MPG seems very low. Ave 21-27mpg

[Handsome-Sym]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[Corradobrit]

My MY23 204/4Mo with 17" wheels and 5k on the clock typically returns 40.5mpg but that is mainly A roads/dual carriageways/motorway with some urban usage. Mainly urban and the average does take a hit, but 18-22 mpg seems particularly low.

 

[WelshGas]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

What year is your vehicle? How many miles? What size wheels? Are tyre pressures correct?

 

[Stu@rt]

You mentioned "little runs"? Don't suppose you are always in a DPF regen cycle are you?
During a regen extra fuel is used to burn off soot in the DPF and MPG is effected.
If you are using the Cali for lots of short runs a regen might not be completing before switching off.
If that was the case, you would hear the fans fire up as you switch off.
Ignore me if this is not the case, just throwing it out there.

 

[jonnystrong2000]

I only do long runs, typically 100+ miles on main single lane roads and motorways and dual carriageways. I have a 2016 Ocean 204 DSG but have removed the bike rack. I travel with the boot and cupboards full. I travel at the speed limits on single carriageways and set my cruise control to 65mph (about 63mph true) on dual carriageways and motorways and regularly see 41-43mpg. I used to set the cruise control at 72mph and would see 34-36mpg. Logic is, slow down Richie, stop getting mixed up in other peoples bad driving and lane use, 65mph takes me further away from that frustration. But gets me past HGVs and Coaches etc.

 

[Handsome-Sym]

What year is your vehicle? How many miles? What size wheels? Are tyre pressures correct?

Hi. Year 2019. 34k miles. 17 inch standard wheels. Tyre pressure 44 as recommended

 

[chockswahay]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

Don't worry too much. Mine is a 150 and on short around the houses runs I consider myself lucky to get much above 25 to 28 mpg.............. it goes up a bit if the engine is still warm. On a longer run, say 30 to 50 miles I would expect to see mid 30's mpg. On a journey over 100 miles it will go up to high 30's then really long trips, say 200 miles or more I get low 40's mpg if staying around 70 mph and high 40's mpg if I set the cruise at 60 mph and sit back and relax.....

There is so much that goes into all the mpg caper ...... weight, temperature, traffic, personal driving style, speed limits, length of journey.....etc etc

As many will tell you....... just drive and enjoy....... it will all come good in the end

 

[Handsome-Sym]

I only do long runs, typically 100+ miles on main single lane roads and motorways and dual carriageways. I have a 2016 Ocean 204 DSG but have removed the bike rack. I travel with the boot and cupboards full. I travel at the speed limits on single carriageways and set my cruise control to 65mph (about 63mph true) on dual carriageways and motorways and regularly see 41-43mpg. I used to set the cruise control at 72mph and would see 34-36mpg. Logic is, slow down Richie, stop getting mixed up in other peoples bad driving and lane use, 65mph takes me further away from that frustration. But gets me past HGVs and Coaches etc.

I honestly drive slow and keep my revs down because I don’t want to be burning this much fuel.

 

[Handsome-Sym]

Don't worry too much. Mine is a 150 and on short around the houses runs I consider myself lucky to get much above 25 to 28 mpg.............. it goes up a bit if the engine is still warm. On a longer run, say 30 to 50 miles I would expect to see mid 30's mpg. On a journey over 100 miles it will go up to high 30's then really long trips, say 200 miles or more I get low 40's mpg if staying around 70 mph and high 40's mpg if I set the cruise at 60 mph and sit back and relax.....

There is so much that goes into all the mpg caper ...... weight, temperature, traffic, personal driving style, speed limits, length of journey.....etc etc

As many will tell you....... just drive and enjoy....... it will all come good in the end

Thanks. Nice message. I love the van and I’m genuinely happy… I think I just haven’t had chance to test it in optimum long run conditions yet, so concerns me to fill up 4x at £400 for only 1480 miles.

 

[Handsome-Sym]

You mentioned "little runs"? Don't suppose you are always in a DPF regen cycle are you?
During a regen extra fuel is used to burn off soot in the DPF and MPG is effected.
If you are using the Cali for lots of short runs a regen might not be completing before switching off.
If that was the case, you would hear the fans fire up as you switch off.
Ignore me if this is not the case, just throwing it out there.

