New Octy big disappointment

[G.K.]

After almost three years happy ownership of an Octy 2.0 tdi Elegance estate I decided that I would change it to an L&K 2.0 tdi with all the extras except a sunroof. I was so pleased with my previous car with the exception of the black fabric seats which marked quickly and were not the most comfortable. The leather seats on the L&K were the main draw.

Picked the car up last Thursday, and I have only managed to use it back and forward to work up till today. The first thing I noticed was the very poor economy, which was at least 10mpg worse than my old car , and then my brother, then my neighbour and then even my wife mentioned that the engine sounded a lot louder than the previous car, "more like an old Transit" said one person. There is also a little more vibration entering the cabin. To top it all the "columbus" sat nav has decided not to allow any medium wave stations to be heard ,, only a loud hissss..

My dealer has booked it in for next monday as they are short staffed,, my main concern is that if I continue to use the car and it is drinking diesel rather that sipping it am I going to cause any damage?

(the fuel guage seems to support the computers findings .)

Tried it on a longish run today and couldn't get any more that 38mpg on dual carriagway at easy constant 70mph. Old car would be in high 40's even when new and tight.

Any views? .. Rest of the car is good, no rattles , squeaks etc.

I feel that I have just blown 20+ grand on a lemon........:(

[soldatov]

Hi

Sorry to hear of your disappointment, but maybe give it a few more km for the fuel to give a more accurate reading.

------------------------------------

Octy 2, 1.9 TDI PD Ambiente 4x4 Combi and Nissan Sunny 2.0 DLX, Company Octy 1.9 TDI Tor Combi.

[dstev2000]

Interesting.......

Diesels will knock and clatter much more if they are using too much fuel at idle. I know this because I had a CR tuning box on a car many years back and when you wound up the fuelling adjustment the engine used to get noticeably louder on tickover.

It could be a simple problem with the engine fuelling which also ties up with the excessive fuel consumption although I would not expect any more than 40mpg when the engine is new. That's the figure I have found on my last 2 2.0TDI's.

If it is an overfuelling issue it shoudn't cause any damage as it's no different to running a tuning box.

Are there any other symptoms? excessive smoke? coughing/stuttering on startup? overrun when killing the engine? stuff like that.

Let them run a few diagnostics on the car and go from there, keep a close eye on the oil levels in the meantime.

Stick with it mate, it'll be sorted soon enough

[waterloo]

G K same consumption as your motor. L & K 140bhp new end of January.

February avg 40.6

March to date 40.7

Mileage now 4280.

Best ever on computer 43.6

Had 2 mark ones and a fabia all 3 1.9tdi all averaged well above 55 mpg.

Also engine is noisier than the 1.9.

I'll be interested to know the outcome of your visit to your dealer.

[ZTTvRSFan]

Was speaking to two Mazda salesmen today and they both argeeed that the 1.9TDI was/is a better engine than the 2.0TDI.

[dstev2000]

G K same consumption as your motor. L & K 140bhp new end of January.

February avg 40.6

March to date 40.7

Mileage now 4280.

Best ever on computer 43.6

Had 2 mark ones and a fabia all 3 1.9tdi all averaged well above 55 mpg.

Also engine is noisier than the 1.9.

I'll be interested to know the outcome of your visit to your dealer.

My July 2007 L&K 2.0TDI has now done 32000 miles and averages about 44 mpg caning up the motorway with a full boot. It will top 50mpg if driven in a reasonable fashion with lighter loads on board. Best mileage on a tank of fuel to date: 590 miles.

Diesels do not fully run in for at least 15,000 miles and you might not see any decent fuel consumption figures until you pass 10,000 miles.

The 1.9TDI was an 8 valve engine so 16valves will make the 2 litre a little noisier with the bonus of a little more puff at higher revs.

[G.K.]

Hi,

It looks like my previous 2.0tdi was possibly just a "good example". It was smooth and, whilst not silent,, A damn sight quieter than the new one. Car drives ok but engine noise is intrusive to say the least. I hope that their diagnostic machine can shed light on the problem.

