Vauxhall Corsa using too much petrol

kitty101 · 2 Dec 2005

Hello everybody , can anyone tell me why my corsa 1.2 N reg uses too much petrol,iit is doing about 60-70 miles on £10 of petrol, it has just passed it's MOT OK. Can any body help. thanks in anticipation kitty101

cjbigboy · 2 Dec 2005

How long ago was the MOT? was it using a lot of fuel prior to that?

If the car was overfuelling badly, it would have been picked up on the CO test during MOT as would any Fuel leaks.

Was the MOT done at a reputable Centre?

Your Corsa should be averaging 35-40mpg at least, but is currently giving on 24-28mpg.

You have several routes you can go down.
1. Is there a fuel leak from tank/pipes etc, if so you would smell it
2. Engine management fault. Has your engine management light come on?
Could be an ECU fault or one of the many sensors, the one of the most common faults is the Fuel Temp sensor which can cause it to overfuel and stall when warm? If not that could be a number of other sensors.

Other than that could be anything, mechanical fault, faulty injector, clogged air cleaner etc

I'd go get a CO test done, and if your management light comes on a Tech 2 test at your local Vauxhall dealer

CJ

nstreet · 2 Dec 2005

kitty101 said:
is doing about 60-70 miles on £10 of petrol,

Are you spending lots of time stuck in traffic at lights etc or lots of stop starts on the journey. This really does kill the fuel consumption. £10.00 is approx 2.5 gallons = 35 mpg, not far off.

kitty101 · 2 Dec 2005

Thanks for the quick replies, the car seems to run fine there is no smell of petrol, the engine management light does not come on, the car was tested at a good mot test station, not hal***d's. The engine runs really well, only problems I have had is a slight missfire on some damp mornings and if I leaving the engine idling when cold it stops and is a bad to restart.
regards kitty101

cjbigboy · 2 Dec 2005

nstreet said:
£10.00 is approx 2.5 gallons = 35 mpg, not far off.

Not as far off as your maths, lol

60miles / 2.5 = 24mpg
70miles / 2.5 = 28mpg

Misfire on damp mornings is interesting. Are you able to take the spark plugs out and check them. They should all be a nice golden brown colour at the electrodes. If one is all black and sooty would certainly indicate a misfire.
Could be a faulty plug, lead or a faulty ignition coil pack.

Any misfire would certainly give poor fuel economy and starting problems.

CJ

nstreet · 3 Dec 2005

Then again his tenner may not be buying 2.5 gallons, especially if he's paying London prices, my figures aren't as far off as yours then.

cjbigboy · 3 Dec 2005

nstreet said:
Then again his tenner may not be buying 2.5 gallons, especially if he's paying London prices, my figures aren't as far off as yours then.

But YOU based your figures on 2.5 gallons, just wondered how you got to 35mpg.

or is a London Gallon bigger than elsewhere? lol

kitty101 · 3 Dec 2005

Hello cj, thankyou for your idea's, the early morning missfire soon clears up after maybe 300-400 metres and then runs OK. It's the problem with the engine cutting out if is left idling when first started up, I had this same problem with a 1.4i astra, any idea's. kitty101

Porker · 3 Dec 2005

Wife's Rover had a fuel consumption problem . Turned out to be the lambda sensor. Is the exhaust sooty and are the plugs black as queried by cj?

kitty101 · 3 Dec 2005

Hello porker, thanks for the quick reply. The exhaust is not sooty, must admit that I havn't checked the plugs.
regards kitty101

cjbigboy · 3 Dec 2005

As you mention an idle problem, might be worth checking out the Idle Control Valve.

Its a small black component screwed onto the side of the Multec Fuel injector/throttle body housing. The link below shows a picture of the component.

http://www.vauxallparts.co.uk/?product_id=12247&option=Prod_detail&image_id=8553

They do tend to get clogged up and bit and can sometimes be cleaned with Carb Cleaner.
If not that, could be a number of other sensors. Fuel Temp sensor is a popular fault on Corsas and Astra's.

We are grasping at straws, though and I would tend to get the car booked in somewhere to be checked.

CJ

kitty101 · 3 Dec 2005

Thanks cj, you have been very helpful, I think I will book the car in for a checkup. Kitty101

darude · 7 Dec 2005

My old rover had similar symptoms, when I tool the spart plug out, after the car was left a while one of the cylinders was full of oil and coolant (I had to top up coolant every 200 miles, and oil every 500miles). When I took it to a garage for further investigation I was warned that it could be very costly. I got a second opinion and was told that worse case it could be a cracked cylinder head block and to check this would cost a fortune. I fancied a new car anyway so just decided to change it.

Fingers crossed it's nothing like that.

johnwr · 7 Dec 2005

Hello Darude, I am sorry to say that the problem you had with your Rover is standard if it's a 1.4 K series engine. The cylinder head castings are cr*p, they used to be made by West Yorkshire foundries in Leeds (owned by rover) then they sold the company to some german company and they still can't get it right. regards johnwr
PS at least with Rover going t*ts upThousands of mechanics will be glad then they will not have to get involved with this rover/honda abortion much longer. End of rant.

darude · 13 Dec 2005

Hi Johnwr,

Yes I had the 1.4K series Engine, glad to know I wasn't being sold porkies back then. My partner fancies a Rover 200 to replace her car, I'll make sure to steer clear of the 1.4, do you know if the 1.6 / 1.1 engines suffered from this, or other ridiculus issues.

Darren

Vauxhall Corsa using too much petrol

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