[shooter3jd]

572 miles
39.5 mpg

I have had my Golf TDI since June and have just over 17,500 miles. I was curious since most people say diesel engines get better with time to see how many miles I could get out of that 14.5 gallon tank. I really was not going out of my way to conserve fuel, and just drove a little (5-10) over the speed limit wherever I went. This was a good mix of highway, back country roads, and city driving. I ran the tank the lowest I have yet and for about 5 miles when my fuel gage said I had 0 miles remaining. What is everyone else getting? By this I mean realistic everyday driving and not coasting down hills.

 

[Keithuk]

Well fuel con has been talked out on here before if you do a search for it.

Now you will find that the fuel con will vary depending on where you live. You live in the States thats why you have a 14.5 US gallon fuel tank. I live in the UK and we have 55 litre which is 12 UK gallons. My lowest has been 38.08mpg and the highest which isn't high compared to a lot of people is 43.83mpg. My driving is 70% local journeys.

As you have found the fuel gauge drops pretty quickly as soon as it hits the red section and it says you have 50 miles left on that tank. The lowest I've gone too is 5 miles left and when I filled up again I could only get 53 litres back in so there was only 2 litres left in the tank.

 

[speedracer1407]

Well fuel con has been talked out on here before if you do a search for it.

Now you will find that the fuel con will vary depending on where you live. You live in the States thats why you have a 14.5 US gallon fuel tank. I live in the UK and we have 55 litre which is 12 UK gallons. My lowest has been 38.08mpg and the highest which isn't high compared to a lot of people is 43.83mpg. My driving is 70% local journeys.

As you have found the fuel gauge drops pretty quickly as soon as it hits the red section and it says you have 50 miles left on that tank. The lowest I've gone too is 5 miles left and when I filled up again I could only get 53 litres back in so there was only 2 litres left in the tank.

If you mean US and UK cars have different tanks, I'm not so sure that's the case. 55 liters is about 14.5 US gallons.

A bit off-topic, but my previous car had a 13.5 gallon tank. I was once in a dire fuel situation driving on the interstate in Illinois the morning after a big snowstorm that knocked out power all over the state. I ran the tank really, really low stopping at every exit looking for a gas station with working pumps. When I finally found a working gas station, I pumped exactly 13.495 gallons. I wish I could retrieve the picture I took of the pump readout with my old cell phone.

 

[Keithuk]

No they are both 55 litre tanks its just the US gallon is smaller than the UK gallon thats why you measure 14.5 gallon tanks.

 

[shooter3jd]

I have been able to put a fraction more than 14.5 gallons. That time I ran it down in the 0 rane and filled up I spent $51, and diesel had just gone up to $3.49/gallon. Plugged it into a calculator and it came out as 14.613 gallons.

I did a search for mpg and did not find anything about how many miles for the tank. I can go for 10 miles and get in the mid 40's no problem

 

[dirtr1der]

Fuel Economy

I've always been curious as to whether or not the Golf, being a smaller car, got better fuel economy than my Jetta. All things being equal, I'd say it may just by a hair. I average about 530 miles on 13.5 gallons, or about 39.25mpg. I drive 70% highway 30% city. Most of my highway driving is done right around 80mph - apart from a bit of bumper to bumper I hit each way. I've had it 14 months and have about 33,000 miles on it. The mileage has been about the same since day one. One other note, I'm not easy on the car in the city. I have a heavy foot so I'm pretty pleased with an overall average per tank of almost 40mpg. Its slightly better than the 3/4 ton, gas Silverado.

 

[shooter3jd]

I've always been curious as to whether or not the Golf, being a smaller car, got better fuel economy than my Jetta. All things being equal, I'd say it may just by a hair. I average about 530 miles on 13.5 gallons, or about 39.25mpg. I drive 70% highway 30% city. Most of my highway driving is done right around 80mph - apart from a bit of bumper to bumper I hit each way. I've had it 14 months and have about 33,000 miles on it. The mileage has been about the same since day one. One other note, I'm not easy on the car in the city. I have a heavy foot so I'm pretty pleased with an overall average per tank of almost 40mpg. Its slightly better than the 3/4 ton, gas Silverado.

Yea big difference from a Pick-up truck and the jetta tdi. So since you are above 30,000 miles then you are out of your last free service. I would be curious to know how much your 40,000 miles service will be? Also, how was the tire wear at 30,000 miles?

