Yeah, I may consider changing the oxygen sensor based just on age.

Do we know what kind it is, so maybe a universal one will do the trick?

Do you have the computer? It would be interesting too see what the mpg reading is in your car , compared to the 'real life' mpg as you have measured. Mine is normally around 36-38mpg in town , and closer to high 40s on a run , and I have seen 50s on the display when ive been behind a 'driving miss daisy' kind of driver. The 'number 2' reading (the one which takes your last 9999 miles I belive) is currently around the 35mpg mark. my car only has 37800 on the clock though , and is normaly stuck in town.

Does it run at the correct temperature?, the thermostats are prone to breaking on these engines.

Does it run at the correct temperature?, the thermostats are prone to breaking on these engines.

The temperature display stays way left for around 5-10mins then it stabilises near the middle. Does look like normal winter behaviour, doesn't it?

Just discovered the trip computer button:doh: , so I'll get some figures for reference. It is currently blank.

My uncle has recently bought a y reg BMW 323ci to replace his 1.4 mpi which i have now got for my first car.

He tells me that he is getting similiar fuel economy from the bimmer as he was from his fabia.

i found this worrying and got the car plugged into VAG-COM. It turns out the Lamba sensor needed replacing along with a clutch and a rattly timing chain.

I found it well worth the effort getting my car plugged in as it revealed exactly what needed done. Hopefully the fuel economy will increase also.

But would it not have trouble passing emissions if the oxy sensor was that far off?

Yes in theory the HC emissions would be high......

You'll only know if its emissions are high if youve just failed the MOT on it though , if its months since your MOT you'd be none the wiser.

Hmmm...

Makes me wonder if it has a dodgy MOT.

I've discovered that it should have a 5-wire lambda sensor, found a non-Bosch one for £75inc.

I'll probably go for it and see what effect it has on mpg.

The original sensor can't be too well after 85K miles, it's probably about to die anyway.

Let's hope that the sensor is easily accessible...

Hmmm...

Makes me wonder if it has a dodgy MOT.

Probably not - my car's had a dodgy lambda probe for the last two MOT tests it's been through, and there's never been a problem with the emissions...

Rob.

OK, ordered the sensor Thursday night, this morning it was delivered.

£75 all inc. Not bad.

It's now in place, direct replacement. the old sensor had a red tint on it.

Anyway, we'll see what difference it makes on mpg (if any!)

I started looking for the sensor at the front of the engine, but the exh manifold wasn't there, lol.

Bit of an old design, I didn't know they still did cyl heads that are not crossflow. Bad for thermal efficiency, good for driving in very cold weather though.

you should easily be getting 35+ and into the 40's on a longer run...

...and then some.

During my normal hop to work, down the East Lancs, which gets a tad busy :P I return around avg of 41MPG, on the run down the M6 to our friends at weekends, even at ..ahem.. 69MPH I return an avg of around 51MPG.

Mines a 1.4MPI too, 2002 model.

We'll see.

Getting 235 miles out of the tank is a bit of a disgrace, isn't it.

Now that I've discovered the trip computer controls I'm seeing 40mpg average in mild motorway use and thirties in heavier traffic.

That's more like it...hopefully the trip computer figures bare some resemblance to reality

Brim it.......it's the only way to know for sure.

Let us know how you get on though. Lots of people complain about naff mpg on the MPi. Will be interesting to see how this affects it.

We'll see.

Getting 235 miles out of the tank is a bit of a disgrace, isn't it.

Now that I've discovered the trip computer controls I'm seeing 40mpg average in mild motorway use and thirties in heavier traffic.

That's more like it...hopefully the trip computer figures bare some resemblance to reality

1.4MPI (If this is an 8v) is very thirsty anyway, only managed an official 30.1MPG IIRC

I was getting over 40MPG out of my old one, see attatched picture, but then the rear lambda sensor became faulty and it dropped into the sort of figures you are seeing

So what does the rear lambda do?

If it simply checks for the efficiency of the catalyst, then it can't have much impact on fuelling, can it?

I would have thought that the first sensor is used by the ECU for closed-loop operation.