New Fabia 2 1.4 TDi - Disappointing MPG

[andyfr]

We have just changed my wife's car for a brand new Fabia 2 1.4 TDi 80 and on the first brim to brim fill it has only managed just over 46MPG, that was calculated manually not using the on-board computer. It was filled at the same filling station and our daily commute is 15 miles each way on a 60/70 MPH A road with very little stop/start driving.

I know we are still running it in but our previous cars have been much more economical from new so we are quite disappointed. Is this normal for this engine when it's only done just over 400 miles?

[HZ123]

Mine has now 13000 on the clock but since day one iy was always good fot 50 mpg, which it has achieved ever since even when friven hard. I am sure it will get better!

[Herbie1]

You should be getting over 50mpg, what does the computer say, mine is very accurate. Also if you keep the speed down to about 60mph, mpg will improve considerably. As it new the mpg should improve, also check other posts about running-in diesel engines. I get over 55mpg overall, mainly short/town driving and a few long trips. With careful driving you should get over 60mpg on your commute.

[Guest]

Andy, don't worry. It fairly normal to not get very good mpg to start with...these engines are incredibly tight to start with. Brimming is quite difficult to do properly also as diesel foams so much and in reality takes quite a time to do. Although you could probably see the fuel in the pipe, if you wait a while it disappears as the foam in the tank disappates. So you may have short changed yourself when brimming to start with. The best thing is to watch the trip computer...they are fairly accurate. But if carrying out a test using the computer, zero it before you start the test. Also, are you both used to driving a diesel? If not, you may still be driving it like a petrol car ie. too many revs...not using the engines mountain of torque to propel you along. Just some food for thought! Good luck and don't worry about it. I've never known a 1.4TDI to have anything wrong with it from new concerning fueling.

[andyfr]

We have been driving diesels since the early 90s and I have got used to the various idiosyncrasies of filling them. On it's first fill I did take time to ensure that it was completely full to the brim.

I find trip computers okay but not as accurate as doing it in a spreadsheet in my PDA, sad I know. Also, it's strange that the MPG trip resets after 2 hours so not much use as it's better to do it over a few days.

The air con has been on the whole time which is what we do in any car summer or winter and it doesn't normally affect MPG much, but maybe it is doing with this engine.

[Tom_vRS]

You need to give it time! I just collected a Mazda 3 2.2D and on the first tank I got 36.5mpg! Diesels are tight as drums when they are new, and need a good few thousand miles to loosen up properly. It will get better over time I'm sure

[Guest]

Andy, check your handbook. You can stop your trip from resetting every two hours. Cannot remember what to do myself without checking the book. If you are using your aircon all the time it will affect your mpg. In mine it takes off about 10%, and my colleague who has the same model also tells me it reduces fuel consumption by around 10% overall. So you are getting about 50mpg at the mo. But probably more since it affects the fuel consumption much more during the bedding in process. These Audi engines take much longer to bed in than ordinary diesels. They are put together much much better than a Ford for example. It will be at least 10k miles before you get full power and best economy. It will also become much quieter and smoother. Just drive and enjoy. Good luck. Keep us all informed as to your progress.

[andyfr]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments guys! This is the first VAG car we have owned, unless you count the two Beetles I had way back!

[HZ123]

I am sure it will improve as I recall mine was only 50 + at first. I was not impressed as I had an A!60 CDI auto before and that had always been good for 50mpg, the A class was a heavier car as well as 'auto'. Give it time and treat as awomen on the first few dates and then you get what you want! Not that I can remember?

[Merns]

I have a Fabia 1.4 TDi since August have done 5000 miles all types of roads and has returned average 60mpg. calculated by measuring fuel in to miles done. Lowest was 55mpg, highest 67mpg. I was a Citroen owner for 25 years and changed to skoda reluctantly because the price was so good wish i had changed years ago now.

[andyfr]

Andy, check your handbook. You can stop your trip from resetting every two hours.

I have checked in the handbook but this is all it says:

"The single-trip memory collates the driving information from the moment the ignition

is switched on until it is switched off. New data will also flow into the calculation

of the current driving information if the trip is continued within 2 hours after

switching off the ignition. The memory will be is automatically erased, on the other

hand, if the trip is interrupted for more than 2 hours."

There is no mention of being able to change this setting, unless I have missed it.

[Timelord1.9Tdi]

I have checked in the handbook but this is all it says:

"The single-trip memory collates the driving information from the moment the ignition

is switched on until it is switched off. New data will also flow into the calculation

of the current driving information if the trip is continued within 2 hours after

switching off the ignition. The memory will be is automatically erased, on the other

hand, if the trip is interrupted for more than 2 hours."

