Cloth Ears
28-12-2009, 07:47 PM
Hi,
I have an A2 1.4 TDi 90 Sport (with the 17" wheels), which I love. I've had it from nearly-new and done about 45,000 miles in it. Over that time, the average MPG has been about 50-52 mpg in mixed motoring with plenty of town and rush-hour traffic. (Mileage checked by brimming the tank and noting the mileage for each refill). The trip computer usually reads slightly optimistically, at about 52-55 mpg average. On longer motorway runs, I have more than once managed a trip computer average of 69mph and 59.9 mpg simultaneously, which I thought was pretty impressive. Once, on a leisurely holiday pottering around the Cotswolds, we averaged 69mpg for a whole tankful.
So, I'm reasonably confident that the car is pretty economical, as a rule.
Unfortunately, for the last 6 months, the mpg has been getting worse. Now, we struggle to get 44 mpg average on the trip computer, even on trips which would previously have shown figures in the upper 50s. It's not a trip computer fault as we get proportionately less miles between refills as well.
The only thing that has changed is that I changed the standard Michelin front tyres from 205/40 ZR17 to 205/45 VR17 Avons. This has massively improved the ride, like you wouldn't believe, and I'd be VERY reluctant to go back to the previous tyres.
I don't think the tyres can be completely to blame, though. I might have expected a couple of mpg drop due to the gearing changes (though on a motorway run, they might also have improved for the same reason) and also the softer compound. More importantly, the mpg has continued to get worse but if it was all down to the gearing, it should have improved again as the tyres wore down.
At first, we nticed that the car average had dropped below 50mpg, then it dropped below 48, and I mentioned it when the cambelt was changed. The dealer found no fault codes, so I don't think there is anything seriously wrong. It has continued to get worse, now it takes about 30 miles out of a full tank before the average mpg gets out of the upper 30s, and I simply can't get it to go higher than 46mpg at best. Current average is about 44 mpg overall.
The Audi main dealer which services the car has drawn a blank, though they have assured me that there is nothing seriously (and expensively) wrong. They seem to think the mpg is in the normal range, though my experience over the last 45000 miles would seem to differ.
Any ideas, out there?
Thanks, in advance
Steve.
I have an A2 1.4 TDi 90 Sport (with the 17" wheels), which I love. I've had it from nearly-new and done about 45,000 miles in it. Over that time, the average MPG has been about 50-52 mpg in mixed motoring with plenty of town and rush-hour traffic. (Mileage checked by brimming the tank and noting the mileage for each refill). The trip computer usually reads slightly optimistically, at about 52-55 mpg average. On longer motorway runs, I have more than once managed a trip computer average of 69mph and 59.9 mpg simultaneously, which I thought was pretty impressive. Once, on a leisurely holiday pottering around the Cotswolds, we averaged 69mpg for a whole tankful.
So, I'm reasonably confident that the car is pretty economical, as a rule.
Unfortunately, for the last 6 months, the mpg has been getting worse. Now, we struggle to get 44 mpg average on the trip computer, even on trips which would previously have shown figures in the upper 50s. It's not a trip computer fault as we get proportionately less miles between refills as well.
The only thing that has changed is that I changed the standard Michelin front tyres from 205/40 ZR17 to 205/45 VR17 Avons. This has massively improved the ride, like you wouldn't believe, and I'd be VERY reluctant to go back to the previous tyres.
I don't think the tyres can be completely to blame, though. I might have expected a couple of mpg drop due to the gearing changes (though on a motorway run, they might also have improved for the same reason) and also the softer compound. More importantly, the mpg has continued to get worse but if it was all down to the gearing, it should have improved again as the tyres wore down.
At first, we nticed that the car average had dropped below 50mpg, then it dropped below 48, and I mentioned it when the cambelt was changed. The dealer found no fault codes, so I don't think there is anything seriously wrong. It has continued to get worse, now it takes about 30 miles out of a full tank before the average mpg gets out of the upper 30s, and I simply can't get it to go higher than 46mpg at best. Current average is about 44 mpg overall.
The Audi main dealer which services the car has drawn a blank, though they have assured me that there is nothing seriously (and expensively) wrong. They seem to think the mpg is in the normal range, though my experience over the last 45000 miles would seem to differ.
Any ideas, out there?
Thanks, in advance
Steve.