[runboy]

Good choice on the L&K - plenty of toys to play with. Do you have the manual or DSG out of interest?

My consumption runs at about 500 to a tank if I go fairly careful with plenty of town driving - if it is a slog then consumption drops, on the open road I might be up to 550 or so and my car has done just under 9k miles. This is my first diesel so I can't compare to other VAG diesels, but compared to other diesels out there e.g. Ford, Renault then I think you will find the PD engine is noisy.

Please report back on what your dealer says.

[dstev2000]

Hi,

It looks like my previous 2.0tdi was possibly just a "good example". It was smooth and, whilst not silent,, A damn sight quieter than the new one. Car drives ok but engine noise is intrusive to say the least. I hope that their diagnostic machine can shed light on the problem.

It's funny you should say that about engine noise, I had an '06 plate Elegance PD140 which was fine. My '07 L&K PD140 feels like it lets more vibration and noise into the cabin. It may be subjective as I had a petrol Vectra for a few months between the 2 cars so couldn't compare back to back but I know for a fact stuff is more prone to rattle in the L&K and I carried the same level of junk in both cars.

SWMBO's vRS TDI is quieter in the cabin but again that might not be a fair comparison as the PD170 has piezo-electric injectors making it quieter.

Either way, the road/tyre/engine noise is not what I would call acceptable.

[astonbuilder]

My 2.0TDi L&K with just under 18k on the clock is averaging 47.9mpg driven fairly gently but always making decent pace. Lowest I've seen is midll'ish 30's and that's around town. Set at 75mph on cruise on motorway its in upper end of 50's mpg.

I'd say its because the car is still new - you can't expect it to give 'best mpg' when bedding in.

Can't comment on noise as never had the 1.9 engine but mine doesn't sound any different to a mates Passat 1.9 and the torque of mine pulls much better than his.

[dstev2000]

Don't forget the 1.9TDI was available in many states of tune from 90 to 160PS.

I had a 1.9TDI PD130 and it was a great engine IMO - especially with a digital tuning box strapped to it :P, no problems keeping pace with a 2.7TDI A6.

I don't think it was particularly quiet compared to a PD140 but it sounded smoother and the turbo sound was more noticeable. It was useless at higher revs but you can thank the 8 valves for that.

[G.K.]

Good choice on the L&K - plenty of toys to play with. Do you have the manual or DSG out of interest?

My consumption runs at about 500 to a tank if I go fairly careful with plenty of town driving - if it is a slog then consumption drops, on the open road I might be up to 550 or so and my car has done just under 9k miles. This is my first diesel so I can't compare to other VAG diesels, but compared to other diesels out there e.g. Ford, Renault then I think you will find the PD engine is noisy.

Please report back on what your dealer says.

Hi,

Yes love the toys and the Columbus is a great tool except the lack of Radio. Thank god my young son knows how to "rip" a CD and put it on an SD card so it can be loaded onto its hard drive. I'm sure someone out there buys a Columbus and hasn't even seen an SD card!!.

My Car is a manual, When I took delivery it had "mysteriously" clocked up 52 miles during its PDI. It came with a half tank of diesel and which It consumed by Sunday (down to the red) and I filled it up (£43.00 worth). It is now down to just above half and the mileage is 308...

I know the PD engine is noisy, I had a VW Passat from 2002 till 2005, then the 2.0 TDI 140 Octy till now and my wife has a 6 year old Fabia 1.9 tdi elegance.I have listened to these engines for 6 years and normally find them fairly noisy but very acceptable.

My biggest fear is that the dealer says "there is nothing wrong with it" so for the next 3 years Skoda will be the maker of a seriously "Unhappy Driver" Or, I will lose a bucket of money and have to sell on what is otherwise a fantastic vehicle.

[G.K.]

