Real World MPG with DSG

calimustang

Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2010
Location
Central FL
TDI
2011 JSW DSG (buyback, RIP), 2014 JSW TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2013 Jetta TDI.
2015 on Malone stage 2 deleted, averaging 55-57 mpg on 55 mph flat country roads. 38 psi all around. have seen 60-62 mpg few times but it don't last. before the delete, averaging 44-47.
 

jettskiman

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Location
Oregon USA
TDI
2012 Passat
Damn, this discussion has 44 pages. That is awesome. Hey one big advantage to the m6 is most car thieves cant drive a stick. Just wanted to throw that in. My daughter has the DSG but I'm thinking about buying a 2015 manual.
 

jettskiman

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Location
Oregon USA
TDI
2012 Passat
Good luck finding one! Manuals are few and far between and usually demand a higher price. Their numbers are dwindling.
Done
 

CleverUserName

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Location
NorCal
TDI
2014 OZ Cruze CTD & 2010 JSW 6MT & 2017 GMC Canyon CCLB ATX 2.8 Duramax
There was a 2015 manual Passat SE being sold local to me a year ago. 110k miles for $8500. I did not like the color, it was metallic brown and beige interior but I regret not getting it when I had the chance. Seems like a great deal now.
 
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seahawkdodge

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Location
FL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI
I have gotten as high as 44mpg highway in my 2013 w/dsg, travelling at 70-75mph.
I currently drive 142 miles a day round trip, almost all interstate. The speed limit ranges from 60 to 75, and I typically drive 8 over the posted limit.

I usually get right around 38mpg, but have gotten as high as 41, and as low as 36 on this commute.
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
I just tried slowing down a bit and WOW, what a difference. Rural roads, a route I normally drive at 60-65, took it at 50-55 just for laughs and instead of ~ 47 I got 51.7 mpg. First 6 miles the lie o meter was reading 34.5 (hilly and city traffic), after 10 miles 47.4 and after 25 miles 51.7 mpg So on that last 15 mile stretch (some flat some hilly) I was probably in the mid to upper 50s, have not calculated it precisely. R/T today of about 100 miles including some trip on forest service dirt roads at 10-20 mph and a lot of up and down, average of 49 mpg. So I am seeing about an 8 percent improvement overall simply by going slower. I live a long way from the Interstate, and the speed limits are 50-55 anyway so slowing down is doable for me.
'013 SE, stock, fixed, DSG, 53,500 miles.

Update - repeated this experiment several times and the results are valid. On a rural road, fairly level (negligible elevation gain or loss), speed at a steady 50-55 mph, no wind, no traffic, I am right at 63.x mpg. I took a series of photos of my trip average mpg on the dash over 18 miles on the same trip to back up that result. Start driving in town - mileage drops like a rock. 42.9 overall mpg in mixed driving over the last 15,000 + miles. I do take a lot of short trips with a cold engine in town. That just kills mileage.

second update: Added a Kerma tune and seeing a ~4-6 percent boost in mileage.

third update- repeated a ~ 120 mile freeway trip mostly at at speeds of 70-75+ mph, pre-tune about 45 mpg. Post-tune: 49.5 mpg. Exact same route and same conditions - negligible wind, no elevation gain, moderate to occasionally heavy traffic, last 30 miles at speeds of 50-60 mph.
 
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petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
Whats the 0-60 time on a passat tdi with dsg? I think I saw officially that its like 8.8 but it feels faster on the one I just picked up. The dealer assured me it wasn't tuned or anything.
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
I'm not sure -but 8-9 seconds sounds right. The car is very peppy, put it in sport mode and give it a lot of throttle. Just pray the turbo does not give out on your 0-60 run. Serious.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
I remember the page in my 2000 tdi beetle. "0-60? Yes"
 

petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
I'm not sure -but 8-9 seconds sounds right. The car is very peppy, put it in sport mode and give it a lot of throttle. Just pray the turbo does not give out on your 0-60 run. Serious.
HAHA....I'm not really throttlin it, definitely not what I bought it for. I was just curious cause it just seems faster than they say. I do still have the emissions warranty that also covers the turbo for like 2.5 years and also I'm 99 percent sure it is Phase 2b eligible that can extend it.

However I was not aware that pushing it a little could blow the turbo that easily. Guess I should watch out for that.
 

x1800MODMY360x

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Location
AZ, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL
HAHA....I'm not really throttlin it, definitely not what I bought it for. I was just curious cause it just seems faster than they say. I do still have the emissions warranty that also covers the turbo for like 2.5 years and also I'm 99 percent sure it is Phase 2b eligible that can extend it.

However I was not aware that pushing it a little could blow the turbo that easily. Guess I should watch out for that.
You have a 2015 passat, the 2012-2014 have a poorly built turbo that likes to go out.

If anything you have to worry about the DEF injector going bad.
 

petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
You have a 2015 passat, the 2012-2014 have a poorly built turbo that likes to go out.

If anything you have to worry about the DEF injector going bad.
Ahhhh, so I CAN do Paul Walker impressions....sweet. Yea the main thing I was actually worried about was the DSG because it has 97k and neither I or the dealer could find any history of it being serviced. It shifts perfectly though and I had the dealer do it before I picked it up so maybe I'm in the clear. Would be much more comforting to see it on the carfax or in VW's system as serviced.

