6 month service-Fuel consumption increase

[Ratheesh Kumar]

Hi ,

I 've done 6 month service on my kluger at (3000KM) and soon after service i noticed the fuel consumption has raised from 12.6L/100 Km to 15.8L/100 Km in town.I contacted service agent as they changed oil during service with same oil and also to fix a noise coming from top head DVD unit.So they checked it again cleaned airfilters ,checked softwares and could not find any reason.Further they want my vehicle for 2 days to diagonise the noise issue and they want to remove top panel one by one to find the exact cause.

Did any one faced this before with your first service and the noise from head unit.

Please give some advise.

[Kenshin X]

they changed oil with same oil? they didnt put NEW oil in?

[Andrew357]

they changed oil with same oil? they didnt put NEW oil in?

I assumed he meant same type of oil.

[Ratheesh Kumar]

Sorry for confusing you, they changed it with same type of oil(Genuine oil) that Toyota normally use on new kluger.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Ratheesh Kumar

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Ratheesh..... Toyota do not make nor blend oil. It is just oil from regular retailers but in their own branded container... and also costs more than it should. :-)
I noticed with mine that the fuel consumption increased after the first service. It went up about as much as yours did. My guess is that the oil used when the car is made is of a much lighter viscosity which would give better economy? That is only a guess.

Car dealerships all use different suppliers for their oils & fuels and usually award their contract to the cheapest offer. They are a business and a cent saved is profit... There is no way of knowing for sure what brand of oil let alone what grade they have used when servicing your car. Who knows, they may not have even changed your oil filter... this is very common. I had one service on a reasonably new car where they had put in 20-50 oil... !! How did I know... they were that honest that they wrote it in the log book!

With Toyota V6 sedans I have owned and serviced I have always used Castrol Magnatec 10-40 and always had excellent economy and performance from them. One we had for 10 years and the motor was same as the day we got it. I will be doing my own oil change with my next service (12 mths service) so I will let you know if there is any improvement.
:-)

Edited May 29, 2013 by KX-R & ACV40R

[CROCO]

I run 10W 30 in my kluger and other 2 toyota V6s that I had and find it gives the best performance and fuel economy,every time all toyota V6s have been serviced at my local toyota dealer they have put 10W30 in them,but once they put 20W50 in my old V6 hilux ,and like barney said only way I knew is they had it on the job sheet, I actually didnt give it much thought at the time ,but every other time only 10W30 was used,so whether thats the cause of the increase in fuel consumption or not I dont know ,but using a heavier grade oil will make very slight increase in fuel consumption,have a look on your service bill and it should show you what oil they have used in the service,if its 20W50,well its too heavy a grade of oil ,also sometimes the mechanics fill the engine too full of oil,it happened actually the same time they used the wrong oil, they over filled the engine 3 litres of oil ,how I know is I change my oil every 5000kms in beetween services and discovered that they overfilled the engine with oil,which I wasnt impressed about,so I would be checking the dipstick to see if there over filled the engine,which I couldnt imagine would be good for economy.

While we are on the subject do the dealer reset the trip computer every service or it only does it when you refuel.

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

David I would not believe what they put on an invoice... dealers really push to save any cent they can and if they can get away with billing you for a premium oil and using lower grade then they will.

You are lucky if you get your oil filter changed. In our Klugers the filter is in a housing so it makes it difficult to know if they have changed it. They know it can go for 2 or 3 servicings and not cause problems... more $$$'s in their pocket.

I am not saying that they all do this sort of thing but from what I have heard and seen I would believe that most would.
A motor dealership is a very expensive business to operate and they are forced to screw you whenever and however they can just to survive. Look at the size of some of them and the number of staff as well as all the equipment.

The Toyota dealer I had my last service done at has a wall full of achievement awards... how impressive?

That didn't stop them from putting 60psi in all my tyres and scratching the rear bumper. Who knows what oil they used. Even if you asked you would be lied to as they don't know themselves nor care.
We have 5 Toyota dealers in this area and I have had dealings with 3 of them. One in particular is that incompetent and rude it is like something out of would you believe.


I have had many new cars in my time and can't recall an experience from any dealership that would cause me to praise one. They rate from lousy to outright criminals.

I took the risk with the first service on my new Kluger hoping something may have changed... sadly not.
I don't mind paying top price for anything but I do expect to get what I pay for, not some of it.

Toyota make magnificent vehicles but fall flat on their face when you try to use their after sales service. Most car dealerships are like this though. Customers are happy if they have the little stamp in the log book... they are unaware of anything else.

Edited June 1, 2013 by KX-R & ACV40R

[tpl]

i found mine after 30k km service my consumption up abit too from 11.2-11.3 - 11.5-11.7. I suspect they did't blow the air filter. I'm goin to do it myself.

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

I'm suspecting they used lower spec oil?

[fl360]

I suspect they lowered the tyre pressure too much...

[Ratheesh Kumar]

I used unleaded 98 for last couple of weeks and i noted a huge increase in fuel consumption. From this experience i believe that there is not much benefit in going for U98 instead of U95 in klugers.Does any one have a different opinion.

