Still managed a respectable 41mpg using the fuel top-up method, and I've had the ECU upgrade.

[stevenson]

ECU upgrade - good question.

I asked this myself, was told the service record says yes, but there is no sticker in the engine compartment.

EGR valve - interesting. The car makes a 'percolating' noise when the turbo cuts in at 1700 rpm (just like a petrol engine pinking). The diagnostic system has no flags - I just paid to have it read. Are there any diagnostics which would indicate EGR valve malfunction?

I'm pretty sure that the first time you know you'll need a new EGR is when the car goes into 'limp' mode!

Anchorman will be along at some point to confirm or advise me I'm talking rubbish

As I am taking the car to Shetland next week I would prefer not to experience this on Unst. Or worse, missing a very expensive ferry.

I read elsewhere that Diesels can predetonate and it is a symptom of the EGR not closing properly.

I think the aforegoing demonstrates that I can expect better consumption than I'm getting and that there is a problem. Part of the reason for buying the car was the fuel economy.

Any advice on persuading Toyota to look into it more deeply?

[anchorman]

we also went to the Baby Show at NEC

Were the 2009 babies on show yet?

Yes you will know if the EGR plays up, it will do what Simon's did.

[OldSkoO1]

I drive the Auris t180 and it does about 42mpg which for my daily journey i think is pretty good. Journey consists 40% town + 60% hilly a-roads. Providing i'm out of town and away from junctions it will go into the 50's unless i'm on the m-way.

I've never had below 38mpg on the same journey and never had below 36mpg at all yet some auris t180 people always get 36mpg - i can't figure that one out!

Anyway, i noticed someone saying they keep at 2k or under and accelerate smoothly but slowly. I find this to be worse. Not good for your EGR valve and maybe causes more friction at low revs increasing consumption.

Anyway, i get up to speed quickly, using max torque between 2k and 2.6k then i stick at a steady speed (cruise) around 1.5 - 1.8k. Doing the fairly quickly acceleration up to speed keeps the temps / exhaust gases hotter which i think can reduce soot build up and make the engine more efficient. Try driving with your instant MPG readout and watch how fuel is used. You will soon see that even with slow acceleration it used about 14mpg whlist accelerating which could take 10-15 seconds to get up to speed. Or you could do it quickly and it would use 10mpg but only for 5 seconds. Also you can use the overshoot technique, going over the speed you need and just coast off the accelerator back down to the speed you need and set cruise of keep a steady pace.

Avoid accelerating uphill if possible and try to use the brakes less. However, if you have to do short / town or hilly journeys there isn't much you can do at all.

To be honest don't try to do economy runs, they are incredibly boring and give little gains especially when your in town or have plenty of junctions / roundabouts on your trip. Just remember to get up to speed fairly quickly... the less time drinking fuel the better.

[stewyinpagham]

Got 25k on my T180 now. First started to commute in it 80 miles a day. Bognor > Southampton. To miss the traffic I used to leave earlyish in morning and leave after 18:00. Using cruise and a feather foot 55mpg+ was regular. Now I have only a 20 mile round trip. I cane it to death on country roads / M-way mix and still get 33+ mpg. Shell V-power seems to make the idle quieter and gives it a bit more go I think, but am trying to justify the extra cost??? If I was really worried about MPG I would have bought an Aygo. Thats a good car on fuel. Used less than half normal amount last week when WKB Chichester lent me one as a lone car whilst the ERG valve was done, and as ever it was driven like it was stolen!

[vivianM]

ECU upgrade - good question.

I asked this myself, was told the service record says yes, but there is no sticker in the engine compartment.

EGR valve - interesting. The car makes a 'percolating' noise when the turbo cuts in at 1700 rpm (just like a petrol engine pinking). The diagnostic system has no flags - I just paid to have it read. Are there any diagnostics which would indicate EGR valve malfunction?

My ECU upgrade sticker was put on the near side door pillar not in engine compartment.

The fuel consumption has been much better since it was done BUT, as Anchorman says, it seems to be better as the warm weather comes!

Guy