What MPG from a Jetta 2.0TDi DSG towing a small caravan?

[EdF]

Dioes anyone tow a caravan with a TDi DSG? Further to my earlier post in May, I decided to buy a small caravan after all (850Kg unladen) but before I buy a towbar for the Jetta and tow with my Landy, I'd like to know if it's a good move..
Thanks..

[Guest 2]

I'd imagine any car towing a caravan will suffer from reduced MPG whatever car/engine it is.

[bora23]

Is it a TDI 105 or 140?

[EdF]

It's a 140 SE, did they make a 2 litre Tdi 105..?

[EdF]

Well, obviously, but by how much is the question.. If a little caravan totally kills the mpg then I'll carry on towing with my Disco3..

[bora23]

Sorry I missed your 2.0 in the title.
No the 105 was either 1.6 or the earlier 1.9 Tdi.

You shouldn't really tow with DSG I attempted it with a Passat and it was like ******* in the wind.

Expect at least a drop of at least 10-15 mpg

[EdF]

Errrm, do you mean in a crosswind, a headwind, beans for tea..? One can always change manually.., I can live with even a 20mpg drop, it would still be worthwhile against 22-25 mpg towing with my Disco. A few weeks back when I found a post on another forum saying the DSG 'box was weak (susceptible to breaking) when towing, I searched and found many positive reports from other DSG owners who towed, but no-one mentioned mpg.. As my caravan is about the smallest 'normal' caravan (an Avondale Dart 380) I'll give it a go.. Solo, I get 55.4mpg doing errands locally, 62.5 at 70mph..

[bora23]

It is a weak box, but still one of the best auto gearboxes out there. I tow a beast of a caravan (swift archway) and I use a Octavia 2.0 TDI ad at best I achieve 37mpg.

I used to tow it with my passat 2.5 V6 TDI tip tronic but I managed to kill that after 203,000!

[EdF]

Thanks for that..
I had a 2.5 Passat V6 Tip too, but in the end decided a 2.0 TDi would be better (it was, IMHO) as it started breaking (fuel injector unit), getting old and it was pretty heavy and not so economical as it got older. VW dealerships are so expensive for repairs that if you can't do complex work yourself, such as putting in a new DSG 'box, then having a VAG repair wouldn't be a viable option for older cars, so I believe, which is why I'm being cautious about the Jetta. In the 2.5, did you get the 'water in the junction box under the passenger floor fault?' Rain leaking into the car through the pollen filter housing. That was a £200+ job at VAG which happened again a year later which I fixed for a few bob once I found out what was happening and where through a forum.. I've done almost every repair possible to my former Land Rover 90's (including two chassis-up rebuilds) but I wouldn't know where to start with most modern cars.

[bora23]

I was aware of the fault with the Passat but never had it! I had the dreaded turbo failure going up a 10% incline in Cornwall (whilst towing) and the best catastrophic failure was the injector pump failure on Christmas Eve. I had it in 2001 (with 22,000 m) and got rid of it in 2011 with 203,000m!

It was an ex fleet car and had £4,500 spent on it in its first year of life by Leaseplan.

I do miss it but the 2.5 V6 was a thirsty car even for a diesel