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You need to do a brimful to brimful check.
IE- fill the tank brimful, zero the trip meter or note the mileage, drive some miles, fill the tank brimful and note the quantity in litres to fill it and the mileage on the trip or the odometer.
Divide the quantity in litres by 4.546 to get imperial UK gallons exactly.
And then divide the mileage figure by the number of gallons to get mpg.
Giving fuel cost instead of quantity is not helpful, neither is giving the fuel gauge reading.
Also make sure the tyres are at their proper pressure - flat tyres burn fuel!
Edited by focussed on 20/08/2021 at 22:56
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Thanks for that info. I’ve had 4 new tyres put on recently after a puncture and the tyre fitters pointed out some cracking in the tyre walls.
I will check the pressures in them tomorrow.
Im also planning on going to the garage tomorrow that did the winter service to ask them to check it.
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Sticking pads, caliper on the blink, handbrake only part releasing .........
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Don't rule out someone stealing the fuel.
Fill it again and go on a long trip.
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There cannot be any unexplainable reason for high fuel consumption. That just isn't possible. You can only lose fuel in one of two ways. You either have an external leak in which case you'll see it and smell it, or the engine is burning more than it should be and if that is the case there'd by very obvious signs such as poor running, poor performance and excessive black smoke from the exhaust. If the engine runs well and the car performs as it should then you cannot have a major fuel consumption issue.
Did you re-fill the tank with another £55 of fuel? It could be the gauge read empty but the tank wasn't. Or as the previous poster said, you could've had fuel stolen. That does happen. A scan for live data of the engine management system can retrieve the fuel trim figures which will tell you if the ECM is compensating for the engine running rich or lean, and by how much. But as I said, if the engine was overfuelling it would be very noticeable even to someone with no knowledge or experience of cars.
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Sticking pads, caliper on the blink, handbrake only part releasing .........
Now that I can easily believe, given how many people (myself included) have done far less driving over the past 18 months, where binding brakes etc could easily cause higher fuel usage, though I would've thought it would be reasonably obvious from the car feeling strange to drive (especially when moving off after starting or slowing down a lot when 'coasting') and possibly a burning smell from one or more brakes.
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The other possibility is faulty float or sender unit.
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Ok so the tyre pressures were spot on. My husband drives the car more than me and he got in it and said he had to keep revving at the lights as it kept shuddering as if it was going to cut out. He also said the engine sounds a lot louder than usual and when he was coming towards red lights he changed down into 2nd but the lights changed and he went to pull away whilst already creeping but found the car just didn’t have the power and he had to go into 1st. I phoned the garage who serviced it and they said to bring it in next week and he will plug it in
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Sounds to me then that the garage who serviced it have accidentally left something disconnected such as the air intake hose or a vacuum hose. I'm sure whatever it is it'll be an easy fix.
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My daughter's first car about 1992 was a Suzuki Swift which soon proved to drink fuel. That was a simple fix - the auto-choke wasn't doing its job. Cars work differently now, but that could be the same effect but with a different cause ?
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Ok. I took the car to a different garage. He plugged it in and couldn’t find anything wrong. Lots of head scratching and chin rubbing ensued before the mechanic seemed to have a light-bulb moment!
Where do you buy your fuel? He asked. Tesco at the end of my road was my answer. He asked if I always use Tesco fuel. I said yes as I always fill up there before a journey. He drained the tank and put half a tank full of Shell petrol in. I took it for a long drive. The petrol dial moved less than a millimetre and the car behaved impeccably. Went back as requested and he said I’d just travelled 45 miles and used a fraction under a gallon.
I am gobsmacked! He told me he has had an influx just lately of cars returning very poor mpg and a change of petrol supplier has more or less solved most of the issues. He mentioned something about a high level of additive in the Tesco petrol and I can’t remember exactly the word he used but it could be ethanol.
I thought all petrol was the same!
What do you all think?
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E10 petrol (up to 10% ethanol) isn't being introduced until September and your problem started before that. All petrol is E5 (up to 5% ethanol), although some super unleaded may be ethanol free. The calorific value of ethanol is lower than that of petrol. Non supermarket brands (shell, esso etc) will have a different additive pack that's put in by the tanker driver, but the fuel comes from the same refinery.
Perhaps your local Tesco has a problem?
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He mentioned something about a high level of additive in the Tesco petrol and I can’t remember exactly the word he used but it could be ethanol. I thought all petrol was the same! What do you all think?
If additives are the cause, it is usually the other way round - supermarket fuel is 'plainer' that the stuff from branded filling stations, which (at least in theory) charge more for the proprietary 'additives' they add to the plain stuff from the tanker.
