Poor mpg

rpalle

New member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Location
San Diego
TDI
rpalle
I just purchased a 01 Golf GLS and very disappointed in the mgp I am getting.
I am on my third tank. On my first tank I got ~38mpg and ~36mpg on the last.
I know these engines need to break in, but it seems a bit low considering what I have read in this forum.
I have had gassers all my life. This is my first diesel engine so I don't know what to expect nor do I know how to maximize the benifits of high torque low horse power.
I drive the car ~60mi/day in San Diego CA. The commute is ~50/50 highway/city although with the traffic on the freeway it shure seems like city driving with all of the stoping and going.

The car is a stock Golf 1.9 TDI GLS with auto trans @ 1079mi.

I have recently been expirimenting with putting the shifter into 3 while in town and when traffic is heavy. The results are, much better acceleration and I have consummed 1/4 of the third tank and only crossed 136mi which by my caculations is ~37mpg this is very disheartening.

I suspect some thing is wrong with the car but I don't know what check. I have had some conversations with the local dealers and I don't fell confident in their ablilties. I have a technical background so I can check almost any of the electrical components but I lack the facilities to do any heavy mechanical work.

Robert
 

Daryl

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2000
Location
Rockwood, Ontario
TDI
Jetta wagon 2004 Silver
Do not worry yet. Your car has too few miles on it to get a good sense of the MPG. Besides you are driving, 50/50 or worse in an automatic and probibly using the AC. 37mpg is not that bad considering the conditions. You need to make sure that you are filling the tank to the same point every time to get acuarte measures of MPG. As well, you should calculate your "life time" MPG by dividing the totall miles driven on the car by the total Gallons consumed. Everything seems fine with your ride. Give it time to break in and remember that your driving conditions are not conducive to good economy. Go for a nice highway trip with light traffic at 70 mph and you will see a big difference.

Cheers...Daryl
 
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