I bought my Skoda Fabia 1.2 Classic 2003 a couple of weeks ago and i'm concerned at how much fuel i'm using compared to my last car (1.4 VW Polo 2000). The fuel light came on so i put £10 worth of petrol (£1.21 pl) in  and set the milage clock to 0. Then carried on driving as normal, the fuel light came on again after 47 miles. 

 

I do drive in the city and approx 8 miles a day, so it is short distances but i thought i'd get better mpg. Any idea on why this is happening or how i can improve it will be gratefully appreciated.

 

Thanks

service it

I was hitting 50mpg so something's not quite right

it was only serviced 6 months ago by the previous owner, which is why i was wondering. 

it was only serviced 6 months ago by the previous owner, which is why i was wondering. 

you got proof of that as people lie

you got proof of that as people lie

yeah i've got the service log with the stamps in it. well i hope their genuine then

yeah i've got the service log with the stamps in it. well i hope their genuine then

i work in a m.o.t centre got a stamp by here in my draw don't mean nothing m8 my first thing to do would be to service it see if it helps take the plugs out have a look at them

i work in a m.o.t centre got a stamp by here in my draw don't mean nothing m8 my first thing to do would be to service it see if it helps take the plugs out have a look at them

Exactly, not hard to buy a 99p ebay stamp

The fuel light came on so i put £10 worth of petrol (£1.21 pl) in  and set the milage clock to 0. Then carried on driving as normal, the fuel light came on again after 47 miles. 

 

 

Holy crap! Even my prehistoric MPI engine doesn't use that much fuel. Not driving with the handbrake on are you?

When light comes put 10 litres in as it's awkward to try and workout how many miles to a gallon, when my light comes on and I put in 10 litres of diesel will get me 100 miles. A good service would help the car too.

I'd say  to check the tires to be inflated, replace the air filter if required ... standard stuff. My 1.4 mpi does about 10l/100km in city driving .. (in the factory brochure said about 9.4-9.7). You are doing somehere about 11l/100km so it's not that bad. It depends on how cold is outside, the engine having to consume more fuel to get to it's standard operation temperature. Talking about this, check the thermostat also. If you are using bigger tires than the ones specified, it is normal to get a lower mpg. Another thing would be to scan it for fault codes with a VAGCOM interface. A faulty lambda probe can cause a lower mpg as well.

1000p/121 = 8.26l

8.26/4.546 = 1.81G

47/1.81 = 26mpg.

 

If you drive short journeys and in the city, I'd expect similar mileage to be honest, especially if it is stop/start driving.

 

Especially at this time of year also.

 

However, this is not an accurate measure of mpg, as you are 'guessing' the fuel used.

Need to brim the tank, do 100 miles, then brim it again.

That' correct. An average fuel consumption should be calculated after driving about 3-500miles imo.

I bought my Skoda Fabia 1.2 Classic 2003 a couple of weeks ago and i'm concerned at how much fuel i'm using compared to my last car (1.4 VW Polo 2000). The fuel light came on so i put £10 worth of petrol (£1.21 pl) in  and set the milage clock to 0. Then carried on driving as normal, the fuel light came on again after 47 miles. 

 

I do drive in the city and approx 8 miles a day, so it is short distances but i thought i'd get better mpg. Any idea on why this is happening or how i can improve it will be gratefully appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

That's terrible, sounds like the ECT sensor is bad, quick and cheap fix is to replace it, make sure you reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery after you've replaced it, is the car warming up properly even on short runs, if not the thermostat may be stuck open as well which will make matters worse.

Yout getting crap fuel economy becuaee of your short distances. While the engine is cold. Its programed to run richer so less mpg. Also as its will be getting clogged up. Take it for a good run some time to clear it out.

You'll get better mpg