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"" Non supermarket brands (shell, esso etc) will have a different additive pack that's put in by the tanker driver, but the fuel comes from the same refinery."
Can we honestly believe that it is the responsibility of the tanker driver to add to his tank of fuel. Surely such a responsible action is done in some controlled way in the refinery? Does the tanker driver have some giant spoon to ensure proper mixing or does he drive erratically to mix it?
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"Can we honestly believe that it is the responsibility of the tanker driver to add to his tank of fuel"
You may wish to mock, but I was told personally by a BP tanker driver that this is exactly what happens (or used to happen - it's a few years ago now).
The driver was supplied with the magic brew and added it while the tanker was being filled. (I think that answers your fatuous comment about a giant spoon and erratic driving.)
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"" Non supermarket brands (shell, esso etc) will have a different additive pack that's put in by the tanker driver, but the fuel comes from the same refinery."
Can we honestly believe that it is the responsibility of the tanker driver to add to his tank of fuel. Surely such a responsible action is done in some controlled way in the refinery? Does the tanker driver have some giant spoon to ensure proper mixing or does he drive erratically to mix it?
Most petrol/diesel is stored at regional distribution depots, in huge tanks, often supplied by underground pipeline from the refinery - some unbranded road tankers supply filling stations of various brands and the additive package is only added when the fuel is transferred from road tanker to the filling station underground tanks - in other cases a branded road tanker does the same at filling stations for its brand.
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As its now shown it was a one off Occam Razor is pointing towards user error rather than theories about where fuel is purchased.
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"""Where do you buy your fuel? He asked. Tesco at the end of my road was my answer. He asked if I always use Tesco fuel. I said yes as I always fill up there before a journey. He drained the tank and put half a tank full of Shell petrol in. I took it for a long drive. The petrol dial moved less than a millimetre and the car behaved impeccably. Went back as requested and he said I’d just travelled 45 miles and used a fraction under a gallon.""
I suspect draining the tank was the ultimate cure. Can only speculate what was in the tank.
Surely ethanol is put in at the refineries. As regards trusting drivers with additive packs, many cannot be trusted to put the correct fuel into the right tanks on the forecourts hence the numerous reports of driver breakdowns after filling up
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I suspect draining the tank was the ultimate cure. Can only speculate what was in the tank.
A few days ago they repeated one of the pilot episodes of Porridge from 1975, when Fletch was accompanied by Messrs Mackay and Barrowclough on transfer to Slade prison, by dark blue Transit van. During a comfort break Fletch relieved himself near the fuel filler ....
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"As regards trusting drivers with additive packs, many cannot be trusted to put the correct fuel into the right tanks on the forecourts hence the numerous reports of driver breakdowns after filling up"
Is there any evidence that much/any misfuelling is the result of tanker drivers putting fuel into the wrong tanks?
If not, it seems that this is yet another of your mischievous/provocative posts, which seem to have become commonplace recently.
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""""If not, it seems that this is yet another of your mischievous/provocative posts, which seem to have become commonplace recently."""
Is their any evidence of the about except to say you do not like what I post?
It is not unknown for multiple drivers to experience refuelling problems as a result of a tanker driver delivering the wrong fuel to a forecourt tanks. Individual drivers mis-fuelling is something different
May be the site adjudicators might like to review your aggressive comments?
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Although I'm not an advocate of supermarket fuel, and I've contributed to that debate on this forum many times before stating my believe that branded fuel is a superior product to that bought at the supermarket, I don't think your problem is due to the use of it. What is very likely though is you picked up a dose of bad fuel. This does happen. Whilst every filling station makes every effort to ensure their tanks are clean there can always be times when they aren't. You could've bought your fuel when a tank was nearly empty and picked up some moisture or dirt. When this happens the problem goes away the next time you fill up. It's happened to me a couple of times.
The base stock is the same for all 95 RON, 97 RON and diesel fuel regardless of where you buy it. What's different is the cocktail of additives which are added after the fuel has left the refinery. The supermarkets don't add the same quality additives which improve performance and help to keep your engine clean. That's why supermarket fuel is cheaper. You are not buying the same end product as that bought at a branded station.
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Although I'm not an advocate of supermarket fuel, and I've contributed to that debate on this forum many times before stating my believe that branded fuel is a superior product to that bought at the supermarket, I don't think your problem is due to the use of it. What is very likely though is you picked up a dose of bad fuel. This does happen. Whilst every filling station makes every effort to ensure their tanks are clean there can always be times when they aren't. You could've bought your fuel when a tank was nearly empty and picked up some moisture or dirt. When this happens the problem goes away the next time you fill up. It's happened to me a couple of times.
