Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 2003 1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption

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Thu 21 Feb 2008 21:38
2003 1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - chriswspongecake
Hi,

I've recently bought a Focus 1.8 Tdci 115bhp from a Ford dealer. I'm a bit disappointed by its fuel consumption as I'm only getting about 48mpg from it whereas I thought that this car is supposed to do about 53mpg. This is about 540 miles on a full tank if I leave it as long as poss until the fuel needle really isn't moving.

I have replaced the air filter with a K&N replacement filter (not induction kit) as the dealer appeared to have failed to replace the filter when they serviced it (black as the ace of spades!), but this has not improved the consumption. I have also once or twice red-lined it to try and clear its throat (not sure whether this still applies as older diesels used to get a bit sooted up if not revved occaisonally).

I'm reasonably enthusiastic driving it but I drive approx 30miles to work and back each way so its not short journeys. Is this the sort of consumption to expect? What do other people get out of theirs? I'm a bit cheesed off about this as my previous car - a Pug 306hdi estate which was a much heavier car but with slightly bigger 2L engine but only 90bhp and with better low speed torque used to do a regular 50mpg no matter how I drove it.

I have vaguely wondered whether after 70,000 miles its advisable to run some injector cleaner through it - I am also extremely aware from other forums (veg oil, doh!) that these injectors aint cheap! Can anyone advise?

Another thing I have vaguely wondered about but wouldn't really consider without making very, very sure, is an ECU remap - does anyone have any experiences??. I can see that the benefits of tailoring the ECU settings to get the best performance/economy but also a bit concerned about possible side affects.

thanks

chris

Edited by Webmaster on 29/07/2008 at 18:56

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Thu 21 Feb 2008 21:56
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Railroad.
48mpg - What on earth are you complaining about? The figures you quote are government test figures, and can only be used to give a crude comparison between one car and another. They are taken on a rolling road, where all conditions are ideal, and do not in any way accurately replicate the kind of conditions your car would encounter on a road. They have never been supposed to be taken as gospel. Your true mpg figures will always be considerably lower than the test figures, and I'd be estatic about achieving 48 miles per gallon......
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Thu 21 Feb 2008 23:26
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
You are quite possibly right but for this ultra modern engine I would have said that 48 isn't actually that great - I had an S-reg Seat 1.9 that did a regular 53mpg and that was a much older plain turbo-d.

Interesting to see what other owners say though....
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Thu 21 Feb 2008 23:44
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Screwloose
Chris

You're not alone being appalled at the consumption of the latest diesels.

All that new emission equipment has caused a torrent of complaints about fuel mileage across all makes - and it's only going to get worse. You only drive a diesel for the torque characteristics now - petrols are cheaper overall.
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Thu 21 Feb 2008 23:47
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - nick74
A Focus hatch is actually slightly heavier than a 306 HDi estate, and Parkers site data suggests that the 306 HDi should get about 54 mpg, with around 51 mpg for the Focus. Your figures of 50 & 48 MPG respectively in real life sound about right.
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Fri 22 Feb 2008 11:28
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Graemetdci
Your consumption figures seem about spot on from my and others experience who have the TDCi. I had a 2002 Focus 1.8 zetec TDCi (115ps) 3 door hatch and in mainly urban driving with a bit of motorway thrown in, averaged around 45 - 48mpg. More recently, a change of workplace meant I had a daily commute of 65 miles each way on 60mph A roads and some m'way. For these journeys, the consumption improved to 53-55mpg (up to 630 miles on one tank). My car was totally standard on 15in tyres (pressures checked frequently and kept at 32psi)

My car was rated at 51mpg so I was quite happy with the figures I achieved. What sort of drive is your commute ie start stop or open road?

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Sat 23 Feb 2008 19:10
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
I forgot to say that my Focus is an estate not hatch which from what Nick74 was saying would make it even heavier than a 306 estate - I haven't checked this but my 306 felt way heavier than the Focus and more stable at cruising speed, in terms of build the 306 felt much more solid - the tailgate on the 306 would probably squash you if it fell on you! On the other hand though, the electrics and the ultra-soft rear suspension were dire!!

