1.6 TDCI Titanium (11 plate) fuel economy and fan

[Jamesk07]

Hi all,

Hoping someone can help me... Over the last week or so I have noticed my fuel economy nose dive dramatically... I usually get somewhere between 56-60mpg over the course of a normal week. However, this last week I reset all trip computer stats to 0 and it is now struggling to get past 40mpg, usually sticking around the 33mpg mark... Is there any reason for this? Also, getting out of the car at my work car park today I noticed the fan (asssuming radiator fan) still running after I'd exited and locked the car. This has happened before after a long motorway journey, but my daily commute is about 5 miles on 30-40mph roads and I drove like a nun because of the mpg issues... Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

For background, the car is fully serviced, all tyres properly inflated and good, no problems I am aware of...

Many thanks in advance for any help given,

James

[Blueoval09]

Yep, thats about right! Got the same model but a 58 plate, do similar journeys and have exactly the same thing with the fuel, think it's something to do with cooling the cat down as it sits right behind the rad, it's a pain in the arse! Servicing makes no difference, mine gets an oil & filter change every 4 months due to the mostly short runs, good tyres at the right pressure & a pipercross filter have added a few mpg though

[patterson]

Mine does the same only after a long drive or motorway drive. To be fair I did have it turn on just by leaving the engine running wile I was fishing on the bank used the car instead of a bivvie lol

[Jamesk07]

Thanks for the info guys, appreciated. After it's been to Ford tomorrow to have the clutch pedal sorted, ECU update (if required) and Eibach springs fitted I will be taking it out for a long drive this weekend... Hoping to blow to cobwebs out of it and see if that makes a difference. I usually use Shell V-Power, but might give BP Ultimate a go... Only problem is BP are the most expensive station near where I live by a BIG margin... I'll let you know if this solves the mpg saga.

James

[stutick]

I had the both the same problems with mine a 58 1.6TDCi ZS

Firstly the Fuel computer was showing a low MPG... This was corrected by resetting it

Secondly, sometimes the fan runs at hyper-speed when i have been on a Long journey, sounds like a jet plane taking off and goes on forever... They way i stopped it was to go out and start the car which again seemed to reset it after. Couple of times.

Not ideal but very rarely happens

[Jamesk07]

Well, today the car's gone into the dealership to be looked at... The clutch pedal was squeaking, I believe there's an ECU update for it plus I'm getting them to look into the mpg situation. I tried doing a reset through each and every function on the trip computer (several times). I can't get the mpg past about 37 and that's driving like a nun! Literally dropped 20mpg in the course of 2 weeks...

I'll let you know if they find anything . Whatever the outcome, tomorrow I am taking it on a long motorway drive for a couple of hours to give it a blast then I'll fill up from empty with BP Ultimate, see if that makes a difference. Plus, it's a good excuse to try out the new Eibach springs they're putting on for me

[jasonl1599]

subscribing to this thread, as i've got 2009 1.6 TDCI (guessing no dpf from searching this site) with same low MPG. struggles to get above early 40mpg's. got 54mpg at 70mph for 2 hours on motorway. nothing anywhere near the 90mpg i managed to get to in my old clio dci

Fiesta has more toys though, so cant have both i guess


i did notice that when we had the cold weather a week or so ago it dropped dramatically, does this coincide with your notice in drop?

Keep us updated if the ECU update has any influence.. btw is that free, or is a cost involved?

[Jamesk07]

The low mpg didn't coincide with the really cold weather, strangely enough. It started about a week ago. Since buying the car I have maintained an average mpg of about 56. If I drive very carefully I can get up to about 63mpg tops. But, in the last week or so, no matter what I do, it just won't get above 38-39mpg. Usually when I reset the average mpg calculator on the car it starts at around whatever 'real-time' mpg you are doing and with careful driving goes up from there. At the moment it starts at about 30 and I struggle to get it higher than that... I have reset the average mpg, trip calculator etc. and nothing has worked so far.

Ford are looking into the mpg, ECU update and squeaky clutch pedal for me all under warranty. Have to say my local dealership have been great and never try and charge me. But, I wouldn't stand for being charged for this kind of thing while the car is in warranty anyway If the car isn't delivering what they state it should then it's a problem that needs sorting, I've no doubt that it will get sorted too, the car has been great so far.

I'll keep you posted,

James

[Jamesk07]

Well... There was an ECU update for my car which adjusts various things, amongst which was the turbo. I now need to see what difference, if any, this makes and if so, how noticeable.

What seems to be clear from having driven the car back to work is that the trip computer still seems to be showing the mpg as pretty dismal, even though Ford reset this too. However, I intend to put this to the test at the weekend with a long trip and a fill up with some BP Ultimate.

Sadly, the clutch pedal creak is still there, if anyone else has had this and knows how to fix it then please share the secret, the creak is driving me insane!

Finally, and by no means least, the Eibach Pro-Kit springs were fitted! It looks great, much more poised... First impressions are that cornering is significantly sharper than before and it doesn't lurch under acceleration or braking nearly as much, but, I will need to drive it properly before I can confirm this. Having been given a Ka as a courtesy car which felt like it was on stilts, I think anything is likely to feel more certain upon cornering...

James