The 170 story so far....

[Matt]

On my 1st tank of fuel I got an average of 42MPG. Which I didn't think was too bad considering of my 30 minute journey, 15 minutes of that is spent in stop start traffic. And with it being a new toy I've driven it a bit faster than I normally would Not had it on a long run yet.

 

[JED]

Can anyone recommend any diesel fuel additive which would help better running in cold weather?

 

[Detector]

Cold weather starting ?

 

[JED]

No, that's fine - I mean to improve economy in the winter? I can't believe this 170 engine - major problems to begin with over the DPF and now it gives much worse economy during the winter!

 

[si_reading]

Mines quite rubbish on the mpg at the moment too

 

[daveyjp]

Was reading a technical note off the elsawin database, and it seems there could be an explanation as to why some people have probs and some peopel dont - and it cold be linked to the S-tronic gearbox. You see on an S-tronic equipped car the DPF system talks to the gearbox and alters the shift points of the gearbox when in regeneration mode. Of course this doesn't happen automatically in a manual car hence more chance of the DPF getting completely clogged, as the driver may not know its needing clearing out and so wouldnt drive any different than normal. I've done over 2500 miles in my car now and i can quite honestly say its the worst 2500 miles a car can do, ie, nearly all stop start traffic driving, confirmed by an overall mpg of about 32. I have not had the DPF light come one once, as i suspect that because its a an S-tronic, it can maintain the level of soot better than on a manual where it doesnt have control over the way the driver drives - if that makes sense???

Thats what i reckon anyway!

There could be something in this. I have noticed that on occasion my s-tronic equipped 170 seems to simulate sport mode even though it's in D. At 30 it is usually in 4th, but on occasion it will hold third for longer periods.

On stopping the revs remain at 1,000, rather than dropping to normal tickover of around 800-850. This will occur for a few miles then it will settle down. It's happened three or four times since new in June (last time yesterday) - my 140 never did it.

I've never had the DPF light on, but I do mixed driving. Mostly urban during the week, but it's usually on a motorway at some point during a weekend.

I've noticed a drop in mpg recently too, but I'm also spending more time in traffic as it's always heavier at this time of year.

 

[Alba77]

Picked my 170tdi sline up couple weeks back now, and was shocked kinda shocked at fuel consumption- came from a leon frtdi. Took the A3 down to lakes last weekend there, as I do once a month. Only averaged 45mpg . In my leon would get no lower that 54mpg.. Just filled it up again (£52!!!!!) and will run it for next couple of weeks, and will just be around this area and see how it goes. Hoping it imporves slightly.. But then again, loving the car..:icon_thumright:

Steve

 

[Detector]

Well, seeing we haven't had this subject up for some time I thought I'd update you all on my tractor noises.

Had my 18,000 mile service two weeks ago & surprise surprise they updated the software, before doing this I mentioned the problems I'd had although no warning lights just the lumpy tickover, tractor noise and flat spot, & could they assure me it would resolve the problems, yes sir........

Well, the tractor noises have gone, I can still tell when it's regenerating as the tickover is higher and lumpy, this morning had the engine management light come on......you are joking....... 50 mile round trip every day motorway for most and A roads, Into dealer for 1.5hrs, they hadn't better mention town driving, they mentioned town driving & how unusual..

Not a happy bunny, if it does it again then I will be looking into rejecting the car as not fit for purpose. Audi Group are trying to cover up an almighty **** up with this engine & using customers as guinea pigs I know I'm not the only one who's had issues with this problem.

 

[mister.c.]

Not a happy bunny, if it does it again then I will be looking into rejecting the car as not fit for purpose. Audi Group are trying to cover up an almighty **** up with this engine & using customers as guinea pigs I know I'm not the only one who's had issues with this problem.

Keep at them mate & hopefully it will all work out in the end.

If you haven't seen this thread, then its clear that Seat FR owners are being entertained by the joys of the 170tdi (bad as well as good)
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=146732

 

[Matt]

Still no problems with mine and hopefully will stay that way

 

[Prolfe]

I've had the DPF light on twice now.

Once was a very slow crawl through Whipsnade so sort of can understand why. 20 minutes at above 2000 rpm cleared it quite quickly.

The second time I'm not really sure why it came on.

I have also had the little engine light come on twice - This went after a day each time but its a concern.

Apart from using oil every 6-8k, I get about 450-550 miles from a tank.

The other thing that is a problem is the engine covers (there are two) they came off after about 10k and Audi fitted new style lugs to hold it in place. They are off again though.

Looks like another trip to Bedford. Just hope it gets fixed as I don't look under the bonnet every day and it could do some damage.

Aside from that I love it a LOT.

