fuel consumption on vr6 jetta -again
Marcello Papini
I took my car in again. They seem unwilling to do anything beyond
attaching the car to the computer. This has turned up nothing unusual.
Once again, I ask - in the absolute worst downtown traffic in a big North
American city, is it possible to get 12 mpg in a 2000 Jetta Vr6 5spd using
92-94 octane gas. I tend to believe not.
Is it time to start looking up the lemon laws and calling a lawyer?
M.
jimbe...@atl.mindspring.com
any speed for any length of time. If you were curious you could fill
up your tank, place a fan in front of the radiator, open the hood and
start the car. Let it idle for two hours and see how much fuel it
consumes after running for two hours at an idle. I am amazed that my
mileage does not seem to suffer much on my Rabbit when I spend 2 hours
driving a 1 hour commute. There are weeks when the commute gets
screwed up 3 times out of 6 (tank capacity is about 6 one way drives).
Jim B.
Fat Sean
Sure is. My 98 VR6 can dip that low in heavy heacy traffix,
especially if i launch it every chance I get. What do you get on the
highway?
Fantomasek
higway. It is posible get 12 mph in city.U want better fuel economy ? Get TDI.
Eric
idle all day (about 10 gallons of fuel) and move 20 miles you will be
getting 2 MPG. If, then, you try to make up time and full throttle it
you will be getting about 5 MPG. It will take a long time at 5 MPG to
make up for the 2 MPG on the first half of the tank!
The answer is yes, in traffic 12 MPG may be fine, it's hard to really
say. On the other hand, driving 200 miles at 65 MPH will give a
realistic figure to measure against. Real mileage will be 18 to 23 MPG,
but good drivers can get better.
Eric
Marc Warden
After spending over 30 years in the SF bay area, driving in that traffic,
where even freeways are mostly stop and go (well, mostly stop it seems), about
the only car that could get good mileage would be one of those hybrids which
every time you come to a stop the engine shuts off.
Even on surface streets one could spend about half the time stopped at stop
lights, in traffic, with the engine idling all the time (and maybe the A/C on
as well) and at idle the car's getting 0mpg.
What mileage does the car get on the freeway?
When checking mileage on freeway, try to use mile markers to determine
distance traveled and check against odometer. If both agree, that is good. If
they don't which is right and which is wrong?
If the mileage is around what the specs call for, well, then the mileage you
are seeing in traffic is understandable.
If the mileage is less than (substantially less than -- say more than 10%
(WAG)) the specs call for, you should try to find out why. Poor engine tune?
Malfunctioning engine, engine controller? Leaks? Or driving technique? Etc.
Certainly, you should familiarize yourself with the lemon laws in your state
and pay attention to what you have to do in order, should it come to that, to
claim the car is a lemon and seek some compensation for that.
But I'm sure that you have to have some evidence that the mileage is under
spec, substantially under spec. To do this, you have to in a disciplined and
well-documented manner determine teh car's mileage under controlled
conditions.
To do this, a freeway drive test is about the only way. Make sure when you
fill the tank you fill it to the same level each time. To minimize the
differences that can creep in -- I can get in almost a gallon more gas if I
override the nozzle's shutoff and fill the tank up to the point the fill tube
of the tank is almost full of gas and 1 gallon more gas in a 10 to 13 gallon
fillup is substantial -- you might have to drive enough distance to fill up
the tank several times.
Note your driving style. Drive normally. Don't try to bias the results one way
or the other.
Once you have evidence the mileage is under spec (if indeed you get that --
you may find the mileage is within spec) then you can take the car to the
dealer with something of substance. If the dealer fails to address your
concerns, you may have to seek out another dealer. Some dealers are good at
selling cars, can actually be a pretty good place to buy a car, but lousy at
servicing cars they sell.
Sincerely,
MarcW.
Jim Correia
> Real mileage will be 18 to 23 MPG,
> but good drivers can get better.
I must be a great driver :-) - I average 25.5 and can get 28.5 on
extended highway runs to work (45 miles) at a comfortable cruising speed
(80MPH or so).
I am by no means easy on the car - I bought a VR6 for a reason - but I
don't abuse it either.
--
Jim Correia
James
fuel tank as you mention. Any truth to this?
James
Marc Warden <marc....@att.net> wrote in message
news:3A003BE5...@att.net...
Marc Warden
There could be some. I've stopped doing it. On my car and other cars (but not
all) gas is constantly being pumped to the engine, but excessive fuel is
diverted in a return line back to the tank.
If one fills the tank too full, then that return line could be under water, errr
under gas and this possibly could interfere with or cause premature failure of
the fuel pump fuel system components.
Another is that excessive filling could spill into the or prevent the fuel
cannister from doing its job.
I don't know for sure, have no definitive answer, but just to be a little safer,
have not been filling the car's tank quite so full. As soon as the nozzel shuts
off I fill it to the nearest nickel level and stop.
I do try to keep the tank fairly full because less air inside the tank less
moisture can condense into the tank and cause tank rusting and fuel pump
problems.
Another reason is the in-tank fuel pump (for those cars that have there) is
cooled by gas and if one runs the gas level real low all the time, this can
subject the fuel pump to higher operating temperatures (especially in those cars
which recirculate gas and over some distance can heat the gas up somewhat above
ambient temperature).
Sincerely,
MarcW.
jimbe...@atl.mindspring.com
>One comment however, I heard many times that it is very bad to top off the
>fuel tank as you mention. Any truth to this?
>
It is an issue if you don't drive your car far after topping off but I
usually burn at least a gallon or more after a really full tank. In
the winter it is not a huge issue as the gas cools and takes up less
space in the tank. In the summer a really full tank and a short drive
afterwards expanding fuel can cause fuel to leak out the fill tube or
it may leak somewhere else.
Jim B.