There is no mention of being able to change this setting, unless I have missed it.

Switch to memory 2 (The one that holds the data long time.... lol)

[andyfr]

Switch to memory 2 (The one that holds the data long time.... lol)

How do I do that?

[Tom_vRS]

Briefly press the reset button. You will see the little "1" in the display change to a "2".

[andyfr]

Thanks guys! I had forgotten about the "B" button at the bottom of the stalk. Pressed that and memory 2 came up.

[HZ123]

And! What did it indicate?

[andyfr]

The same as I had manually calculated, just over 46MPG.

[EvilV]

The same as I had manually calculated, just over 46MPG.

I just got my new Fabia 2 1.4TDI and I was pretty narked when I saw the trip computer suggesting that it was only doing 46mpg. I have had a 1.9SDI for six years and that did fantastic mileage. I could guarantee that the worst ever fuel consumption was in a month of stop start, winter, urban driving and was 51 mpg and that the usual mixed driving about half urban and half on the longer trips would turn in 59 - 66 mpg. I once got 72mpg on a 240 mile long trip, but I was really trying that time and dawdled along at 50mph, for the whole trip. The car would always turn in 62mpg on a motorway doing a steady 70 - 75. My records do show that the fuel consumption on the old SDI improved as it ran in and it was better in its second and subsequent years than in its first one. I still have it here, but my son is using it now. It seems like the kind of motor that would last ahalf a million miles with cam belt and oil changes,

I would expect a new engine to loosen up for sure, but 46mpg for a practised 'economy driver' like me was a disappointment.. The engine has very different characteristics to the 1.9SDI though, so maybe I am just not getting the best out of it yet. It definitely needs to rev a bit more.

Overall, the car feels great. Loads more power on tap, not that I have used it except on a couple of short squirts as I am still under 200 miles run from new.

Edited 31 March, 2010 by EvilV

[Guest]

I would expect a new engine to loosen up for sure, but 46mpg for a practised 'economy driver' like me was a disappointment.. The engine has very different characteristics to the 1.9SDI though, so maybe I am just not getting the best out of it yet. It definitely needs to rev a bit more.

Overall, the car feels great. Loads more power on tap, not that I have used it except on a couple of short squirts as I am still under 200 miles run from new.

Evil, yep...it sounds about right at the moment. If you think it's powerful now, wait until you have a few thousand miles on the clock. Don't worry about the fuel consumption just now...it'll sort itself out. Remember most of us are still running winter diesel too which knocks the figures a bit. It does need a few more revs than a four cylinder unit too as you say, but most of us rev it a bit too much to start with and this too will of course affect your fuel consumption especially when coupled with the tight new engine. I'm averaging between 50-52mpg on mostly urban and town use in winter, but in summer this improves to 54 to 57mpg for the same type of use. On trips I can easily achieve 70mpg plus with just a little trying and not exceeding 65mph. Good luck and post regularly to keep us all up to date with how she goes.

[EvilV]

Thanks Estate Man. I will come back and say how it develops. I went back to the dealer today to get my rubber door strips/protectors and Fabia mats put in. They'd sold so many cars for the start of the new registration that they'd run out of them when I took delivery.

While I was there, I spoke to the service manager, a guy who I have known since he was a lad. He said exactly what you did.

I'm completely unused now after six years with the SDI to driving at 30mph in third. The SDI would chug along smoothly at 30 in fifth gear doing about 1100 rpm, and it would pick up quite happily from that on the flat. Not so the little TDI 3 cylinder, but that is to be expected. Love the growl it makes when you accelerate and hold onto the gears a bit longer, but like I said, only done a couple of squirts to 3500 so far, it being as tight as a drum.

Edited 1 April, 2010 by EvilV

[Guest]

Evil, when she has a few thousand miles on the clock you will find it pulls 4th gear quite nicely on a light throttle and flatish ground at 30mph without any effort or noise. That's still about 1450rpm I think! As you say...it doesn't really like doing that when it's new, too much friction and effort. Don't be afraid to give it some beans now and again, you won't hurt it. In fact it's essential with these modern diesels in order to get the requisite metal to metal contact in the bores. Fully synthetic oil and the lashings of diesel fuel in the chambers makes it hard to run these babies in. Have fun.

[EvilV]

Evil, when she has a few thousand miles on the clock you will find it pulls 4th gear quite nicely on a light throttle and flatish ground at 30mph without any effort or noise. That's still about 1450rpm I think! As you say...it doesn't really like doing that when it's new, too much friction and effort. Don't be afraid to give it some beans now and again, you won't hurt it. In fact it's essential with these modern diesels in order to get the requisite metal to metal contact in the bores. Fully synthetic oil and the lashings of diesel fuel in the chambers makes it hard to run these babies in. Have fun.