From what people have been saying the fuel would be about right, my commuting mileage is all on varied A-roads, generally quite slow . I think Screwloose is right - it seems to drive more like a petrol which really frustrates me as there is no low speed torque - I've stalled it numerous times as I'm used to being able to pull away in proper diesel fashion on just on the clutch and being able to churn up hills whereas the focus needs acceleration to even get it to move and if you get a junction wrong in second it stalls! Its probably largely expectation of a newer car with newer engine and ambitious manufacturers figures then... bit disappointing. I think on the whole although Focus's are supposed to be good I'm not actually all that impressed with the way it drives, maybe I'll get used to it in time... There endeth the rant..

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Sun 24 Feb 2008 09:49
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
Addendum to the above. This morning I will admit to being a bit of a numpty. Cautionary note for all those concerned about fuel consumption - always check your TYRE PRESSURES! Doh!

Lots of time at work and driving in the dark recently has led to me ommitting to check this vital statistic and only when giving the car a much needed wash this morning I was ashamed to discover and to admit that one tyre had the grand sum of 16psi in it. Normally I check these regularly and religiously so I will spend the rest of the day flogging myself with a dead haddock as punishment. I think the wheels may need balancing as well. Oh, the drive back from the garage after putting some air in felt significantly better....

chris
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Sun 24 Feb 2008 11:27
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - quizman
I agree with the others, 48 mpg is very good.
I had a TDCI 115 which never did more than 40 mpg, even on long runs. I got rid after the DMF packed up.
When you hear a rattling and banging sound when starting the car, get rid quick!
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Mon 25 Feb 2008 18:31
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
sorry, DMF?

Might be even better now the tyres have some air in!
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Mon 25 Feb 2008 18:57
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - quizman
The DMF is the dual mass flywheel which is causing alot of trouble with Ford TDCIs, Try googling DMF and you will have a good read!

Screwloose or Aprilia will come along soon with more detailed information. The garage wanted nearly £1000 to repair mine, I sold it to them and bought a different make.
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Thu 6 Mar 2008 07:58
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - richard14
Hi

I have a 56 plate focus Titanium 1.8TDCi with 17k miles on the clock. I too am not happy with fuel consumption. It averages 44-48mpg. I recall years ago when I bought an old diesel Escort with 160k miles on the clock. That used to return over 50mpg, and then I had a 1.9TD VW Passat estate, which again was over 50mpg.

However, I am sure that the cooling problems (which are well documented elsewhere on Honest John) have got a great deal to do with it. It takes forever to warm up, and when it does, the gauge never quite reaches half way. The reason I think this plays a large part is because I thought I?d set the trip computer to see what the fuel consumption was once the engine was warm (well as warm as it gets) on a long journey. I travelled from Reading to Hastings and I got 59mpg. It is hard to complain at that. It is just that the average fuel consumption is poor because of the cooling issues.

I think a thermostatically controlled pair of curtains in front of the radiator might help!!

Richard
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Fri 7 Mar 2008 11:17
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - *Gongfarmer*
Going back to oneof the points in the original post, is the K & N Filter of the oiled gauze type ? I thought they were a no-no with modern engines as they clogged up the MAF.
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Tue 11 Mar 2008 18:24
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
Hmm, having had the puncture repaired and a new set of tyres, I can confirm the fuel isn't any better. I have to say I still think this is rubbish.

Replying to Richard14 - funny you should say this about it heating up - I think the heater is also rubbish!

Replying to Gongfarmer - I haven't seen anything negative about K&N filters - can't imagine why they would clog up anything as they are designed to let through more air than a standard filter & no bits fall off them!

to be honest, wondering about changing the car again - only thing I really like is the handling, which is not bad at all!


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Tue 11 Mar 2008 18:36
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Turtle1966
I'd be interested to know if this TDCi is the one with the additional heater unit, as the engine runs so effectively (efficiently?) it doesn't produce enough heat to warm the interior of the car!

Can't remember the specific terminology used for this heater type, but I have heard that a Ford TDCi needs this additional heater.

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Tue 11 Mar 2008 18:39
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Screwloose
I haven't seen anything negative about K&N filters - can't imagine
why they would clog up anything as they are designed to let through more air
than a standard filter & no bits fall off them!


I just love K&N's bullshine - gives me a good laugh everytime. The amazing thing is, people fall for it.

