MPG on Scenic 1.4

[RSB]

I've got a 2004 Scenic Expression 1.4 with 20,000 miles on the clock . My problem is that the MPG is hovering around the 24 to 26 MPG , which is a lot lower than the sales rep told me and it says in the handbook . I mostly do urban driving but it's not ultra urban with repeated stop starts , it's main roads etc where you can get upto 50 mph . The dashboard says that there's another 14k miles before it needs a service , but on checking the logbook it hasn't been serviced for 2 years now. Can anybody tell me if a service will improve the MPG , as I don't want to pay good money where it's not necessary .

[Busy_Man]

IIRC the 1.4 does give lower than book figures, but not that far down. If it hasn't been serviced for 2 years, but says 14K till next service someone may have reset the service counter rather than actually getting it serviced!

First thing to do is give it a service, oil and filters as a minimum to see if it makes any improvment - shouldn't really cost too much if you got to an independant garage.

My 1.6 tourer, which will be similar weight to the scenic is returning between 35 - 40 around town, this does drop if I allow the revs to raise to the VVT area of 4K +.

How long have you had your scenic?

[wanda]

Definitely, no service in 2 years that doesnt sound too good. I think you should see and improvement. But come to think of it a 1.4 Scenic. Thats quite a heavy body (I am not implying your car is fat).

I think you could getting up with a bit of motorway driving.

[RSB]

IIRC the 1.4 does give lower than book figures, but not that far down. If it hasn't been serviced for 2 years, but says 14K till next service someone may have reset the service counter rather than actually getting it serviced!

First thing to do is give it a service, oil and filters as a minimum to see if it makes any improvment - shouldn't really cost too much if you got to an independant garage.

My 1.6 tourer, which will be similar weight to the scenic is returning between 35 - 40 around town, this does drop if I allow the revs to raise to the VVT area of 4K +.

How long have you had your scenic?

Thanks for this . I bought it in January from a main Renault dealer . Before me the car was owned as a motability car , hence I suppose the low mileage . Been on only one long motorway
journey since owning it and the MPG went up (eventually) to @ 39/40 MPG.
I think I'll book it in for a service and see if there's any improvement .

[andywills]

just a quickie....is this the actual mpg or the "average" mpg?

[keeforelli]

hi there-

my car was ex motibility as well- the low mileages and usage dont do great things for this engine- my mechanic told me that this kind of usage and repeated short journeys will affect the engines performance in many ways-with repeated town driving you should be near 32 MPG (on the trip computer), unless you are really pushing it in each gear...my car was 18000m when i got it last year at 3 years old!!!...seemed great but i have had to do loads to sort its running out!!!

It is well worth having the car serviced, and if renault were to do this there is evidence on here that they have been upgrading the ECU software on the 1.4s to improve MPG, and checking all the wear and tear items like spark plugs..oil etc will help the engine fire more efficiently..check tyre pressures etc..(and look at the fuel consumption stickies on here, loads of info)

it is well worth planning in some long journeys to stretch your cars legs....if you increase the average speed and distance on the trip computer you should see some improvement in fuel consumption...what you report for the longer journey you have done seems about right...this also helps the engine to 'learn' how to operate efficiently...again on here people (inc me) have reported filling up with good quality fuel..shell v max for instance and going on a long blast..this will clean the injectors and smooth out your running...

but ultimately MPG of 24-26MPG sounds well off the pace- if this is off your trip computer might be worth checking its accuracy..however if you reset it each journey this would be right for moving off from cold and the engine not warming up or having time to operate at proper efficiency..takes a while for it to creep into the 30s...

its a heavy car though and the 1.4 is peaky by nature, any meaningful acceleration and stop start town driving does seriously affect its economy!!

report back!!