TDi 130 Poor fuel economy

[jeremyh]

I bought a 2004 A4 TDi 130 Avant with multitronic gearbox recently and I'm rather disappointed with the fuel economy. I'm getting typically 40mpg. My daily commute is 45 miles of country lanes cruising at around 40mph with not too much in the way of traffic queues. I am also pretty gentle on the accelerator. What sort of mpg should I be getting?

[andyroo]

Hi Got the same kind of beast 3 months ago mines an Avant as well and am averaging 36 A,recent trip to Leeds from Newcastle a round trip of just over 200 miles gave me 40 The dealer I got it from says this is OK but a mate of mine with an A4 but manual regularly gets mid 40's and low 50,s on a run. Seems the Multitronic probably drinks the diseasel

[jeremyh]

Hi Got the same kind of beast 3 months ago mines an Avant as well and am averaging 36 A,recent trip to Leeds from Newcastle a round trip of just over 200 miles gave me 40 The dealer I got it from says this is OK but a mate of mine with an A4 but manual regularly gets mid 40's and low 50,s on a run. Seems the Multitronic probably drinks the diseasel
The published figures show virtually no difference in 0-60 or mpg for the multitronic compared to the manual which was one of the attractions of the Audi for me. Either there is something wrong with it or Audi's figures are fantasy (can't work out which it is). I have a Merc C180 Kompressor (petrol) that gives 40 mpg on a steady run plus it is a lot more roomy and has a climate control that works properly. I'm beginning to wish I had bought another Merc...

[adamss24]

The published figures are way optimistic as they done in a lab replicating the same conditions every time. There is no much difference in the final drive between an manual and auto gearboxex but every other gear its higher on an auto. Remember the auto gearbox its also heavyer than manual plus the 130 bhp engines are thirsty as well. Replace the MAF if the car its sluggish as it will give poor performance overall. Also its your merc 6 speed because if it is, thats why it returns 40Mpg as there is no way the auto will return that.

[Dave Avant]

Mine drops to 25mpg when cold, then when fully warm going to work, which is traffic and slow motorway stint, it averages at mid 40s going to just over 50mpg when cruising on the motorway.

Mine is a 5spd manual 130. Also I tend to run in ECON mode on the climate as this can drop the mpg by 2-3mpg.

On another point, this is my first diesel and I know they can take a tad longer than petrol variants to warm up, but mine seems to hover around 70 deg. then gradually rise to 90 over about 15 or so minutes - how does anyone elses compare. Just used to a petrol being fully warm in 5 minutes of driving and asking if its normal or does the stat need changing.

Its an '03 with 66K.

[adamss24]

Mine drops to 25mpg when cold, then when fully warm going to work, which is traffic and slow motorway stint, it averages at mid 40s going to just over 50mpg when cruising on the motorway.

Mine is a 5spd manual 130. Also I tend to run in ECON mode on the climate as this can drop the mpg by 2-3mpg.

On another point, this is my first diesel and I know they can take a tad longer than petrol variants to warm up, but mine seems to hover around 70 deg. then gradually rise to 90 over about 15 or so minutes - how does anyone elses compare. Just used to a petrol being fully warm in 5 minutes of driving and asking if its normal or does the stat need changing.

Its an '03 with 66K.
Hi dave, your car runs/behave just fine, as a fact a diesel engine puts less heat(wastes !) in the cooling system than a petrol one thus beeing more eficient :20-30 % more ! Thats why they return higher mileage compared to similar capacity petrol engines. Also its not recomended to idle your tdi for long as the cylinder walls cools down and the diesel condenses on them and drips down washing the oil film off the cylinders walls. As soon as you start your TDI drive off reasonably fast as its need some load to get warm. Also if you find yourself in slow moving traffic and the engine its still cold its a good ideea to turn the lights on and the window demister just to force the engine to work a little harder.

[salty]

I bought a 2004 A4 TDi 130 Avant with multitronic gearbox recently and I'm rather disappointed with the fuel economy. I'm getting typically 40mpg. My daily commute is 45 miles of country lanes cruising at around 40mph with not too much in the way of traffic queues. I am also pretty gentle on the accelerator. What sort of mpg should I be getting?
hi have you tried running on rvo (recycled veg oil )i have an A6 and get between 54 and 57 mpg i have got up to 62 mpg but it drove me nuts driving on the mpg computer.salty

[jeremyh]

Sounds interesting. Are any mods needed to the car to run on it? Where can you buy rvo?

[DaveG]

A mate had a similar problem with his 03 A4 Avant 130 Tdi 130,000 miler, he was advised to change his Air mass meter which he did himself for for £80 and he says its much better but he drives the car VERY hard.

[salty]

Sounds interesting. Are any mods needed to the car to run on it? Where can you buy rvo?
I AM LUCKY I HAVE A SUPPLIER JUST ROUND THE CORNER.TO GET ALL THE INFO YOU NEED GO ON WWW.BIO-POWER.CO.UK (http://www.BIO-POWER.CO.UK) I FIND THAT IT IS QUIETER AND SMELLS BETTER.WHEN THE WEATHER IS COLD IT IS A LITTLE HARDER TO START SO I USE WHAT THEY CALL STRONG BLEND THE OTHER UPSIDE IS ITS CHEAPER THAN TESCO DIESEL BEST OF LUCK SALTY:beerchug: