Fuel consumption on an R plate 1.8 Vectra automatic

Seems abit on the heavy side, what sort of run was the London-Manchester trip? If it was mostly all motorway at 70-75 I would expect closer to 40mpg.

Tim..

As Tim says, a bit heavy, especially on the long haul, however there are many variables and it's been rather cold out recently. How hard has it been driven?

Hi

I am 'the girlfriend' and it is my Vectra that is thirsty. I had a pretty good run up the M1 at an average 80ish, slowed down to about 50 through the Nottingham junctions, then 40 miles cross country at about

The amount of loyalty Tesco points for petrol I am accumulating don't quite make up for it somehow!

For that kind of run my V6 2.5 Omega would return about the same MPG, maybe a bit better!!

Dave

Its definately slight to quite heavy then! For that run our S70 2.5 would be doing 34-35mpg.

Firstly, has it been serviced reasonably recently, are the tyres blown up, are the brakes binding and is the engine reaching proper working temperature on the gauge?

Whats the mileage on the car? If all of the above are good, i'd be lookng at an exhaust emissions test to see if the o2 sensor is switching or not.

Tim..

Folks :- Many thanks for the replies. It's done a few miles (95000 to be exact) but was serviced 1500 miles ago. Tyres are pumped up, it got through the MOT last weekend, so I guess the emissions must be OK. I'm not sure about the brakes binding (how do I tell - the things seem to work?) But the proper operating temperature question is an interesting one.... The temperature guage goes from 80 to 100 and when the car is warmed up it barely touches 80. 'The girlfriend' is delighted by this as it means the car isn't going to overheat. I have a strong suspicion that probably explains the horrible fuel consumption, but I've spoken to three mechanics all of whom have said if the fan comes on and the car doesn't overheat then what on earth am I complaining about? This is odd as I've always found mechanics keen to drum up business, is changing a thermostat on a vectra such a horrible job? Thanks Kev

London-Manchester

If after say 10miles of motorway driving (i.e. plenty of airflow) the temp gauge is not around 95degrees, and / or immediately stopping and carefully removing the cap and inserting a thermometer into the header tank also does not show around 90degrees then the thermostat is faulty.

The fan should only come on as engine temp approaches 105degrees.

Tim..

In the summer, we sat and left it running for the mechanic to check the fan cuts in, and yes it does at about 85 degrees. Not sure how hard it was driven before I bought it in summer, but I use it for work, shopping, running around - and at least one long motorway trip every couple of weeks. The car is in decent shape, was serviced by a garage who the local police use to service their cars, passed the MOT without any problems last week and never (touch wood!) causes me any real problems.

On a hot day in traffic the temp creeps up to 85 where the fan cuts in, and at the moment in this cooler weather the temp touches just over 80 (which is a third of the way on my scale) and creeps up very slightly in traffic. Three separate mechanics have assured me that this is fine, and a car that doesn't overheat is wonderful - but my other half thinks that the reason I get through so much petrol is because my car runs cool.

Now as a mere girly, to have a car that I don't have to worry about that gauge climbing up in traffic on hot days is a wonderful thing. My other half looks at it, shakes his head, points to all my petrol bills and is itching to find someone to prove him right! I know it IS

Something's not right there. Either the temperature gauge is wrong or the cooling system is, heh, wrong.

Yes it may well be.

I believe somebody else said that the cooling fan should cut in at 105 degrees. Do any of the Vauxhall peeps know if the fan is activated by the ECU or by another thermostat?