VW Jetta TDI

gagrice · April 2005

Christian,
Welcome to the forum. I have a question. Are many TDI owners in Canada using biodiesel? If so are you seeing any problems arising from the use of it?

PS
Capitals are considered kind of rude, like you are yelling. We do welcome your expertise in the VW TDI field.

pusterracing · April 2005

Are many TDI owners in Canada using biodiesel?

Speaking of that, for grins and giggles I filled the truck up with B2 on Wednesday just to see what, if any, difference it makes. Unfortunately, my truck sits in the drive most of the time so since I filled up I have only driven approximately 75 miles in the truck. If this behaves like regular #2, which I don't see why it wouldn't, for two tanks, I might try B20 in it. Just to see. The real test will come with the travel trailer hooked up to it. But once again, in theory there should be no noticeable performance difference (and so far with B2 there has been any decrease or increase......but you can get a hint of the difference in the exhaust fumes....)

The only problem with using Biodiesel is I have to drive 20 miles to get it....and it isn't on the way to anywhere.....in fact it is way out of the way. Premium Diesel is right around the corner at the Sunoco....but I figured I'd try a few tank fulls.

gagrice · April 2005

I have to drive 20 miles to get it.

That is not very practical. One of the guys I work with lives in So. Dakota. He uses B20 in his 2005 Ford F250 with good results. He gets it at the farm Co-op for less than # 2 diesel at the regular stations. I read where Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson's wife are using B100 in their Jetta's over on Maui. No worry about gelling there. I hesitate to try it as long as I have the ULSD that is recommended by VW for my new Passat.

catlin2 · April 2005

hey bud! I have the solution for you. The slow car pisses you off huh?!? my car use to be so slow i would have to give it all it had at a red light just to keep up with traffic in front of me. What was wrong was my MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR $$500$$. Replace it your self its easy if you need to know if thats what it is simply unplugg it if her car stays running thats what it is if your car dies thats not what it is. If you need to know more please contact me im interested to know what it is. if you need to know where it is contact me. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

foisy · April 2005

Hi everyone ! I have question for everyone ? I currently own a 2000 Grand prix GTP and before that i have always had Honda's I recently bought a delivery business and fuel economy is going to be my biggest hit in the wallet. So I have been looking into a 2004 VW Jetta. Besides looking really hot I hear the TDI is getting between 1000 to 1100km's to a tank of fuel. going to be putting between 250 and 300 k m's a day. So seeing those kinda of numbers almost turns me on ( lol ). Do you guys think i'm in the right direction or what? Thank you for any input.

robd · April 2005

HELP

Have a 2003 Jetta TDI, the motor spins and does not start is there a sensor or switch or fuse that is bad?

Thanks :lemon:

gagrice · April 2005

delivery business and fuel economy

Welcome to the Forum. If what you are delivering will fit into the Jetta Wagon I would highly recommend it for your business. It you don't mind using the stick shift you can get over 40 MPG in town and 50 MPG on the highway. If you can find a new 2005 I would recommend that. The 2004 models seem to be pretty expensive. Good resale value in many parts of the USA. I think there are still some deals around. Are you in Canada? In Oregon there are dealers selling them close to invoice as the 2006 models are in the showrooms. No 2006 TDIs or wagons yet.

My dealer recommendation is Armstrong Buick VW, ask for the Internet salesman, or email him.

moondance3 · April 2005

Need new ones (at 56kmiles?) 1 dealer say it needs to be 'programmed' (can only be done at the dealer) 1 says it does NOT need to be programmed.
Called VW cstr svc who called a third dealer in the area who says NO to programming. Should I go with the best 2 of 3?

moondance3
(who wants her old '65 bus back)

burnjo · April 2005

My check engine light on my 2001 Jetta TDI comes on and when I check it with a diagnostic tool I get an error code P0402. I have a repair manual but this code does not exist in the list. Does anyone know what this code means.
Thanks a lot
John

bpeebles · April 2005

The P0402 code means "EGR System: Excessive flow"

Check if your intake manifold is plugging up.

cisa · April 2005

Hi,

This is my first message posted on the forum. I am living in Canada. I own a 2003 Jetta 2.0l and I am very pleased with it

, but we need a second car (for my wife) .We decide to go for a 2005 Jetta Station Wagon 1.9 TDI, 5spd, with ESP and side curtains - without any other packages.
I went to the dealer and I get a rough quotation around: Total MSRP of 28,430.0$
But with:
- Admin.Fee65$
- Freight 595$
- PDI 485$
- Air conditioning Tax 100$
It came around 29,675.0$

- My first question to you guy, before I go any further with the negotiations, is if you can tell me how much I can negotiate the price? We would like to negotiate somewhere to 26,000.0- 26,600.0$ CAD. Is this possible? Now with the new 06 Jetta arrived to the dealers can we get any advantage of this?

