2022 T6.1 Ocean Fuel Consumption

[Resfeber]

Theres another sign certainly on a an Ocean with the digital dash, the large gear indicator goes from say D6 showing that I'm in drive in 6th gear goes to just D, I seem to remember the loan panel van I had with the none digital dash had the gear indicator in the MDF & the it did the same.

Agreed but the rev counter dropping to idle on lifting off cannot be interpreted as anything other than the vehicle being in coasting mode hence the vehicle must have this function

 

[PhilR]

I didn’t think my MY23 6.1 had this function so I tested it today. I was about to post saying it didn’t have it as I didn’t get the “D” showing on the dash…….well not for a while, but then all of a sudden whilst descending it went from “D7 to D”, so it IS there and working! Just not figured out what causes it to activate. It doesn’t always do it as I tried a few times. My “old school” way of dropping it into “N” still works better a lot of the time. The reason VW say not to do this is the safety aspect but if you’re careful/sensible it isn’t an issue and hasn’t been for me for 38 years!

 

[andyinluton]

My “old school” way of dropping it into “N” still works better a lot of the time. The reason VW say not to do this is the safety aspect

Its not just safety, Vw warn "The DSG dual clutch gearbox will not be lubricated and could be damaged"

 

[Corradobrit]

Its not just safety, Vw warn "The DSG dual clutch gearbox will not be lubricated and could be damaged"

Agreed. The risks easily outweigh any potential benefits. In fact I see some reports saying mpg actually increases when left in drive. In neutral the DSG does not pump oil in N so the risk of overheating and causing damage increases.

 

[Mr B]

I didn’t think my MY23 6.1 had this function so I tested it today. I was about to post saying it didn’t have it as I didn’t get the “D” showing on the dash…….well not for a while, but then all of a sudden whilst descending it went from “D7 to D”, so it IS there and working! Just not figured out what causes it to activate. It doesn’t always do it as I tried a few times. My “old school” way of dropping it into “N” still works better a lot of the time. The reason VW say not to do this is the safety aspect but if you’re careful/sensible it isn’t an issue and hasn’t been for me for 38 years!

The simple way you can force activation is accelerate to a speed and then abruptly lift your foot off the accelerator.

The revs will drop to around 900rpm.

(Alternatively if you are in cruise control flick the little switch on the stalk to deactivate it and you will normally go straight into 'Coasting' mode)

If you cycle through the MFD display on the dash one of displays will show 'Coasting'.

I use it all the time when I'm trying to be as economical as possible - but the averages over time don't lie.

I can get around 40mpg on some journeys but normally that is due to elevation and the opposite journey will bring the average back down to roughly around 34mpg for my van.

As others have said running the van in 'N' is likely going to cost you a lot more than saving £2 on a journey.

 

[chockswahay]

There no way of toggling it on or off on a T6.1 the van chooses when to turn it on & off itself.
So far I've found the following will prevent it working:
Touching the accelerator
Touching the brake
Aircon on full blast
High electrical load - heated seats & screen all on
Battery needing charging
Any situation where the stop start isn't turned on.

Ah, of that lot the only one that could apply to me is the stop start….. I do turn it off (prob more often than not) and therefore can not say hand on heart what effect it might have had. Regarding other details I can of course only say what I see….. On my van I have never seen the gear selection show ‘D’ and the revs have never yet gone to idle when I attempt to coast……. I will try next time out in the van and report back

 

[PhilR]

Thanks for all the info on using Neutral. I honestly didn’t know that it could cause problems, so I’ll stop doing it now!
Drove from Braemar to the Midlands yesterday, with just a couple of stops. Drove sensibly and to the speed limits at all times. So this is more realistic…..

 

[Resfeber]

Theres another sign certainly on a an Ocean with the digital dash, the large gear indicator goes from say D6 showing that I'm in drive in 6th gear goes to just D, I seem to remember the loan panel van I had with the none digital dash had the gear indicator in the MDF & the it did the same.

Regarding confirmation of “coasting” being operational, in the T6 if instantaneous fuel consumption is selected on the MFD “Coasting” is displayed
(see attached images).
@andyinluton Does the T6.1 have the option to display instantaneous fuel consumption on the digital dash and if it does what does the display show when coasting
“200 mpg”,
“- - - -“ or
“Coasting”?

[/QUOTE]

 

[Mr T]

Here’s my trip today in the Grand Cali 600, looking at some comments in this thread, I’m very pleased with this!

 

[Phillip T]

Thanks for all the info on using Neutral. I honestly didn’t know that it could cause problems, so I’ll stop doing it now!
Drove from Braemar to the Midlands yesterday, with just a couple of stops. Drove sensibly and to the speed limits at all times. So this is more realistic…..
View attachment 104013

Mines been low of late, wind and low temperatures dont help.34mpg since December over 1400miles with alot of heater use, but the range is from 30-38mpg.

