Poor fuel economy - 2.1td XM Auto '96

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naxia
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Poor fuel economy - 2.1td XM Auto '96

Post by naxia »

Hiyas guys, im a bit confused!!
Most topics or articals i read abouthe XM say they are very goon on fuel, well i have on and it drinks fuel like it is going out of fassionm i get about 70miles from £15 round, and the othere day it ran out of fuel so i put £4 in using a billy can and got abou 8 miles from it started to cut out again, am i going wrong somwhere?????
is there somthing that you all kmow that i dont, apart from most things !!!
Please help, how do i get it to do the frequently stated 40MPG urban and 48MPG crusing (fast), i relly like this car but its costing me too much to run, so please help.
No smoke from exhaust
filters clean
engine smoothe
no funny smells
passed MOT 200 miles ago so emmissions are okay iguess???
Thanks guys
madmanbob
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Post by madmanbob »

It would probably help if you measured the fuel consumption. It is measured in MPG not miles per £ as this depends on the cost of the fuel. The 2.1 does seem to use more than the 2.5 and with an auto box does not return better than 38 mpg in all round driving. If you were to drive around very gently in a very well serviced car then you may top 40 ish.
I have no doubt that others will step in and tell you theirs gives 98 mpg, but they drive it differently and with a few miles under its belt and a different service history they can be like chalk and cheese.
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Post by Peter.N. »

MY 2.1 td manual estate gives me an average 40 - 45 mpg and 50+ on the motorway, BUT I do live in a rural area so rarely do a journy of less than 10 miles and I dont drive like a lunatic (not that I am suggesting that naxia does) but more importantly, its manual. Driving an auto in a built up area is a recipe for your sort of problem, which is why late manuals are so difficult to get hold of and expensive. Try doing a nice gentle run on quiet roads and see what it does, if its still bad then look for a problem.
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

Have you checked things like soft tyres, binding brakes, restricted exhaust, fuel leaks, etc. There are an awful lot of things that can cause poor fuel economy.
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Post by Robin »

Make sure the spill/leak off pipes are all connected.
Change the auto transmission oil if not done recently. It loses viscosity and this can allow the engine speed road speed ratio to alter to the detriment of economy. Make sure it is up to level too!
Don't let the engine pull against the brakes when at standstill, knock it into neutral and allow the engine to idle off load.
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Post by wrinklet1 »

Give this a try, Put around 6 litres of PETROL in your tank and around 15 Litres of diesel. Get some Redex and pour one measure into your fuel tank. Remove the fuel filter and empty around 1/2 to 3/4 of the fuel out of the filter. Refil the filter with Redex and replace the filter. Prime the system and then run at fast idle for around 20 minutes. Then give the car a good brisk run down a motorway. This should clean the injectors and the fuel system of any crap.The petrol will make the fuel thinner and of a higher octane, but will also have the effect of helping clean your fuel lines too.
It works, I just had to do this on my Xantia Td, as it was cutting out because of fuel starvation or the like.
Paul
PS, Petrol will not do any damage except it may make the engine run hotter.
madmanbob
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Post by madmanbob »

PS, Petrol will not do any damage except it may make the engine run hotter.
You are joking aren't you? How many miles of wear will that put onto the injector pump? Upping the octane rating will have no effect on a diesel unless you have one with sparkplugs. The Cetane rating of petrol is lower than that of heating oil, let alone diesel.
Try this if you want but be warned it could cost more than buying a can of diesel injector cleaner.
naxia
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Post by naxia »

HAHA now now guys, i had a good larf at readin all that.
2 explain i got 21MPG round town and 32MPG (maybe 33) on a stretch, i just expected more than this, but i must say that i dont drive too slow if you know what i mean, but even when i go slow and more gentle it dosnt seem to make any difference.
Ive only got 83k on the clock so i wouldnt have thought it has much engine wear, although it has got a tow bar fitted!!!!!!
I recon i would be hapy to try any trick that is actualy any good, does anyone else have a 2.1td Auto that could say how much MPG they return?????
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sdabel
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Post by sdabel »

Are you sure that your odometer is working ? My XM has an intermittant speedo, most of the time you don't notice it but it means that fuel consumption figures are out.
regards
sean
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Post by jeremy »

I cannot see how an XM diesel auto can possibly do 40 around town and 48 on a run as my manual BX TD estate will record these figures and the ZX 1.9D is not much better (but much slower)
The XM is a large heavy car and yours is auto - so its bound to use fuel quite heavily. If you really try you may be able to save a bit but my recollections of driving autos is that they are really rather unpleasant unless pushed quite hard and so economy driving isn't really an option.
Jeremy
Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

I assure you that mine does. I didn't say 'around town' though, there arn't any towns here, the nearest is Exeter which is over 30 miles away, most of my driving is rural and not very fast. On a trip the the north of Scotland in June It did over 55mpg on the trip up, filled up at Tesco's in Axminster, filled up again at Tesco's in Inverness, tank still 1/4 full, average 55+ driving at between 60 and 70 mph. Overall average dropped a bit for the holiday on account of the hills. Mine is a manual though!
Peter.N.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Just to add, we also have a ZX estate and that doesn't seem to do any better. And I dont like automatics either.
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Ah yes - there's the difference - I expect my BX would do better if I drove it between 60 and 70 but I don't and therefore the fuel consumption increases. Best on a long run I have had was 52 and that wasn't going quite as fast.
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Jade Falcon
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Post by Jade Falcon »

All in all I think the XM does have reasonable fuel consumption. Mine is a 2 litre 95 CT Turbo Automatic, and I get about 38-45 urban driving. Ayr is a town with a lot of traffic lights, one way systems, mini and full sized roundabouts etc. Motorway driving, I measured getting about 98 out of £15 worth of fuel.
This was comparable to my previous hulk of a Cavalier and considering the XM's a lot more comfortable and a bit bigger I can't complain.
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