- We decide to go for this new car. Wouldnt it be a better idea to buy an 03 TDI engine with low km instead of a PD engine? Is it the same reliable as the old TDI was?

I would really appreciate if you guys can help us to make the right decisions.

Thank you

truevw · April 2005

Wishing you Luck in the $ Battle,
I used to work for a dealership in the States and they can all be the same sometimes. Feed you a high price and let you drop down to the price they intended. Nobody should pay MSRP for a new car. That's why they have all of those crazy adds on radio and TV. My dad taught me that Used is the way to go. You should cut out the initial costs buy letting a leaser or new buyer take that. I have a 2003 TDI VW sedan and it is terrific. I would have gotten a wagon, but they were few and far between at the time in my area. I already have 52k miles on it and not a problem. Treat them right and they will return the favor. Costs can be extra for the new pumpe dusa TDI (2004 and up). I could go on and on about the benifits of the old to the new, but both are still great cars. Just remember that 100, 000 miles on a TDI is about 25-50k on a gas. They last forever if you want them to. Good luck with the buying search. If you have andy questions you may feel, give me a buzz.

TrueVW

truevw · April 2005

Sorry to say, but we (techs in general) could use just a little more info. Sometimes these questions can get annoying, but they can help. Here's a couple of questions to ask.
- Does your car make a certain noise or motion when it does this?
- Do you wait until the glow plug light goes out?
- Does any other light flash, stay on, or not even show up?
- Gotta ask, Sorry---Do you have enough fuel in tank or is it gasoline in the tank?
Answering these questions for techs on the forum could really help you.
Good luck with the car and fixing your troubles.

jetta2002tdi · April 2005

Hello All,

I have a 2002 Jetta TDI, and we keep having problems shifting out of Park. The dealer has replaced the Park/Neutral Position relay twice, but the car keeps having the problem intermittently. The last time I took the car into the dealer, they couldn't get the problem to reproduce and gave the car back after 3 days. We then used the car for 4 days with no problems, but yesterday it took 5 minutes to get out of park. That is 5 minutes of sitting in a parking lot pressing in / releasing the brake until it finally decides to flip the relay.

Has anybody had these same problems, or anybody think of something I can do to make this problem go away. Giving it to the dealer doesn't really help much if they can't reproduce it (since they won't fix it). It is still under warranty.

bpeebles · April 2005

I dont have an automatic -- but I seem to recall reading about the switch on the brake pedal being an issue. (It senses that the brake pedeal is not pushed so it will not allow shif out of park.)

QUESTON: Are your brake lighs ON or OFF when this problem occours?

jetta2002tdi · April 2005

it suprised me, but the brake lights do not light up in the bake when I push in the pedal (in the case where it won't shift out of park). They do light up when the car allows me to shift.

Does that imply that the relay isn't the real problem, but a problem in the wiring connection for the brakes? I guess now I should also be worried that my brake lights are not coming on when I'm driving.

bpeebles · April 2005

Like I said above -- THE SWITCH ON THE BRAKE PEDAL!

If you dealership was not able to diagnose this simple problem --- STAY AWAY FROM THERE! They are boneheads.

From my research, this is not an uncommon problem. You can reseach it youself on the internet. There are even step-by-step pictorial diagrams how to change the switch on the brake pedal.

It was even the source of a RECALL ( Campaign Number: 04V096000 )

It is a $10 part
http://www.autopartsworld.com/2002_volkswagen_jetta-iv-tdi-diesel_brake-light-switch_parts- - - .html

INSTALLING A NEW BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH

pruzink · April 2005

If you replace the glow plugs yourself, be very careful to tighten them to the correct torque (the head is aluminum, overtightening will strip the threads), check out tdiclub for the correct torque and procedure. Stripping the head will certainly ruin your day, there are a few other aluminum parts you need to be careful with also(the oil drain plug, and any engine mount bolts).

cisa · April 2005

Thanks "trueVW"!