Nothing falls off a proper airfilter; they actually stop the particles that they are carefully designed to catch - unlike after-market, over-hyped, rubbish ones. Even no filter at all would make not a jot of difference on a turbo, as the boost pressure is fully ECU-controlled and would be exactly the same.
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Fri 14 Mar 2008 20:48
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - daveym
I was loaned a 207 HDI-90 for the day by my friendly local Peugeot garage and that did 49mpg. Claims are around the 60mpg mark. I was exploring its capabilities quite frequently, mind.
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Wed 19 Mar 2008 20:05
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - chriswspongecake
Turtle1966, don't know about an extra heater - I'd have thought not, cos surely that would produce instant heat & this definately doesn't!

I know what Screwloose is saying re. the filter - it certainly hasn't made any performance difference and didn't to the last car either! My main reason for using it is more environmental, a K&N replacement will cost around £30 ish (ebay) and lasts around 100,000 miles which to me is a far better plan that binning one every time the car is serviced. I certainly had no issues at all with the last one which was on the car for 60,000 miles before I replaced the car.

Yes I too drive reasonably enthusiastically and my drive to work although about 30 miles isn't on straight main roads but its all a bit up and down so I guess that 48 is about as good as its going to get, boo!


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Thu 20 Mar 2008 07:51
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Red Baron
My 03 TDCi Mondeo has no DPF. On my work commute I can get over 50mpg. When my wife pootles about on very short trips this can drop to below 40mpg.

I know that later Mondeo TDCi's have Euro 4 and a DPF. They use more fuel! The DPF is, after all, an extra restriction that the engine has to work against. I am not sure as to how often a DPF has to burn off the soot that it collects, but I imagine that unless this is achieved by a particular driving duration and style, the soot may actually never burn off and simply act to raise fuel consumption further.

This would explain the 'Oh, my 1989 Escot did 60mpg' scenarios too. At where I work, someone commutes in an N-reg Peugeot 106 diesel and get 70mpg!
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Tue 29 Jul 2008 16:28
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - ol1ver
I have the 56 plate estate version and I get regularly get 59-60 mpg. I drive c.30miles to work every day without traffic doing 50-60mph much of the way when Ford claim this model is 53.5mpg. I have not modified the car.

The key for high mpg is smooth driving and the type of road/traffic makes a huge difference.
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Tue 29 Jul 2008 16:35
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - quizman
My wife couldn't get much over 40mpg on her late, not lamented 1.8TDCI.

It doesn't say much for her driving, does it?
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Wed 30 Jul 2008 22:10
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - Martin1981
I've had my 2001 1.8TDCi Ghia for 2 months now and it is generally averaging around the 48mpg mark, which is roughly what I was expecting.

According to the computer, it tends to hover around 42/43mpg around town and often shows anything up to 55mpg on a long motorway run, provided I don't exceed 80mph.
I have had anywhere between 520 and 600 miles from a full tank, so I can't say I'm disappointed. It's certainly not a lightweight car by any means.

Going back to the aforementioned dual mass flywheel failure, I have heard stories of these failing on TDCi's at anywhere from 40k to 95k, which doesn't exactly put me at ease given that the car is on 71k! I wish I knew about this potential problem before I bought the car and I may have had second thoughts.

Martin
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Wed 6 Aug 2008 16:31
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - BenG
I have a 2003 Zetec TDCi 115 and it returns on average around 46-48mpg, in driving comprising a mixture of shortish distance commuting (8 miles each way), and the odd longer motorway trips at around 75mph.

I generally get 520+ miles from a tank, or 7/8 of a tank as I don't run it dry!

It seems from the other posts as though this is about average for this engine, and that the VW group 1.9 pump duse engines are typically a few mpg more economical. A friend owns a Golf Mk4 TDI 150 and gets around 52mpg on a run.
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Thu 18 Nov 2010 16:04
1.8 Zetec Tdci 115 fuel consumption - 53 plate - gfewster

BUMP

Just read this having bought a 52 Focus 1.8 TDCi 115 Ghia and have to say I'm also very disappointed.

Other car in the household is a V-plate 1.9 TDi 110 VW Passat and this does over 55mpg on average driving - and well over 60mpg on a run, leading to 700 miles on a tank.

Focus does 48-49, and max 53 on a run. Very disappointing, since the Passat is obviously heavier.

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