 

[chockswahay]

Ah, of that lot the only one that could apply to me is the stop start….. I do turn it off (prob more often than not) and therefore can not say hand on heart what effect it might have had. Regarding other details I can of course only say what I see….. On my van I have never seen the gear selection show ‘D’ and the revs have never yet gone to idle when I attempt to coast……. I will try next time out in the van and report back

I have just been out for a drive in the van..... full battery, stop/start on...... deffo NO coast function

 

[Calimili]

I have just been out for a drive in the van..... full battery, stop/start on...... deffo NO coast function

Coast function not available on Coast version , but Beach and Ocean have it?

 

[Corradobrit]

Coast function not available on Coast version

Thats just all kinds of wrong. A Coast without Coast feature. The Coast in UK might have additional features versus EU spec, which is really bare bones.

 

[chockswahay]

Well.... at least I can park my Coast by the Coast

 

[yossarian]

I have just been out for a drive in the van..... full battery, stop/start on...... deffo NO coast function

Maybe worth an obd scan? My understanding is that recent vans need this function to meet advertised emissions.

 

[Amarillo]

Well.... at least I can park my Coast by the Coast
View attachment 104089

I can park my Beach on the beach.

It is Ocean owners who struggle.

 

[chockswahay]

Maybe worth an obd scan? My understanding is that recent vans need this function to meet advertised emissions.

I hadn't thought of that, maybe worth a try.... my son has one and i am seeing him next week

 

[willwander]

Coast function not available on Coast version.

misnomer

 

[Phillip T]

I can park my Beach on the beach.

It is Ocean owners who struggle.

sure some have ended up in the Ocean

 

[Hawthorn37]

Sorry there's a fundamental typing error in what I said.
It should have read:

It does have it, all VW with the DSG box have it as standard.
Theres no longer a tick box in vehicle settings to turn it on & off.

T6 had a tick box, the T6.1 doesn't, it works automatically. drive up to a reasonable speed on a level or downhill bit of road & take your foot of the accelerator the gear indicator will change from showing say D7 to just D
Turn it off by putting gearbox in manual mode, or touch the accelerator or brake.

I’m going to look out for the D symbol and revs dropping over the next few days! Mind you, a trip to Norfolk might not be the best to try it out

 

[CampervanTime]

A few quick observations - we found that the coasting function is disabled if you have any thing plugged in to the towing electrics (even a bike rack etc), plus it also didn't make much (if any) difference to the MPG.

What did make a substantial difference is what wheels and tyres we ran. On the standard 215 wide van eco tyres we could regularly get 40+ MPG out of a 70mph motorway slog in our 4mo T6.1, but with winter 235 section tyres this dropped to about 34mpg, and with summer 235 section it was about 36. The van eco tyres run at 10+ PSI higher (so 50odd PSI) and give a horrible ride quality but excellent fuel economy when compared.

We also found our T6.1 204 4mo to be about 2-3 mpg better than our previous T6 204 (non 4mo) in every type of driving.

 

[Peter84]

@CaliforniaTime interesting observation. My van came with 235 all-weathers, what would be an advantage of the wider tyres over the narrower ones? Slightly better traction? Although I think that would be neglectable for normal use. Will probably replace with 215 once these are worn out.

 

[PhilR]

A few quick observations - we found that the coasting function is disabled if you have any thing plugged in to the towing electrics (even a bike rack etc), plus it also didn't make much (if any) difference to the MPG.

What did make a substantial difference is what wheels and tyres we ran. On the standard 215 wide van eco tyres we could regularly get 40+ MPG out of a 70mph motorway slog in our 4mo T6.1, but with winter 235 section tyres this dropped to about 34mpg, and with summer 235 section it was about 36. The van eco tyres run at 10+ PSI higher (so 50odd PSI) and give a horrible ride quality but excellent fuel economy when compared.

We also found our T6.1 204 4mo to be about 2-3 mpg better than our previous T6 204 (non 4mo) in every type of driving.

Agree with this Will, the 215’s are definitely a poor ride. Not surprising given the high pressures they run at too. I’ve got my winter wheels and (235) tyres on at the moment and the ride quality is much, much better, and worth the extra fuel cost as far as I’m concerned.

 

[CampervanTime]

@CaliforniaTime interesting observation. My van came with 235 all-weathers, what would be an advantage of the wider tyres over the narrower ones? Slightly better traction? Although I think that would be neglectable for normal use. Will probably replace with 215 once these are worn out.

Don't do it!!

The 215s have a horrible ride quality compared to any 235 wide tyre (winter / all season / summer) and the 235 tyres run lower pressures which helps too. It's a really significant difference. We did a back to back comparison video on it.

 

[Peter84]

Fair point @CaliforniaTime