I will follow your advice.

Cisa

dkovsky · May 2005

I test drove a Jetta Wagon today and loved it, a GLS with TDI. The salesperson told me that they aren't going to make more wagons (at least for the US) until the 2007 model year. Does anyone know if that is true? He said it was a very recent announcement.

Thanks.

sgarrett · May 2005

I too have been looking at the Jetta wagon TDI and YES they are discontinuing the line. I am looking for a TDI Auto and they are hard to come by now in the Northeast. Only one left in the color I like. Salesman tried to get me in a Passat with the Diesel, but the fuel economy just isn't like this wagon.

odd · May 2005

Hi, I am very new to this all. I have a 2001 Jetta TDI, in the winter I was climbing a hill and all of a sudden I lost power, after having it looked at the dealer said there was nothing wrong that they could find. Now I am having the same problem again, it idles a bit higher, the check engine light is on (has been for a while, I am learning to live with that!!) and and the glow plug light flashes. It will run fine and then all of a sudden I can feel that I have no power (step on the gas pedal and it does nothing) If I turn it off and re-start it it goes fine again. I am totally baffled, please help. Thanks

bjones2 · May 2005

Hi, I just thought I would pass on this information in case anyone else out there has had a similar problem. I own a 2004 Jetta GLS TDI, currently with 39,000 kms on it. Recently, the car has been having trouble starting when it is around 0 degrees celcius and above (up to about 10 or 12 degrees celcius). After 5 consecutive mornings of having this problem (the car would turn over, but not start, and would take 3 or 4 separate tries before actually starting), I took the car into the dealership. They advised me that there was a recall out, and that the glow plugs, fuel injectors, and glow plug relays needed to be replaced. Thankfully, this was all under warranty. The next morning, after I got the car back, the same problem occured. It hasn't happened again since, but I'm still worried. Has anyone else run into this problem?

bpeebles · May 2005

Shame on you to be driving with the Check Engine Light (CEL) on.

If the CEL is on , the onboard computer has logged a problem and anyone with a computer reader can tell you what the code is. (Many autoparts stores will read the code for you for FREE)

You should not be "baffeled", the computer is putting the engine into "limp mode" because it has sensed a problem and is trying to reduce further damage. Turning off and restarting also resets the "limp mode".

bolts37 · May 2005

I am looking to buy a 2003 Jetta TDI. It has been a pain to find one that is even available, let alone one that is available for a reasonable price. I am leaning towards a used car (not from a dealership) but I dont think anyone is looking to sell theirs with gas the way it is right now.

Does anyone know where I can find a 2003 TDI for around or under 15,000?

ljsilver · May 2005

I have owned this car since it had 39,000 miles. Now it has 72,000. Thankfully I purchased the extended warranty which covered most issues I found in this forum. There were some problems along the way. Starting the motor without cycling the key a few times always threw the check engine light on. Fuel,egr,maf,harness and glow plugs and finally replacement of the ECM. The extended warranty runs out in 8,000 miles. I am seriously thinking of trading it in for a used 04 tdi passat. Do they have all the kinks out? I also wanted to know if synthetic oils have to be used if one were to change the filter and oil every 3-5k miles? Old habits die hard, and 6-7 dollars a quart is insane. Should I just keep what I have or is there more major problems when I reach over 80,000k.
Thank You

bpeebles · May 2005

The synthetec oil is MANDITORY for the TDI. There is no such thing as 5W40 that is NOT synthetic. Also, you must use oil designed for a diesel engine. A diesel engine "loads up" the oil with soot, normal crankcase oils cannot tolerate that much soot.

The cam wear rates using dyno-oil are unacceptable and the turbocharger bearings can cook themselves to death with dyno-oil. If you use dyno-oil in a TDI engine (especially the new Pumpe-duse engine), you will wear out the camshaft prematuraly.

