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Volkswagen Routan Real World Mileage

ben87ben87 Member Posts: 4
in Volkswagen
Got my Routan SEL PREMIUM and the gas milage is the worst. VW says that I should be getting 17 City and 25 Highway so on a full tank 350 miles city and 500 miles highway. Average is should be 400 miles.

My car only does an average 250-280 miles. I took it to VW and they tell me everything is fine with the CAR. The computer shows nothing wrong. how about I am losing 100 miles a fill up as really wrong!!!
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  • jim_j_cjim_j_c Member Posts: 4
    I'm sorry to say my friend if you checked this van out before you purchased it you would know its really a dressed up Dodge/Chrysler. They are very well known for not reaching their EPA numbers. Read the reviews at Auto-week or Consumer reports for the numbers. Good luck.... :surprise:
  • tipoytmtipoytm Member Posts: 4
    I don't know about people who complain regarding the Routan's gas mileage... we recently purchased a base 2009 VW Routan SEL (4.0L)... and I have to say the EPA estimates on city/highway of 17/25 is SPOT ON. The first 300 miles of the minivan netted us 17.5 city average. Just this thanksgiving weekend, we took the Routan to a 1,500 mile road trip (back+forth total) and we averaged 24mpg on the highway! This is with 4 adults + 2 small children w/ carseats... and plenty of baggage. I didn't just rely on the MPG reading on the console, I measure mileage by using the full tank of gas vs. miles driven method (which is the most accurate way of measuring actual fuel consumption).
  • ragonragon Member Posts: 1
    I've got about 6,500 miles on my Routan and it's never gotten over 13 mpg in city even after a 800 mile highway trip at about 5,000 miles. The last two tanks have averaged around 11 mpg, and that's after the 6 month oil change, tire rotation and upgrade on transmission software. My dealer's response was that I should have noted the fine print that says the mileage can range from 17 mpg city down to 13 mpg and that there is no way to determine what the problem might be if no warning light comes on. I traded my 2001 Chrysler Town and Country AWD for this car. And even with a dying transmission that car was averaging around 14 mpg. Before the transmission started to go I was getting around 15 mpg and I note again it was an AWD, which is supposed to get lower mileage. I just want to know if anyone has been able to solve this problem if it is indeed a pervasive or even sporadic problem with the Routan?
  • towheadtowhead Member Posts: 1
    As a person above said, the Routan is really a dressed up Chrysler T&C. I have an 08 T&C Limited with the 4.0. It gets 24-25 on the highway at 65 with the AC on. I think that is great for such a large & heavy vehicle. The mileage around town varies from 14-17 according to the computer. I think part of the low city mileage is the way we accelerate with the perky engine. I know I sometimes chirp the front tires taking off and enjoy the relatively brisk acceleration. City mileage is a big variable because of so many factors-length of trip, acceleration, number of stops, etc.
    My biggest worry is the brakes. If you go on a Chrysler minivan forum you will find a large number of complaints about premature brake wear. I'd advise checking the brakes after the first 5000 miles and then every 2-3000 miles thereafter. Some reports seem to indicate that the brakes don't wear at a constant rate. Wear seems to accelerate as the pads are used up. So keep a sharp eye on them or change the pads to something other than the OEM pads
  • stjohnsstjohns Member Posts: 2
    With the 6 speed tranny we get great mileage. No issues withe 4.0 liter V6:)
  • ben87ben87 Member Posts: 4
    So here is the skinny on this -

    I would not have complained one bit if VW / Chrysler / Dodge or whoever makes the car would have been honest about the MPG.

    If you promise something, stand behind it and deliver - does not matter who the company is.

    The reason we switched from a SUV to a Minivan was because the gas milage was suppose to be so much better 17/25. Instead I am getting similar milage to the 7 passenger SUV that we had before this. 13/19

    My wife loved her SUV and I convinced her that this would save us money on the gas, instead I feel like a fool but that is because, I / we were lied to and deceived.

    Anyway, the car is alright on the highway (Freeway), but is really bad in the city.

    I drove my car to vegas, pretty much hitting 80 mph all the way, full minivan + luggage.

    Full tank gave me 350 mpg (suppose to give 500 mpg)

    In the city it only gives 220 mpg (suppose to give 350 mpg)

    Average is 250-280 MPG - depending on how much more we drive on the Highway (Freeway)

    If you drive under the perfect conditions which is highway (Freeway) at 65 mph, then I think it can be cranked up to 400 mpg on a full tank.

    The car on all levels is awesome, it has everything anyone can ask for in a car, minivan, suv or whatever you want for a family car. (our is the fully loaded SEL Premium) 45K + Tax 2009 model

    Our minivan is just amazing BUT not on the gas milage - it is what it is and that is what I specified above.
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    You're really not giving us much useful information here. How many miles per gallon are you actually achiving can only be calculated by diviiding miles driven by gallons consumed. So, record your mileage, fill up the van's tank, drive it, then repeat the process. Do the calculation and please post it here. Saying how many miles per tank is not useful or accurate - how soon did you fill it? How accurate is the fuel gauge? I can say that my Passat gets 250 miles to a tank or I can run the tank a little lower and say 300. But if I say I'm getting 23 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway, that's a bit more meaningful.
  • ben87ben87 Member Posts: 4
    The car does

    11.5 MPG City
    17.5 MPG Highway

    14 MPG Combo (City + Highway)

    You can crank it up to 20 mpg highway if you drive at the perfect speed of 55-60 mph
  • altair4altair4 Member Posts: 1,469
    Thanks for posting the calculated mileage. Wow. What is the terrain like where you live? Lotsa hills?

