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Just bought my first diesel. 130 TDI. Should it be stalling on me as I coast round corners in third or try to start in second or am I just a lazy petrol driver who should learn new tricks.
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I took delivery two weeks ago of my Citroen Picasso 2.0HDi after only driving petrol cars for twenty years ther than the odd hire van.I noticed a difference even though it is still running in particularly how slow you can go in 2nd and 3rd comapared to a 16 v petrol.I would suggest that changing gear will work wonders and as for setting off in second you must want expensive bills coming your way-use first or get an auto box.If you damage your car due to bad driving practices you will not be covered by any gurantees
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If you've got a rev counter I suggest that using the band between 1800 and 3500 will keep things ticking along nicely.
Don't labour and don't thrash.
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Don't understand your 'coasting in third' comment but the one thing I find impossible to do in a diesel is stall. If I put my car in third and release the clutch slowly, without gas it will move off. Second gear starts are for Transit Diesels - use first gear, second is OK for downhill starts.
The numbers on the rev counter after 3,500 are only there to fill the dial!! Getting the needle in this area is a waste of fuel, change at 2500-3000 revs and you will make good progress.
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I mean driving round a corner in third at about 15 mph. car just stalls. I stall this car every day often many times usually at low speed or starting. Should I check with the dealer or is it the nut holding the steering wheel.
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Welcome to the world of diesel driving. Adapting your technique takes a while but the dividend of effortless progress and the ability to control the speed without constantly swapping from accelerator to brake is so relaxing.
As the other guys say check your rev counter and use the gearstick to keep in the 1800 - 3000 powerband. You don't say what kind of 130 you have but my HDI 110 Xantia does not want third much below 30. In fact I find second in 30 zones helps with keeping to the limit. At 28 it's doing about 2750rpm and quite comfortable. Get to 35 and 3500 sounds raucous.
Fifteen mph in third is likely to force the engine under it's natural idle speed and invite a stall.
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15 mph seems a little slow for third gear, I know my diesel wouldn't like it!
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Its a characteristic of the engine, again, watch the revs. I have a similar unit in my Seat Alhambra, and my wife stalled it all the time at roundabouts when we first got it. I still get caught myself. The gearing is taller, so you can find the rpm falling quickly and you are off boost. Don't need to use the gears much on an open road, but exactly the opposite in town or at roundabouts. You get used to it.
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A very august contributor to this forum finds that (when it's not stuck on the back of a tow truck) his diesel works best with some Cambridge rollers towed behind in the middle of a field...
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"I stall this car every day often many times usually at low speed or starting"
Erm, in that case, try choosing a lower gear for what you're doing until you don't stall the car every day.
V
PS I pity the person who bought your old petrol car that had been chugged round at 15mph in third and started in 2nd.
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Brad,
In my experience, turbodiesels have a much narrower useable power band than petrols, and work best between 1500 and 4500 rpm.If you are frequently stalling your diesel, you are just driving it in the wrong gear, that's all.
Go back to basics, and use 1st to pull away. Change up when your engine speed is high enough to keep your revs above 1500 in second. Repeat as necessary. You will soon learn where the power band is on your particular car. The art of getting the best out of a modern diesel is to keep it spinning within that band.
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Isn't it bad for the clutch to move off in second? My Xsara is practically un-stallable. It's only happy in 3rd above 20MPH (very loud and slightly worrying banging noise below that, dealer assures me it's normal...), but 4th is best. I can drive a 15 mile B-road in 4th with sharp bends, steep uphills, and long straights, with speeds from 25MPH -> 60. Still get over 50MPG too.
I think if you're stalling it going round corners you're doing something wrong.
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I too had a problem occasionally stalling my first turbo-diesel engined car (a Ford Galaxy 115 bhp TDi) until I got used to driving it. There was some correspondence in the Telegraph a while ago berating the large number of cogs in modern gearboxes yet, as the comments above clearly indicate, a turbo diesel engine does have a narrow power band. A 6-speed box is therefore ideally suited to a TDi: the numbers are for go, not for show. I find that 2nd for slow corners, 3rd for winding roads, 4th for 40 mph cruising, 5th for 60 mph and 6th for motorways works very well.
My current car has the latest VW 2.0 136 bhp TDi engine which is far better and will readily rev to the 4500 limit. It is more petrol-like in its behaviour and hence easier to get used to. I think the problem is particularly marked when you also drive a petrol car and have to consciously switch techniques when hopping from one to the other.
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This thread's like an itch that I have tried to ignore but have to come back to scratch.
Why do you think car manufacturers go to the trouble and expense of putting in a first gear if it's good driving to set off in second?
And if you're going round corners and stalling at 15mph in third, consider again why the car manufacturer put in a gear lever that could, just could, be used to change down to second?
I don't care if your car's petrol, diesel, lpg or natural gas powered, if it has a gear lever, use it.
V
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My Passat 1.9 Tdi has stalled on me once or twice, through my own carelessness. While it has a fair degree of torque at low revs, that seems to drop away rapidly if one goes too slow - and if it does stall as one tries to accelerate you get a kick like something's hit you gently from behind!
I'd echo what others say on here - use the gearbox to the full, keep the engine in its sweetest, or happiest range - no labouring or high revs.
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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Hear hear. I cringe when I see people starting off in second gear. (That said, the MB 123 with a 4-speed auto box only ever uses 1st gear if you use the kickdown.)
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No, to first question.
Yes, to second question.
Use your ears and listen to the engine.
I've been driving diesel cars (Peugeot)for the last 11 years. No problem.
Welcome to diesel driving.
Enjoy.
Den
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