Hi, I just got a 1998 SLK230 - beautiful car!

However, it seems surprisingly "thirsty" on fuel. I live in LA, so obviously there is a lot of queing and so, but still...

Can anyone please share their experience in terms of fuel consumption for this model? Or do you have any idea, what could be causing a higher consumption of fuel?

Thank you!


nic

 

Mine gets 20-27 mpg on regualr mode, try pushing the ec button on the dash to switch to economy mode, could be anything though, plugged air filter, fuel filter, bad o2 but your check engine light would probably be on.

 

Fuel Consumption is always problematic.
"Surprisingly "thirsty" isn't a good enough definition.

Suggest you brim the tank and go for a nice drive at the weekend at normal highway speeds (100mile say) and then refil the tank (to brim) and see what the consumption is trying to ensure that the car is filled at the same pump (ground level) and any other precautions you can take to ensure accuracy.

Do the same again on you regular daily town route.

We now have two figures. I would expect you to be somewhere around 30 highway 22 town Imperial or 24 highway 18 town US. +/- 10%

Of course it will be down to your driving style and even A/Con & Headlamps On/Off makes a big difference.

If you would like go to VCA http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/ for "official" figures. I'm sure there must be similar databases about.

R170 230 is no longer available so looked up R171 200 Auto. Quoted figures are Urban 22.6 Extra Urban 42.2 Overall 32.1 mpg IMPERIAL.
Don't ever think you will get 42.2 mpg!!

Both these official tests (Urban and Extra Urban) are lab controlled and follow a set procedure and simulated route for COMPARISON reasons.

The list of controls is endless. e.g.
Fuel type,
Soak temperature,
Engine mileage (new)
Oil type,
No wind
Elec load.
Tyre size.
Auto/Man
AC on/off
Tyre pressure
Roof up/down
Load (all up weight)
Terrain (simulated in lab test)
Road surface (specified = smooth)
Acceleration rates specified (driving style)
Speeds and durations specified
etc. etc.........

A selected vehicle is used to set the figures that are used to set the "advertising" figures. All subsequent vehicles however must fall within a range of the published figures.

So what is "Surprisingly "thirsty"

Stuart

 

I get about 24 around town and up to 36 highway imperial.

As stated post your figs...

Bazzle

 

I consistently get 21 MPG U.S. on my 98 230. This is mostly town driving. I also drive somewhat "spirited" so I could probably do better... it just wouldn't be as much fun!

 

I'm halfway through my second measured tank. The first tank got a slightly dissapointing average of 23 mpg. The second tank is looking a little better with mostly highway miles. I just got mine, and I was expecting a little better mileage too. Has yours improved? I plan to replace the air filter, and I'll post my results.

 

Clean the MAF sensor. Before the check engine light comes on it will start metering the wrong amount of fuel. Also a dirty O2 sensor will do the same thing. Check for pending codes with an OBD2 scanner. Pending codes are codes that haven't reached their limit but may still show a problem.