I wouldn’t know what a the regen cycle is, or what it sounds like. But this could be one of the issues. Dropping the missus to work for a 20 min run at a time.

 

[Corradobrit]

Thanks. Nice message. I love the van and I’m genuinely happy… I think I just haven’t had chance to test it in optimum long run conditions yet, so concerns me to fill up 4x at £400 for only 1480 miles.

That would concern me too, especially if you are babying it to achieve optimal fuel consumption. I would suggest getting a scan of the ECU and see if there are any stored codes.

 

[andyinluton]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

Sounds about right for short trips in cold weather.
The auxiliary engine heater fires up up if its less than 5 degrees every time you do a cold start. Then add in short journeys = more dPF regenerations.
My last 4 mile round trip to pick up daughter from Uni is showing 19.1 mpg
France at 70mph I expect 35mpg
General over 20 mile runs I expect 31mpg

Thats in a 4motion 204. Tyre width also play a big part, I think the difference between 215 and 255 tyres is about 5mpg

 

[wildslammer22]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

I have same T6 Cali, but I have it lifted with big tyres, roof rack etc. Generally it’s fairly well loaded too. I get around 33mpg on a long run and can drop down to 22 on short runs in town so it doesn’t sound like you have a major issue. If you can’t achieve mid 30's (assuming standard tyres etc) on a long run I’d be more concerned.

 

[rod_vw]

Our 2016 140bhp LWB T6 with a high roof has returned an overall average of a shade over 35MPG calculated full tank to full tank over a total mileage of 81,000miles.

Also of note is that the front brake pads and disks have never needed changing, I bought the van new.

So I can confidently say that the fuel consumption and brake wear is all down to the positioning and pressure applied mainly by the right foot!

 

[Handsome-Sym]

Our 2016 140bhp LWB T6 with a high roof has returned an overall average of a shade over 35MPG calculated full tank to full tank over a total mileage of 81,000miles.

Also of note is that the front brake pads and disks have never needed changing, I bought the van new.

So I can confidently say that the fuel consumption and brake wear is all down to the positioning and pressure applied mainly by the right foot!

I’m not flooring it as implied. I’m really conscientious.

 

[Stu@rt]

Hi. Year 2019. 34k miles. 17 inch standard wheels. Tyre pressure 44 as recommended

is that the 235's on the 17's ?

 

[andyinluton]

Our 2016 140bhp LWB T6 ...
...So I can confidently say that the fuel consumption and brake wear is all down to the positioning and pressure applied mainly by the right foot!

You don't think that having even more emissions equipment, 4 wheel drive & an extra turbo could possibly make any difference?

 

[dspuk]

I have a Cali Ocean 4motion 1968cc. I believe this has been discussed in similar threads, but I’m quite concerned. I seem to be getting really low miles per gallon. Always displays at around 18-22 mpg for little runs. On longer runs I might sneak up to 30mpg, but I’m starting to think I may have some engine/maintenance issues. Only owned it for coming up to 3 months, so pretty much learning as I go… Looking at previous conversations, and online guidance, I think Im getting well below what I should be achieving. It seems to go down a notch on the dial every time I do a 20 min journey.
Any advice on what I can do to improve this would be appreciated. I’m considering taking it to a local garage to check the mpg and potential issues.
Many thanks in advance.

Expected MPG in both cases. Best case you might get up to 35MPG but I find life far to short to worry about it and drive that way. I did do the sums on here for a similar post a while ago, but as a basic breakdown, the difference per annum on cost between 30 and 35 MPH at a Cali 8K per annum, is about 240 quid a year, or 20 quid extra a month.

On short runs you’re dragging a 3 tonne van around with a 2l engine. 18-22 is a bonus.

I drive it like I stole it. Esp on French motorways…

 

[rod_vw]

I’m not flooring it as implied. I’m really conscientious.

Please don't be offended by my comments.

However I can assure your driving conditions and driving style are the main influencers on fuel consumption.

I have a very regular first two miles of road when starting a journey and can confirm that the way that I drive those two miles will show very different fuel consumption figures. Ambient temperature and wind direction / wind speed also have some noticeable influence on the figures.

