MPG too low? Funny noises?

broke=skint

Hi there,

I have taken my 04 plate Peugeot 206 to a mechanic many times but I think they are starting to think I am crazy!
About 6 months ago my exhaust was blowing so I took it to my local garage who said it was just a bracket that came loose. They repaired it and I went on my way.
At this time I knew if I filled up my tank I would get 400+ miles for about £40.00
After this I noticed my fuel gauge going down way faster than normal.
Last time I filled up I took £50.00 at 134.0p. I used http://www.torquecars.com/tools/uk-mpg-calculator.php

to find the following:

Your fuel consumption
( MPG) ( Km per litre)( litre per 100Km)
Averaging pence per mile
(40+ mpg for petrol is good under 23 is bad)

So thats bad isnt it? Or is that normal for an older car? My car is in pretty good condition, I have it serviced and the tires are always checked.
The only thing I have noticed is a grinding noise coming from the front wheels on occassion. I can only get this to happen if I am breaking going down a hill whilst going round a corner! Then it goes away if I apply the breaks again.

Could this be the breaks sticking and could this be causing my higher petrol consumption?
I have taken the car into the garage for both reasons. They told me the MPG was normal and I had to allow for the rise in petrol prices, but the amount of miles I can do on a full tank has nearly halved, I would expect that if petrol prices had doubled!
And the noise thing, well they said they couldnt replicate it so I was over reacting.

Can anyone advise how to improve my MPG and any ideas on what the noise could be?

Thanks in advance!

rev_henry

Something's gone wrong copying and pasting mpg - I can't see any figures...

broke=skint

Sorry! Can you see it now?

Your fuel consumption
( 30.09 MPG) ( 10.65 Km per litre)( 9.38967 litre per 100Km)
Averaging 20.24 pence per mile
(40+ mpg for petrol is good under 23 is bad)

rev_henry

Hmm, what engine size is it and what kind of driving do you do? Its not so low there's definitely something wrong, but its possible...

brokenant

As a comparison my partner drives a 2001 206 1.6 petrol, she does short journeys of max 3 miles. The car returns 35-38 mpg.

broke=skint

Thanks.
Its only a 1.1, I drive sensibly but I only ever do short journeys...maybe 20 minutes driving at the most everyday.
Put it this way, a full tank will last me a month, the car is 7 years old and its only done 48,000 miles.

brokenant wrote: »

As a comparison my partner drives a 2001 206 1.6 petrol, she does short journeys of max 3 miles. The car returns 35-38 mpg.

Hmm, thats quite a difference. If I take it to the garage again, is there something specific they should look at?

thescouselander

Are your tyres inflated correctly?

anotherbaldrick

Find a section of quiet road, dead flat. At 30 take your foot off the throttle and push the clutch right out. See how the car coasts It should run on slowing for about 150-200yards . If it slows quite quickly something is binding.

reeac

The noise certainly "sounds" like slightly sticking front brakes but they wouldn't normally affect mpg. noticeably. I wonder whether an exhaust analysis would be worthwhile - ought to show up any defects in the combustion process and wouldn't take a garage long to do.

broke=skint

thescouselander wrote: »

Are your tyres inflated correctly?

As far as I know, but I will definatley check them.

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Find a section of quiet road, dead flat. At 30 take your foot off the throttle and push the clutch right out. See how the car coasts It should run on slowing for about 150-200yards . If it slows quite quickly something is binding.

Ok, I'll try that tomorrow, but first I have to find out how far 150-200 yards is! I'm not too good with distances!
If it stops quicker does that mean the breaks are sticking?

reeac wrote: »

The noise certainly "sounds" like slightly sticking front brakes but they wouldn't normally affect mpg. noticeably. I wonder whether an exhaust analysis would be worthwhile - ought to show up any defects in the combustion process and wouldn't take a garage long to do.

I assumed my garage had already done that when I took it in with the exhaust problem.
If I get it checked would it be better to take it into a Peugeot dealer rather than my local little garage? Would they have better equipment?

Thanks all for your suggestions and input!

s_b

reeac wrote: »

The noise certainly "sounds" like slightly sticking front brakes but they wouldn't normally affect mpg. noticeably.

really
whenever i get a car with sticking brakes i cant push the thing so i would suggest your theory is ever so wrong:)
i suggest a thorough brake check and possibly a full service and try from there OP