V60 D4 economy

[gman88667733]

I posted about my V60 economy a while ago, just wanted to touch base and see if it is correct for the trips we are doing etc...

Generally speaking, it does 35mpg bang on, every tank. Doesn't seem to matter if we do a longer trip (Newton Abbot down to Plymouth and back for example). Rest of the journeys are all at least 8 miles, partner tends to do a 12 mile commute each way.

It is a manual D4 with 155k on the clock. To me, the mpg seems low. I was expecting at least 40.

Problem is, I wouldn't know where to start for looking at issues on a modern diesel that would affect economy.

Tyre pressures are always correct, we don't exactly drive like idiots either...

An average week for it is mostly my partner's commute of 12 miles there and 12 back. Then at the weekend it will do a few more miles, shorter trips on the whole I'd say. But even with longer dual carriageway trips, it seems to stay firm at 35ish.

Can anyone think of anything that would be worth checking/if that is probably just the correct fuel economy for it. I know it is a heavy car, but I see most people seem to be getting 45+ on shorter trips.

To add, I almost always use shell V power diesel, when maybe every few tanks I use regular shell fuel save. But pretty much always shell fuel.

I did have an odd moment a month or so ago where I was driving along at 70 and suddenly lost all power, no warning lights at all though. But the car would barely hold it's speed for about 3 minutes, I ended up in 3rd gear going up a slight incline just about holding 50. It then came back and was fine for the rest of the 40-50 miles of the journey. Have driven long trips since then and it hasn't reoccurred. Very odd.

What is also interesting is the trip computer underestimates my mpg (it shows an average of 32.5 currently and going up and down from there) but it is always higher when I calculate at the pumps.

Also worth noting, I live on Dartmoor and so our drive back home from anywhere is very uphill for most of the trip, that may well have a bigger affect than I expect.

Thanks

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 15:18

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 15:19

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 15:24

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 15:28

[Blert]

I've got a D4 in an S60 2014 automatic. Not had it long, but I'm getting mid 40's combined driving, so for a manual I would be expecting more.
You don't say if you do your own maintenance, but I'd check for any error codes being logged if you have that facility. The loss of power event will certainly be logged.
The basics, otherwise, are air filter and inlet/turbo cleanliness. I'd add a good turbo cleaner to the fuel and give it a long drive!

[gman88667733]

It has a full service history. Just had a service actually.

I'll see if I can get the codes read, hopefully it stored something. I would have thought and EML would show up really? I've got a basic code reader, I wonder if that'd show anything up. (It is just a cheapo Euro car parts one)

I was going to put some proper strength Forte cleaner in, but read horror stories about using any of these additives in modern engines. Do I just go for it?

On a long run, the range goes up a lot (I believe I've had it show a combined range + current mileage of about 800 before). My first tank with the car was 38mpg and that had a really long trip. Since then it's been 35 consistently.

The only concern I have outside of this is that on top of injectors 3 and 4, there appears to be a bit of oil (I think). Probably just from spillage from services as they are at the filler cap end, but there is a small amount sat on top that can be seen when taking the engine cover off. May be worrying about nothing, but given the fuel economy I'm over analysing everything. To be fair though, the car runs perfectly, no vibrations, starts well, idles well, plenty of power etc..

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 19:34

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 19:48

[gman88667733]

My cheapo maxiscan OBD2 reader shows 0 codes, past or present.
What I should do really is fill it up, go for a longer run and then calculate mpg just from the longer run and see what it gets. If it is a good figure, then perhaps it really is just my driving style/trips etc... Being critical, when I drive it I definitely do make the most of the power, mainly for the benefit of the dpf

Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 24th November 21:18

[gman88667733]

I might be wrong, but on my drive to work this morning, with the window down and putting the car under load when accelerating, I heard a bit of a chatter at a certain rev range. Only when under load though and I could only hear it with the window down.

Could that be the start of an injector going? If there a better way to check this? It would explain the bad fuel consumption. Then again, the car has had the same fuel consumption and no noticeable changes since I got it 5 months and about 4k miles ago.

I was wrong before, I meant injectors 4+5 when I referenced them earlier, I forgot mine is the 5 cylinder

Edited by gman88667733 on Thursday 25th November 06:52

[gman88667733]

I've just had a listen to the injectors by holding a screwdriver to the top of them. None of them sound obviously bad, #5 is definitely a deeper tone than 1-4, but that might just be by design...

It does sound clickier and more clattery at that end of the fuel rail, but it is a diesel, so it may just be characteristic...

I was hoping one would sound significantly different. They were all tapping equally at idle, which doesn't really help me.

Here are some pictures of them. The first two show the little bit of (oil?) Around the bases, the other 3 are dry.

Edited by gman88667733 on Thursday 25th November 07:35

[Blert]

It's difficult to tell if the injectors are leaking. If you can find somebody with VIDA then that would show any problems. At this stage I wouldn't get too hung up about it if the car is running well, but a dose of Forte and a good run won't do any harm and might just clean any injectors that are clogging. Replacing injectors (or reseating them) is not the end of the world and can be done by yourself if you have the tools etc. Check the SiRobb channel on YouTube.

[gman88667733]

Blert said:

It's difficult to tell if the injectors are leaking. If you can find somebody with VIDA then that would show any problems. At this stage I wouldn't get too hung up about it if the car is running well, but a dose of Forte and a good run won't do any harm and might just clean any injectors that are clogging. Replacing injectors (or reseating them) is not the end of the world and can be done by yourself if you have the tools etc. Check the SiRobb channel on YouTube.

Thanks for that. It does run really well, so I don't think I'm going to pursue it too much at this stage. It has done 155k miles, so it wouldn't exactly be a shocker if it needed doing. The fuel consumption I'll keep an eye on, but I think it is heavily down to our journeys and where we drive. It isn't quite bad enough to be too worried about (I don't think).
So I'll wait and see if anything changes!
Can Forte cause any harm? I've seen lots of posts about additives causing big issues on newer diesels

[Blert]

I'm an advocate for additives etc. Some say it's snake oil, but I've always been happy to use.

One consideration may be that, if the injectors are leaking, then carbon and gunk will be providing a degree of a seal. Dissolve that and you might reveal a bigger leak which might not be helpful. I think I would give the oily injector heads a really good clean with a degreaser and a brush, make sure they're dry and then keep an eye on them for a few days/weeks. If no oil then go with a fuel additive to clean the system.

[gman88667733]

Blert said:

I'm an advocate for additives etc. Some say it's snake oil, but I've always been happy to use.

One consideration may be that, if the injectors are leaking, then carbon and gunk will be providing a degree of a seal. Dissolve that and you might reveal a bigger leak which might not be helpful. I think I would give the oily injector heads a really good clean with a degreaser and a brush, make sure they're dry and then keep an eye on them for a few days/weeks. If no oil then go with a fuel additive to clean the system.

That'll be my job for the weekend then! It look like really old oil, almost more like old residue. But i'll give it a go. If the additive does reveal a bigger leak, at least I have a more obvious problem that I can tackle (a new injector/injectors)