Some years ago I drove my daughter in law's Audi from a pub where we had eaten because I was the one who had consumed the least alcohol. Part way home she said to me that she had never seen such a high MPG figure on her own car on the same journey! The only difference was how hard I pressed on the right pedal and the anticipation of the need to slow down without pressing on the middle pedal.

 

[Fish111111111.]

I wouldn’t know what a the regen cycle is, or what it sounds like. But this could be one of the issues. Dropping the missus to work for a 20 min run at a time.

If the van is carrying out a regen cycle the tickover revs will be around 200 rpm more than usual . If it is do not switch of until the revs return to there normal this will help prevent further issues. There is a good video on you tube by "Campervan time" about there Cali, just search through there chanel , whilst they had a cali they did some good useful videos.

 

[Perfectos]

I drive it like I stole it.

This was the advice from the AA, when I had my EGR low flow issue within the first year of ownership, (Taking it easy and trying for fuel consumption)
The AA guy basically said, because of all the emissions controls fitted to these engines, (T6 on) you need to thrash the engine every now and then.

I switched off coasting function, which encourages the engine to idle, loose heat and cause more issues that it solves.
Deisel engine run more efficiently when they are hot, running cooler causes more fuel to be used and is therefore less efficient.

edit: the Batteries get a better charge when the coasting function is turned off , the Alternator puts out more Volts in longer bursts, simply because you have taken your foot off the accelerator and the Regen braking extra alternator output kicks in, which bring the Batteries above the 80% standard charge delivered from the alternator fof a longer period of time , (the other 20% capacity is reserved for Regenerative breaking etc.)

I now drive it freely, using the manual (DSG) gearbox controls quite a bit to use engine breaking and when the gearbox holds a gear too long increase the engine revs to let it run un laboured , like going up hill, (consequently there is more now than then ! )
no repeat of the issue.

 

[dspuk]

This was the advice from the AA, when I had my EGR low flow issue within the first year of ownership, (Taking it easy and trying for fuel consumption)
The AA guy basically said, because of all the emissions controls fitted to these engines, (T6 on) you need to thrash the engine every now and then.

I switched off coasting function, which encourages the engine to idle, loose heat and cause more issues that it solves.
Deisel engine run more efficiently when they are hot, running cooler causes more fuel to be used and is therefore less efficient.

I now drive it freely, using the manual (DSG) gearbox controls quite a bit to use engine breaking and when the gearbox holds a gear too long, like going up hill), (consequently there is more now than then ! )
no repeat of the issue.

As an Army mechanic we used to fix peoples cars on the weekend for a “yellow handbag” (if you know, you know).

I lost count of the number of people who’s cars came in complaining of slow running.

Job one was to thrash the backside out of it up and down the airfield until the engine glowed red and knocked on the bonnet asking to be let out.

9/10 this fixed the issue, which was faffing about on short runs causing the engine to get choked up with deposits that had not been burnt off properly.

The fix of engines needing longer hot runs predates a lot of the emissions challenges, with the choking issues moved mainly from the engine to the DPF.

Same issue really. Same problem. Same fix.

 

[Perfectos]

yellow handbag

Work, rest, Play !

 

[RockinNRollin]

Urban driving where it's much harder to smooth out the stops/starts will increase fuel consumption. There are loads of factors;

- Right foot
- Tyre pressures
- How the engine was broken in
- Quality of fuel
- Tyre size

FWIW in my 150 2wd on the "eco tyres" I have achieved 40mpg average over the 3100 miles I've had the vehicle for. Almost entirely leisure journeys and mostly longer ones. I've seen as high as 53mpg (tailwind) and as low as low 30s on a long run (headwind). Driving around town to get out of the urban sprawl with a still-cold engine I'm in the mid 20s usually.

 

[Perfectos]

There are loads of factors

Add
Engine / oil temperature to that List.
EGR pumps exhaust gasses back into the engine, when the engine is cold / cool, to attempt to raise the engine temperature more quickly , simply because a Diesel Engine is not efficient at low operating temperature. (That’s why VW have been increasingly forced to put all manner of devices on the engine to pass emissions standards).

Simply accelerating normally in traffic, at roundabouts , traffic lights etc will use a disproportionate amount of fuel compared to constant velocity driving where the engine just sits at steady revs. And reaches optimum operating temperature.