300 tdi auto only does 22 mpg

My 98 import 300 tdi auto can only squeeze 22 miles out of one costly gallon of juice irrespective of my driving style. It has just been serviced, de-catted, EGR removed and has more power than when I aquired it, but no better economy. Has anyone got any suggestions for improving my economy? I am currently thinking of removing the auto box, but I know this will be expensive and troublesome. Could it be an EDC problem?

Sounds about right TBH, unless you get sat on a motorway at 65 for a good few hours at which point you'll get 28 if your lucky...

So whats the crack with other users who are claiming over 30 mpg from the same vehicle? Artistic licence or exaggerating the capabilities of their Land Rover?

Manual will do 35mpg all day long, tis the price you pay for having a lazy left leg...

Keep considering swapping mine for a manual, but I like my auto so i'll put up with using more diesel!

Mick4131 said:

So whats the crack with other users who are claiming over 30 mpg from the same vehicle? Artistic licence or exaggerating the capabilities of their Land Rover?

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They may not have an auto, but mainly it's a lot to do with driving style. my TD5 auto does 23 in normal driving or at 80 on the motorway. On long trips at a constant 60 it does about 35.
At that level even things like tyre pressures and any small wind-resistance extras start to make a big difference.
To be honest, an average 25 is about the best you can hope from "normal" driving on ordinary fuel. On BP ultimate or bio-diesel, which have a higher cetane rating, you can do better.

This has been much discussed on here.

Take the viscous fan off.You might squeeze a bit more out of her.Short journeys will only return about twenty mpg

As above ...

Mine's a manual and can easily get 35+ but it's de-egr'd, de-catted, no centre silencer box, tweaked fuel pump and just kept in good fettle, running mainly on diesel but also any other 'old' oil or veg oil I can find up to maybe 50% crap:diesel. With the extra power it means I don't have to welly it all the time, and as I get used to it it's getting better mileage to the gallon all the time. Havent done anything above 100 miles for a while but last time I did we got about (only short run so awkward to gauge completely accurately) 38-40 mpg!

When towing the caravan we now get about 28-30 mpg, slightly better if we go motorway, slightly less when we go through Derbyshire Peaks etc ..

I think the trouble with autos is having to welly it a lot, they're the same engine after all!

Paul D , Do you tow the caravan without the viscous fan ?

Sounds about right to me, low to mid 20's
I can get mid 20's out of the wife's 300 with or without towing and 30 odd out of my 200tdi
If you want more get a manual

you dont say what type of driving is being undertaken, i had a 300tdi auto for a number of years put about 200.000 miles on it no real problems other than urban style driving will suck up the juice, lots of motor to lug up to speed however on a reasonable run with some larger roads to keep up a good speed around 70 torque converter is locked and mine would return about 30 two up but thats about as good as it ever got.



john

Mick4131 said:

My 98 import 300 tdi auto can only squeeze 22 miles out of one costly gallon of juice irrespective of my driving style. It has just been serviced, de-catted, EGR removed and has more power than when I aquired it, but no better economy. Has anyone got any suggestions for improving my economy? I am currently thinking of removing the auto box, but I know this will be expensive and troublesome. Could it be an EDC problem?

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I had TDi 300 auto before my TD5 auto and I can assure you that over 15,000mls I averaged 33mpg. This included towing, going to the Sahara Desert and daily use.

Assuming all is well mechanically, I would suggest that you need to look carefully at your driving style.

The vehicle weighs about 2100kgs and has only 120bhp so performance is always going to be crâp by comparison to an ordinary family car that weighs perhaps 1400kgs and 135bhp plus the aerodynamics of a fish !!!

rollin danny said:

Paul D , Do you tow the caravan without the viscous fan ?

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Nope, I still have the viscous fan on.

Don't see the point in removing it ... had one engine get too hot, don't want another. When I can be arsed to one thing I want to do is fit an electrix fan and thermostat/switch .. not for extra power, but to stop the leccy fan when wading so it doesn't sprat mud everywhere ..

Sounds the same as mine, low to mid 20's whatever the driving style.
Got used to it now, but was a bit of a shock to the system after running a RRC on LPG.

Mine's de-cattrd, de egr'd, & ive taken the fan off, dont know what the mpg is , but its good for what it is , & about twice as economical as the Land Cruiser I drove. Whats this fuel pump tweak?

Somebody on here [who seemed to know a lot about engines] said you will get better performance and slightly better fuel consumption out of an auto , if you leave it in 3 instead of drive when doing less than 50 mph. He said the original handbook said to do that.

Paul D said:

Nope, I still have the viscous fan on.

Don't see the point in removing it ... had one engine get too hot, don't want another. When I can be arsed to one thing I want to do is fit an electrix fan and thermostat/switch .. not for extra power, but to stop the leccy fan when wading so it doesn't sprat mud everywhere ..

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I used to run my 300tdi without the viscous fan every winter from October to April for better cabin heating. Once went to pick a 110 csw with a f.... off trailer (forgot to put fan back on) The old girl pulled the lot back over a 100miles,hills and all and the temp gauge never fluttered

Jason2 said:

I used to run my 300tdi without the viscous fan every winter from October to April for better cabin heating. Once went to pick a 110 csw with a f.... off trailer (forgot to put fan back on) The old girl pulled the lot back over a 100miles,hills and all and the temp gauge never fluttered

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I know ... technically I don't see an issue with removing the fan, 'specially in winter, but we tow the caravan with four adults and a lot of kit most weekends so it's a close call for me. We need the Disco, can't afford to change it, so I need it to be reliable, which it is ...

When we have another tow-car available (wifes Micra isn't quite big enough) there's a few things I intend to do with the Disco to make it more an offroader than it is now ...

Paul D said:

I know ... technically I don't see an issue with removing the fan, 'specially in winter, but we tow the caravan with four adults and a lot of kit most weekends so it's a close call for me. We need the Disco, can't afford to change it, so I need it to be reliable, which it is ...

When we have another tow-car available (wifes Micra isn't quite big enough) there's a few things I intend to do with the Disco to make it more an offroader than it is now ...

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Totaly agree with you, not worth the risk or at least carry the fan with you (stored upright) so you can pop it back on again.

Mick4131 said:

My 98 import 300 tdi auto can only squeeze 22 miles out of one costly gallon of juice irrespective of my driving style. It has just been serviced, de-catted, EGR removed and has more power than when I aquired it, but no better economy. Has anyone got any suggestions for improving my economy? I am currently thinking of removing the auto box, but I know this will be expensive and troublesome. Could it be an EDC problem?

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Intercooler blocked? intercooler/turbo hoses de-laminateing (look inside)Filters? Brakes binding/wheelbearings?Tyre pressures?

Does it run well? smoke?

Always got 30Mpg + (33 on a run) out of a 300tdi manuel (I get 30ish out of our TD5 AUTO too) but like "thebiglad" says over 2tons of motor so if your not careful with that right foot fuel comsumption can get very silly

If you want more mpg, I recommend removing the viscous fan & go electric.
Mine cost me around £160, but after fitting I noticed an increase of about 10% in mpg. It's paid for itself in under 6 months.