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Fuel Economy


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I've got an auto, and drive pretty much just around town and get between 300-320 off a tank (about 65 litres), so think that's about 21-22 mpg.

If you're thinking about buying an IS200 Auto, don't buy it for fuel economy because you won't get any :lol:

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Ill be honest when I purchased the is200 (y) auto, it was an impulse buy, thought it looked real nice people had said that it was a good runner etc. didn't really research the vehicle well.

now 6 months down the line im having second doubts, tax, insurance prices are increasing but worst of all is the fuel economy im currently doing 28 mpg.

and the paintwork is a shambles, the slightest scratch or chip and it goes straight to the white.

very impressive car but maintenance wise terrible.

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I've got a healthy 420 miles from a £55 tank doing mostly motorway miles.

Running around in town is far worse, about 360 miles.

My only advice is to get through gears quickly, the thing I found with it is that it's so quiet, you find yourself doing 4500rpm without even noticing. Trolling around at 40mph in 4th is the way forward. If you need to give it large, you can always drop a gear.

Avoid 1st like the plague, I prefer to roll up to traffic lights and not stop if I can avoid it. I remember watching a documentary on a bloke who got from one end to the country to the other and halfway back on one tank of fuel in an old Skoda (pre-VW) and he said the biggest enemy to fuel economy is the brake pedal. If you have to brake, you're wasting fuel.

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Ill be honest when I purchased the is200 (y) auto, it was an impulse buy, thought it looked real nice people had said that it was a good runner etc. didn't really research the vehicle well.

now 6 months down the line im having second doubts, tax, insurance prices are increasing but worst of all is the fuel economy im currently doing 28 mpg.

and the paintwork is a shambles, the slightest scratch or chip and it goes straight to the white.

very impressive car but maintenance wise terrible.

I know how you feel Quji. Thats why I started the last topic on high fuel consumption. I have had my IS200SE fully examined, inspected, and approved, by an expert from DEKRA (part of AA). I've had it looked at by a reputable Lexus dealership- and paid over £600 for the privelege! I had it serviced and the fuel filter changed. I bought a K&N filter and installed it. I bought Denso IK20 spark plugs and installed them. I've emptied the boot of any "emergency" bits. I've over-inflated the tyres to 40 psi. I pootle around town and never have either the air con on, or the heated seats on. i pay top whack to put V-power in it which is now £1.09 a litre!

All this I have done to try and improve my mileage but the sad truth is that I put up a post recently under the high fuel consumption post and it trasnpires that I'm still getting less than 20mpg!!

It is actively taking over my life! I'm thinking of cycling to work because it is costing too much to run, I avoid going between two places of work because of the motorway journey, and I'm forever looking for the shortest route between one place and another. I had an Alfa 156 before this car and I thought that was a headache but this is proving even worse! Its only got low mileage and I've been told by experts that the engine and condition of the car is excellent, and having changed all the things on the car thus far I can only conclude that it is the car itself that is the problem.

I mean have a look at the high fuel consumption thread and see how many other IS200 owners are having problems with high fuel consumption. I think it all comes down to, as an expert told me: "It is a big heavy car with a small engine. The fuel economy is bound to be bad".

In the words of James May, it continues to "bash me over the head and run off with my wallet." I'm determined to get it so that I can use it, but things are dragging on so much to the point where I'm nearly ready to give up and sell it.

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I DONT KNOW WHAT MATE BUT SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG

Me neither. The car has been inspected by a specialist who buys and sells Lexus's/Lexi/ what the f.... is the plural for Lexus??2

He tells me that the engine is in tip top condition and that the car all-round is a great example and in mint condition.

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I DONT KNOW WHAT MATE BUT SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG

Me neither. The car has been inspected by a specialist who buys and sells Lexus's/Lexi/ what the f.... is the plural for Lexus??2

He tells me that the engine is in tip top condition and that the car all-round is a great example and in mint condition.

I'm getting a bit over 30mpg from my 2001 X-reg auto on a mix of country roads and some traffic.

However during two episodes of a dragging front brake caliper this average dropped to nearly 20mpg.

I now have the habit of checking that the fuel consumption gauge goes up to about 70mpg on a slight downhill with my foot off the accelerator and touching the back of my hand on the front rims after a short run to confirm brakes aren't dragging.

When the brakes were dragging I only managed about 35mpg on a slight DOWNHILL cause I couldn't lift my foot off the loud pedal without slowing down unless driving down a mountain!!!

I also treat myself to the respectable acceleration available when really needed and try to drive with a lighter foot - ~35mpg at 50/60 mph most of the time. Get 360miles on about 80% of tank!

Moral of story - check the brakes!

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There appears to be a split of performance. There are some, who for some reason are getting sub 20mpg and the majority(?) geting 25-30mpg.

I have a 2001 manual SE and have only done one mpg test which came out around 28, (mostly short journeys).

It may be worth jacking up each corner of your car and checking that each wheel rotates freely.

Good luck!

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I've just had my best tank ever.

