What kind of mileage should I hope for in my new-to-me 03 TDI auto

bugeye72 · Oct 15, 2014

I've had an 01 5spd golf TDI for a couple of years ad pretty consistently get 46-47 with it. We just got an 03 TDI Jetta wagon with an auto trans. I've got some work to do on it, and I understand that the auto puts a good dent in the mileage , but what is a realistic number to hope for? Most of our driving is on rural roads, 40-55 mph, not many stops. Thanks for any insight.

Lightflyer1 · Oct 16, 2014

Did you search fuelly? Seems like low to mid 30's from my quick look.

nate0031 · Oct 16, 2014

Really? That sounds really low, even for an auto wagon. I bet IBW knows, lol.

Lightflyer1 · Oct 16, 2014

I looked again and it seems mid 30's to low 40's.

bugeye72 · Oct 16, 2014

I'll be pretty bummed if I can't manage 40 with it. Thanks all, would love to hear some first hand experiences.

yatzee · Oct 16, 2014

35-40 with the last auto I ran

fruitcakesa · Oct 17, 2014

We have averaged a little over 40 with the 02 auto wagon, but since it became our "local" driver, mileage has dropped to mid 30's.
TDI's prefer longer, steady drives to get max mileage

bugeye72 · Oct 17, 2014

thanks y'all

4vdubs · Oct 21, 2014

Before I converted mine to a 5-speed, I got 32-34 back and forth to work with a best ever highway trip (55 mph for 500 miles) of 43.5.

Now I get 46 everyday with a best-ever (65 mph for 880 miles) of 53.5.

ketchupshirt88 · Oct 21, 2014

you might get 40 with that kind of driving.

i get 36 if im rushing to work (80+mph) and 42 on a nice easy highway drive @ 65mph.
my best ever was 42.5 - roughly 400 hwy miles @ 65-70.
my worst ever was 34 doing city driving in the middle of the "arctic vortex" last year
my average combined is 38-39. i rarely get less than 38 combined and its even more rare to see over 40 though.

mine is a sedan not a wagon though

Jesus Is Lord · Oct 21, 2014

Before we swapped to a manual we got about 36 mpg in combined driving, our best tank was 44 mpg on the highway. With a manual our best tank is 53 mpg.

VW_TDi_ · Oct 21, 2014

I get about 35 with mixed driving and 38-42 on the highway as long as i keep the boost below 5 psi. I recently installed the 520 nozzles so well see if the economy gets harmed by the end of this week.

Shawnz · Oct 21, 2014

I agree with the 35-40, low end of the curve when you run the A/C.

My car as an auto averaged 35 MPG over the course of 50k miles

The same car is now averaging as close as matters to 45 MPG after the 5 Speed / tune / nozzles / turbo upgrade (read as all the reasons the mileage should suck

)

bugeye72 · Oct 22, 2014

geeze, It's hard to imagine that engineers called the job done with this auto trans which seems to carry a 10mpg penalty over the 5spd. The Saab the my wife has been driving up til now gets just shy of 30 in day-to-day, 33 why, and it is super smooth, and a rocket in comparison. I really like my 5spd Golf TDI a lot. Maybe I should start looking for a 5spd donor car to convert this one over.

IndigoBlueWagon · Oct 22, 2014

10 MPG penalty sounds about right from what I've read. If you're really after FE do a six-speed swap.

millere5815 · Oct 23, 2014

I have the 02 tdi auto sedan, and consistently get 45-47. My guess is with the Wagon you will get a few MPG less, but should still break 40 consistently depending on how you drive.

VW_TDi_ · Oct 28, 2014

Worse I got was 550 to a tank and after upgrading to 520 nozzles (205 spec) last weekend, the best I got was 629 with the tank filled to the top (about 15.5 gallons)

Edit: mine is a sedan though

What kind of mileage should I hope for in my new-to-me 03 TDI auto

bugeye72

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Lightflyer1

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nate0031

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yatzee

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