My 2.0TDi L&K with just under 18k on the clock is averaging 47.9mpg driven fairly gently but always making decent pace. Lowest I've seen is midll'ish 30's and that's around town. Set at 75mph on cruise on motorway its in upper end of 50's mpg.

I'd say its because the car is still new - you can't expect it to give 'best mpg' when bedding in.

Can't comment on noise as never had the 1.9 engine but mine doesn't sound any different to a mates Passat 1.9 and the torque of mine pulls much better than his.

These are the consumption figures that I was accustomed to. Could I stress that my previous Octy was also a 2.0 tdi 140 and not a 1.9. I has a 1.9 Passat 130 before the octy and I agree there was not a great difference in the noise inside the cabin, although my previous 2.0 140 was smoother at idle.

I find it hard to believe that even with a low mileage and not giving the engine too much work to do that it could be as bad as 10-15mpg in the wrong direction. I drove the car today for a longish run on good open A class roads and dual carriageway, light throttle, kept it between 1900 and 3000 rpm at all times and giving it the occasional bit of light work to do and it barely averaged 38mpg!!.

I have even looked under the car in case there is a fuel leak!!

Cheers,

[G.K.]

It's funny you should say that about engine noise, I had an '06 plate Elegance PD140 which was fine. My '07 L&K PD140 feels like it lets more vibration and noise into the cabin. It may be subjective as I had a petrol Vectra for a few months between the 2 cars so couldn't compare back to back but I know for a fact stuff is more prone to rattle in the L&K and I carried the same level of junk in both cars.

SWMBO's vRS TDI is quieter in the cabin but again that might not be a fair comparison as the PD170 has piezo-electric injectors making it quieter.

Either way, the road/tyre/engine noise is not what I would call acceptable.

The road noise is one area which I have seen an improvement since my previous octy had the pegasus alloys and the sports suspension, with rubbish Dunlops which I junked for Vredestein Ultracs which were great tyres but even noisier!!.

New car is on Michelins and seems much better.

Interesting point I have just noticed is that the emissions on the previous octy 2.0 140 was 154g and the new one is 145g Making the tax disc cheaper "Hallejluyah"

[waterloo]

G K I have the DSG box 158g/km. Handbook says you should be getting 51.4mpg combined. I should get 47.1.

I have tried different tyre pressures but consumption was the same. Now run at the average pressure between half and full load.

500 mile trip due this weekend so hoping to use less derv. I know the consumption should get better as more miles are done but an 18% increase seems a lot to ask.

[cheezemonkhai]

Check the tyre pressures, check the oil level too.

Don't forget that the engine is still bedding in and maybe a few longer motorway runs (greater than 50miles each way) might help settle the thing a little bit.

Hopefully the dealer will be able to shed some light on it for you. Does the idle seem particularly uneven at all?

[G.K.]

Check the tyre pressures, check the oil level too.

Don't forget that the engine is still bedding in and maybe a few longer motorway runs (greater than 50miles each way) might help settle the thing a little bit.

Hopefully the dealer will be able to shed some light on it for you. Does the idle seem particularly uneven at all?

Hi, Yes idle is uneven with more than a hint of vibration. I will try to get somemore miles in as you suggest.

Thanks for your advice.

[Lady Elanore]

G.K. I know exactly where you are coming from. I was surprised by how much less mpg my Octy did compared with my previous Toledo 1.9 (130) Currently my car only averages around 42-43 mpg and even though ppl always come out with ‘it needs a few miles…..zzzzzzz’ this in general is B0ll0x. yes my mpg will improve, but not by 20%, which is the figure I would need if I was to match the manufacturers claims. Similarly, you have pretty much a like for like comparative vehicle and you have noticed a MASSIVE change, you will not get 20-25% improvement and you are correct in thinking this. I notice you made the comparison with your previous car when it was new and tight too and this is the telling thing. I am guessing that you will see a slight improvement in mpg and idle noise etc, but you won’t get the same figures as your old car. You will however probably get used to your new noises and mpg.

Hope this doesn’t take too much shine off a really nice car.

