C3 Fuel Economy & Air Con Question

[french connection]

Hi

 

I just got a couple of questions about my C3 hoping someone can help, mines a 03 1.4 HDI 16v Exclusive.

 

I've read what people have put on here about fuel eonomy and what they can get out of a full tank but I can never seem to get what I think I should no matter how I drive it or what make of fuel I put in, on a full tank with mixed driving usually motorway aswell I never get more than 480-490 a tank.

 

This has been the same since new and i've had it checked numerous times, its always been dealer maintained aswell, makes no difference if air con on or off either.

 

Is this amount from a tank what I should expect or is something a miss??, with prices of fuel these days want as much as possible out of it!.

 

On another point air-con is it necessary to have it regassed??, its working ok and was cleaned at dealer once on service but not regassed although I admit doesnt seem as cold as when new but it is 5 years old now any advice on this and my other point greatly appreciated.

 

many thanks :D

[Guest rowls]

Not sure about the range you should get off a tank of fuel but i think air con systems should be regassed about every 2 years.

[stimulator]

Currently my 1.4HDi SX 90BHP is showing an average of 65.7 mpg on the mpg readout.

 

Driving is at normal rod speeds in and out of town with a commute of 22 miles each way plus one or two shorter runs.

 

Up to the last fill up it was showing 58. Why the difference well two things it could be, 1) the winter is supposed to be over so the thining agent is out of the fuel. 2) The a/c is currently OFF.

 

Next fill up I'll put the a/c back on. Range this tank will be about 670 miles. 65 mpg is the combined Citroen fuel fig.

 

The a/c may need a top up if it's not getting so cold. Visit an a/c specialist for this.

[french connection]

Currently my 1.4HDi SX 90BHP is showing an average of 65.7 mpg on the mpg readout.

 

Driving is at normal rod speeds in and out of town with a commute of 22 miles each way plus one or two shorter runs.

 

Up to the last fill up it was showing 58. Why the difference well two things it could be, 1) the winter is supposed to be over so the thining agent is out of the fuel. 2) The a/c is currently OFF.

 

Next fill up I'll put the a/c back on. Range this tank will be about 670 miles. 65 mpg is the combined Citroen fuel fig.

 

The a/c may need a top up if it's not getting so cold. Visit an a/c specialist for this.

 

Thanks for your reply, well it looks like my fuel economy is way out then as I cant get past 500 miles out of a tank and I do simular commute to yourself everyday. Do you have any idea as to why mine is so poor as its the same engine as yours!. Any help appreciated.

[raveydavey]

Differing mpg figures could be simply down to driving styles or the journeys you make - I always get around 60mpg, but I have a 50 mile round trip to work, so the engine is up to temperature and operating efficiently and in 5th gear for much of the journey, but then I usually crawl the last 5 miles home on a night due to traffic, so i don't get the 65+mpg that stimulator is getting.

 

Air-con doesn't make a notable difference either - in the winter you have the lights, heater, HRW, fan, etc on all of which put load on the engine, whilst in summer you just have the a/c on. To me it makes 1-2mpg difference at most.

 

As for your air-con if it's still working I'd leave it alone. Citroen service desks will tell you it needs regassing every two years which I think is tosh. It's a sealed system so unless it develops a leak it shouldn't need touching and if it does develop a leak it will stop working almost immediatly given the pressure the refridgerant is under.. That said it is prone to failures (mine has) due to poor design although there are several superceded parts now fitted, so hopefully newer ones should be better.

 

Whatever you do make sure you use it regularly even during the winter as the gas also contains the lubricant - not using the a/c for a while means it might have seized up next time you press the button...

 

If in doubt get it checked by a reputable independent.

[Geordieman54]

Hi

 

I just got a couple of questions about my C3 hoping someone can help, mines a 03 1.4 HDI 16v Exclusive.

 

I've read what people have put on here about fuel eonomy and what they can get out of a full tank but I can never seem to get what I think I should no matter how I drive it or what make of fuel I put in, on a full tank with mixed driving usually motorway aswell I never get more than 480-490 a tank.

 

This has been the same since new and i've had it checked numerous times, its always been dealer maintained aswell, makes no difference if air con on or off either.

 

Is this amount from a tank what I should expect or is something a miss??, with prices of fuel these days want as much as possible out of it!.

 

On another point air-con is it necessary to have it regassed??, its working ok and was cleaned at dealer once on service but not regassed although I admit doesnt seem as cold as when new but it is 5 years old now any advice on this and my other point greatly appreciated.

 

many thanks :(

 

 

If you air conditioning isn't as cold, most likely that you will require regassing, typically part of an air condtioning check.....what it might drive out is where you are losing gas, and then the bills to replace the parts, may be as little as seals but might go on to pipepwok etc. After 5 years suspect there might be some replacaments apart from the Gas to consider.

 

Hope it helps....nice to get it working for the heatwave in the summer rather than the frosts at the moment.

 

Geordieman

[stimulator]

As the last poster sys what is your driving style like. Do you change up at about 2100 to 2200 revs and down when it falls to 1800. I never take mine to the max as the torque is all low down. Speeds in excess of 70 reduce the mpg by 9% over those at 60 and a whopping 15% of those at 50.

 

You will note that the government figures are for 56 mph.

Whatyou haven't said is what your current mileage is. As diesels get more miles on them so they loosen up, mine is at 34000 and 3.5 years old. However it did show 61.4 from the day we had it.

 

Do you reset your your MPG everytime you fill up?

