The 170 story so far....

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thewallboy

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Hi,

First time poster, long time reader.

Got my 170 in September and love it. Had the 140 tdi engine in a previous A3 and Golf both manual and find it a good engine. The 170 is sooo much quicker and more refined.

In the beginning was shocked at how poor the consumption was, low 40s compared to low 50s in the 140. However, am now 6000 miles in and am averaging 45.8. Not too bad. I did however get 50+ on a long run from Cornwall to SE London.

The performance is wonderful. Overtaking is so easy. And I know it has been panned, but I love the S-Tronic 'box. I live in central London and therefore spend a lot of time in traffic. The s-tronic makes this so much more bearable.

Made a couple of schoolboy errors on the spec, no lumbar, parking sensors etc but I had to keep the price below 25k.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts so far.

Cheers

Wall.:icon_thumright:
 
Yeah I was a bit dissapointed with fuel consumption on my 170 but I have now got 1300 miles on and it is averaging 40.2mpg which is alot better than 34mpg when I 1st got it,and like you thewallboy I'm loving it.
 
Hi,

I've done nearly 4K miles in mine now, and my best run was 59.7mpg (S-Tronic). It was a 10 mile trip from home into Southampton city one night last week. On average though I get approx. 50mpg to work in the mornings, and about 45mpg coming home. :idea:

Apart from the dodgy relay which needed to be replaced, I absolutley love the car.

Wish they did a TDI170 S-Tronic Quattro though. :eyebrows:
 
cool. i'm joining your 170 appreciation society. it seems to get better and better. i like the s-tronic and paddles and as you say, thewallboy, living in london makes it make sense. almost 10,000 miles in and i'm averaging 49mpg and normally get around 55 on my motorway runs.
 
I agree completely. I love my new 170 Sportback. Mine has only done 2k so far. Strangely I hardly ever used the paddles with the DSG on my previous 3-door 140 but I seem to be using them all the time in the new one. They have certainly been 're-engineered' and are now much better and silent in operation where as the previous ones used to make quite a loud click when operated.

I like the new Symphony II+ and the new Bi-Xenons as well. Currently getting around the 39-43mpg mark but I'm sure this will improve as the engine does a few more miles.

I'm off to the Yorkshire Dales for a long weekend on Friday and really looking forward to the drive.
 
Another happy 170TDi owner here. :)

I think quoting mpg for individuals runs is abit pointless really to be honest as I could drive gently at 65mph change gear at 2k rpm on a motorway and get really high mpg figures.

The most useful figures for me to compare with are how far you are going on a complete tank of fuel and the overall mpg figures as a result.

With just over 11k on the clock I get a few miles over 500miles to a tank, which works out to be 45 - 46mpg calculated by the receipt and milometer. That is mixed driving; and not hanging around; with about 70% being motorway. I'm running 225 wheel/tyres ....... not sure what size wheels are fitted as standard.

When I drive hard and exploit the power consistently over a tank I usually get 38mpg over an entire tank of fuel.
 
What a response.

Like many of you, I tend to use the paddles, except when turning at a traffic light etc when I get confused as to which paddle to pull!

I had the oil level warning light on after about 5k so topped it up with the "free" litre they gave me upon purchase.

Had the "tractor" noise about 3 times too, always went though after a restart.

Wall.
 
thewallboy said:
Had the "tractor" noise about 3 times too, always went though after a restart.
Click to expand...
Interesting, anyone else had it?

I'm still getting it sporadically and it seems a few others are as well.

So far I've found no pattern to it at all, it happens totally randomly at all engine temperatures, all fuel levels, all exterior temperatures etc. When it does happen the symptoms are increase "agricultural" type diesel noise on part throttle and a slight stutter. The stutter can be felt when you try to suddenly accelerate but also if you sit stationary and blip the throttle from idle, there's a brief stutter before the revs rise.

The problem comes and goes as it pleases. Sometimes simply turning off the ignition for a minute or two and restarting will cure it, other times not. It will always eventually disappear if you drive long enough. It happened last night on the way home and I sat on the drive blipping the throttle a few times listening to it and it disappeared before my eyes (ears :) ).

If anyone else has had anything similar to this then please post here or PM me as I'm about to take this up with Audi CS and I need all the info I can get hold of. Whilst not the end of the world and the car is fine for 95% of the time, when it does happen it's ****** annoying.
 
It's a bit too noisy/stuttery to be a limp home mode I think - anything like that would just limit power/revs I'd have thought.

Plus, if any such mode were in operation there'd be a fault code to that effect in the system, and no codes were found by the dealer.
 
h5djr said:
...I seem to be using them all the time in the new one. They have certainly been 're-engineered' and are now much better and silent in operation where as the previous ones used to make quite a loud click when operated.
Click to expand...

