# Routan SEL LOW MPGs, what to do with it?



## sorin14us (Dec 1, 2008)

Hy I'm posting this topic for my friend who got a 2009 Routan SEL with a 4.0L engine. He is getting like 8-9 mpg in the city and 16-17mpg on highway. This is a real problem for him because is nothing as he expected. VW advertise the mpg for this at 17mpg/25mp.
Is this going to work thru Lemon Law. Or there is any other way to get rid of the car and recover the money he spent on it. Or there is any fixes that could help for the mpgs.
Thank you.


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## 71sbeetle (Apr 12, 2002)

*Re: Routan SEL LOW MPGs, what to do with it? (sorin14us)*

does he drive in 1st gear all the time ?


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## PASSAT2001.5 (Apr 8, 2001)

*Re: Routan SEL LOW MPGs, what to do with it? (sorin14us)*

Is your friend using premium gas or gas with ethanol or both?
I have not done a scientific troubleshooting or accurately measured for an exact metric, but I do get better gas mileage with 89 and 87 compare to 93 or any gas with ethanol in general.
My local Costco typically carries 87 and 93 with ethanol, which is my source of bad mileage on Routan SEL.


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## [email protected] (Aug 29, 2008)

*Re: Routan SEL LOW MPGs, what to do with it? (sorin14us)*


_Quote, originally posted by *sorin14us* »_Hy I'm posting this topic for my friend who got a 2009 Routan SEL with a 4.0L engine. He is getting like 8-9 mpg in the city and 16-17mpg on highway. This is a real problem for him because is nothing as he expected. VW advertise the mpg for this at 17mpg/25mp.
Is this going to work thru Lemon Law. Or there is any other way to get rid of the car and recover the money he spent on it. Or there is any fixes that could help for the mpgs.
Thank you.

Your friend is probably using the gas pedal like an on/off switch, tell him/her to take it easy and see what happens to the fuel economy and run 87 octane in the vehicle. And also your friend was an adult and made a car purchase, poor fuel economy is not a reason a car can be lemoned or returned for a refund.


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## luckeydoug1 (Feb 11, 2001)

Let me start by saying that with my style of driving I usually exceed the posted mileage on VWs. As an example, with my 2008 R32 my tank average is usually around 25 mpg and often hit 29 with a high of 32 mpg (highway). I usually averaged over 50mpg with my 2002 Jetta TDI wagon. When test driving 2 different brand new 2009 Touaregs I managed a 20mpg average with the V6 and 25 with the TDI, which is spot on the posted highway mileage. 

All that being said, I could never come even close to the posted mileage for any of the Routans, even on a 100 mile test drive (yes, I do have an awesome dealer). I was lucky to see anything even close to 20 on the highway. 

You probably have no recourse with the dealer in regards to the mileage of your Routan. The only reason for this post was to show that you are not alone with the horrible mileage you are getting, and this is an apples to apples comparison- same driver, same driving techniques. 

This is only one of the many reasons I did not purchase one of these horrible badge engineered machines last year.


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## GTI-2007 (Mar 27, 2008)

We've had our Routan Execline since the long weekend in September. To be honest, the mileage was not an issue when we first purchased the Routan because I was coming out of a 2006 Touareg V8 in which the best highway mileage we had ever achieved was 22 Canadian MPG and we won't even get into city driving. When we first purchased the Routan in September, we took it on a road trip, and averaged about 11.9 l/100 kms which is roughly 24 MPG Canadian numbers. Not great, but already better than the Touareg, and we were 2 adult, 3 kids and a load of luggage so I was happy with the results out of the box. Again, it was not stellar but acceptable considering what we came from. Now into the winter the mileage was not great, but that's winter driving and you have to accept it. Not to mention we made good use of the factory car starter. Around town it was a beast, averaging 15.9 l/100 kms or 18 MPG Canadian, but coming from a Treg doing 20 l/100 kms we were satisfied. Now that spring is here and we have about 8,000 kms on the van, I regularly achieve 8.7 l/100 kms or 32.5 mpg Canadian and that's loaded with stuff for the kids. With the bullet box on the roof that drops about 1 mpg. Considering the transport Canada rating is 7.9 l/100 kms or 36 mpg Canadian, I'd have to say we are completely satisfied. You never get the rated numbers due to the ideal conditions under which they are achieved, but we are getting darn close given that my driving habits usually range in the 115-120 kmph area while on the highway. 

All this said, these numbers I'm giving are produced not using the computer in the vehicle. It's not even close to being the most accurate. I fill up until gas is up the gooseneck, and then do the same when I get home and that's how my math is done. Given how heavy the Routan is, and that what you can haul, I'm not sure what people's expectations are but coming from a true gas guzzler V8 Treg, we are happy. It all boils down to expectations I suppose, but for a breadbox on wheels I'm not terribly disappointed.


