improve mpg for newbies

[alexfury]

Easy, i'm alex and i'm a new owner of a 2007 is220d which I bought in manchester, UK. I love this car, its super comfortable, great torque, clean black leather interior. I don't know loads about cars and have very basic theoretical mechanical knowledge.

My only issue is the mpg. This car is breaking my bank filling it up every week. i get around 25-30 in the city and 36-40 on motorways if i drive long enough.

Please can people advise on how to get the best mpg:

i've already weigth reduced as much as i can, and I drive smoothly not usually exceeding 2 revs 

i've serviced the oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, complete coolant flush, diff oil 

i've used a wynes diesel cleaner twice 

i drive mostly motorway miles (usually 6 x 40 mins journeys 75mph gear 6)  but once a month i do 70mph gear 3- 15 mins to 'burn' for the dpf and egr

 

ive read about this 5th injector for emissions or whatever, but i don't understand what this is or how to correct this issue. 

 

all help is welcome, and if anyone knows any garages or anyone who can help me in the UK and fix my mpg that would be a great help- my contact number is 07828796711

[ColinBarber]

seems a little low but nothing others haven't reported before. Take off the EGR and physically inspect it, it is probably clogged and just a fuel additive isn't going to help - they will help to keep it clean afterwards.

[Spock66]

Check your tyre pressures and maybe inflate them a little bit higher.

Check you have no brake binding issues - a simple test is to feel the wheels after a reasonable length drive, fronts should be warmish but not hot, the rears barely warm at all.

[eleveneleven]

It's about right for a 220 they're not very fuel efficient unfortunately. The newer 200d is slightly better but still not great for a diesel. It is worth inspecting the EGR valve though and cleaning if necessary and checking Calipers as mentioned above but highly doubt it'll make much difference. 

[J Henderson]

Instead of budgeting for a 40min journey at 75mph. You could leave 10mins earlier and stick to 60mph*

* If feasible since I understand the 220d has notoriously tall gear ratios...

Other basic tips;

Accelerating slowly at low revs can actually be less efficient than reaching your desired speed briskly. Then use light throttle inputs, or cruise control to maintain that speed.

When you are accelerating, try "block shifting", which is a known fuel-saving technique where you rev out a gear slightly more than normal and then skip the next gear altogether - going from 1st to 3rd, 2nd to 4th etc.

Anticipate the road ahead. Braking heavily typically leads to more fuel being used. Leave a decent gap to vehicles infont & coast more when approaching junctions, traffic lights, nasty bends or roundabouts.

And lastly, a clean car uses less fuel than one that is dirty. Although, it's hard to keep a car clean at this time of year.

[H3XME]

I'll say what I say to everyone who thinks about buying the diesel. Get the petrol. MPGs are pretty much the same. You will get 25-30 around town in the IS250 if you're careful and 40+ on the motorway. London and back to Birmingham I average 44mpg with 3 adults in the car. (Manual car & 70mpg on cruise control).. It just makes sense to get this as they will cost less money in the long run as there are no diesel issues with EGR, injectors, turbos etc. IF you can, sell it and buy the V6. It's crazy how wrong they got it with this diesel..literally no benefits to owning a second hand one as they all go wrong one way or another.

[Linas.P]

I doubt it is anything to do with driving style, instead it is everything to do with what IS220d is - it most likely completely clogged and on it's last legs. It could literally be dozens of issues - leaky 5th injector, clogged EGR, Turbo, DPF... clogged injectors... any combinations of any of that etc.

The only conclusion - people... please don't buy IS220d! 

Admittedly many of the issues with IS220d are common for other diesels, but IS220d just overall has more issues and they are more common. So not only it is bad because it is diesel, but it is badly designed one even compared to other diesels.