'13 TDI Wagon - Poor MPG - 10 mpg less than avg

My other 1/2 is driving a 2011 TDI JSW and s averaging 43. Her commute is 85 miles each way, mostly highway. (With at least 1 traffic jam each evening.)

When I drove her car for a week I averaged 38.

I would second getting your alignment checked. My Jeep lost 3 mpg when the alignment was out.

What kind of tires are on the car?

I did everything I could to maximize FE and got 40.1 mpg during the 522 mile trip. I made it all the way here without needing to fill up. This was with he AC on the whole way and 4 stops for coffee/bathroom breaks. Thanks for all the advice.

TDI in ATX said:

I did everything I could to maximize FE and got 40.1 mpg during the 522 mile trip. I made it all the way here without needing to fill up. This was with he AC on the whole way and 4 stops for coffee/bathroom breaks. Thanks for all the advice.

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Low 40s is as good as it gets. Whoever told you 50s after break in was simply WRONG.

I own a 2015 Sportwagen TDI SEL
I get nowhere near the MPG Volkswagen claim
My car is empty after around 260 miles so with a 13 gallon tank thats only 20mpg city driving!
Nowhere near the 30 plus that is claimed
Admittedly I live In LA which has some of the worst traffic in the US but even so 20mpg!
Could there be something wrong with this car?

David B said:

I own a 2015 Sportwagen TDI SEL
I get nowhere near the MPG Volkswagen claim
My car is empty after around 260 miles so with a 13 gallon tank thats only 20mpg city driving!
Nowhere near the 30 plus that is claimed
Admittedly I live In LA which has some of the worst traffic in the US but even so 20mpg!
Could there be something wrong with this car?

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i have a mk6 jsw tdi. (jetta sportwagen) with 17" rims
i get anywhere from 30-41mpg. depnding on how loaded i am, speed, traffic, my foot. generally i get 415 miles on 12 gal. 35 mpg. but that is loaded with tools in the back (300 lbs) plus 100lbs on my rear basket, driving 70-75mph with ac on. unloaded i get 38 at same speed. And if i drive 65 i can get 40 mpg. the other mk6 jsw with the 16" rims gets about 2 mpg better. But i also drive a bit faster. with my x-mas bonus im getting a stage .5 tune and dsg tune from malone.

David B said:

I own a 2015 Sportwagen TDI SEL
I get nowhere near the MPG Volkswagen claim
My car is empty after around 260 miles so with a 13 gallon tank thats only 20mpg city driving!
Nowhere near the 30 plus that is claimed
Admittedly I live In LA which has some of the worst traffic in the US but even so 20mpg!
Could there be something wrong with this car?

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I would imagine if it isn't throwing any codes you can attribute this to traffic and your driving. Not the best car for heavy intercity traffic. More of a highway car. City doesn't necessarily mean LA or NY.

David B said:

Admittedly I live In LA which has some of the worst traffic in the US but even so 20mpg!
Could there be something wrong with this car?

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If you're doing all your driving in the thick of LA during high traffic times (which I realize is most of the time) I suppose that's possible. And if a lot of your trips are "short", meaning relatively few miles, then it may be going into regen a lot more often than usual. Or you may be interrupting multiple regens so it's always attempting to regen. If that's the case, ultimately you'll get a fault code for that.

It would be interesting to take a longer run, like a day trip to San Diego or Palm Springs, and see how it does. If you keep it under 80 you should get around, or close to, 40 MPG. If not, perhaps something is wrong with the car.

Whoa, i guess I should feel good, I have loaded my Sportwagen down with tools, lots of tools. Like 700 lbs of tools, added taller rear springs from IDparts, and it has squished them down to just above stock hight. With all that weight, my, from refuel, average is 42 mpg, on the computer, haven't hand calculated anything yet. Am I close to that number?
I drive a lot, like 6-700 miles a week, no special driving techniques, just stay below 75 mph, add fuel and go.

If your car is typical, you're probably getting 3-6 MPG less than the cluster says. Good news is that the extra weight matters less when driving steady highway speeds.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

If your car is typical, you're probably getting 3-6 MPG less than the cluster says. Good news is that the extra weight matters less when driving steady highway speeds.

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After hand calculating a tank, I'm at 39.5 mpg's, so beautiful!

Like my aerodynamic work truck, it's a gas... oh wait.



What is this tool that lets you see regens happening? I still can't feel them. If the fan is on, and it smells a little different when you turn it off, that means it's in regen, if so, start it let it idle, or drive it, I dunno.

VCDS by RossTech will, VagDPF app and Torque app and a BT dongle will also work. There are others as well. VagDPF works really well for me and is made just for this. I have an old android phone that is now dedicated just for this.

Thanks Lightflyer, investigating now, thank you.