I like the 'click'... :huh:
 
I'm also enjoying the smoothness and power of the 170, but the fuel consumption thus far is disappointing. After 2000 miles I'm still only getting 36mpg (brim to brim, real mileage). I think it may be because I do a lot of short urban trips and the engine isn't getting properly warmed up. Perhaps this is a diesel that really needs to open its legs to get the best out it??

I had some intermittent tractor noises too, around the 2000 mile mark. Checked the dipstick which said the oil level was OK (though its not that easy to read). Carefully poured in 200mls of oil and the tractor noises have all gone. I wonder if the dipstick is accurate??
 
Perhaps the noise occurs during the DPF filter regeneration cycle. I understand that the running characteristics of the engine are different during this cycle as the engine produces additional heat to burn off the contents of the filter. ??
 
marklad2020 said:
Perhaps the noise occurs during the DPF filter regeneration cycle. I understand that the running characteristics of the engine are different during this cycle as the engine produces additional heat to burn off the contents of the filter. ??
Click to expand...
Interesting, could well be something to do with that. Reading up on it, if you do a lot of urban driving then the DPF won't achieve the temps needed to burn off the particulates and it says that, under such circumstances, it will artifically raise the exhaust temps to around 600C every 1000-1200 km. I'll have to start making a note of the mileage every time it happens and see if there's a pattern.
 
i'm finding the power very deceptive - like someone said a while ago - doesn't feel that fast until you take note of the speedo and ur doing silly speeds in now time - i've nto done many miles in mine yet and am doing pretty much all my mileage around town (no long runs) and my first tank my did showed 32.3mpg which gave 350 miles to the tank, so far on this tank im on about 34.5mpg i think
 
duncangoncalves said:
i?ve got nearly 10,000k on mine but still mpg isn't higher than 41mpg ish ithink it's the quattro am i right?
Click to expand...

I guess you're right: approx 10% premium for the quattro. Still, 40+ mpg for a 4x4 isn't bad going is it, given the performance? ;)

Also only Band E Vehicle Tax and Group 13 insurance, to soften the blow.
 
I had the same noise with mine for quite some time and then the engine management light came on - took into Audi and it turned out it had faulty control valve sensor for the DPF and was trying to re-generate all the time when not needed.

Audi had to order the replacement ( On Back order !!!) Modified Sensor and after a few weeks of waiting for it the DPF Clogged warning lamp came up on my DIS and car went into limp home mode.

Crawled to Audi and luckily the part had arrived.

Much better now and im getting 48 MPG !!! And its a Quattro !! :jump:

Before this was replaced I was only averaging 37-38MPG
 
Thanks ShiftyMac. Looks like a trip to the dealer is in order.

Is a faulty DPF control valve sensor easy to diagnose?

Does the car feel different now - or is it just less thirsty?

TIA
 
Very interesting post Shifty - will raise this with Audi and see if I can get the valve checked/replaced.
 
has anyone had a DPF clogged light light up on dash yet with normal use? It says in the manual that if you doa lot of short journeys you get this warning then you have to go for a good 50 mile blast up the motorway at 60-70 to burn it off
 
Sounds like the perfect excuse for a good fast run!
 
steve184 said:
has anyone had a DPF clogged light light up on dash yet with normal use? It says in the manual that if you doa lot of short journeys you get this warning then you have to go for a good 50 mile blast up the motorway at 60-70 to burn it off
Click to expand...
Nope, never had such a message. This page:

http://www.audi.co.uk/audi/uk/en2/tools/glossary/engine_driveline/diesel_particulate_filter.html

seems to indicate that, if you do a lot of short journeys and the exhaust doesn't get up to the temps required, it will artificially raise the temp periodically. I'm wondering if it's this process which has gone out of control on mine and is causing the problems.
 
Actually Shifty, can I ask exactly what symptoms you have? In a nutshell, when the problem occurs, my symptoms are:
  • Loud agricultural sound on part throttle, like a bus or tractor
  • Brief stutter when revving from idle
  • Slightly stuttery acceleration
  • Raised idle revs (1000 versus 800 normally)
 
I'm getting the tractor noises again too (definitely not the oil level). Occasional hint of stutter. And still only 35-36 mpg.

Did the garage diagnose the problem quite easily Shifty?
 
When I first git the car brand new after about 3 weeks the Engine management light came on and I took it to the dealer and they told me it had a faulty Heater Plug module and would need to order a new one - On Back order !! and they quoted me around 4 weeks to get replacement.

Whilst waiting for this to arrive I noticed the engine making the "Tractor Noise" alot but if you turned off ingition and back on again it went away again....... I took to the garage but they said that they couldn't find anything wrong !!