It was 75% motorway driving and I tried a different approach, I usually set the cruise at 75 when on a Motorway.

But on this occasion I wasn't in a rush, so set the cruise in the usual manner but then when on a flat (no gradiant) piece of motorway I adjusted it down until the fuel metre was showing in the region of 40mpg. This meant I was doing closer to 70MPH

That was on the way from Middlesbrough to Birmingham Airport.

On the way back I just wanted to get home so revereted back to the old 75 set.

The following 3 days, was my usual around town commuting to work getting to the road speed limit ASAP.

I filled up this morning and got 34.4 MPG which I think is really good.

It's just a pity that most of the time is 25-27.

Regards Chris

p.s. It's an auto.

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J Jazzy, there is clearly something a miss with your car, I've read your posts on the other thread and I know

you've tried some of the suggestions, but lets go over it again, it might be something silly.

Here's a few suggestions;

Has the car had any mechanical modifications, could they be causing it ?

Has the car had any exterior mods that would drastically effect the aerodynamics or attitude of the car ?

Has then car had any kind of bump that could have damaged the chassis or suspension ?

Air Filter, also check ducting for cracks and the seal around the throttle body, no obstructions ?

Spark Plugs, corect type (iridium tipped) & correct gaps ?

Tyres, correct pressure, even wear, same size tyres ?

Tracking, does car pull to one side or steering wheel vibrate at speed, does the car handle properly ?

Check all the discs and pads, are any wearing differently to the rest, do you have a sticking wheel cylinder ?

Check all wheel bearings, check wheel nuts are all tightened to the correct torque ?

Check the handbrake, is it fully off when the handle is dropped ?

Is the exhaust blowing, this can cause excessive fuel consumption as it effects the oxygen sensor readings

Is the alternator charging the Battery correctly, (does the car idle high) ?

Reset the ECU (some vehicles can take upto 500 miles to calm down after a reset and give proper economy)

Use only the same type of fuel, Unleaded and Super U/L have different octane values which will effect the ECU

Failing that you need to start looking deeper, it may be something electro/mechanical.

If you can do a compression test on all 6 cylinders (you can get the tool from Motorworld) this will tell you if

your engine is good, your pistons aren't leaking, your cylinder head gasket is good.

Then you need to start looking at components, a diagnostics check will show you the engine load and fuel trim

status. It would be interesting to see the values, it is entirely possible that you have a component that is

playing up but not outright faulty, thus giving false data to the ecu but not registering on the dash as a fault.

These are just a few suggestions off the top of my head, in your position I would fully check them out (where

possible) so that I could rule them out.

It is of course your own choice but I personally only use the cheapest unleaded I can, it shouldn't be a problem,

and will cost you less.

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check this site out guys....

a little worrying how much mpg these guys are getting...

one chap on there hit 46mpg...

im struggling to get it to 30mpg.

check it out.. http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/26-...200.html?sort=1

my car @ http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/detail/183037.html

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J Jazzy, there is clearly something a miss with your car, I've read your posts on the other thread and I know

you've tried some of the suggestions, but lets go over it again, it might be something silly.

Here's a few suggestions;

Has the car had any mechanical modifications, could they be causing it ?

Has the car had any exterior mods that would drastically effect the aerodynamics or attitude of the car ?

Has then car had any kind of bump that could have damaged the chassis or suspension ?

Air Filter, also check ducting for cracks and the seal around the throttle body, no obstructions ?

Spark Plugs, corect type (Iridium tipped) & correct gaps ?

Tyres, correct pressure, even wear, same size tyres ?

Tracking, does car pull to one side or steering wheel vibrate at speed, does the car handle properly ?

Check all the discs and pads, are any wearing differently to the rest, do you have a sticking wheel cylinder ?

Check all wheel bearings, check wheel nuts are all tightened to the correct torque ?

Check the handbrake, is it fully off when the handle is dropped ?

Is the exhaust blowing, this can cause excessive fuel consumption as it effects the oxygen sensor readings

Is the alternator charging the battery correctly, (does the car idle high) ?

Reset the ECU (some vehicles can take upto 500 miles to calm down after a reset and give proper economy)

Use only the same type of fuel, Unleaded and Super U/L have different octane values which will effect the ECU

Failing that you need to start looking deeper, it may be something electro/mechanical.

If you can do a compression test on all 6 cylinders (you can get the tool from Motorworld) this will tell you if

your engine is good, your pistons aren't leaking, your cylinder head gasket is good.

Then you need to start looking at components, a diagnostics check will show you the engine load and fuel trim

status. It would be interesting to see the values, it is entirely possible that you have a component that is

playing up but not outright faulty, thus giving false data to the ecu but not registering on the dash as a fault.

These are just a few suggestions off the top of my head, in your position I would fully check them out (where

possible) so that I could rule them out.

It is of course your own choice but I personally only use the cheapest unleaded I can, it shouldn't be a problem,

and will cost you less.

Cheers Trevman. I shall check these suggestions and let you know how I get on.

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