I just filled up the fuel yesterday so I can start tracking how many miles I can get out of a tank. I think its the most fun part of owning these. Used to have a 2001 jetta tdi like 10 years ago.
 

x1800MODMY360x

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Location
AZ, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL
Ahhhh, so I CAN do Paul Walker impressions....sweet. Yea the main thing I was actually worried about was the DSG because it has 97k and neither I or the dealer could find any history of it being serviced. It shifts perfectly though and I had the dealer do it before I picked it up so maybe I'm in the clear. Would be much more comforting to see it on the carfax or in VW's system as serviced.

I just filled up the fuel yesterday so I can start tracking how many miles I can get out of a tank. I think its the most fun part of owning these. Used to have a 2001 jetta tdi like 10 years ago.
I would do all the service, DSG, Engine Oil, Fuel Filter, and Intake Filter.

That way you know its done and not have to worry about it.
 

petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
I would do all the service, DSG, Engine Oil, Fuel Filter, and Intake Filter.

That way you know its done and not have to worry about it.
Intake filter might be the only thing they didn't do, I'll have to check. They did the oil, DSG, and Fuel filter when they got it in on trade. Has good tires, new front brakes, looks more like a 3 or 4 year old car. Interior is almost mint. Exterior is real good too.
 

x1800MODMY360x

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2021
Location
AZ, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL
Intake filter might be the only thing they didn't do, I'll have to check. They did the oil, DSG, and Fuel filter when they got it in on trade. Has good tires, new front brakes, looks more like a 3 or 4 year old car. Interior is almost mint. Exterior is real good too.
VW dealer?

I wouldn't trust a non VW dealer, well I don't trust dealers period. I had oil pan bolts loose...
 

petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
I don't trust them either for the most part but they seemed pretty honest and didn't try to hide anything and yes it was a VW dealer. For what it is worth I asked for the DSG service as a condition of buying the car and I did get text messages from the service department that it was in the shop. Everything else they said they did I could verify, tires were new, brakes and rotors were obviously new. I will do the intake filter myself. Would've asked for it but I hadn't thought about it since I'm just getting back into these cars. Feel free to suggest anything else. Love learning about these things.
 

petesmashh

Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2014
Location
arlington, va
TDI
2015 passat tdi se with dsg
Just got back to Arlington, VA from NYC. Round trip was like 470 miles and I used a little more than half a tank of diesel with a 2015 Passat with an auto DSG.

On the way back I wanted to see how economical I could get and started using cruise control about an hour into the drive and slowed down to 65 from 70. Ended up averaging 52mpg with almost no traffic so pretty much cruised the whole way. Pretty awesome and probably could have got 53mpg+ if I did 65mph on cruise control from the start.

Also the car is stock.
 
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JELLOWSUBMARINE

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Mar 3, 2014
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yes
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2011 Jetta Sportwagen, 6M, red/tan, navi, pano, 83 5m diesel pickup, 82 p/u trailer,.04 5.5 TDI Passat wagon (gone), 80,81,82 diesel p/u (gone), 80,82 sportruck (gone), 59 passthru bus (long gone), 79&87 westy (gone), 57 baja bug (long gone), 73 914

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
Unfortunately I don't think the Fuelly data can be parsed based on seasonal fuel variation - winter vs. summer. I take a huge hit in winter with the cold weather and winter fuel, bringing my overall average down a lot.
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

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Mar 3, 2014
Location
yes
TDI
2011 Jetta Sportwagen, 6M, red/tan, navi, pano, 83 5m diesel pickup, 82 p/u trailer,.04 5.5 TDI Passat wagon (gone), 80,81,82 diesel p/u (gone), 80,82 sportruck (gone), 59 passthru bus (long gone), 79&87 westy (gone), 57 baja bug (long gone), 73 914
Unfortunately I don't think the Fuelly data can be parsed based on seasonal fuel variation - winter vs. summer. I take a huge hit in winter with the cold weather and winter fuel, bringing my overall average down a lot.
Thats kind of the point with fuelly. It averages many variables throughout the year with many driving styles. Kinda puts out real world numbers over the occasional "I get 78mpg uphill" claim.

Having owned a JSW I was always jealous how the Passat saw better mpg's. Why couldn't VW sell a newer Passat TDI wagon 6m???
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Unfortunately I don't think the Fuelly data can be parsed based on seasonal fuel variation - winter vs. summer. I take a huge hit in winter with the cold weather and winter fuel, bringing my overall average down a lot.
I've seen as much as a 10% swing in mileage from summer to winter blend depending on how far north I've traveled. I don't see much difference down here in the Carolinas, but when I traveled to Indiana or Iowa, there was a big drop.
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
Here in WA I see about 10 % drop too on my winter fuel. You can always tell when the stations get the winter fuel - the hit is immediate, likewise in the spring when the summer fuel arrives, an immediate boost. Some of the drop in undoubtedly due to colder weather. My '13 has been banished to the car port and so it is stone cold in the mornings, takes up to 10 miles to fully warm up (post tune), with low EGTs.
 

Tdimrtwo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Location
North Texas
TDI
03 Jetta wagon, 15 GSW, 02 Beetle
It surprised me, but I get virtually the same mileage in my 2003 5-speed manual jetta wagon and my 2015 GSW with DSG. 220 k trouble-free miles on the dsg, nothing but fluid and filter changes every 40k.
 
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