Audi A4 2.0 TDI SE 170BHP, MPG? Fuel Economy

Username99

Hi Just wondering if anyone knows what the AUDI A4 2.0 TDI SE 170 BHP (2006 Model) is like on Diesel compared to the lower power models, eg, 140 BHP which I heard was very good on fuel.

-Corkie-

Username99 wrote: »

Hi Just wondering if anyone knows what the AUDI A4 2.0 TDI SE 170 BHP (2006 Model) is like on Diesel compared to the lower power models, eg, 140 BHP which I heard was very good on fuel.

Expect about 48/49 Mpg. I have the 140 version in a passat which achieved 53 MPG on Atwr

spank_inferno

We have that engine on our box shaped Yeti & if I hypermile I can get a combined average of 54mpg.

Normal day commuting average is 46mpg

Leonard Hofstadter

spank_inferno wrote: »

We have that engine on our box shaped Yeti & if I hypermile I can get a combined average of 54mpg.

Normal day commuting average is 46mpg

Your car has a totally different engine to the car the OP is looking at though, but around 50 mpg should be easily attainable in an A4. That said, the 2.0 TDI A4 with the PD engine has a known tendency to give trouble with the oil pump and other expensive to fix problems.

spank_inferno

I thought the 170ps version was CR rather than PD?

unless they were not available then?

Leonard Hofstadter

spank_inferno wrote: »

I thought the 170ps version was CR rather than PD?

unless they were not available then?

No, only the B8 models are CR - all B7 2.0 TDIs are PD.

dr.fuzzenstein

captainspeed wrote: »

Your car has a totally different engine to the car the OP is looking at though, but around 50 mpg should be easily attainable in an A4. That said, the 2.0 TDI A4 with the PD engine has a known tendency to give trouble with the oil pump and other expensive to fix problems.

Yep, cam chain drives two balancing shafts, the shafts then drive the oil pump.
The tensioner goes, the chain snaps and drive to the oil pump is lost. That could wreck engine and turbo. Needless to say that is not cheap.
Audi does have a modification kit available, which costs near E2k I heard, but those hoors also say there's absolutely nothing wrong with the design, they just made up the conversion kit for the hell of it and if you want it, you feckin' pay.
Add fitting to that, it could cost you E4k.
Unless someone had modified that chain drive to the balancing shafts, I would not take on of those for free, because it the chain snaps, you're looking at thousands and thousands worth of damage.
These cars are only worth it if you're a mechanic, then you can pick on up for absolutely nothing, but it will be weeks of work to put right.
This car is the absolute textbook example of what is wrong with automotive design today. Especially when it comes to so-called "prestige" marks.
Prestige only means that it will break down (when, not if) and cost you E2-6k to put right.
It's a bit like a reverse lottery. Don't buy unless you are confident you can strip the engine yourself.

Username99

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Yep, cam chain drives two balancing shafts, the shafts then drive the oil pump.
The tensioner goes, the chain snaps and drive to the oil pump is lost. That could wreck engine and turbo. Needless to say that is not cheap.
Audi does have a modification kit available, which costs near E2k I heard, but those hoors also say there's absolutely nothing wrong with the design, they just made up the conversion kit for the hell of it and if you want it, you feckin' pay.
Add fitting to that, it could cost you E4k.
Unless someone had modified that chain drive to the balancing shafts, I would not take on of those for free, because it the chain snaps, you're looking at thousands and thousands worth of damage.
These cars are only worth it if you're a mechanic, then you can pick on up for absolutely nothing, but it will be weeks of work to put right.
This car is the absolute textbook example of what is wrong with automotive design today. Especially when it comes to so-called "prestige" marks.
Prestige only means that it will break down (when, not if) and cost you E2-6k to put right.
It's a bit like a reverse lottery. Don't buy unless you are confident you can strip the engine yourself.

Jesus ya have me paranoid now, What version of A4 would you recommend?

Thanks

Leonard Hofstadter

Username99 wrote: »

Jesus ya have me paranoid now, What version of A4 would you recommend?

Thanks

If you want an A4, but a C-class or a 3 series. Sorry but I cannot understand why people pay more for what is basically a Volkswagen. Jokes aside, if I was buying an A4, I would go for the 1.8T petrol engine, or else an unmolested 1.9 TDI (preferably a B6 130 bhp version), a clean 1.9 TDI is very hard to find now since it is the 'weapon' of choice for boy racers these days so a lot of them have been ragged.

Username99

captainspeed wrote: »

If you want an A4, but a C-class or a 3 series. Sorry but I cannot understand why people pay more for what is basically a Volkswagen. Jokes aside, if I was buying an A4, I would go for the 1.8T petrol engine, or else an unmolested 1.9 TDI (preferably a B6 130 bhp version), a clean 1.9 TDI is very hard to find now since it is the 'weapon' of choice for boy racers these days so a lot of them have been ragged.

