Does ESP effect MPG?

Hadnt even thought about it prior to my brother (who's a mechanic) inquiring whether the ESP has any effect on vehicle MPG. Searched, and found nothing on this particular subject...

Anyone know whether it does in fact influence the MPG?

What does the ESP do? It applies brakes to certain wheels under certain conditions and it cuts back engine power under certain conditions.

Just having ESP would do nothing to or for mileage, and the effect if you use it quite often would be inconsequential, in my opinion. The only time that I have felt it working is when it cuts engine power. When I get on it as I'm turning, I have had it come on where I suppose that it is braking a wheel, but since I can't actually feel any drag on the engine from that, I seriously doubt there is any effect.

whitedog said:

Just having ESP would do nothing to or for mileage, and the effect if you use it quite often would be inconsequential, in my opinion.

Click to expand...

[off_topic_joke_just_because_whitedog_is_here]
Well, I dunno. Have scientists proven whether Extra-Sensory Perception affects fuel economy? I guess it could allow you to look ahead and see traffic and pick a better lane before it actually happens. That could save you quite a bit in city driving.
[/off_topic_joke_just_because_whitedog_is_here]
Sorry, TerribleTDI...I couldn't resist.

Yes it does. How?

When you loose control and wreck your beloved VW, your mpg quickly goes to 0. When ESP kicks in and you do not wreck, your mpg stays at over 40!

Or maybe it makes it worse for drivers who drive faster because they have ESP to "catch their fall".

Well, wouldn't a car with the ESP equipment be heavier than a comparable TDI, having a small effect on MPG? I can't remember the list from the ESP upgrade that someone did, but it was pretty lengthy- not sure if anything weighs much, except the brain box.

I have ESP and I can usually get about 1000km out of a tank (55 Liters)...give or take 50km.

This is in a fully loaded Golf GLS with ESP and 5-speed manual transmission...and a roofrack.

Do people without ESP do significantly better than that? I doubt it... ESP doesn't do anything until you try to perform seemingly impossible maneuvers. For normal driving it is no different than if you were carrying around a bag of groceries (how much difference does that make?)

The ESP system adds negligible weight to the vehicle. It re-uses the ABS hardware, the drive-by-wire system, and adds a couple of small sensors and a little bit of wiring. To add these things yourself, indeed it would cost a bundle, but the extra weight compared to ABS-only is negliglble.

bjmarler said:

Yes it does. How?

When you loose control and wreck your beloved VW, your mpg quickly goes to 0. When ESP kicks in and you do not wreck, your mpg stays at over 40!

Click to expand...

Actually dividing by zero is undefined, so it's hard to say whether 0 gallons / 0 miles is good or bad. I'd say it's not THAT bad because the tank never gets empty... unless of course the wreck made it leak. AND when you get towed you IMPROVE your mileage. You always have to see the glass as half full!