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## linus96 (May 9, 2010)

Our first road trip with our 2009 SE the wife was getting 13mpg, I was not happy, now she averages between 22-23mpg taking this exact same trip. Mopars will ruin you if you have a heavy foot, especially off the line, I actually got her to do that old "make believe there is an egg under your foot" technique and it worked. 
When towing a 4x6 utility trailer however the mileage drops off into the high teens


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## emPoWaH (Sep 21, 2001)

No 4,500 lb box with a big V6 engine is going to get good fuel economy. Our Odyssey, granted it's an '03, only gets about 14 MPG city and 21 MPG highway. The EPA (old) said 18/25 mpg.


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## rmbalisa (Jan 17, 2002)

i average about 15 city / 21 hwy...but i knew going in that chrysler mileage rating stink and was expecting these numbers. surprisingly my 08 MB R350 gets 17mpg city but we are getting rid of it soon


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## claudiaharvie (Jun 3, 2010)

*low gas mileage*

I have been tracking gas mileage on 2009 and the best I have ever clocked in 95 % city driving is about 14.5 mpg. I have about 9,800 miles. My one long trip, 500 miles or so, I got about 22 mpg on average. In the last two weeks, however, the mileage dropped to 11.8 mpg, all city driving with the ac on for about 10 percent of the time. I took it into dealer who told me months ago that if I had read the fine print I should know that 13 mpg was the low end of the range. This time the dealer said 11.8 mpg was still fell within "the manufacturers specifications." Of course the computer scan shows no problem. I asked at what point would he consider the gas mileage unacceptably low and he would not respond. My Routan is a great driving car but the gas mileage stinks, especially given that we traded in a Chrysler 2001 AWD T&C which got about 15 mpg city under the cash for clunkers program. Personally I think VW should reimburse government for this sham.


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## redzone98 (Jun 10, 2004)

sorin14us said:


> Hy I'm posting this topic for my friend who got a 2009 Routan SEL with a 4.0L engine. He is getting like 8-9 mpg in the city and .
> Thank you.


 
i call that BS. the only way he is getting 8 mpg, is that someone is stealing his gas!!


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## Lief (Apr 17, 2001)

2010 3.8 SE 15 MPG around town is the best we have seen and 20 MPG on the highway. The van now has 700 miles on it and we have been using 87 octane gas since new. Our gas milage has gotten a little better with every tank. We do drive it gently. Combined average milage though is closer to 13.5 MPG as we get about 250 miles on the 20 gallon tank when the fill light comes on and it takes about 18.5 gallons to refill the tank.


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## luckeydoug1 (Feb 11, 2001)

Lief said:


> 2010 3.8 SE 15 MPG around town is the best we have seen and 20 MPG on the highway. The van now has 700 miles on it and we have been using 87 octane gas since new. Our gas milage has gotten a little better with every tank. We do drive it gently. Combined average milage though is closer to 13.5 MPG as we get about 250 miles on the 20 gallon tank when the fill light comes on and it takes about 18.5 gallons to refill the tank.


So, ironically your mileage is probably very close to the friend of OP: sorin14us of 8-9 city and 16-17 highway. 

These things are gas hogs with terrible handling with very low payloads. MY 2003 EV is another box, but is handles quite well, has a very respectful payload and gets me 18 - 20 mpg on a consistent basis, whether I am driving the thing at 80 mph or have it fully loaded. VW really needs to bring us a real VW and ditch this Mopar as soon as possible.


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## redzone98 (Jun 10, 2004)

Id HATE to see what you guys would do if you had a REAL gas hog. Maybe a Ford Explorer, or a Dodge Durango. 

I have been Driving around all week, AC pegged, leaving the van idle to keep the kids cool, 3-4 mile trips, and my trip computer is 16.9MPG after 189miles. 

you 2 probably have similar driving styles, not defective cars.


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

I was happy with our Routan S on its first road trip. We were averaging 25.5 on the highway. To me that's pretty good for a vehicle of this size.


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## redzone98 (Jun 10, 2004)

I Guess to Answer the OP Question of "what to do with it" 


1. use a Premium Quality Fuel (I have the best luck with Shell 87 Octane) 
2. avoid Hard acceleration, and Hard Braking 
3. Try to coast to your stops as long as possible. 
4. Don't drive over 65 Mph 
5. Proper Air Pressure (35-37 PSI) 
6. Synthetic Oil 
7. Clean Air filter 
8. Plan your trips, With the Furthermost Stop first, and work back to Home. 
9. Avoid Trips during High Traffic parts of the day. 
10. Avoid use of accessories, (Headlights, Heat / AC) 
11 Avoid Excessive Idle time. 
12. Remove unnecessary cargo 
13. Remove roof racks


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## routancan (Aug 8, 2009)

Generally seeing around 12.7L/100km (about 18.5 mpg) in mixed hwy/city driving, a/c on part of the time for the past three fills ups. Best mileage was 7.9L/100km (almost 30 mpg), 75 km (47 miles) on the hwy at around 110km/h (68mph). 

Happy with the mileage so far considering the van's size and all (4.0L engine).


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