Give it some beans? How about a dash of chilli to go with them?

Yes - I will do, when it gets a little bit less tight. It's very new just now, and I am already finding I can run it on the flat at 30 mph in fourth.

Meanwhile, I've been reading all I can get my eyes on on the VAG PD engines. There's a great primer on the pump injector here:

PD system detailed description

Also, there are a lot of forum comments about people having dire top end wear when they had their cars badly serviced, or not serviced maybe. It does seem a little daft of VW to run one camshaft to do the job of two. Also, I'd be much happier if they had done away with the belt drive, even an over sized one to operate valves AND these injector puppies..... A nice triplex chain with a good tensioner would have made the engine last for ever.

On the other hand, looked after, they seem to last well anyway - mostly.

Edited 4 April, 2010 by EvilV

[Guest]

Andy, we've bumped your thread...sorry!

Evil, you are right...these engines do last ok. Don't worry about top end problems. If they are serviced correctly you won't get any problems. Make sure the oil and filter are changed regularly at the specified times and mileage. Importantly, make sure the correct grade and specification of oil is used. Always use fully syn VW spec oil, don't economise on this. I personally wouldn't use the cheap stuff or any semi syn claiming to meet the spec, it doesn't stay in spec very long. Sure the camshaft works hard on a PD engine but with the correct oil (VW spec oil has an extreme pressure additive in it) you can see several hundreds of thousands of miles on one of these babies. As an ex-tech I still have many friend in the trade who swear by these engines. They tell me they are lovely to work on, plenty of room to do stuff without taking the engine out and can cover huge mileages without spannering.

As an example of how not to run a PD engine, my neighbour bought a 3 year old Passat 1.9 TDI PD a couple of years ago. He always services his motors himself, but he didn't do his homework on the Passat. He used GTX oil on the services he gave it and the cam was torn to shreds within the year. The car had just 70,000 miles on the clock...just getting run in. VW analysed the oil and of course told him the error of his ways. He now doesn't touch it and pays them to service it...he's now a happy bunny and will enjoy many many miles of reliable motoring with the correct oil. Enjoy!

[EvilV]

Great info there, Estate Man. Thanks for the reassurance. Yeah - I've seen all the stuff about oil. My old SDI gets serviced at a good, reliable local garage, and when I got the annual service and MOT done (my youngest son has the car now) I said I was buying a new one, so would not be seeing them for a few years. They then suggested they'd love to service the new one too, and said they used all genuine VW parts and filters and Comma oil which they said was fully up to the specs required by VW. They said they service lots of in warranty VAG cars. At the Skoda garage (Silbury Skoda) the sales guy said I was free to have the car serviced anywhere as long as the full requirements were met vis a vis parts, jobs done and lube. To be honest, even though the local garage is totally sound and not expensive at all, I'd be inclined to get it done at the main dealers so I can't inadvertently fall foul of their rules. I actually got the main dealer to do the replacement cam belt on the SDI too, for the same reason. The local garage does a ten thousand mile service on the SDI for £130, which is pretty good, I think. One of my sons who lives in Woking got a fabia I bought him serviced for more than twice that. I think it was £420 for a tyre, a service and a pass MOT. My old SDI was mot'd and serviced for £184 last week. If I'd needed a tyre it would have only cost me £240 tops.

As for lasting well, Estate Man. Newcastle is FULL of taxis running Skoda TDI cars - the Octavias. Those guys do VERY big mileages. In fact my barber (who used to do taxi driving, was telling me he had one that had about 280K on when he wrote it off in an accident and he'd never done anything but service it. I think most of those taxis are TDI PD engines, although they'll all be replaced with the new VAG 1.6 common rail engines soon I suppose.

Anyway - nice talking to you and getting info from your experiences as a specialist.

Edited 4 April, 2010 by EvilV

[Dmac1969]

As for lasting well, Estate Man. Newcastle is FULL of taxis running Skoda TDI cars - the Octavias. Those guys do VERY big mileages. In fact my barber (who used to do taxi driving, was telling me he had one that had about 280K on when he wrote it off in an accident and he'd never done anything but service it. I think most of those taxis are TDI PD engines, although they'll all be replaced with the new VAG 1.6 common rail engines soon I suppose.

Anyway - nice talking to you and getting info from your experiences as a specialist.

Was in Silbury on saturday , I got them to send me a new FL Fabia brochure when they come in. On the subject of taxi milages , the highest I have seen in Berwick on about an 03 reg TDI Octy was 428000 odd miles and still going , however it was full of clonks and rattles by then lol