Hello from new Exeo owner

NeilMcK

Active Member
Dec 31, 2007
70
7
Central Scotland
I've had my Nayara blue Exeo ST for 3 weeks now and am glad I made the switch from my Altea TDI.

Seat must be doing something right as this is my third Seat in a row, from a mk2 Toledo that I sold with 180k on the clock.

I am generally delighted with the car, but have a few questions that I hope the folks on here might be able to help with.

Temperature - I know its winter, but the car takes ages to warm up, and the guage doesnt seem to get anywhere near 90 unless going on to high speed driving. Could it have a lazy thermostat?

Fuel economy - bit disappointed to be honest, first couple fills showing an average of 42mpg. Which for a Common Rail TDI seems poor (it's a 143 by the way). Thats mixed and motorway at about 75mph. That's calculating it from miles and litres. Could the economy be linked to the warm up time?

Tramlining - it has cheap tyres on the front (Tigar Synerise) and it seems to tramline a fair bit. Is the Exeo sensitive to tyres? They're brand new, and since I've bought a car loath to pay another £200 for tyres, it's going in on Wednesday to get alignment checked. Does the Exeo suffer from the same issues as the A4 regarding suspension wear?

Many thanks for any responses.

I love the car, it is sooo quiet, and I love the colour, solid clunk when closing the doors, interior quality and all the toys, plan on keeping it for ages.

Would post a pic but can't find out how :)

Thanks,

Neil.
 

asonda

Active Member
Nov 5, 2013
251
0
Hi Neil,

Welcome, glad you like the car. Thing is, its not really a Seat :)

The Exeo IS the A4 behind the different looking nose and rear end, so it does suffer from all of the A4 niggles I'm afraid.

I've had 3 different sets of tyres on mine and depending on how they wear can cause the tramlining. Your alignment you're going to get done should sort it.

Mine is the 170 ST, if we nanny it about we can see into the 50s but on a run it's early to mid 40s at 70-80mph.

The 143 should be more economical, most seem to say it is.

Mine takes some time for the water temp to get to 90, if you're doing really short runs and you put the heater on as soon as you feel the air getting warm, it'll never warm up.

Now the weather is getting colder it is taking longer to warm up.

Since I've had mine, it's had a new steering rack under warranty, it's throttle body cleaned up under warranty and I've put some new genuine vag discs and pads on the rear. Although it has had issues, what car doesn't, I still love it.

The throttle body got carboned up, after doing research into the cr vag engines I am now convinced they should be run on premium fuel to get the best out of them, the additives help keep the fuel system and injectors clean but the most important thing is keeping the carbon and soot levels down to a minimum, I was using morrisons fuel before I had issues with the tb and after using bp ultimate and vpower nitro+ the car runs quieter, smoother and better mpg, def makes it worth the extra few pennies per litre.

Would love to see some pics of yours :) here's mine :)

seat1.jpg
 
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GTRACING

Active Member
Sep 27, 2014
80
0
Hi Neil welcome.
I have a 143 ST . As Asonda said fuel is a issue .DONT use cheap supermarket fuel as in the long run you may run into DPF problems if using the car everyday commuting.I get 50 to 55 mpg regularly using Shell V Power .
As with tyres unfortunately you get what you pay for. If you can try and get a good brand make, they will be a lot safer with the onset of winter.
I am new to the forum but the knowledge on here is great. If in doubt ask.
Enjoy your car you will love it.
Regards
 

okedave

Active Member
Jul 14, 2014
151
0
Hi Neil,

I have the 143ST and am currently getting 55mpg out of it. I have now done 20,000 miles since getting it 5 months ago and touch wood so far have had no issues, apart from the temp taking ages, which is very annoying. We are so impressed with it we are thinking of getting a second one to replace my wifes car :)
 

kblackburn

Active Member
Aug 15, 2012
94
0
holme/cumbria
4 wheel alignment is the only way to go, as steering and tyre wear are dependant on the vehicle thrust angle, get a copy of the print out , so you can see how it was before and after the work.
I did mine some time ago,at work, shortly after buying and tyre wear is at an absolute minimum, and fuel consumption, regular 55 mpg +
 

Cornishgreg

Active Member
Feb 13, 2014
62
0
Hi Neil,

I have 143 ST Sport Tech, in 18 months I have done just over 40K and have an overall average of 47MPG, on the lanes of Cornwall I see 42 most days, on a long run to Leeds last month I averaged 53! You should see an improvement, but from personal experience I think the car seems to show better MPG in warmer weather.

