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At recent 30K service the dealer “Found TPI No 2018861/3 that need to update engine control unit and gearbox control unit, carried out update on both control units (SIC)” in response to my report of occasional harsh DSG engagement at takeoff.
The DSG improvement is another story but it is the change to the engine that is of interest. Whereas power/torque used to come on tap a bit abruptly (woohoo factor), power/torque now comes on a lot smoother over a slightly longer timeframe (also smoothing out the DSG initial engagement).
The big change is on fuel consumption. The science is not yet exact as I have not plotted it over a long enough period but:
• MFD consumption used to consistently drop below 6.0 (L/100Km) at the 10 Km point (local school) on my daily drive to work, but that now occurs at about the 7 Km mark.
• Before the update the 400Km drive to visit grandkids (Townsville to Yungaburra) consistently returned a MFD consumption best of 5.6 at the end of the 280 Km coastal run to Innisfail deteriorating to a best of 6.2 at journey end, as I always give it some up the Palmerston (twisty with steep climb and descent sections for an overall climb of about 3000ft to the Atherton tablelands).
• Since the update, same journey with same driving style gave a MFD consumption of 5.0 for the last 50 Km of the coastal run with 5.4 at journey end.
• Return leg gave 5.3 at journey end (mainly downhill at the start)(previous best 6.1) and fuel guage hit ½ at 640 Km, promising the previously elusive 1200 Km per tank.
While other aspects of the service may have had some influence on the consumption improvement I recon that the ECU update has delivered a 10% or better improvement in the already impressive fuel consumption.
While my experience is with a Passat, the update may also be applicable to Jetta / Golf with 125KW TDI and there may be a similar update for the 103 KW TDI if this one does not apply.
Worth talking to your service agent about if you don’t already have it.
The DSG improvement is another story but it is the change to the engine that is of interest. Whereas power/torque used to come on tap a bit abruptly (woohoo factor), power/torque now comes on a lot smoother over a slightly longer timeframe (also smoothing out the DSG initial engagement).
The big change is on fuel consumption. The science is not yet exact as I have not plotted it over a long enough period but:
• MFD consumption used to consistently drop below 6.0 (L/100Km) at the 10 Km point (local school) on my daily drive to work, but that now occurs at about the 7 Km mark.
• Before the update the 400Km drive to visit grandkids (Townsville to Yungaburra) consistently returned a MFD consumption best of 5.6 at the end of the 280 Km coastal run to Innisfail deteriorating to a best of 6.2 at journey end, as I always give it some up the Palmerston (twisty with steep climb and descent sections for an overall climb of about 3000ft to the Atherton tablelands).
• Since the update, same journey with same driving style gave a MFD consumption of 5.0 for the last 50 Km of the coastal run with 5.4 at journey end.
• Return leg gave 5.3 at journey end (mainly downhill at the start)(previous best 6.1) and fuel guage hit ½ at 640 Km, promising the previously elusive 1200 Km per tank.
While other aspects of the service may have had some influence on the consumption improvement I recon that the ECU update has delivered a 10% or better improvement in the already impressive fuel consumption.
While my experience is with a Passat, the update may also be applicable to Jetta / Golf with 125KW TDI and there may be a similar update for the 103 KW TDI if this one does not apply.
Worth talking to your service agent about if you don’t already have it.
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