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Finally Validated! And my MPGs are up, up, up!

MrClean

Go Kart Champion
For those that have frequented this forum, and, in particular, read the MPG threads where I posted about my unusually low gas mileage, I was finally validated yesterday!

Background:
My car is a 2010 VW GTI DSG. EPA estimates for gas mileage are 24 City / 32 Hwy. From day 1, I noticed the gas mileage didn't measure up and seemed unusally poor for this car, given my last car, a 2007 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T manual had better mileage even with AWD and it weighed ~400 lbs more! Over the first couple months of ownership, I could not get better than 26 MPG hwy and around 21 City, combined 23-24 per fill-up. No, I'm not chipped, and no I don't have a lead foot, as has been asked of me several times. Oh, and the sooty tail pipes were also a HUGE visual indicator this car was running rich.

Anyway, after two failed attempts to find anything during my 90 day inspection and a 5k oil change (I know, it is not recommended), I was hesitant to even bring it up again, but when the service advisor asked "is there anything else we can do while your car is in for the 10k service?", I decided to give it another try, telling her of my MPG woes.

Third time's the Charm:
During my 10k service yesterday, the VW technician performed a TSB for the throttle body control that affected my VIN. Well, looking into the problem more he saw on the VAG-COM that when my throttle body was opened 71%, the car was dumping 100% fuel! For reference, this percentage should be closer to 90% when fuel is at 100%. Looking into the situation further revealed other poor settings.

The technician did the TSB to the throttle body and made some VAG-COM adjustments. He did a couple test drives to see the effect and confirm things had actually improved. Imagine that?

All this was explained to me in great detail and I could tell the techncian was a determined individual to trouble shoot this problem and communicated it to me, properly. I was impressed. All that I experienced and all that he said was logical and made sense.

The Proof:
Driving home, about a 25 mile drive, I noticed the MPGs did improve. My avg when I exited the hwy was well over 30 MPGs! Since then, I have been watching the consumption and the tail pipes. All seems to be much improved. On my drive into work this morning, driving as I normally do in rush hour, I got my best Avg MPG yet, almost 34 MPG! Before this, I could barely reach 30 MPG on the computer readout (which we all know is a bit optimistic).
 

davesxx01

Go Kart Champion
Glad you had it documented! Running that rich, that long, will have an effect on your catalytic converter.
Watch for any sound or performance changes in the near future or ask the tech that actually found the problem about it.
 

da_wesmeista

Passed Driver's Ed
I wonder if I'm having the same issues. In town on the way to work I get 30mpg but on our last trip hwy driving with cruise control on I could barely get 26mpg. My 10k service is almost here so I'll have them check it out.
 

Randum

Go Kart Champion
I still can get 35-37mpg on my morning commute, about a 25mile ride, mostly highway but stop/go mostly...sucks. but still, I was really impressed.
 

MrClean

Go Kart Champion
What was the TSB number for the throttle body control?

Looking at my work order, I see this:

Recall 97T2-W-RVUTB 97T2/YW Software Update Body Control Module
 

MrClean

Go Kart Champion
Glad you had it documented! Running that rich, that long, will have an effect on your catalytic converter.
Watch for any sound or performance changes in the near future or ask the tech that actually found the problem about it.

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep this in mind and talk to the Technician about it.
 

Heretic:GTI

Ready to race!
I wonder if I have the same issue. I normally get 25 no matter how or where I drive. I took a 2 hour trip last weekend and was very aware of my driving, basically driving like a granny. I only pulled 27. My tailpipes are always black.

I'm stage 1, mileage has not gotten better or worse since the flash...
 

cnimativ

Ready to race!
Looking at my work order, I see this:

Recall 97T2-W-RVUTB 97T2/YW Software Update Body Control Module

I did the same thing. Gas mileage is slightly higher, but not sure if its due to the car being broken in or me driving more behaved, or the actual body control flash.
 

MrClean

Go Kart Champion
I'm still running through my first tank of gas, but the difference is noticable already, noting the computer avg readout.

I'm anticipating a 2-3 mile per gallon improvement on fill-up.

Will report back.
 

MrClean

Go Kart Champion
Well, with all the travel I've been doing lately I finally made it though that first tank of gas.

The results: 25.9 MPG actual (computer said 28.6 MPG - for what it's worth)

This is about a 1.5 to 2 MPG improvement, considering this was mostly city driving. Prior to this update, I would get about 24 MPG actual on a fill-up with the same commuting miles that are mostly City driving.

As for the carbon build-up around the tail pipes, still there, but it does seem like an improvement over what I used to see.

I figure a few more fill-ups will tell a more complete story.
 
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