1.8t A4 Gas consumption
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1st Gear
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 1
1.8t A4 Gas consumption
I apologize for the lack of car knowledge in advance but I’m hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction.
I recently bought a used 2005 A4 1.8t Avant Quattro with 72,000 miles, in preparation to a move overseas to Italy. I figured having a European car would be easier to maintain during my three years overseas. Prior to shipping the vehicle, I noticed a significant lag in MPG. I took it to the Audi dealer for a full inspection, completed the 75K maintenance and timing belt change. They couldn’t find any issue with the gas consumption during inspection or from the computer. Fast forward to the last three months, I’ve been trying to find a mechanic that can trouble shoot and identify the problem. I ‘m averaging somewhere around 16-17MPG. There are no aftermarket parts installed, tires, air filter, oil, and other basics have been replaced. I had the Mass Air Flow sensor replaced and noticed a slight improvement but not much.
The mechanic I’m working with seems very honest and doesn’t want to just recommend repairs that aren’t pinging or diagnosable. No codes have popped that would explain this loss in gas performance. Any ideas?
Since I haven’t had the car long, its hard to gauge performance because it seems to have been like this since purchase. I will say that the car seems to struggle with acceleration, which felt like a transmission issue but might be something to do with the turbo going bad. Is there a way to test if the turbo is starting to fail? I hear a light wheezing noise accelerating but I’m not sure if that’s a standard thing. When looking at the display, the MPG estimator is widely inaccurate or just varies. Sometimes the car feels like its running optimally and I can see the positive estimation in gas mileage but this is rare. Its usually lagging.
I’m at a loss at this point and I’m not sure what to do next. I was thinking about replacing the 02 sensors but the mechanic doesn’t think that’s a good idea. I know those haven’t been replaced yet after reviewing the dealer maintenance records.
What would you do? Am I over looking something?
I recently bought a used 2005 A4 1.8t Avant Quattro with 72,000 miles, in preparation to a move overseas to Italy. I figured having a European car would be easier to maintain during my three years overseas. Prior to shipping the vehicle, I noticed a significant lag in MPG. I took it to the Audi dealer for a full inspection, completed the 75K maintenance and timing belt change. They couldn’t find any issue with the gas consumption during inspection or from the computer. Fast forward to the last three months, I’ve been trying to find a mechanic that can trouble shoot and identify the problem. I ‘m averaging somewhere around 16-17MPG. There are no aftermarket parts installed, tires, air filter, oil, and other basics have been replaced. I had the Mass Air Flow sensor replaced and noticed a slight improvement but not much.
The mechanic I’m working with seems very honest and doesn’t want to just recommend repairs that aren’t pinging or diagnosable. No codes have popped that would explain this loss in gas performance. Any ideas?
Since I haven’t had the car long, its hard to gauge performance because it seems to have been like this since purchase. I will say that the car seems to struggle with acceleration, which felt like a transmission issue but might be something to do with the turbo going bad. Is there a way to test if the turbo is starting to fail? I hear a light wheezing noise accelerating but I’m not sure if that’s a standard thing. When looking at the display, the MPG estimator is widely inaccurate or just varies. Sometimes the car feels like its running optimally and I can see the positive estimation in gas mileage but this is rare. Its usually lagging.
I’m at a loss at this point and I’m not sure what to do next. I was thinking about replacing the 02 sensors but the mechanic doesn’t think that’s a good idea. I know those haven’t been replaced yet after reviewing the dealer maintenance records.
What would you do? Am I over looking something?
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 860
From: St. Louis, MO
Are you getting your averages form the display? If so don't. That can be so varied. Fill the car up and right down your mileage. Then drive until you are ready for the next fill up (can be at 3/4 tank, 1/2, tank, almost emplty). The longer you wait the better estimate you will get. Then fill the car and write down how many gallons (or litres) you put in. The take the miles driven divided by the amount of fule you put in to get a much more accurate MPG.
If you are already doing the above then find another 1.8 to drive to get an idea if your cars performance matched that car. Only other thing I could think of is if you have a fuel leak somewhere and that is causing the weird consumption numbers.
If you are already doing the above then find another 1.8 to drive to get an idea if your cars performance matched that car. Only other thing I could think of is if you have a fuel leak somewhere and that is causing the weird consumption numbers.
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