Kind Regards

[DHOUS]

guys

I have recently had combined 40k -60k service and fuel consumption has changed, highway improved and got down to 8.2 on my usual run from Geelong to Latrobe Valley, but around town has increased currently around 10.2 yes I do try to drive smoothly no lead foot.

My take on the changes is the transmission oil not engine oil, this service had changes in transmission and transfer box, I have detected that the lower gears are holding much longer before changing up than previously before the service.

just my theory FYI

Cheers

Dhous

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

I used unleaded 98 for last couple of weeks and i noted a huge increase in fuel consumption. From this experience i believe that there is not much benefit in going for U98 instead of U95 in klugers.Does any one have a different opinion.

Kind Regards

I have found with my Kluger that it likes "good" petrol.

To get the best consumption and power I use the best of the premium fuels from Caltex or Shell. They both have 2 premium fuels and you have to look at their websites to see which servos sell what.

I've heard that BP premium is good too but there isn't one around here.

So, premium petrol and the improvement in consumption more than covers the extra cost for me.

Edited July 13, 2013 by KX-R & ACV40R

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

guys

I have recently had combined 40k -60k service and fuel consumption has changed, highway improved and got down to 8.2 on my usual run from Geelong to Latrobe Valley, but around town has increased currently around 10.2 yes I do try to drive smoothly no lead foot.

My take on the changes is the transmission oil not engine oil, this service had changes in transmission and transfer box, I have detected that the lower gears are holding much longer before changing up than previously before the service.

just my theory FYI

Cheers

Dhous

Why did they service the transmission at that km? If you check the service book it shows that it is not needed for a very long time.

Those consumption figures are around the standard that I get from mine now that I discovered the benefit of quality petrol.

I have no problem with my transmission change points, in fact it is impeccable. When driving in town I have found that it prefers to be in S mode to lock out the overdrive.

[DHOUS]

the reason for that service was the vehicle is 2008 5yrs old but only just clicked over 40K. there is definitely a change in the transmission holding lower gears longer.

Cheers

Dhous

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

I wonder if there is much difference with the 2008 transmission vs the current models?

For an awd those consumption figures are very good Dhous!!

[Skippa85]

My KXS has only been serviced at the dealer I bought it from, they use castrol magnatec, I'm not sure of the grade as its not written on the work order, and I only run 98 octane fuel preferably from shell, my fuel economy averages 8.1 on the highway and 10.2 around town, I'm happy with that. It's 08 model with 60000km on the clock. Never had a prob yet.

[Skippa85]

Sorry 09 model, bumped the wrong button.

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Hi Rick...

I had a service last week and there is now a Castrol Magnatec sticker on the windscreen and the receipt says 10-30. If that is what they really used, who knows?? :-) :-)

I would say that all dealers use what they can get the best deal $$$ on with their fuel and lubricants?

Great mileage... btw, is yours 2wd or awd?

[Skippa85]

Hey barney,

Mine is a AWD mate, 7 seater, I think you may be right about dealers using what they can get the best deal from, like I said I have only ever taken it to toyota but that is only due to the capped price servicing, I have heard some horror stories about how expensive they are when not capped so might be looking for somewhere else when it runs out!

[DHOUS]

Guys

a lot of comments from you on engine oil but my original post was more related to transmission oil and the change in behaviour of the shift criteria, and this was my theory on the change in fuel consumption.

good to hear some of you backing up my fuel consumption figures, all in the way you drive no leadfoot acceleration!!!

On the other point of service costs after the capping runs out, they do get expensive, you need to talk with your service Manager and get only done what is necessary, if you look at your service book you will see there is a lot of fluff, I got what I thought a reasonable deal from my dealer doing just this, given that my wheels have only done 40,000km over 5 years this was a bit easier to negotiate, but I will always do this from now on. the last service cost me around $500 some earlier blogs suggested charges up around the $1000.

Cheers

Dhous

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

I have only had two servicing's done so far 10k & 20k and both were at the fixed rate of $170. Not too bad considering it is only an oil & filter change and rotate and balance the tyres. As you say, all the other stuff is fluff :-)

At my last service they tried to say the wipers needed replacing but when I said the car is only one year old, only done 12K, lives in a garage and the wipers have only been used a few times the matter was forgotten. BTW.. a pair of new wipers from Toyota.. $57 !!!

Re Dhous's transmission.. Current models have a "learning" transmission and I suspect yours may also. I found that after towing a caravan for a while that when it was unhitched it did take a while to find the happy change points again, which it did.

There are many things that can change a trannys performance, engine tune, vacuum leak, incorrect fluid, etc.. Definitely a job for a specialist.

[San D]

Hi there,

I have recently bought a second hand Kluger 2009 Grande AWD and wonder if I can buy my own choice of engine oil (which I think would be Castrol Magnetic) and take it with me to Toyota servicing using my oil? Does Toyota allow it to be done or do so? I believe Castrol Magnetic engine oil is way better than general or bulk bought oils. Please suggest.

Thank You.

[fl360]

since your 2009 grande is already out of warranty, you don't even need to take it to Toyota dealer, just make sure if you spent over 70 for fully synthetic oil make sure to pick a service center which allows you to see them use it in your car.

for the after service fuel increase issue, will that because they also lowered the tyre pressure ? for mine 42 psi is the sweet spot but the dealers like to put them to 35psi.