Picasso - poor fuel consumption

tvaustin

I have a picasso hdi 2.0 diesel 2003 which I purchased in March this year and has done 112000 miles. I mostly use my car in urban areas and when I bought it I was averaging around 39 MPG according to the trip computer - autotrader website said average urban comsumption is 41 MPG so was pretty happy.

About 6 weeks ago my service indicator light came on but couldn't afford to have it serviced so just left it. Around this time I installed a new dvd 7" radio to replace the factory radio I had.

I had major problems with the new radio - i had to keep resetting it because it would lose its memory, radio reception was non existant, power light would stay on.

My MPG dropped to about 34 MPG around this time.

About 3 weeks ago the car would not start. I charged the battery up indoors and it started the car the following day but the next day it was dead. When I connected it up to my battery charger it showed low charge/battery fault. The battery was 8 years old (fitted since new)

After talking to somebody at work he said that because my battery was old it may be causing my MPG to drop because extra power was needed to start the car.

I managed to get a new battery for the car and it started perfectly but my MPG was still poor. I replaced my new radio with the factory one incase the problem was related to the radio.

I booked the car in for a service and to look at the fuel comsumption but the earliest he could get me in was 3rd January

The last week the car has struggled to start - have to keep the key turned until it ticks over and starts. MPG currently shows about 28.

I can see no leaks anywhere and was just wondering if there is anything obvious I could do before taking it to the garage

Notmyrealname

Car overdue servicing starts running like a bag of spanners....sounds right.

Also about that time petrol stations will have gone onto winter fuel mixes which return lower MPG.

davetrousers

Winter fuel mixes???

TadleyBaggie

I had a 2.0 Hdi Picasso and rarely dropped below 50 MPG on a tank..

ed1178

The old battery will make little if any difference to fuel consumption, but as you have discovered will make the car harder to start.

The new DVD player will also not have any noticable effect, however if not properly installed could be draining the battery even when the car is "switched off" - worth double checking it has been correctly installed.

It may be worth checking the fuel consumption computer is working correctly - they are notoriously inaccurate, much better to measure your actual milage between fill ups and calculate manually. Electrical issues could have affected the readout, It is unusual for consumption to change as quickly as this, normally it gradually gets worse.

If you cannot afford a proper service at least change the air filter. A clogged and dirty filter makes quite a difference, especially if the car is driven hard. You should be able to do this yourself for a few quid.

AlexisV

Don't rely on your onboard computer. The accurate way to determine MPG is to fill up the tank, reset the mileometer and calculate it yourself when you refill.

forgotmyname

Depends on your journey type. Think of urban as clear roads and no traffic.

Every set of lights and traffic queue will make the fuel consumption figures plummet.

Had my diesel mondeo below 30mpg.. Few people commented on it being faulty, But on a saturday morning i can do
55mpg on A roads with a fair few islands and fairly light traffic, But making decent progress not dawdling.

If it takes 20 minutes to travel 1/4 of a mile then your not going to get 40+mpg.

Strider590

So owner couldn't afford to get it serviced, so bought a radio instead?

Or did I miss something?

Notmyrealname

davetrousers wrote: »

Winter fuel mixes???

Yes. With diesel, the fuel mix is altered for winter to reduce the chances of fuel waxing in low temperatures by increasing the amount of Benzine in the fuel. The benzine reduces the calorific content of the fuel so you get lower MPG as you get a "smaller bang per buck".

It typically starts being rolled out mid October and is switched back to summer mix around March.

Notmyrealname

Strider590 wrote: »

So owner couldn't afford to get it serviced, so bought a radio instead?

Or did I miss something?

Beggars belief doesn't it? Doesn't matter if the car is falling to bits around them as long as they can watch Shrek on the DVD player....

tvaustin

I actually bought the radio in May but did not have time to actually install it till about 6 weeks ago.