Poor economy

[eimajmong]

Hey guys,

I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty much a doofus when it comes to technical things so I hope you can help me out.

My '97 A4 tdi quattro (110bhp) has 70k on the clock and gets about 44-48mpg.

I know that the A4 is quite a heavy car but should the economy be better than this?

Also, when accelerating hard, especially in 2nd and 3rd, the engine hits a flat spot at 2500ish. Is this a spark plug problem or something else?

Any assistance much appreciated.

 

[S4_dan]

Diesels dont have spark plugs. Could be the MAF sensor. May just need a good cleaning. Is your air filter clean? May have a restriction if dirty.

Best bet is to find someone with a Vag-com near you and plug your car into it to see if any sensor have failed or if there are other faults logged in the ECU.

 

[eimajmong]

Told you I was a bufoon, spark plugs indeed!!!

The car has just recently been plugged into VAGCOM due to an ABS fault however that's nowt to do with the engine (even I know that).

I will go back and ask them to check.

The air filter was checked last week and it is ok. What the MAF sensor? Does it concern Air flow and the like?

Thanks

 

[Kevint]

[ QUOTE ]

My '97 A4 tdi quattro (110bhp) has 70k on the clock and gets about 44-48mpg.

I know that the A4 is quite a heavy car but should the economy be better than this?



[/ QUOTE ]

I've never owned a quattro myself but I'm led to believe that the quattro will hurt the fuel ecomony. 44-48 isn't too bad!

Kev.

 

[S4_dan]

yes the MAF is a sensor telling the ECU how much air is getting into the engine. These sensors are very fragile and can fail from a low mileage / age. sometimes just a quick clean with a non-residue electrical contact cleaner (or similar products like carb cleaners) will make a difference.

The maf is usually located right after the air filter box and will have a plug connected to it.

 

[eimajmong]

Is that the plug with 6 wires?

I think instead of me tinkering with it I'll just get the guy at the garage to do it tomorrow when I'm getting the CV joint fitted.

Thanks for your help so far

 

[CraigM]

Fuel consumption sounds about right for your car:

http://parkers.co.uk/choosing/specs/data.aspx?model_id=46&id=12260

 

[jdp1962]

44-48 sounds fine for a 1.9TDi Quattro. I don't think you have a problem there at all on economy.

 

[imported_kris_tdi]

sounds good to me. wish i got that from my 2.5 (only gets that sort of mpg on a long run)

 

[eimajmong]

Cheers guys, good to know there are many, many people who know infinitely more than me.