Mileage range display reduces distance drastically whilst driving in city. 2015 Diesel

[Enfield_seat]

Hi all.

I've discussed this issue with a local SEAT dealer. The issue is after filling up car (TDI 1.6 YS65 plate) the range would read 225 miles. After driving for 10 minutes in city traffic, this range would have reduced to 170 miles (after 15 mins driving). Upon reaching the motorway, the range increases to 190miles but nothing close to the original reading.
The dealer suggested the level reader in the tank could be faulty; thus pointing to a new fuel delivery unit (£386.40) or a faulty fuel sender, located in the rear seat. Sender is £139.20 inc VAT).
I'd like to hear from others on this issue. Right now, after every 3rd trip I top up before the reader reaches the red warning light. But has anyone had this issue and what was the fix?
I did wonder if there was a software issue between the level reader and the display or should I replace the fuel sender? (can I buy cheaper?).

Furthermore, is it worth going to a VW independent garage (not dealer) and running an overall system diagnostic for £60.00?

 

[DanMCGARRETT]

Hey the range is a slightly pessimistic estimation of range but it is based on your most recent driving style, in city traffic most ICE cars are not as economical and therefore lose range but then will gain some of it back when you are cruising where they are more economical.

The fuel tank is approx 10.9 gallons so I would presume you should be getting at least 500 miles before having to fill up, what sort of range are you getting between fill ups?

Hope this helps

 

[DaveS]

I find the range value to be highly variable and sometimes over optimistic. Enfield_seat's readings look typical to me and not worth spending any money on.

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

225 miles range after filling up? Was that with a full tank?

I'd expect a range of something between 350 - 500 miles on a TDI. My briskly driven 2.0L TDI 140 Yeti would routinely show 385 - 395 miles range with a mix of urban and motorway.

As said above, range is a prediction based on usage / fuel consumption at the time; hence it will fluctuate.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S25 Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[SRGTD]

I find the range value to be highly variable and sometimes over optimistic.

Agree.

IMHO the ‘Range’ value is of very limited value as it can be affected by many other factors - e.g. weather conditions, traffic conditions, driving style, journey type, whether the engine is cold or fully warmed up; there will no doubt be other factors too.

@Enfield_seat - what type of journeys do you typically drive? If you’re doing lots of short journeys and the engine’s not getting up to the optimum operating temperature, your car’s DPF might be going through a regeneration more frequently than a car doing mainly long(er) journeys on a fully warmed up engine. The DPF regeneration process uses extra fuel to increase the exhaust temperature and neutralise particulate matter accumulated in the DPF, and use of that extra fuel will mean poorer fuel consumption and reduced range.

There are some tell-tale signs when a DPF regen is happening - e.g. engine fan running continuously, gear change indicator (if your car has one and has a manual gearbox) may indicate to change down a gear in slower moving, stop start traffic to keep the engine revs high(er). I think stop / start might also be disabled for the duration of the regen.

 

[SuperV8]

Hi all.

I've discussed this issue with a local SEAT dealer. The issue is after filling up car (TDI 1.6 YS65 plate) the range would read 225 miles. After driving for 10 minutes in city traffic, this range would have reduced to 170 miles (after 15 mins driving). Upon reaching the motorway, the range increases to 190miles but nothing close to the original reading.
The dealer suggested the level reader in the tank could be faulty; thus pointing to a new fuel delivery unit (£386.40) or a faulty fuel sender, located in the rear seat. Sender is £139.20 inc VAT).
I'd like to hear from others on this issue. Right now, after every 3rd trip I top up before the reader reaches the red warning light. But has anyone had this issue and what was the fix?
I did wonder if there was a software issue between the level reader and the display or should I replace the fuel sender? (can I buy cheaper?).

Furthermore, is it worth going to a VW independent garage (not dealer) and running an overall system diagnostic for £60.00?

What's your average MPG showing?
A range of 225 miles on a full tank for a 1.6TDI can't be correct, is your MPG also very low?
My 184TDI shows ≈ 600-700 miles range when I fill up.

 

[TripleBob]

For comparison my mapped 184TDI shows usually between 490-520 miles when I fill up (depending on how I’ve driven before filling up). On a long run (I regularly drive over to France) it’ll comfortably do 550 miles before the warning light comes on