 

[ksing44]

From Excel
Avg mpg/17K miles = 40.1 mpg
Avg miles/tank/32 fill-ups = 517.9 miles/tank
Avg gallons/fill-up/32 fill-ups = 12.9 gallons/fill-up

Most fuel added = 14.501 gallons (US) I guess I was running on fumes
Most miles per tank = 604 miles

The only thing is I've been driving pretty darn fast on my commute, 80 mph and more in the passing lanes moving along with the fastest traffic. In the last few weeks, I decided to try to slow down to the 65 mph speed limit. It isn't so bad and I think it is a little less stressful. I'm pretty sure that and warmer weather could easily achieve closer to a 45 mpg average and 600 miles per tank. I drive about 90 miles per day and it is mostly (~75%) on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

 

[Seatman]

I usually get about 50mpg but then my car aint as fast as your cars but I did run out of fuel once when the gauge read a quarter full, lying git

 

[blueprintbill]

Running Dry

Is there a downside to running dry, apart from becoming a road hazard ?
Small marine diesels require the bleeding of air from the system to get to the fuel. Is the modern CR diesel beyond this?
Are there any residual problems / dangers to the engine, pumps, filters etc. ?

 

[Audi5000TDI]

just running your high pressure fuel pump dry, or causing cavitation in it, and perhaps contributing to it's early demise, as the fuel that's left in your tank has been warmed and recycled repeatedly, further decreasing it's ability to lubricate your pump.

 

[Keithuk]

just running your high pressure fuel pump dry, or causing cavitation in it, and perhaps contributing to it's early demise, as the fuel that's left in your tank has been warmed and recycled repeatedly, further decreasing it's ability to lubricate your pump.

I wouldn't say so. If you run out of fuel the engine stops and it doesn't stop with a dry pump. The temperature of the fuel makes no difference.

 

[Scratcher]

Is there a downside to running dry, apart from becoming a road hazard ?
Small marine diesels require the bleeding of air from the system to get to the fuel. Is the modern CR diesel beyond this?
Are there any residual problems / dangers to the engine, pumps, filters etc. ?

A good rule of thumb is NEVER let a diesel engine run out of fuel. Always fill up from the last quarter tank and always run off a full tank.

 

[Audi5000TDI]

A good rule of thumb is NEVER let a diesel engine run out of fuel. Always fill up from the last quarter tank and always run off a full tank.

Yep, nothing has changed, keep 1/4 tank in it at all times, and top it off.

 

[Audi5000TDI]

I wouldn't say so. If you run out of fuel the engine stops and it doesn't stop with a dry pump. The temperature of the fuel makes no difference.

If you are driving along at 2200 rpm and you run out of fuel, the HPFP indeed cavitates with air, goes dry, while the motor spins down in speed, moreso if you have a manual transmission. The pump goes dry, the piston has nothing to compress but air in the HPFP, with no lubrication from fuel.

You've obviously never run a VW diesel out of fuel before, and had to reprime the pump, because it was dry. my two cents

 

[Keithuk]

Sorry it doesn't go dry that quick. Yes there will be air in the system which you would have to bleed. Some have an electric pump in the tank to prime the system this obviously saves the battery. Some systems have the manual primer the rubber ball under the bonnet as least you can crack off pipes and unions and watch the air come out.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

I don't know how much fuel the new HPFP can hold because it's a totally different design. The older VE rotary pumps, the ones found on the ALH, 1Z, AHU engines, were about 1/3 full even if you ran them until the engine stopped or even removed all the lines. It's just that there is enough air in them for the pump to lose prime and stall the engine.

One thing I find confusion about the CRD HPFP equipped engines is that the fuel tank pumps doesn't run if you turn the key to ON. The older PD engines ran the tank fuel pump if you turned the key to ON for a few seconds.

 

[ashutoshsm]

One thing I find confusion about the CRD HPFP equipped engines is that the fuel tank pumps doesn't run if you turn the key to ON. The older PD engines ran the tank fuel pump if you turned the key to ON for a few seconds.

Why is that confusing? That sounds like a good thing, now? You wouldn't ever LIKE the pump (either of them) to go dry, right?

Still trying to wrap my head around that one

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Why is that confusing? That sounds like a good thing, now? You wouldn't ever LIKE the pump (either of them) to go dry, right?

Still trying to wrap my head around that one

If you do run dry, you can't prime the fuel lines and fuel filter by turning the key to ON a few times. If you do run the fuel tank dry, either style will still run if the engine's still running.

 

[Westridge]

Hi,

I run a 2.0 TDI DSG 2006 and get a consistent 5.9 litres per 100km (39.9 Miles per US gallon) out of it on a mix of 70 highway / 30% town running