Hi
'06 1.2 Dynamic. Noticed that the average mileometer MPG reading has dropped from 45/44 to 38/36 mpg and this seems to be after a recent service. Nothing else seems amiss.
Was noted first through the recent Ice Age but has continued in warmer climes. No real change in the way my wife drives it (unfortunately!).
Any ideas? Could an exhaust leak do this?

Hmmm I think I WOULD be concerned in your situation...thats a LOT lower and if anything creeping along in the ice should have raised MPG.Now air temperature does have an effect on MPG and despite cold air making the car 'faster and more powerful' I believe peak MPG would be in mild or warm weather (as cold air 'thicker' to push through...?)The thing is there are a pile of other variables ...how about checking tyre pressures (you can be sure the garage didnt or did them wrong!-softer means lower mpg and cold tyres get softer -a LOT softer)...are you sure youre driving pretty much the exact same route at similar times of day (traffic etc same?)Did they change plugs or air filter for correct ones and do it right?Maybe some of the FIAT experts might know if they could have done anything on the garage 'computer' /diagnostics that might have caused this?Its basically an old UNO/Cinquecento/Punto engine and these DID sometimes run amok in the fuelling /ecu's lowering MPG dramatically (although this is far from a Fait only proble -I once ran a 93 Mitsubishi Colt japanese import that was doing under 30mpg on slow long runs)

EDIT Dont think an exhaust leak would cause this certainly not the back box/silencer...problems around or in front of catalyst MIGHT though...

I can't say about modern cars but the older ones would loose MPG due to blowing exhaust, they would rely on back pressure to help regulate consumption.

I have to say that MPG is low, although I'm bugga'd if :bang:I can get my 1.2 back up to an indicated 60+ mpg.

Trev

udtrev said:

I have to say that MPG is low, although I'm bugga'd if :bang:I can get my 1.2 back up to an indicated 60+ mpg.

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Trev, your posts always annoy me and I can't take it any longer. Please remove your fuel consumption figures, 'cos your 1.2 petrol does more mpg than my MJ :bang:

Only kidding of course, but I often wish I'd saved a few grand and just bought a petrol Panda
37,000 miles and my overall mpg is 54

Trimdoner said:

Trev, your posts always annoy me and I can't take it any longer. Please remove your fuel consumption figures, 'cos your 1.2 petrol does more mpg than my MJ :bang:

Only kidding of course, but I often wish I'd saved a few grand and just bought a petrol Panda
37,000 miles and my overall mpg is 54

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Just imagine what my figures would be if I had an MJ :devil:

still you can always grin at the figures from hippo, the previous car


Trev

You need to get back to slip streaming trucks on the M25 .

kipster1 said:

You need to get back to slip streaming trucks on the M25 .

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I think it's more a case of having lost the tow rope :devil:

My latest design to improve on the 'slipstreaming' technique, hence much improved mpg. Ideal for use on any vehicle with a flat rear end, so perfect for bus routes.
Note emergency release cord for those tricky situations such as road junctions or crossing dual carriageways.

Trimdoner said:

My latest design to improve on the 'slipstreaming' technique, hence much improved mpg. Ideal for use on any vehicle with a flat rear end, so perfect for bus routes.
Note emergency release cord for those tricky situations such as road junctions or crossing dual carriageways.

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I tried that, the ruddy cord bust, just my luck to get stuck to a truck going to an industrial estate off Inverness, the MPG suffered with the long drive back hauling that weight !! :bang:

still at least I didn't get any speeding tickets

Back on track ( although I love the sucker contraption ) I asked the same questions (here, not at the garage) after my service some time ago: see here - https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/186412-so-what-did-they-do-my-service.html

That previous thread asked about the loss of power, but the mpg took a dive too, from around 42-44 (on the computer) to 36-38, and I put this down to having to 'push aharder' to make up for the loss of power.