Replacement Heater Plug module eventually arrived after 8 Weeks !! and booked it into garage to get fitted.

When I picked up the car the engine management light was out and I thought everything should be fine now but got 300 yards from the garage and light came back on so took it straight back.

The mechanic then told me it had the faulty DPF sensor and he would order a new one and audi have released a modified unit.

He also told me that the fault had been registered for a couple of months and how they never noticed it when they noticed the faulty heater plug module I dont know...... Useless Muppetts !!!

I then had to drive around for 3 weeks with the light on while I waited for the part to arrive and it was making the "tractor" noise most of this time and the idle was staying up at 1000rpm most of the time and when you went to accelerate on motorways at around 70 it would hesitate and be very "Laggy".

The DPF Clogged warning lamp came on..... Still had 60 miles to drive home and this was at 8 at night..... after about 40 miles car went into limp home mode and couldnt go over 30MPH !!!.

I took it to garage next day and they fitted the new part.

Since then the car runs better than the day I first got it and have noticed a big difference in the fuel.

I have now done 20000 miles in it and goes great apart from I want a re-map done to get a bit more power.
 
Thanks again for that, your symptoms look identical to mine with the exception that I've never, ever had any warnings come up - perhaps I have only a DPF sensor issue and not the heating plug one?

I'm going to approach Audi CS with this new information. Are you saying the DPF issue is a known one for which a new sensor part has been released, or was that for the heating plugs?
 
It was for the DPF Mate and Audi must be aware of this issue that they engineered a modified part after so little time of production.

The fault light never came on to start with though and the fault was only found after the heater plug fault and i'm sure the DPF sensor was faulty from the day i got the car
 
Ok cheers, couple of months older than mine then. I'll let you know how I get on but if I have no joy I may need more details from you, such as the dealer who did this work, so I can point them at this dealer and say "ask them!" :)
 
Please let me know how you get on Vertigo.

DPF light came on for the first time today. Went off after a drive to Leicestershire. I do a lot of town driving, but some long drives too. I still feel uncomfortable having read this thread, especially with the low mpg I'm recording, and reckon the DPF sensor could probably do with checking.

Got my motor early January.

Cheers.
 
trims said:
Please let me know how you get on Vertigo.

DPF light came on for the first time today. Went off after a drive to Leicestershire. I do a lot of town driving, but some long drives too. I still feel uncomfortable having read this thread, especially with the low mpg I'm recording, and reckon the DPF sensor could probably do with checking.

Got my motor early January.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

For what its worth, my 1 week old A4 170 TDI has just used it's first tank of fuel and averaged 46mpg. This is calculated from the 60 litres added and then filling the tank again with just under 60 litres.
 
I've come to the conclusion that the average mpg reading the DIS displays is completely wrong.

My last fill up was 28litres and I'd covered 283miles, which equates to 45.9mpg. My DIS though was saying I'd averaged 39.2mpg over the tank.

Having read the various threads on the disapointing economy from the 170 TDi engine I've been varying my driving style to see how economy varies. I've found that modest acceleration, then changing up at 2200rpm max and not exceeding that on the motorway will give 50+mpg easily ......... BUT ....... its nearly ****** killing me driving like a nun!!! :lmfao:

I didn't choose and buy the 170 TDi to pootle around in, I bought it for its performance and very reasonable economy when driven spiritedly.:)
 
Shifty, would you mind letting me know which dealer you used and maybe even pm-ing me your reg as I might call them and ask about the case and see if they can give me any more info to throw at my dealer?
 
How's the oil consumption ?
Have they got it sorted over the 140 ?
 
Has hardly used a drop in over 4000 miles so far but then I did use the "hard" running-in system which is supposed to provide a better piston ring seal and reduce consumption. Maybe it's a coincidence but the 140 I ran in gently drank it like it was going out of fashion.

Don't think the consumption of the 140 was bad per se, there seemed to be many people with them who had no problems in this regard.
 
Interestingly, I ran mine in "hard" and have had the oil level warning light on twice in 6000 miles.
Don't really care though as I would pay any amount of money to kepp my car running well.
 
thewallboy said:
Interestingly, I ran mine in "hard" and have had the oil level warning light on twice in 6000 miles.
Don't really care though as I would pay any amount of money to kepp my car running well.
Click to expand...

That's not keeping it running well,that's just keeping it running !
Looks like it may be the same story with the 170 then.
Some are fine,some drink it.

Here's an interesting conundrum for someone to work out.
I've read the 170's MPG isn't all that great.
If,on top of that,it drinks a litre of oil every 3000 miles (at £15 a litre),then aren't the running costs getting towards petrol levels ?
 
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