2.0TSi (190) - Lumpy Running and Poor MPG

[Mr_G]

Car has done just over 1300 miles and been running great however the last few (short) journeys the engine has been really lumpy and quite hesitant, there is also some jerkiness / kangarooing despite the speed being constant. The fuel economy has also pretty much halved and I've noticed that the fan has started to stay on after the engine is switched off.

If it was diesel I'd it put it down the the DPF doing a regen but its a petrol... No sure if ours has a GPF or not but I thought they only "passively" regen anyway and shouldn't be as intrusive as a diesel DPF?

Any help much appreciated, don't want to take a trip to the dealers if its normal / temporary but at the same time if there is an issue I'd rather get it sorted ASAP.

 

[SRGTD]

Based on what I’ve read over on uk-polos.net forum, it sounds like your car has been doing a forced / active regeneration. Some owners of the current GPF equipped Polo GTI have experienced similar symptoms - especially those owners whose motoring is mainly short journeys. They’ve experienced some or all of the following;

- change in exhaust note
- Sluggish / hesitant engine performance
- increased fuel consumption
- burning smell
- cooling fan running

 

[BigJase88]

is it the 1.8 or 2.0 tsi as there isn't a 1.9tsi

 

[Mr_G]

@SRGTD
Could well be the case for us then, most of our journeys are short and many of the symptoms are the same - will take a not so leisurely drive around the back roads and see if that helps.

@BigJase88
Well spotted, not enough coffee on my part - its the 2.0TSi 190 with dual injection.

 

[KXL]

GPF fitted cars tend to have almost no soot coming from their exhauts!

 

[Jaco2k]

is it the 1.8 or 2.0 tsi as there isn't a 1.9tsi

I guess he is not sure, so he went with average

 

[Mr_G]

I guess he is not sure, so he went with average

Made me chuckle although still going with the lack of coffee excuse ;-)

 

[Mr_G]

Quick update... The shocking MPG meant the dreaded fuel light came on this morning, stuck £30 in and for whatever reason the car is running much better. The hesitation and lumpiness is all but gone and the MPG is starting to pick up again, starting to wonder if it may have been dodgy fuel or similar?

 

[KXL]

What petrol brand did you have before and what did you just put? Was it the case of supermarket replaced with proper fuel?

 

[BigJase88]

Run mine on super market tesco momentum since new, no issue’s

 

[SRGTD]

Quick update... The shocking MPG meant the dreaded fuel light came on this morning, stuck £30 in and for whatever reason the car is running much better. The hesitation and lumpiness is all but gone and the MPG is starting to pick up again, starting to wonder if it may have been dodgy fuel or similar?

Dodgy fuel is unlikely to have caused your car’s engine fan to continue running after the engine was switched off.

My money would still be on your car performing a GPF regeneration that caused the lumpy running, increase in fuel consumption and engine fan running - all characteristics that have been experienced by some owners of GPF equipped VW Polo GTI’s - also fitted with VAG’s 2.0 litre EA888 (gen 3b) engine - while their cars were performing a GPF regen.

 

[FormulaR95]

What kind of fuel economy are you getting mate? I've got the same car last Friday with 6k on clock, came with half a tank from dealers, then topped it up to full using V Power. Since then, i've averaged around 22.5mpg from a mixture of normal and some spirited driving lol. Wonderful car, but not sure if this is normal fuel economy because even with trying to be economical and using cruise control etc., it doesn't seem to be helping much.

 

[Mr_G]

@KXL @BigJase88
Always used the local Morrisons and not had an issue, our nearest "proper" petrol station isn't on our normal route but for the sake of a small detour and couple of pence per litre I might give it a go and see what happens.

@SRGTD
To be honest I've no actually no idea if the car does a GPF, the info on Seats website / downloadable spec sheet doesn't give any clues either way but from what's been said it would make sense that it does. Either way I can live with a regen every 1000 or so miles as but would be nice to know if it does have one or not.

@FormulaR95
On short <2miles we've been getting low 20's, did a 30mile run consisting of mostly motorway and got high 40's but started to go down once we got into town. Have noticed that overall fuel economy is good in flowing traffic even if slow moving but as soon as it gets to stop / start the MPG soon drops off.

