A few niggly bits

[PoliceDog]

Hi All,

I'm rather new, so I'm not sure if this is where this kind of topic goes, but here we are.

Right, I've got a few queries about my 2008 XF 2.7D. One relates to DPF and MPG. My DPF warning came on the other day, so I know about the "give her a good old blast" cure, it's only in orange and not restricting power at all, so a good run and a bottle of Wynns DPF cleaner it shall be, but since this happened the Jag is reporting some fairly unrealistic MPG figures, for example 52.2 on a short run of about 9 miles, which consisted of somewhere around 6 miles of cruise control 50mph (average speed cam area) and the rest in normal 30mph town driving. It's reporting 35-45 on just town driving, which I don't honestly believe as I didn't get much above 40-42 in motorway circumstances beforehand. Any clues? 

Secondly, the transmission smells hot after 4 or 5 miles and ticks furiously, like metal cooling down and contracting back into shape once the car is shut down and parked up. Am I liable for the tranny to blow up on me at some point in the near future?

Lastly, I heard of butterfly valves getting sucked into the engine and blowing things up on the 3.0D, does this happen in the 2.7 as well? Should I be concerned with a car with 96,000 on the clock?

That's about it for now, sorry for the war and peace style post.

Ben.

[Leo]

Hi Ben,

Your fuel consumption will improve with warmer weather, and the ticking exhaust is due to the fact that the DPF has been cleaning itself.

Having said that, the regeneration of the DPF burns fuel, and often is evidenced by lower than usual mpg, so the figures are a bit surprising.

I suggest that you use the Shell V Power diesel (or whatever they call their premium diesel) instead of the regular stuff, because this will keep the engine and DPF much cleaner. My wife uses it in her Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, and has far fewer regenerations than before, plus the car feels quicker, and the mpg is slightly improved.