On the tyre front I have found that the car falls into the category of FWD cars that can either give great mileage on a very hard compound, or grip like crazy on a soft tyre. With all the weight in the nose it's a real balancing act.

Mine has been pretty faultless, with a few initial niggles sorted under warranty.

Welcome to the club!
 

NeilMcK

Active Member
Dec 31, 2007
70
7
Central Scotland
Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated :) :thanks:

Interesting comment about fuel and temperature. It's warmer today (+10c) here in kind of sunny part of Scotland I live, and on the same school run (about 14 miles) it got 53 on the display, yesterday at 2c, 48. Very odd.

Is the fuel got to be the "fancy" stuff or would non-supermarket normal BP, Shell etc. do the trick too?

Yep, the tyres were on the car when I got it, so will see how quickly they wear out, hopefully the alignment will make the car less tram-liney. There seem to be good deals on Goodyear at the moment.

Also getting it serviced as well as alignment checked, it has fsh, but, can't be too sure so I'm getting it serviced at my trusted local garage and ensuring it has the 507 oil put in and a general check before the measly Arnold Clark warranty runs out.

I've ordered some Forte DPF cleaner from Amazon, but the car often gets a run down the Motorway to the airport in Edinburgh (40 miles each way) since I travel a lot with work, so are there any other hints for keeping the DPF good apart from regular motorway speed runs?

One thing it does have, is the "solar roof" which should be nice in the summer, but I discovered it also works in winter, the car was sitting in the sun, engine off, and I heard the fan running, saying "wtf?" took a few seconds to realize what it was after feeling a draft from the vents :)

The forum already is having a benefit, I've ordered up the spray windscreen washers from Fleabay. Once again, many thanks :)

Would post a pic, but am told I can't, weird.
 

asonda

Active Member
Nov 5, 2013
251
0
Hi Neil,

All I'm going to say is, with the issues I had, it was most certainly caused by crap fuel from Morrissons making it run very sooty. (I have been told that Morrissons stuff, is the worst apparently).

The moment I let it run nearly empty and filled with premium fuel, it ran smoother, quieter and I got better MPG and over the past couple of weeks I've worked out that the extra cost of the fuel, is taken up by the increase in MPG so I'm happy to pay more at the pump and works out the same price. At the same time helping keep my engine nice.

If you use a softer compound tyre on the front, as cornisgreg has said, it'll stick like the proverbial but it'll eat them for breakfast, use a slightly harder compound and you'll lose a 'bit' of the sticky but they last much longer.

Truth is, not every car is the same, they've not all had the same life and you can't tell what's going to go wrong but you can do you best to prevent it.
 

asonda

Active Member
Nov 5, 2013
251
0
Hi Neil,

All I'm going to say is, with the issues I had, it was most certainly caused by crap fuel from Morrissons making it run very sooty. (I have been told that Morrissons stuff, is the worst apparently).

The moment I let it run nearly empty and filled with premium fuel, it ran smoother, quieter and I got better MPG and over the past couple of weeks I've worked out that the extra cost of the fuel, is taken up by the increase in MPG so I'm happy to pay more at the pump and works out the same price. At the same time helping keep my engine nice.

If you use a softer compound tyre on the front, as cornisgreg has said, it'll stick like the proverbial but it'll eat them for breakfast, use a slightly harder compound and you'll lose a 'bit' of the sticky but they last much longer.

Truth is, not every car is the same, they've not all had the same life and you can't tell what's going to go wrong but you can do you best to prevent it.
 

GTRACING

Active Member
Sep 27, 2014
80
0
Hi Neil
To be honest , I would not use everyday fuel, I swapped to Shell v and after a couple of full to empty fills you cav really see and feel the difference. The cost does equal out with the difference in mpg. Here in the midlands its about 6 or 7p per ltr more. My mate runs a high end 5 series bmw, and its just cost him over a grand for running tesco shoppin fuel . New exhaust and new valves , he can not believe the difference, now running Shell V .
As with cleaners I would not bother as they will not clean already clogged EGR / DPF valves. Just try running for 4/5 miles when hot above 3000rpm. This should get it hot enough to burn the carbon away.
Regards GT
 

Cookies

Active Member
May 18, 2014
60
0
County Down
Hi Neil
Welcome to the warm and loving arms of Exeo ownership. It's the best car I've ever owned and I love it.

I'll echo what the guys have said about tyres and fuel etc.

I always use 'additised' fuel and it definitely makes the car run better.

Have to get the spray nozzles myself too.

Cheers buddy.