Changing the oil at 3K miles on ANY automobile is a big waste of time, money and the envronment. Even todays dyno oils are significantly better than even 10 years ago. The ONLY people that suggest 3k mile change intervals are the folks that GET PAID to change your oil (and the people that sell oil)

Go to Wallymart and get the 5-quart jug of "Mobil1 Truck&SUV" (5W40) It has been shown to be a re-packaged verson of the their famous "Delvac1" oil that the truckers use. At my nearby Wallymart, the cost-per-quart for this stuff is $4 when purchased in the 5-quart jug.

The TDI engine has a life expectancy of about 400,000 miles. You will not be wearing out the engine before the seats and pedals wear out ;-)

kevmuskoka · May 2005

Hi "bjones2",

I have run into this as well, same car as you with the same kms. I took it in last week and they performed the recall as well. It is now (as we speak) being looked at again after I brought it back and had the same problem.

I'll let you know what they come up with hopefully later on today.

smdtdi · May 2005

Hi

I am in a similar situation. I just bought a 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon GLS.

It is a 5 speed with heated, velour seats and ESP.

I paid $21,740 (US dollars) for it.

I'm not sure what the exchange rate between canadian and US dollars is now, so I have no idea if you got a good deal.

I could have bought a 2002 with 50,000 miles for about half that price, but I have never bought used before, and am a little leary of doing that.

The nice thing about the older, 90 hp models (pre 2003 I think) is that they get slightly, better mileage...49 mpg vs. 47 mpg for the newer, 100 hp TDIs.

I'm reasonably happy so far after a month of driving. I average 46-47 mpg, and am happy with the passing power at highway speeds (0-60 time is slow though).

I have had only a few minor complaints...a passenger door that won't always open from the outside..and a bit of difficulty shifting into 4th gear on occasion.

My advise to anyone looking to buy one....get the leather package...it adds a lot of nice features ,,,(trip computer with gas mileage indicator, distance to destination, etc, an outside temp guage (its nice to know when the roads are freezing), lumbar support, and steering wheel mounted controls for the audio and cruise control)...in addition to the leather seats.

jch · May 2005

Hi smtdi,

I bought a 2005 Jetta GLS TDI Wagon just like yours, but with the leather package, back in September. The trip computer was NOT part of the leather package, actually. It didn't seem to be available on the TDI. I would have gotten it if I could (it is the only thing I miss from my 98 Grand Cherokee - including the 4wd, which I didn't think I could live without in our winters!). This car is wonderful, even in the snow! By the way, those leather seats are pretty frigid on a cold winter morning, until the seat heaters get crankin' (fortunately that doesn't take very long).

kevmuskoka · May 2005

Bjones2,

They think they have fixed the problem, and so far this morning everything started right.

The first time, they performed "the recall" on something to do with a crank sensor or something. That didn't fix it.

Now, they found everything seemed to be working right with the exception of a little bit of an air leak from the fuel filter. New filter and it started fine this morning. I'll know in the next couple of days if that will fix the whole problem or not.

odd · May 2005

I realize all that , but this happened to me in the winter as well and the dealer (VW) could not find anything wrong, no codes??? I don't know but they scanned it and said all they could figure out was that the carpet was rolled up a bit under the gas pedal!!!

nullifier · May 2005

I've owned two diesel cars in the past: a Royale and a GOLF and got great service from both for many years . When I sold them I received close to what I'd paid for them used. SO I THOUGHT that I'd buy the new Jetta TDI in a month or two when they come out and receive the same service. But then I started hearing about $70 oil changes and timing belts that need replacing every 40000 miles. Then I read about the trouble people are having with the sensors and even having trouble finding the correct oil to use in the engines. One man had written about having to run injector cleaner thru the engine all the time and some of the "Diesel heads" was talking about "Bio diesel". For crying out loud, I never had trouble finding oil for those cars much less looking for "bio diesel". Now, I'm wondering if this new fangled TDI is for me. Can someone shed some light, please.

smokedog · May 2005

I am having the same problem with my 04 TDI. First time around at the dealer they could not find anything wrong. Two weeks later and the coolant light is back on. Going back this week for another go. Not holding my breath for a satisfactory resolution, they seem rather clueless.

devildog35 · May 2005

I've got a problem with the factory radio in my Jetta. I pick up a whole lot of static. I can't lock in on stations unless I manually tune in the station. If I turn up the volume on the radio I can make out what is happening or listen to some music. Does anyone have an idea what is happening with this radio? Please help me out with this problem, thanks.

