Holden Berlina VE 2007 - terrible fuel economy ?

[gossie]

At this stage just change the air filter yourself so you know it's done.

What oil has your service person used?
As I mentioned earlier, VERY easy to do it yourself, including correct oil and filter, and then you know it's done properly. Ask if you actually need help for this, as it truly is a very easy job and you will do it in about 15 minutes.

 

[Asmodai78]

is the engine getting up to temp? reason I ask is because the mrs VE sidi gets **** fuel but she only drives it for about 20min at a time to and from work and the engine never gets a chance to warm up fully so the ECU thinks is always cold so just pumps more fuel in to get the temp up, she says it sits on anywhere between 12 and 14L/100, I sometimes take it to work (2hr drive one way) and I get it down to 8.9L/100.

 

[ralwig88]

Thanks for the replies again - I'm not sure on the oil, but will check later today.

Interesting, I read that changing spark plugs won't help fuel economy:

"On a modern vehicle, replacing worn spark plugs will not enhance fuel mileage or solve running problems

Older vehicles were not computer-controlled and lacked the ability to adapt to changing conditions. The spark for the plugs was generated by mechanical or crude electrical means. Since the spark intensity was set and limited, engine performance decreased as the spark plug wore.

Today this is no longer a factor. An ignition spark is created by electronic means and can be increased as needed. As spark plugs wear the ignition can increase output to compensate. A computer-controlled engine will NOT experience degradation of mileage or performance as spark plugs wear. Instead of performance loss, worn spark plugs cause components like plug wires and coils to be overloaded and fail."


Can anyone confirm or contradict this before I fork out for some new spark plugs?

 

[gossie]

I would say the plugs need to be changed when due.......What do your books tell you? I'm actually testing your here.

 

[ralwig88]

Well, I took the car to get the issue looked at. As I had previously had the air filter,etc. done I got them to look at the spark plugs. It seemed that 3 out of the 6 cylinders had reported a misfire fault, but the onboard computer didn't specify when or why.

The mechanic said that he had cleared the codes and to see if they re-appear. Also, he said that if the same 3 cylinders report the issue, then it would require both the spark plugs AND the coils to be replaced (or more precisely, once the manifold is off, they can then visually inspect the coils while replacing the spark plugs, but likely just the spark plugs since the car has only done 77k). Seems to be a $300 - $500 exercise.

The spark plugs aren't due normally until 100,000km or 120,000km (can't remember the exact number)

He also mentioned that I could try a few tanks of premium fuel, but not sure if that would solve the problem (?)

 

[gossie]

Premium now and then is a good idea to clean the injectors.

 

[virgin_commo]

I know this is an old thread but no one here has mentioned cleaning the Air Flow Meter.
In my experience, most mechanics don't even do this.
It's simple to do but you need to google how, and do it on a stone cold engine, or remove, and bag the meter and put it in the fridge while you do the plugs etc. Always clean the AFM cold and then reset computer.
Google it.
You wont believe the difference. Like New.