Very poor MPG on A6 2001 1.8T Quattro

[calin.]

Hi all

New to the forum so please be gentle :)

I have purchased a 2001 Audi A6 1.8T Quattro (Manual 5 speed). I love the car but I am a bit worried as the MPGs are dreadful. I know that it is a thirsty car but the figures I am getting can be compared with my mates mates 560Bhp Jaguar XKRS..

On the last tank (70liters + whatever it takes in the pipe.. ) it has done 306 miles. Out of them, +250 where motorway miles without the car being loaded (just me in the car..) and going at about 80 Mph. That works out at 19ish MPG.. and that surely can't be right.. can it? Comparing with he quoted figures for the car I am getting worst than City MPGs for going mainly on the Motorway.. So is this a problem? If so what can I check? The car has had regular oil changes / spark plugs / filters since birth.. drives and pulls exceptionally well.. so no obvious signs of something being wrong with it.

Thank you in advance for your answers.





Quoted online figures for the car:
CITY20.5 mpg OR 11.5 L/100KmHIGHWAY35.1 mpg OR 6.7 L/100KmCOMBINED27.7 mpg OR 8.5 L/100Km

[ametlib]

your car is upside down ?

[Flash2]

your car is upside down ?

That's why his consumption figures are so bad:) Sliding along on the roof causes a lot of drag.

Calin, welcome to the forum. Have you had the car long? Maybe it has had the engine ECU remapped, or maybe you have a fuel leak.

Jim.

[ametlib]

As above + are your fuel gauge reading correct ? Assume you have checked that none of the wheels are low on air or have a dragging brake ( just check if any of the alloys are warm after a longer trip)
Last you're right- they can be pretty thirsty, especially if you have an "inspired" driving style ....

[kid-jensen]

Are you going by the MPG meter or the old-fashioned way of measuring the fuel you use?

The MPG meters are all over the place....mine is at least 2-4 MPG optimistic, which is a lot when you're only getting 19....

[adamss24]

It's never going to get the quoted fuel economy, it's a big, heavy car and a tiny engine that needs loads of revs to move the car about. Is yours FWD or quattro ?

[calin.]

ametlib (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/member.php?175238-ametlib) - The car was upside down when I took the photo.. sorted now.. :)

As I learned to not trust old fuel gauges and used with not actually having one (I ride motorbikes.. :) ) I have done the MPG the old fashioned way. filled up the tank, reset the meter, when topped up done the math.

The breaks don't seem to stick and the car rolls down the hill in neutral quite easily. So I don't think they stick. I will try to see if the wheels are warm when parking up.

I must admit that I am a bit heavy footed some times, but on the last tank I tried to hold myself back for the purpose of figuring the MPGs out, and the 250+ motorway miles were done gingerly (ish).



Flash2 (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/member.php?11770-Flash2) -I am not sure about the ECU. I purchased the car 2 months ago. It came will a lot of receipts but as I purchased it from a dealer not from the previous owner he had a limited amount of info on the car. Is there a way I could check the engine map without purchasing a ECU reader?

And I have checked under the car on my drive in the morning and there are no obvious leaks or smell of petrol ( as I imagine it would reek of it)


adamss24 (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/member.php?3018-adamss24) -It's a quattro. The revs stay under 3k when travelling at 70-75.. so it's not too bad. I believe the Turbo kicks in at 3k?



Is there anything else worth checking? any blocked breather pipes / fuel pipes / any other hidden gremlins?


Thank you

Cal

[kid-jensen]

Does it have an EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) sensor?

If it does, see if you can get it checked. if it's playing-up, the ECU will reduce boost and dump-in extra fuel, thinking that the combustion temperature is too high.

Whern I changed mine, the consumption improved by 10-15% and I got the performance back...

[calin.]

Does it have an EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) sensor?

If it does, see if you can get it checked. if it's playing-up, the ECU will reduce boost and dump-in extra fuel, thinking that the combustion temperature is too high.

Whern I changed mine, the consumption improved by 10-15% and I got the performance back...

I will have it checked. I might be able to borrow a reader and check if there are any error codes.

Also in addition to the above information, today I have noticed that whilst idling it has a missfire every now and then (sometimes 20 sec apart, sometimes 5 sec apart). Could that be a clue onto the bad MPG?