Heya! So a month ago I bought a used RS mk3, very decent car! I just have a noobish question regarding fuel consumption so here it goes (I might sound stupid but eh god help me); my average fuel consumption since start usually tops up at around 7.3-8.3l per 100km (car is manual so it really depends on how I ride obviously). I am just worried at the times I go from a standstill into 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd and so on, those early gears I get crazy temporary fuel consumptions up to 40l per km until I speed up, then it gets normal to 7ish L per 100km. Overall I noticed that my fuel goes out quite a lot faster on the dials than my last car, altho my last car was a 1.9tdi 74kw passat with 17L more in its tank which is I understand TOTALLY uncomparable to this so I just might be trippin' heavily... But still, I wanna ask is this normal?? xD Normally I shift up gears at around 1600 to 2000rpm so Id say I am not really giving the engine that much of a work for it to chug diedel like that... But then again, its a RS so yeah... Any thoughts from more experienced RS drivers? Might've just answered my own question but still, its kinda bugging me quite a bit... Thanks!

RS trim, just a diesel though.  Drive it as suits you and it uses whatever it uses.  Clean air filter, oil changes and tyre pressures set is all you can do.  Everyone drives differently.  Drived different roads and in different weather. 

Never know if they have been messed with unfortunately.

In terms of fuel consumption, as posters have put above, it all depends on your driving style. The turbocharger is designed to keep you pushing well between 2200 and 3500 rpm, they don't generally give much above that. In standard spec, your 2016 car can push out 180bhp. VAG TDI engines do not respond well to tuning (you might get an extra 20-30bhp without major upgrades).

 

In UK MPG (and depending on temperature, way you drive and distance covered), you should get 42-55mpg. The longer/faster you drive it, the better. Make sure you allow the car to do full-regens (keep the DPF clear) and my personal recommendation (although controversial) is that some Cetane improver is put into the fuel system to improve combustion or use some super diesel occasionally to improve performance and keep the engine running well.

 

One thing to note; don't be afraid to really push the car. TDI engines (once warm) go like stink.

 

Make sure you regularly change the oil (vw507 grade) - 5W30 or 0W30 as it is now and take the vehicle on some long and fast runs (100kms plus) to keep it happy.

 

 

Thank you all for the replies and tips! Yeah, after a lot of driving around in various ddriving styles turns out my fuel consumption is at a considered as normal rate and I was just paranoid.

 

However now another problem arised; my motor oil consumption is crazy. Had an oil and filter change 3000km ago and already had a Check Oil warning TWICE. Borh times dipstick had barely any oil on it so indeed it was empty. By topping up and driving for almost 1000km more during 2 weeks time, oil is almost gone again, and have came to the result that my car is losing about 0.1l / 100km or 150km. Thats wild if you ask me. Car manual says 0.5l / 1000km is "normal" and even that sounds wild to me, while mine wastes even more hhaha... It is not leaking underneath the car so my amateur guess would be either DPF problems (worth noting that my engine idles @ 1000rpm very commonly and fan almost always spins loudly after shutting off the car) or, God forbid, cylinder issues or piston rings issues (Ive heard these engines are notorious for having those go byebye)... I will contact my mechanic next week so Ill see... Tnx

Just bought one too. Had a pdi, but both screenwash and check oil light came on. So dealt with the screen wash first. The oil level appeared very low, so went to a garage to buy a litre. 

Came to recheck before topping up, oil in normal range. Oil temp was 95-100c for rest of journey. 

Checked after leaving overnight. Appeared to be very low, so followed owner manual, topped up 500ml then rechecked. Ended up putting 1litre in. Will be checking daily for now. 

 

Thanks to others who have shared their experiences and knowledge, has been really helpful. 

13 hours ago, LucidEric said:

Thank you all for the replies and tips! Yeah, after a lot of driving around in various ddriving styles turns out my fuel consumption is at a considered as normal rate and I was just paranoid.

 

However now another problem arised; my motor oil consumption is crazy. Had an oil and filter change 3000km ago and already had a Check Oil warning TWICE. Borh times dipstick had barely any oil on it so indeed it was empty. By topping up and driving for almost 1000km more during 2 weeks time, oil is almost gone again, and have came to the result that my car is losing about 0.1l / 100km or 150km. Thats wild if you ask me. Car manual says 0.5l / 1000km is "normal" and even that sounds wild to me, while mine wastes even more hhaha... It is not leaking underneath the car so my amateur guess would be either DPF problems (worth noting that my engine idles @ 1000rpm very commonly and fan almost always spins loudly after shutting off the car) or, God forbid, cylinder issues or piston rings issues (Ive heard these engines are notorious for having those go byebye)... I will contact my mechanic next week so Ill see... Tnx

 

If you are having DPF issues this normally results in oil dilution and a rising oil level so if this is an issue then it is not your only issue unfortunetly.

 

Let us know what your mechanic finds and good luck!

You can determine if you have failing piston rings by doing a relative compression test.  Some TDI's are terrible oil burners; others are just fine.  I think it comes down to how folk run-in their TDI engines from new.  IMHO, the TDI block needs gently worn in (I've had TDI's going back Euro3,4,5 and 6, 6a) and they all are very 'tight' when new.  I've found that they really need an intermediate oil change at 5000 miles and regular oil changes every 8,000-10,0000miles to keep things sweet.  All my cars that I took on from new had this - and none of them burned oil.  However, typically the consumption you mention is very high.  Yes, get the DPF cleaned out (which will help the back-pressure of the exhaust and slightly reduce the internal crank pressure) and get that block pressure tested to make sure that you don't have any blow-by.  Also get your mechanic to check each bore for scoring (i.e. really bad news) - which cannot be fixed (unless you get your engine relined - expensive - cheaper to get new engine).