pcom2001

I have a three week old a4 3.0 automatic/tip and have noticed that the car gets terrible gas mileage (approx 15 mpg highway) and seems to want to slow down more than usual when I take my foot off the accelerator. It is almost as if the car is fighting with itself to keep going. I took it to the dealer for a road test... They pretty much blew me off and just said that the wheels need to be balanced and that the slowing down is the "brake assist" in the car. It doesn't seems right to me, why should the car need to have its wheels balanced so soon, and why wasn't it doing this for the first few hundred miles. I feel like the poor gas mileage is related! Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Specs. 2003 A4 3.0 Quattro Tiptronic, Brilliant Black with 17" Pirelli P6 Tires, Gray interior...
pretty sharp looking!

April

the speed at which the pedal was activated to see if it is a panic stop, so as to go into full ABS braking mode.

The transmission does have a torque converter that locks up and stays locked up under a variety of conditions to give engine braking. Makes the car feel more sporty and in control - more like a stick shift.

The first 1000 miles or so are break-in miles. With an AWD car especially, all the parts are wearing in and causing a little extra friction until things are seated. Mileage should gradually get better as you get up to 5000 miles. At 10,000 the car should be considered fully broken in.

As for balancing the wheels, do you feel any constant vibration from the suspension when the car is moving ? If not, then wheel balancing usually isn't going to do anything. Check your tire pressures though, as that can make a large difference. 30 to 35psi is pretty normal.

needforsleep

tires (sport package I assume) then it would seem to slow down like you state. Was the last car you drove considerably lighter than the A4 3.0/tip?

Have you checked your tire pressure lately.
It's possible you have a tire that is running low. It's hard to tell when a low profile tire is running low a couple of psi but it would make a difference on how it handles and it's fuel economy.

To be honest, it's very hard for me to keep the fuel economy above 19mpg during the first 10k-20k miles. It seems easier now.

I would also not trust the MPG guage. It's not uncommon for that reading to be off. You can adjust it using the VAG-COM software.

Calculate the fuel economy for yourself. Also you might be using Trip 1 in the display which resets itself after the car is shut off for a long period of time (usually reads lower due to constant resets). Use Trip 2 and reset the MPG after filling up and see what your MPG is like before your next fill up.

Projekt 8E

but it is possible that your tires are out of balance even off the lot.

DRG

Could it be that your hand brank isn't fully disengaging and is dragging?

DolphinV8

15 mpg? you've got a heavy foot

FireBirdSC

then again, I am a slow driver and do 80 miles/day to work of which 78 miles are on the freeway

sou17

and compain.. about the sevice of that dealer...

than they'll do it right...

Serious

That's what I had for the first couple of months. I'm up to 19 mpg after 9k miles and increasing. On long freeway travel, I get about 25. And, yes, I have a leadfoot.