 

[rgsdesign]

my quattro 170 has been a nightmare from the day it was delivered. the dpf simply wont regenerate and has been recovered countless times by audi assist needing to be set by laptop, limped home a number of times, had a new dpf and is still faulty. has done less that 5000 miles still and we hardly use it as you cant trust it to get you home . probably a 1000 of those miles have been in the process of trying to regerate / taking to garages etc. customer service is terrible and they try to cover up the issue and take ages to reply to letters and phone calls. I have emailed the uk and the german chief executives and still have a poor response. the letter promised from jeremy hicks still hasnt arrived so tomorrow I will be writing to every car mag and newspaper and consumer group i can. audi should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of interest. if you are considering getting one DONT!!!

 

[Markm49]

audi should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of interest. if you are considering getting one DONT!!!

Whilst I have sympathy for your issues I and many other 170 owners have had absolutely no DPF issues - is your mileage mostly around town - dis you get the warning light before it became blocked and went into limp mode ?

 

[Matt]

Getting on for 8,000 miles now and touch wood still not missed a beat and no DPF issues...

 

[Detector]

So far so good since the dealer trip !

 

[rgsdesign]

no the comute to work is 20 minutes at 70... on a clear stretch of dual carriageway. we did have a 2 month period after the dpf was replaced when the light would come on after 3 weeks and go off as it should after 5 mins of driving just below 2000 revs, it appeared all was well until it eventually wouldnt clear and went back to limp home. our dealer has said just to get audi assist out to clear it with a laptop every time. the assist guys are really helpful though and tend to allude to you either get the problem or you dont but if you do it wont be the last you see of them. they only agreed to replace the filter the first time after the laptop said dont drive fire risk.

 

[S3DBW]

By comparison 16.5K miles and I have never even seen the DPF light! however I do echo the comments regards fuel consumption when its cold.

 

[h5djr]

By comparison 16.5K miles and I have never even seen the DPF light! however I do echo the comments regards fuel consumption when its cold.

Same here - 15k miles and never seen the DPF light.

 

[Twizzler]

the dpf simply wont regenerate

Some interesting recent posts in this thread. Firstly, it's not black magic that makes some cars function correctly and others not regenerate at all. The ones that don't regenerate behave that way for a reason and that is what needs to be investigated rather than Audi blindly replacing the dpf and the owner keeping the laptop man's phone number handy for when the next one clogs up. If it really doesn't regenerate then the dpf sensors
or the associated wiring or the ecu to which they are connected are defective. The dpf will regenerate if the sensors demand it and the ecu sets up the engine conditions that cause it to regenerate. It can't do anything else!

Out of interest, does your engine use any oil? If so, how much?

 

[rgsdesign]

thanks yes your absolutely right there has to be a logical fixable answer , hasnt needed oil at all, i still have the free litre that came with the car, but then its been into dealer so many times they might have topped it up during repair work. the car could be great its the customer service disinterest that is shocking. by contrast merc insisted on working for 3 days to find a rattle in the roof mechanism of our other car and provided a car, some complementary stuff and apologies that it took so long

 

[Twizzler]

The only other contender for your problem is the engine filled with oil other than 507.00 Unlikely, as your car was new I assume. However, mistakes can happen anywhere....

 

[Vertigo1]

Hey folks - yes I'm still around, just not much these days as life is so hectic.

To update, not had the original problem at all since I posted back in September about the software update and replaced sensor. The car still does its regeneration cycles but any additional noise is barely audible and only very infrequently do I get a raised idle and a bit of lumpiness.

 

[h5djr]

Very glad to hear everything now seems to OK.

 

[Detector]

So, does that mean we can all get the Bluefin conversion with confidence that it won't screw up the cycle or should we now worry about overloading our clutch

 

[motorbikez]

13,500 miles no dpf problems used half a litre of oil, ave mpg 42 new front tyres at 10,500 still smiling.

 

[dalepearson]

13,500 miles no dpf problems used half a litre of oil, ave mpg 42 new front tires at 10,500 still smiling.

Thats not to bad apart from the tyres at 10,500. I didnt need new fronts on my 2.0 TFSI until 14,000. You must drive her very hard

 

[motorbikez]

Thats not to bad apart from the tyres at 10,500. I didnt need new fronts on my 2.0 TFSI until 14,000. You must drive her very hard

Not particularly mate the original tyres on the car were pirelli zeros not renowned for longevity although they grip well wet or dry and are very pliant over bumps.I've put pirellis on again hoping back tyres will last to 21000 then I'll put 4 contis on.

 

[h5djr]

My Sportback came from the factory with Michelin Pilot Primacy XSE 225/24x17 tyres. I have now done 15,600 miles and at the weekend I checked them and the fronts still have 4mm of tread left.

 

[Tom1978]

I've got the Sportback too, it's done 21,000 since september and is still on the original PZero's that it was delivered with. There's still 4 mm of tread on the front....

 

[lawco]

Interesting thread...