Suppose at the end of the day no 2L petrol is going to be hugely economical but its such good fun to drive and ours being a non "sporty" model is great for leaving unsuspecting tailgaters behind lol

 

[BigJase88]

I did a 200 mile motorway trip in my 1.5 tsi last weekend, cruise control set at 80mph (real world 75mph) and achieved 39mpg. So they are all awful on fuel, i would imagine the 1.8 and 2.0 tsi will be substantially worse on fuel than my 1.5.

 

[Peller]

I did a 200 mile motorway trip in my 1.5 tsi last weekend, cruise control set at 80mph (real world 75mph) and achieved 39mpg. So they are all awful on fuel, i would imagine the 1.8 and 2.0 tsi will be substantially worse on fuel than my 1.5.

I'm always surprised about the fuel economy in my Cupra. Near 43mpg on a long journey!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[BigJase88]

I'm always surprised about the fuel economy in my Cupra. Near 43mpg on a long journey!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

If you think about it its the false economy of a small engined car, yeah great on the flat in decent low wind situations but at the weekend it was blowing a gale and my wee 1.5 tsi was puffing its heart out trying to maintain 80mph, whereas a 2.0tsi in the same situation is just sitting there ticking over maintaining the same speed. False economy, there is no replacement for displacement

 

[Peller]

If you think about it its the false economy of a small engined car, yeah great on the flat in decent low wind situations but at the weekend it was blowing a gale and my wee 1.5 tsi was puffing its heart out trying to maintain 80mph, whereas a 2.0tsi in the same situation is just sitting there ticking over maintaining the same speed. False economy, there is no replacement for displacement

This is true, the 7 speed DSG in the Cupra only pulls 2k revs effortlessly at 70 which obviously helps economy.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[Jazzjames]

I did a 200 mile motorway trip in my 1.5 tsi last weekend, cruise control set at 80mph (real world 75mph) and achieved 39mpg. So they are all awful on fuel, i would imagine the 1.8 and 2.0 tsi will be substantially worse on fuel than my 1.5.

I got 45mpg from Somerset back to Germany over the new year. All through the UK at motorway speeds, plus a little blast of over 100mph for the last bit in Germany. I’ve got the 1.8. And that was on winter tyres!

My long time average is 39mpg, but there’s a lot of urban driving in my weekly drives.

Regarding the OP’s original queries, I’d suggest letting the idle settle down before driving off when the car is cold. When mine switches from the cold startup map to the normal map, the change is pretty abrupt if you are already moving. It only takes a few seconds.

If the problems reappear, you could take your car on a longish journey at 50-70mph if possible and see if the problems go away. Enough to get the oil up to temp for a bit. No car likes short journeys.

Low 20s in the city for short journeys and high 40s on free flowing A roads/motorway sound about right to me.

 

[Peller]

The GPF is a passive system due to the high exhaust temperatures unlike diesel when a regeneration cycle is required.

The petrol engine basically burns the 'harmfull' stuff as it runs but the engine will have to be up to operating temperature for a while for this to happen.

Same old advice, the car needs a good run to keep it running at optimal specs.

I would recommend higher octane fuel for the 1.8 & 2.0 litre TSi engines as it burns more efficiently, reduces knock tolerances and carbon build up in the long term.

That's my 2p in the conversation. I hope it helps

 

[Eskilation]

Got same car (ST FR model) engine and I love it. The 190bhp is effortless on the motorway with the DSG hardly hear it but when you need it it’s there.

Had mine from 3k to 11k over 4 months 50 mile round trip to work a-b roads either end and a motorway blast in the middle and average 36-42 mpg. First month was less and getting used to driving it and the Auto always has manuals and switching driving modes etc.

Now just leave in normal mode as have to reselect mode each time even if button yellow another thread on this elsewhere and just pull gearstick from D to S when need to hold gears but just put foot down and never disappoints. Think driving modes a bit of a gimmick As no sound / exhaust change, but D to S on gearbox holds gears for quick getaway.

Will say town driving as other said knocks mpg especially stop start traffic and I always turn stop start off.

Also like fact a bit of a sleeper. Does surprise a few sometimes.