Cooks



Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 

julianat57

Active Member
Jun 19, 2010
161
3
Stafford
Hi Neil
Welcome to the forum. Had my Nayara Blue 143 SE ST for nearly 5 years now, bought new in Mar 2010, my one and only new car, with the purpose of owning it for a long time. Been totally pleased with it, love the colour as do all that comment on it. Had a couple of niggly problems in the first year, but quickly sorted by Stoke Seat. Had a test drive of all of 15 minutes, I just needed to know that the clutch was light enough after having autos for 9 years. I new it was an A4 in disguise and as my previous car was an A4 B5 2.5 Tdi Tiptronic I did not need to know anything else. Happy Motoring....Julian
 

BloodnutsTDI

Active Member
Jun 17, 2008
16
0
Interesting what people are saying about v-power etc, definitely going to try it! I've had my Dakota red Exeo 143 ST Sport Tech for 18 months now and have done over 27000 miles, the average mpg is just over 45 driving a mix of A and B roads. On a run it easily goes over 50mpg.

It's a fantastic car blighted only by the very poor customer service of Motorvogue Northampton who I purchased it from, I was going to get an A4 Avant when I came across these.

Last month I finally swapped the tyres from chinky chonky Chinese specials and fitted Goodyear Eagle F1's all round - best thing I've ever done! So much more grip, quieter and more comfortable and no tramlining. I don't see me changing my Exeo for a few years yet, I might look at a remap though....
 

cliveseat

Active Member
May 15, 2008
147
4
West Yorks
Hello, Neil - and welcome to the fold. The Exeo is a terrific under-the-radar choice, and as many have already said, a cracking car. Echo the comments on consumption (46/55mpg in the warm, nearer 40/42 when it freezes) and tyres (buy the best you can afford because cheapos utterly ruin the ride). My 143 Sport (72k) runs OK on Asda diesel, with the odd shot of Redex now and again, but in view of what's been said above (and the fact that falling fuel prices bring it within reach) I may just treat it to a tankful of the good stuff to see if there's any difference to the economy/performance. I've had my Exeo for over three years/38k and it's been totally reliable in that time. Hope this helps.
 

RichL

Full Member
Oct 21, 2003
171
2
Essex, UK
Visit site
I usually run Tesco or Sainsbury diesel in my car, but just before XMas I was running low and the local BP was a penny cheaper than Sainsbury so I put in 3/4 of a tank...and boy did it go better!
My previous Golf PD150 ran about the same on either supermarket fuel or from an Esso station so I wasn't expecting an difference in performance.

Might be because my Exeo is running a tuning box though? Either way I just hope my local BP keeps its prices competitive or this could get expensive (but fun).
 

decadent

Active Member
Apr 1, 2012
421
1
Herts
Rich I've been experiencing the same (I'm on a standard map). Won't be using supermarket again unless I have to. I've been running Esso/BP etc since before x-mas.

Fuel economy has improved, hoping it's not all just a placebo effect though!

Fancy a remap, maybe next year :D
 

Mrski1

Active Member
May 12, 2008
233
0
Aberdeen
Is there really that much of an issue with supermarket fuel vs BP/Shell? I cant say i have ever noticed it on my diesel Civic, although I did notice a slight difference on my Mk1 Leon Cupra, it just seemed to run slightly sweeter but i wouldn't say it was any more powerful.
 

decadent

Active Member
Apr 1, 2012
421
1
Herts
It could be just the placebo effect but my engine sounds quieter, now returns 46mpg (was 42) when I'm travelling at 75-80 and feels more lively over 3.5k (however I don't go up there that often to be honest so difficult to benchmark real improvement).

I used to be a supermarket fuel guy, especially with the tesco points and only ever ran my Leon FR and previous 1.9 Tdi Golf on the stuff.

I know the basic fuel esso, bp, supermarkets etc is the same and sourced from the same location more often than not, but the additive mix is different on the branded stuff. I'd guess the performance difference on the standard stuff is all just in my head but I reckon the addictives are helping the engine run quieter/smoother and improvement in economy is perhaps with more efficient combustion.

However even the most basic supermarket or other fuel in the UK is going to be better than some of the environments our cars have been designed to cope with so I'll probably put a few tanks of branded and supermarket fuel in over the longer term.
 

RichL

Full Member
Oct 21, 2003
171
2
Essex, UK
Visit site
I'm very happy with mine! The only thing I'd like which mine doesnt have is to make it a Quattro - but after looking up some A4B7 Quattro Avant diesels on Autotrader yesterday I realised what a bargain the Exeo is. It'd cost me £2k more for a slightly older car with an extra 20k miles on the clock to get a Quattro - so I'll buy some stickier tyres and live with the wheelspin :D
 
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