I have an A4 2.0TDi 170 and have been posting on another thread where we are all complaining about poor economy and sluggish performance. Today my A4 went into limp mode while my wife was driving with the engine management light on, it has covered only 4500 miles. The day before it did a 350 mile round trip at 80-90 on the motorway. We have dumped the car on the dealer but they say there are no faults showing and to their knowledge there are no issues with this engine!! Perhaps they should read this thread. It sounds as if I have the same problem as some of you A3 2.0TDi 170 guys although there do not seem to be any reports of this problem on the A4 forum.

I am pretty disappointed with the performance and economy of my A4 - the demonstrator was much better. It seems you have to really drive the thing quite hard to get any decent performance - not what I expected. Hopefully the dealer will sort this out and return me the car I was expecting! I'm not too hopeful though - how long did it take Audi to finally admit there was a design problem in the old TT dashpods !

 

[h5djr]

My 170 has now 13 months old and has done 15800 miles and for the first time today I was away of the DPF regeneration cycle taking place. I have done quite a few short journeys recently. I started up on the drive and the exhaust noise was different. I went out and on the the A1 dual-carriageway and left the car in D to see what would happen. It went all the up to 90 mph before it changed from 5th to 6th. It the past when I have used D which is not very often, normally preferring to use tip-tronic, it would have changed up much earlier. After about 5 miles I stopped to fill up, which was the reason for going out in the first place. Started up again after filling up and all was back to normal noise wise.

 

[dalepearson]

So the DPF recycle is auidible difference then.
Most of my journeys will be motorway so I am not to concerned about this, but it is interesting.

 

[h5djr]

This is the first time I've ever been away of it. I can only assume it's happened before, but when I've been travelling at a reasonable speed and I have therefore not been aware of it. This time I was at idle speed on my drive.

 

[si_reading]

Mines gone over 10k now had the light on twice, once it crapped up and was recovered into Audi. But went off the second time. Came on over christmas/new year when I was only doing short trips so never really got hot. Seems fine now!

 

[h5djr]

The Emissions Warning light came on on my 170 yesterday. When I got home I connected up my VAG-COM and it showed an error 001137 - Exhaust Pressure Sensor 1 (G450): Implausible Signal - Short to Plus - Intermittent. I rang the dealers and arranged for them to have a check today. I have never had any problems with the PDF on mine.

Whilst at the garage they connected it to their own diagnostic kit and it gave the same error. The chap doing the testing was one of their Master Technicians who I have met before. He came through and told me what he had found. He said the whole exhaust system was too hot to disconnect and of the pipework to the sensor to investigate further and as my car was already booked in for it's first AVS service on Monday he would look at it again then. In the mean time he has ordered a new sensor and new pipes. He did say the pipes have been changed since mine was built.

So I will wait until Monday for further information. The car is perfectly drivable and shows no signs of any problems at all. The technician said it was OK to carry on driving the car as normal as it would not cause any harm.

 

[ozman]

I picked up my new TDi 170 three weeks ago as have been quite surprised at the complete lack of great economy on the urban cycle.

It is a FWD Sportback with S-Tronic (DPF)

However, my wife and I took a road trip last week from Sydney in Australia and drove round trip 1980kms in a week and got amazing economy....4.62litres/per 100kms (thats over 60mpg!) and really fantastic performance on all roads.

Just for the record, when we do 2000kms over here, most of it is on single lane country roads with quite variable throttle inputs, so this was not achieved on a flat motorway.

BTW, I think the poor urban result is due to the cold start programming which seems to average the first 10-15minutes of running at over 14litres per/100. Most city driving for me never warms the ****** thing up!

In all...I'm impressed

 

[h5djr]

The Emissions Warning light came on on my 170 yesterday. When I got home I connected up my VAG-COM and it showed an error 001137 - Exhaust Pressure Sensor 1 (G450): Implausible Signal - Short to Plus - Intermittent. I rang the dealers and arranged for them to have a check today. I have never had any problems with the PDF on mine.

Whilst at the garage they connected it to their own diagnostic kit and it gave the same error. The chap doing the testing was one of their Master Technicians who I have met before. He came through and told me what he had found. He said the whole exhaust system was too hot to disconnect and of the pipework to the sensor to investigate further and as my car was already booked in for it's first AVS service on Monday he would look at it again then. In the mean time he has ordered a new sensor and new pipes. He did say the pipes have been changed since mine was built.

So I will wait until Monday for further information. The car is perfectly drivable and shows no signs of any problems at all. The technician said it was OK to carry on driving the car as normal as it would not cause any harm.

Well my car went into the dealers today for it's first AVS service at 18,263 miles and to have the Emission Light error sorted. The light has not come on at all since the one day last week. They decided to replace the Exhaust Pressure Sensor anyway and they also updated the Engine Management software in accordance with recall 23B6. Everything appears to be fine.

I had a A3 1.8TFSI S-Line DSG as a loan car. Black with black interior and black leather seats. Not my choice at all but it went quite well but certainly lacked the torque of my 170!. It had done just over 3000 miles and the overall fuel consumption was showing as 31.9mpg.