Originally I thought of going down the VW passat route, around 2006-2007 but my mecahnic warned me off saying they are full of problems. Had a look at golfs around the same year, liked them but I would prefer a saloon. Started lookin' at the audis then, everything 2005 and under seems to be 'molested' in one way or another. I cant really afford to go any higher than 2007, so i'm trying to find something suitable in the 2006-2007 range.

I would be put off petrol engines due to the cost of fuel.

Thanks for the advice

dr.fuzzenstein

Username99 wrote: »

Jesus ya have me paranoid now, What version of A4 would you recommend?

Thanks

Not the 2.0 anyway.:D
Not an expert on them, but what I know about the 2.0 is from a friend who bought an 06 one for E3k because of exactly this problem. The chain driving the balancing shafts and oil pump was rattling.
It was rattling because the chain tensioner (plastic) had eaten itself and the chain was running over a bit of metal and slowly being worn away.
He's currently in the process of removing the balancing shafts from the engine, this needs some mods, including plugging some oil passages and rerouting the chain to drive the oil pump directly except via the shafts.
He recons it has something to do with the fact that the balancing shafts are deliberately unbalanced, to smooth out vibrations occurring in the engine.
The problem with that is that power isn't going through the chain drive evenly and chains don't seem to like that.
Besides, the shaft driving the oil pump, or the bushing it sits in, isn't hard enough, so it will eat itself.
If you do buy one, listen out for rattling coming from the engine. If present, it indicates the need to spend thousands on it.

Leonard Hofstadter

Username99 wrote: »

Originally I thought of going down the VW passat route, around 2006-2007 but my mecahnic warned me off saying they are full of problems. Had a look at golfs around the same year, liked them but I would prefer a saloon. Started lookin' at the audis then, everything 2005 and under seems to be 'molested' in one way or another. I cant really afford to go any higher than 2007, so i'm trying to find something suitable in the 2006-2007 range.

I would be put off petrol engines due to the cost of fuel.

Thanks for the advice

I would rather spend a bit more on fuel (admittedly the 1.8T is a bit of a thirsty beast for the engine size) and know that is far less likely to go wrong (apart from the oil sludge issue, which is caused by lack of maintenance, when properly maintained that engine will go forever) to be honest.

A DMF, DPF, turbo, injector failing etc etc are all very expensive to fix (€1,000 each) and if one of these were to go in a diesel you'd be waiting a long time for the diesel to be saving you money.

Plus the fact that the petrol will be a lot cheaper to buy (because of all the people that think like you do on fuel costs), will be a LOT quieter, more powerful (by as much as 33 bhp over even the quickest 1.9 TDI), smoother and just nicer in every way.

amby1980

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Yep, cam chain drives two balancing shafts, the shafts then drive the oil pump.
The tensioner goes, the chain snaps and drive to the oil pump is lost. That could wreck engine and turbo. Needless to say that is not cheap.
Audi does have a modification kit available, which costs near E2k I heard, but those hoors also say there's absolutely nothing wrong with the design, they just made up the conversion kit for the hell of it and if you want it, you feckin' pay.
Add fitting to that, it could cost you E4k.
Unless someone had modified that chain drive to the balancing shafts, I would not take on of those for free, because it the chain snaps, you're looking at thousands and thousands worth of damage.
These cars are only worth it if you're a mechanic, then you can pick on up for absolutely nothing, but it will be weeks of work to put right.
This car is the absolute textbook example of what is wrong with automotive design today. Especially when it comes to so-called "prestige" marks.
Prestige only means that it will break down (when, not if) and cost you E2-6k to put right.
It's a bit like a reverse lottery. Don't buy unless you are confident you can strip the engine yourself.

Have an 06 140 BHP A4. All of the above happened a number of months ago. I am not mechanically minded but our Audi garage warned me the oil pump was rattling and it needed replacement. I use a mechanic from the same garage to carry out my repairs in the evening. I rang him to book my car in and we had arranged for the following week. He also advised me some pin shares and causes some part to go in the engine (balancing shaft module) He was going to replace this as well at an extra cost of €5 as he would have the engine stripped to replace the pump.
If this pin shares at speed your engine and turbo can be permanently damaged.
As luck would have it the pin snapped a few days before the scheduled repair. Luckily the car was not at speed and the engine was switched off immediately. The turbo was fine.
We had to replace the balancing shaft module and the oil pump at our local Audi dealers costing us a sweet €1,800.00!
However I could not recommend the Audi A4 highly enough!! We do in excess of 40,000 miles per year. The car is very economical and gives us absolutely no trouble besides. Its nearly unheard of to replace parts such as bushings, etc in A4's

My advise is to jump at the 2.0 A4 as they are superb value for money now. Bring it to your garage and get the oil pump and that pin replaced at a cost of €430.00 and you have a trouble free car for 130,000 miles. Money well spent.
Do not even consider the likes of Mercs or BMW's as they give endless bother which is near to impossible to diagnose and costs a fortune to repair. I speak from experience, had all.

Audi may not have the badge but they are a superb car. Being a person that actually does high mileage, Audi are the only car fit for purpose.