[astonbuilder]

I've always found that with 6 to 10k under its belt my cars general all round performance increases and that includes fuel consumption - easily 10% up to 15%, but admit not 20% shortfall GK has.

Thats not based on a 'one off' but thats two company cars changed twice annually for the last 17 years so not b0ll0x in my experience.....

Mostly diesels (Ford, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar - often same family of engine in some cases) but also some 'higher performance' petrol models as well (Volvo T5, Jag 3.2, 3.5, 4.0, etc.)

[Lady Elanore]

I've always found that with 6 to 10k under its belt my cars general all round performance increases and that includes fuel consumption - easily 10% up to 15%, but admit not 20% shortfall GK has.

Thats not based on a 'one off' but thats two company cars changed twice annually for the last 17 years so not b0ll0x in my experience.....

GK states a comparison based on like for like. Both new and tight. So B0ll0x is my pithy summation.

In my experience of 28 years of driving, owning many cars and also selling them for a couple of years, GKs car sounds like it is not right and no amount of ‘it will get better with miles’ will come close to closing the gulf of variation he has experienced.

[Lady Elanore]

Having just re-read my posting it perhaps comes across as a bit strident. I think it’s because I have seen many posts where ppl have stated they have poor mpg on a new car and the stock answer seems to be ‘it will be Ok in time’. I don’t think many ppl read the OP carefully and just jump in with what they believe will be helpful encouragement, when really, imho, the OP need to be told that he/she is indeed probably correct in their gut feeling.

[Ciderspace]

GK - sorry to ask but worth checking.

My vRs has maxidot and I have a choice between 2 sets of mpg figures (aswell as average and actual). These showup in the Maxidot display as a 1 or 2 with a press of the button under the stalk. If the display reads "2", its the mpg over the life of the engine and mine currently reads just over 38mpg. However, mine is usually set to "1" where each journey is different.

On a long run I get high 30's (couple of bikes on the roof, boot full of gear, 2 adults, pretty high winds last week) to just short of 50 on one particular 250 mile trip (no bikes, 2 adults, good weather). If I toggle to setting "2", its still around 38 but its increasing gradually - now at 2250 miles from new.

I've also got actual mpg and average for both - I've seen this up to over 180mpg when cruising downhill, ie no revs! to as low as 15 when pushing on.

My engine is noisey too - its the way of diesels but I actually like the sound... Its not obtrusive to make me think its faulty...

Just thought I'd share...

Hope you get things sorted.

[Mac1961]

I bought a new 2.0L TDI L&K with DSG last October and so far have covered about 4100 miles. At first the consumption was quite low, but is improving all the time. Generally I average about 52 mpg on journeys over about 8 miles or so, but on one occasion recently the on-board gauge registered an average of 63 mpg -- YES, 63 MPG!! However, that was after many miles at 35-40 mph on an open road, following slow traffic and with no chance of overtaking. It goes to show what a difference wind resistance makes.

Mac

[Nick P]

GK - sorry to ask but worth checking.

My vRs has maxidot and I have a choice between 2 sets of mpg figures (aswell as average and actual). These showup in the Maxidot display as a 1 or 2 with a press of the button under the stalk. If the display reads "2", its the mpg over the life of the engine and mine currently reads just over 38mpg. However, mine is usually set to "1" where each journey is different.

That's not just on the maxidot. The 2nd mode isn't the life of the engine per se. It's a long term mode the driver can use as they want, e.g. for a road trip or a tank of fuel. You reset it by holding the button on the bottom of the stalk.

[G.K.]

That's not just on the maxidot. The 2nd mode isn't the life of the engine per se. It's a long term mode the driver can use as they want, e.g. for a road trip or a tank of fuel. You reset it by holding the button on the bottom of the stalk.

I used the second mode for an overall consumption over the three years I had the car. I did not re-set it over the whole period of ownership. Average over 3 years was 46.4 mpg and that was not driving with economy in mind.