Never really did get to the bottom of this, other than my independent mechanic said he set the valves correctly and cleaned out all the breather tubes. Whatever he did, car still doing 42+ mpg (not bad for 4x4) 12,000 miles later (although it did dip a bit with the recent cold snap) and back to him for 60k service and MoT next week

Pete

Interestingly, I had the same 'problem' after the first service whem my Panda 100HP's indicated economy dropped from a steady 41-42mpg to 38-39mpg. Not as great a drop as you are experiencing but at the time I put it down to perhaps developing a heavier right foot since the car othersisde seemed particularly smooth. That said, a concious effort on my part to get it back up however totally failed to achieve a plus 40 mpg again.

As it's just had the second service now I'll be watching it like a hawk to see if I get any change either way.

Back on track....

Is it possible the brakes (particularly rears) are sticking on a bit? I mention this as our MJ has suffered the handbrake sticking on several times over the cold/wet weather, and it's used daily so it seizes in place fairly rapidly.

Another point, having kept fuel consumption records since the car was new, there is a noticeable dip ( about 8mpg) in the average between the coldest winter months and mid summer waether. Maybe Fiat engine sensors are more sensitive to low temps and overfuel for longer than needed when the air temp is cold?

Trimdoner said:

Maybe Fiat engine sensors are more sensitive to low temps and overfuel for longer than needed when the air temp is cold?

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I wonder if it's possible that we could gain some MPG back by half covering the rad, like in the old days.

Interesting. Maybe the abnormally cold weather had a more pronounced effect as my wife does short journeys? - but then others would have reported similar. Could be co-incidence but then I thought there was a slight drop the last time I had it serviced too. Seems others have noticed this phenomenum which is the opp. of what you'd expect after servicing. Is there a lurking problem with some hidden ECU setting here maybe?
So check the breather tubes/air filter and sparks - OK. Thanks

My MPG has been crud ever since late december, the last service hasn't changed it either way.

I think the problem is this ruddy brass monkey weather

we don't really do enough miles in the Pandas to say but I have noticed my consumption has worsened a lot in the C4 since the cold weather. Did fill up the 1.2 today and it reckoned the range was 534 miles, I wish.

Polypedates said:

Interestingly, I had the same 'problem' after the first service ...
As it's just had the second service now I'll be watching it like a hawk to see if I get any change either way.

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The first service (12,000 miles / 20,000km) is really just an oil change, so nothing much should happen there that can cause the effect (unless, perhaps, fault codes are cleared). The second service (at 24,000 miles) includes checking and altering if necessary the valve clearances and the replacement of the spark plugs, and so has 'potential' to set things differently, maybe? If I remember right, the air filter doesn't get changed until the third (36,000 mile) service (which seems a long time to me)...

udtrev said:

I wonder if it's possible that we could gain some MPG back by half covering the rad, like in the old days.

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No point - that's why we all have thermostatically-operated cooling fans now. (In really old cars with a true fan belt, the fan ran all the time, leading to the chance of overcooling in winter).

However, related, I note there doesn't appear to be any pre-heating on the air intake? My previous cars have had a 'winter' intake that sourced warmer air from around the manifold, again controlled by a thermostat. So far as I can see, the Panda only ever breathes 'ambient' air.

alban said:

Interesting. Maybe the abnormally cold weather had a more pronounced effect as my wife does short journeys? - but then others would have reported similar.......

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My wife does mainly short runs and I did post that our fuel return had dropped markedly but got short shrift other than "witty" comments. This time of year though we tend to run the heater fan, dap the screen washers every five minutes, heated rear screen, side lights/dips....all contributes to higher slurpage.

Trev,
I'd confirm my mpg went down throughout December and for the first couple of weeks of January, but has come back up now without doing anything (it was around 49mpg and went down to 45mpg), so I imagine it must be to do with cold starting.
I spoke to a friend with a multijet diesel Panda last night- he says he gets around 60mpg locally (and he lives in very hilly country on the Welsh border) and 72 on the open road.

Alan