 

We do have new 1.6 16V 92BHP SX too. That is not as frugal as the 1.4 but it only has 2300 miles on it at 8 months. Yep it really low but it belongs to the other half for her to use when I am at work. The MPG on it is only now getting to 54mpg. Originally it was down at 49. Citroen told me to give it a good high speed run, which I have once or twice hit the 70+ which must have loosened the moving parts. Also the 1.4 when new had normal oil in it which assists the running in as it slightly more abrasive than synthetic. the 1.6 came with fully synthetic in it maybe thats the difference.

[Guest CE05LDB]

I used the Air Con in my C3 once in Summer 05 and found that the Fuel went down very quick so ever since then I have never used it.

 

It was regassed on its 2 year service but I doubt it needed it as I said I don't use it. I doubt ill use it in my New C2 either.

[french connection]

As the last poster sys what is your driving style like. Do you change up at about 2100 to 2200 revs and down when it falls to 1800. I never take mine to the max as the torque is all low down. Speeds in excess of 70 reduce the mpg by 9% over those at 60 and a whopping 15% of those at 50.

 

You will note that the government figures are for 56 mph.

Whatyou haven't said is what your current mileage is. As diesels get more miles on them so they loosen up, mine is at 34000 and 3.5 years old. However it did show 61.4 from the day we had it.

 

Do you reset your your MPG everytime you fill up?

 

We do have new 1.6 16V 92BHP SX too. That is not as frugal as the 1.4 but it only has 2300 miles on it at 8 months. Yep it really low but it belongs to the other half for her to use when I am at work. The MPG on it is only now getting to 54mpg. Originally it was down at 49. Citroen told me to give it a good high speed run, which I have once or twice hit the 70+ which must have loosened the moving parts. Also the 1.4 when new had normal oil in it which assists the running in as it slightly more abrasive than synthetic. the 1.6 came with fully synthetic in it maybe thats the difference.

 

Thanks for your reply appreciate your help with this, to be honest I do try and drive as smoothly as possible but I probably dont change up as early as I should especially with what you have said about changing up at 2100-2200 revs.

I have just filled up the tank this morning to the top it took nearly 41 litres and I have reset my trip counter unfortunately I dont have a on board computer to constantly monitor it.

On the last tank before I filled up today red light came on at 501 miles which is actually an improvement in normal.

I am going to try and adopt your approach and drive in the torque band as much as possible and see what happens, I really don't know what else I can do to try and improve it.

The mileage is 51000 now and I think your right as the performance of the engine is improving as the mileage increases.

I know some people say you should give diesels a good blast once a day so they dont get clogged up with soot etc whats your take on this?

[stimulator]

One way to tell if it's clogged is to get on a road at night with someone behind you, change down to 4th from fifth and floor the pedal, if it's getting clogged large amount of smoke will be seen in the lights of the car behind.

 

A qick cure for this is to put in a bottle of injector cleaner at the next fill up. I did mine before an MOT and it sailed thru the test for smoke.

[Guest D G Jones]

One way to tell if it's clogged is to get on a road at night with someone behind you, change down to 4th from fifth and floor the pedal, if it's getting clogged large amount of smoke will be seen in the lights of the car behind.

 

A qick cure for this is to put in a bottle of injector cleaner at the next fill up. I did mine before an MOT and it sailed thru the test for smoke.

 

I got my 04 C3 1.4 SX 16V Sensodrive last week. I very pleased with its performance. ( It replaces a Vauxhall Omega 3.0 Elite Automatic.)

 

I have read through this thread and see mention of a mpg readout.

 

When going on a 20 mile trip yesterday, I noticed that the Mileometer readout had changed to Max Miles and I was amazed to see the range increase from 360 to 460 miles during the journey.

 

Today I cannot repeat this display. I have read through the hand book and can find no mention of this feature.

 

Can anyone give advice on how to view this information, and can an actual mpg readout be displayed.

 

Look forward to a response

[stimulator]

Your car trip computer display is operated between readouts by the right hand steering wheel stalk.

this if you look closely has two separate halves at the end. the end that sticks out furthest is radio volume, up and down

The shorter half has three functions.

1. The arrows change the radio stations

or

2 the CD track.

 

But if you press the shorter end IN towards the column it will cycle the computer readout. There is a small O on the centre part.

This is also used to reset the computer by holding it IN for more than 3 secs.

 

On facelift models the radio controls are on a separate stalk and the computer is controlled by the button on the end of the column stalk.

 

Hope this helps you.

[Guest D G Jones]

Your car trip computer display is operated between readouts by the right hand steering wheel stalk.

this if you look closely has two separate halves at the end. the end that sticks out furthest is radio volume, up and down

The shorter half has three functions.

1. The arrows change the radio stations

or

2 the CD track.

 

But if you press the shorter end IN towards the column it will cycle the computer readout. There is a small O on the centre part.

This is also used to reset the computer by holding it IN for more than 3 secs.

 

On facelift models the radio controls are on a separate stalk and the computer is controlled by the button on the end of the column stalk.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks very much, I had obviously stumbled upon this initially when changing CD tracks.

 

I was amazed to see how economical the car is at a steady speed with a light throttle.

 

I am liking the car even more.

[Guest CE05LDB]

Thanks very much, I had obviously stumbled upon this initially when changing CD tracks.

 

I was amazed to see how economical the car is at a steady speed with a light throttle.

 

I am liking the car even more.

 

 

My C3 1.6i 16v Exclusive Sensodive is the same brilliant on Fuel.

[stimulator]

Sorry forgot to say that the volume part of the stalk if pressed IN towards the column will MUTE the radio/cd.

 

currently getting 65.4 out of the 1.4 SX 16V 90BHP WITH A/C ON. The outside temp has been up at 16/17 around here too which helps the fuel ecconomy too.