Hi everyone,

I have an Audi A3 2010 1.6 TDI, and I'm dealing with a really frustrating overheating issue. The engine temperature behaves oddly:

At 3000–4000 RPM, the engine stays around 90–100°C (which seems normal).

But at 1000–2900 RPM, the temperature shoots up to 130–150°C.

This is really difficult to manage, especially in city traffic where you can’t keep the revs that high. On top of that, fuel consumption is way up.

So far, I've taken it to a garage and they’ve done the following:

1. Replaced the water pump – no change.

2. Replaced the thermostat – no change.

3.Replaced the entire radiator/condenser – still no improvement.

After all this, the mechanic now says there might be a blockage somewhere or an issue with a cluster, but he’s asking for more money to look into it further. I’ve already spent a lot, and I’m not confident they know what they’re doing anymore.

Has anyone faced something similar? What could be the issue here? I’m at a loss and don’t want to keep throwing money at guesses.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Edited March 23, 20251 yr by Rohith
Didn't mention the Engine litre

Hi Rohith,

Have the coolant temperature sensors been checked? It's strange that the engine is colder despite it working harder.

The 1.6 TDI has 2 sensors (many do not know this). When facing the car with the bonnet open, 1 sensor is located on the left side in a pipe going towards the EGR, the second is on the right side basically in the engine itself.

My recommendation would be to find someone who has VCDS (I'm happy to help if you're able to make it to West Yorkshire) and measure the live data from both sensors. If there's a big discrepancy, it's possible one of the sensors has gone. The fact that your fuel consumption is up and your engine temperature is behaving in the opposite way it would if there were a blockage makes it more likely to be a sensor issue.

Edited March 24, 20251 yr by ertdes