    Where I live and drive, I pretty much get as an overall average of a couple of MPG over the city rating, regardless of what vehicle I have at the time. I can see why you are diappointed.
  • ea7576ea7576 Member Posts: 10
    Drove from Chicago IL to Tampa FL. 2010 Routan SE 3.8L. Hit a high of 23.7MPG level driving 75MPH. Averaged 22 MPG over entire trip (95% HWY)
  • bob550kbob550k Member Posts: 148
    I'm doing a bit of reading about these as it's time to replace my wife's minvan.

    Sounds like the 4.0 gets better MPG than the 3.8.

    I wonder what the cost difference between the Chrysler and VW is for a brake job. The best I can make of it so far is they have different brakes and suspension but the remainder of the drive train is the same.

    I want to run one for 100k - 120k miles and I'm a bit spoiled from the great MPG, incredibly cheap and infrequent maintenance on our aging Olds Silo van. But at 122,000 miles it's just time to let someone put the old girl to work as an Airport Taxi.
  • texasgeotexasgeo Member Posts: 1
    Seems that what we are told about how we drive really does affect our mileage tremendously. We just purchased a new 2011 Routan SE with the 3.8 L V6. I don't think that I could be happier.

    We drove the full length of the Natchez Trace Parkway yesterday going about 55 mph with two adults and a lot of luggage. We started with just about 1000 miles on the odometer. When I filled up in Nashville last night, we had gotten 31 mpg. Amazing ... I would have been happy with mid-20s. But since I drove on a great road with little traffic to accelerate around and pass, and because I was driving that "sweet spot" speed, then I probably achieved the best mileage possible.

    Now when I'm at home zooming around the crazy Houston traffic going up to 75 mph even in town and accelerating to pass all the time, then my mileage has been about 15 mph.

    It's simply a tale of two driving styles. The engine and 6 speed transmission when run in the Eco mode do a great job when we drive responsibly. What else can be said? That's what we've always been told by the experts.

    I'd definitely recommend the Routan from what I've experienced so far. :)

    P.S. We also used to have a fully decked out 98 Silouette. I like the way the Routan handles better than the Olds. MUCH less rocking of the body in the VW.
  • benwheelerbenwheeler Member Posts: 1
    About 5 months ago, we purchased a used 20009 VW Routan with about 25k miles since new. Our first trip into Dallas for shopping we got 24.2 mpg and we were blown away. We were also getting mid to high 18 mpg driving around our rural area and small city traffic. Then we started experiencing a "shutter/light miss fire at certain speeds and mpg dropped dramatically; now running a high of 17-18 on the highway and 15-16 around town.

    Took the car in to the Dealer and they read an error code of P0706 meaning something was wrong with the Transmission Range Switch. The "master mechanic" drove the car and felt the "shutter", but there was no time to do further testing or repair that day, as it was Friday. Made an appointment for Monday and took the car in for that problem and a faulty rear seat. They kept the car all week, fixed the seat; but claim that since the error code had some way cleared itself, there was nothing they could do.

    We're stuck with a vehicle that has a problem; but if it doesn't throw an error code, then today's "master mechanics" have no idea what to do. Does anyone out there have a clue as to what is going on? p.s. the vehicle was originally sold in Calif., so has all those special emission things.
    Looking for answers in Texas.
  • bdguerrero_25bdguerrero_25 Member Posts: 2
    I bought a 2009 VW Routan van thinking it would be good on gas, nope I was wrong. VW/Chrysler needs to really do something about this gas mileage issue. Its a nice van physical appearance, but horrible when it comes down to the mileage. I don't know about others but mine has a hard shift when I put it from Park to Drive. I can also feel the transmission shifts. I feel I have waisted my money. I am really disappointed. I want to take my kids on outings but can't because I have to make sure I have enough money for gas to and from. Plus when I was buying a VW i wanted a VW all around including engine. If the sales would of told me it had a dodge engine I would of never bought it. But why should the sales tell me that info they want to sell a car.
  • ben87ben87 Member Posts: 4
    So its been a couple of years since I began this conversation / thread. Below are some updates:

    When I bought my 2009 slightly used VW Routan SEL Premium with almost 12k miles it was a great buy at $30k as it was fully loaded with all the goodies across the board. This was especially true since it had a 5 year / 60k miles warranty as a certified pre owned

    The negative side to it was that the van / car came with too many Chrysler / Dodge parts, in particular the engine, transmission, and breaks.

    I had lots of issues with that van - primarily the transmission along with the poor mileage getting an average of 12 miles per gallon.

    Eventually that van turned out to be a lemon so(transmission issues) I was offered a new one by VW and I took the 2012 SEL Premium which came with 1 new feature (blind spot detection). This one has a smaller engine 3.6 as opposed to the 4.0 and with that you get excellent mileage, which is great. Drives excellent, no issues and we love it, its an excellent Van.

    This is why i was really puzzled when some folks said that van was great, so indeed its the luck of the draw, some of the vans are excellent and some are straight up clunkers.

    Hope this helps -
  • bdguerrero_25bdguerrero_25 Member Posts: 2
    Yes I total agree about being a lemon. Another thing I forgot to point out about mine is the oil. I am having to check the oil, it's seems to be a quart low very often. It burns really fast not sure where it's going but it's not leaking.i would love to trade in mine as well. I am not a proud owner!
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