The base stock is the same for all 95 RON, 97 RON and diesel fuel regardless of where you buy it. What's different is the cocktail of additives which are added after the fuel has left the refinery. The supermarkets don't add the same quality additives which improve performance and help to keep your engine clean. That's why supermarket fuel is cheaper. You are not buying the same end product as that bought at a branded station.
Even supermarket fuel has the minimum additive/cleaner required by EN standards - no big brand has ever published their additive/cleaner mix so no-one actually knows how they're better than the minimum.
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Even supermarket fuel has the minimum additive/cleaner required by EN standards - no big brand has ever published their additive/cleaner mix so no-one actually knows how they're better than the minimum.
Nothing to say OP didn`t fill up after the tanker delivered and took in whatever was mixed in the tank, I have filled up before from a supermarket station just as the tanker had gone off the forecourt and found performance was down on what it usually was, engine was ok after next fillup.....and no idea why??
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So just what is this so called cleaner additive mix. Is it some big secret known only to the brand like coca cola? Or is it just Redex in disguise or may be Doc Browns special to reach 88mph! Do trading Standards regularly test fuel so that it complies with the stated ron and if so are they able to test the brands statement of the additive properties of the fuel usually on premium brands.
I have always bought the cheapest fuel on offer in my area and touch wood never had any problems over a wide variety of cars and engines= all petrol.
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So just what is this so called cleaner additive mix. Is it some big secret known only to the brand like coca cola? Or is it just Redex in disguise or may be Doc Browns special to reach 88mph! Do trading Standards regularly test fuel so that it complies with the stated ron and if so are they able to test the brands statement of the additive properties of the fuel usually on premium brands.
I have always bought the cheapest fuel on offer in my area and touch wood never had any problems over a wide variety of cars and engines= all petrol.
Only way you may find out is ask the garage though doubt they will know, each company has their own mix of additives (those that use them) and are mixed apparently at the depot as tanker driver fills up, as for testing I gather the test is randomly done at garages to test not only the volume of fuel dispensed but its contents
there are occasions when a driver goes into a garage just after the tanker has filled up the tanks, when all the water and dirt has been mixed up which can cause problems even though they try to keep dirt and water out of them.
its always best to leave filling up untill about half hour after filling of tanks according to someone I know who was a tanker driver, but its up to you if you believe it or not, as most people don`t.
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That’s really weird as the tanker was there filling up the tanks as I was putting the petrol in. My dad who lives near me was saying he’d read in a local rag about a Tesco filling station in our area being fined for contaminated fuel. The Tesco petrol station that I used is now ‘closed for refurbishment’. Hmmm
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That’s really weird as the tanker was there filling up the tanks as I was putting the petrol in. My dad who lives near me was saying he’d read in a local rag about a Tesco filling station in our area being fined for contaminated fuel. The Tesco petrol station that I used is now ‘closed for refurbishment’. Hmmm
Tesco not far from me have refurbished and put new pumps in as they are going over to E10 1st september, so probably what they are doing, as for Tesco, I don`t think they are the only ones to have made mistakes in that regard, as I know of another that did the same by accident, so it does happen....
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So just what is this so called cleaner additive mix. Is it some big secret known only to the brand like coca cola? Or is it just Redex in disguise or may be Doc Browns special to reach 88mph! Do trading Standards regularly test fuel so that it complies with the stated ron and if so are they able to test the brands statement of the additive properties of the fuel usually on premium brands.
I have always bought the cheapest fuel on offer in my area and touch wood never had any problems over a wide variety of cars and engines= all petrol.
Only way you may find out is ask the garage though doubt they will know, each company has their own mix of additives (those that use them) and are mixed apparently at the depot as tanker driver fills up, as for testing I gather the test is randomly done at garages to test not only the volume of fuel dispensed but its contents
there are occasions when a driver goes into a garage just after the tanker has filled up the tanks, when all the water and dirt has been mixed up which can cause problems even though they try to keep dirt and water out of them.
its always best to leave filling up untill about half hour after filling of tanks according to someone I know who was a tanker driver, but its up to you if you believe it or not, as most people don`t.
You would think that petrol pumps at filling stations would have built in filters wouldn't you?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN4KN9AI4fI
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<< You would think that petrol pumps at filling stations would have built in filters wouldn't you? >>
It needs a clever filter to remove water effectively.
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