A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I have a 2011 A3 TDI. What should I expect for fuel economy? Drove 15km in the city and I go 9.7L/100km. It can't be! How should I be driving it? In manual mode or automatic mode? Also when I take the foot off the gas, the car slows down. Is that right?
Jglamarre72

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I have a 2012 A3 TDI. I drive my TDI since last October.

The diesel consumption is influenced by many factors:

a) weather: because there is no spark plug (only compression that causes the motor's explosion), the TDI engines are more affected by cold temperatures (below 10 ° C, it consume more diesel. I suggest to you to plug your vehicle 3 hours before taking when the weather is bellow -10°C (help to have better consumption);

b) city driving increases the consumption (30% or more);

c) distances: a TDI engine takes longer to heat than a traditional gasoline engine. It is only fully efficient when it is warmed (90°C);

d) speed: to have a good economy, watch out for sudden acceleration, sport's driving, high speed, etc.. Above 100 km/h, every 10 km/h is 10% more fuel.

e) tire pressure;

f) maintenance of the vehicle (you have a 2011, it should not be the problem);

g) equipment : A / C, heated seats and head lights significantly increase the consumption (10% or more);

h) windows down, sunroof open or roof rail also increases consumption;

For cons, I do not necessarily respect these tips. Since October, I drove 18000km, 75% on highway, almost in the winter, between 120 and 130 km/h and with an average course of 45 km (one way). I have an average of 7.2 l/100 km, You can follow me on fuelly.com and see my progress since October. My best full was 6.6 l/100 km.

https://www.fuelly.com/driver/fourcircle/a3

For the 65 other A3 TDI Fuelly users, they are mostly between 5.5 and 7.0 l/100. I am a little above the average of the other. If I lowered my speed, I could drop by at least 1 liter per 100. https://www.fuelly.com/car/audi/a3/diesel%20l4

Finally, use the Drive (D) mode. Your DSG transmission will always change gears at the right time. If you are using the sport mode and manual mode (as sometimes I do, I like my Audi... ), you will increase your fuel consumption.

HAVE FUN,

FourCircle

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

Finally, the onboard computer provides only an estimate (close enough) of actual consumption, but often a little below the reality. It is best to use software, or a site like Fuelly.com do the math at each fill.

Fourcircle

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

SO the numbers of 4.6/6.5 hwy/city are bogus then? When you say connect my vehicle, do you mean plug it in? For what temps do I need to do that? I do alot of short runs (less than 5k). So I assume that will mean higher consumption.

I don't jackrabbit and I usually feather the pedal.

I looked on fuelly and those A3's 2011 getting mostly city driving are still in the 6-7 range.. no where near what I am getting :(

Also what about this "braking" that occurs when I take the foot off the gas. Is that normal?
Thanks

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I am a french user and I'm not completely bilingual. I am sorry. Yes, I suggest to plug your car 3hrs before you take it when the weather is bellow -10°C. The engine will warm much faster. Also, Short run (5km) give higher consumption, because the engine is never warm (90°C).

:D You can't use the Canadian EnergyStar Fuel economy. In Canada, the automaker make test inside, no a/c, no wind and head lights close, at 70km/h for the highway. For the city, they accelerate the car quietly and make very long braking along a track predetermined by the Canadian government. It's totaly ridiculous. The Government will change the rules in 2014-15 and they will use USA Fuel Economy (more relaistic).

2011 A3 TDI: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Power...A3&srchtyp=ymm
7.8 City
6.9 Combined
5.6 Highway

Is you check fuelly.com, it's possible to have the estimated fuel economy (www.fueleconomy.gov), but to do... you need to go easy, check your speed and other tips. 29 of 65 users (almost half) have a combined consumption of 6.0l/100 and less.

FourCircle

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

(delete message)

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

No your English is great!
Thanks for the info. It's amazing that there are many out there can be in the 6's. Do you accelerate from a stop slowly or accelerate quicker to get to a cruising speed faster?

Also, what about that deceleration when I take my foot off the gas?

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

i just picked up brand new 2012 a3 tdi yesterday, and yes. my car also decelerate when i take my foot off the gas pedal. but that only happens in a really low speed (such as in parking lot)

by the way, this question would be really stupid but since this is my frist tdi i will just go ahead and ask.

can i just fuel this car with diesel in any gas station? i only see one kind of diesel and i guess that's what i should put?

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

Since 5-10 years, the diesel's quality in Canada has changed (without sulfur). The oil companies have had to inject several hundred million to be under the new canadian standards.

Whatever the distributor is the same quality. You do not need to add ADDITIVE.

4Circle

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

So no Cetane boost additive? I was thinking using the Diesel Kleen with cetane boost.

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I think (I'm not mechanic) on the old 1.9 TDI, the cetane boost additive is needed to improve engine performance, cleans injectors and lubricates fuel injection components.

For the 2.0 TDI (2009 and up), I do not think it is necessary and beneficial. For cons, I do not believe that it is bad for the engine. It's your choice.

FourCircle

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I just signed up at fuelly, let's start tracking!! :D

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

Hey guys I picked up my certified pre-owned 2011 TDI back in January this year and I now have 31,000KM on it. Its running very smooth and I'm averaging 7.1/100 km or 39.7mpg

I have really been heavy with the gas pedal lately as the weather has been getting much nicer and I love the feel of that torque on acceleration, this cars got gobs of it!! And I'm doing about 80% in city or suburban roads in the GTA plus a 25 km drive to work. So I could probably do much better if I tried. The best tank iv'e done so far (in city) is 834 km at 53 liters of fuel which is 6.3L/100Km or 44.5 mpg.. not bad. I can't wait until summer for long road trips so i can aim for my 1000km + tank:D

Anyway Fourcircle is right i was using up more fuel in the winter and I was able to get better consumption numbers after I started plugging it in overnight.

Cheers and hope this helps.

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

I also have an 2012 A3 TDI which I got about 6 months ago. I've been averaging about 6.8 - 7.1 L / 100km over the course of this time, so I guess it is in line with some of the other drivers here. (On longer highway trips however (50km+) I average about 5.0 - 5.5 L / 100km)

One more thing to add to that is between the winter months, diesel fuel is usually less efficient because they have to mix it with a less combustible fuel to prevent diesel gelling (freezing). This usually happens between October - March / April. The colder the temperatures get, the more of this mixing they have to do. So when summer ramps up and they move away from mixing diesel, you should be able to get even better fuel mileage.

Hope that helps!

Re: A3 TDI fuel economy
 

If boosting the cetane is your only goal with this additive then don't waste your time/money. The cetane value for diesel in Canada is plenty high enough. If you haven't found it yet, the best TDi resource I've ever found is tdiclub.com. The A3 section is small but tons of knowledge over there and most of what applies to the newer Jettas and Golfs will apply to your A3 as well.