bjones2 · May 2005

Update on my car,

Well, after performing a couple days of diagnostics on another car in the shop, they narrowed the problem down to the fuel pump. After having replaced the pump, my car seems to be just fine right now. Hmmm, seem to remember a recall out for that pump as well. Pretty interesting stuff.

sesmith · May 2005

Hello - I have a 2000 jetta TDI - had the same problem - no power - engine light stays on. Dealer took 4 trys to get [non-permissible content removed] fixed. every time it was a different issue. Final outcome was an issue with the turbo injector system that was covered under the warrantee. BUT I spent $1700 on getting other things fixed that had nothing to do with the real problem.
BE CAREFUL - tell them to drive the car up hills to feel the loss of power.

bebe7 · May 2005

I had the same problem, three times. The last time within 1-1/2 weeks of the problem having been "fixed". The dealership likes to zero in on the check engine light, which did not come on until days after the problem manifested itself. I suggested they look outside the box and not nickle and dime me to death trying to determine what the problem was not. They eventually found that I needed a new turbo. This is part of the powertrain and is warranted to 100,000 miles. Lucky me, I only had 93,000 miles. Problem solved.

fullrut2 · May 2005

hello and thanks,
bought a new 2004 tdi, manual trans..love it so far but now I am coming up on
4500 mile..what oil should I use and filter??? looked at owners manual and am more confused.can I use the mobil 1 4w40 truck/suv???? please help as I want to do my own oil changes and need some advise.
thanks, doug

deutschdiesel · May 2005

Hello:

I have a 1998 Jetta TDI, and the check engine light came on lately. I checked out the code and it says; P1550, idle speed control, but I can't find any resource to confirm that. I lose power, and i can't seem to find anything wrong with it besides the check engine light and half the power. The turbo is whining just fine. I have always changed the oil with fully synthetic 5w40 (mobil one), air filter, fuel filter, and oil filter. It only has 78000 miles on it! I am struggling here, can anyone help me?
P.S. where is the idle speed control, I thought this thing was mechanically injected?

deaner14 · May 2005

Well, after driving the '02 TDI around for 2.5 years I've got my first major problem:

I couldn't put the car in gear. Well I could, but it involved a great deal more strength than "normal" and then I could never downshift.

I had a mechanic look at it and have since made all the necessary fixes. Interestingly enough he told me the pressure plate was cracked in three (3) places. Any ideas on how this may have happened?

Thanks

Deaner

jeb4ua315 · May 2005

I need help and can't get any answers from the dealer. I have an '05 Jetta TDI and have never been able to put more than 11.5 gallons of diesel in the tank, despite the fact that the specs say it is a 14.5 gallon tank. I can run it 45 miles after the fuel light comes on and still max out at 11.5. Has anyone else experienced this problem and does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, am I supposed to be able to use the information panel that shows the outside temp and gas mileage? Mine stays black and the dealer said he doesn't think it works on TDI's. Seems odd to me. Anyone know if he is right?

bouldertdi · May 2005

Yesterday I had my car at the dealership to replace one glow plug (it was one that had been replaced already and was under warranty), the mass airflow sensor, and the brake light switch. When I picked it up in the evening, the check engine light was still on. Since it was the end of the day, all of the mechanics had gone home so they told me to come back in the morning.

This morning I went in and they reset the light. About 5 miles down the road, the AC went from cold to blistering hot with no warning, it just started blowing hot air. I called the dealership and have an appointment to bring it back AGAIN.

Can anyone tell me if the AC is anywhere near any of the components they fixed yesterday? I'm hoping it is something they did, so that they will pay for it (the car is no longer under warranty). When I called, I asked about that, but the supervisor was completely non-committal. Has anyone had this happen? Thanks in advance.

chrisb7 · May 2005

I have a 2003 TDI and started to do my own oil changes. I see in the manual, you should empty the water evaporator? I can't find it on the car? Does it need to be emptied or cleaned? If so how do I go about doing that? Thanks for any help..

bpeebles · May 2005

The water seperator is par of the fuel filter. The following movie explains it all.

http://www.cincitdi.com/richc/fuelfilter.html

sebring95 · May 2005

Couple things here.....Diesel fuel foams a lot and many diesel pumps are very high flow.. Both of which can contribute to not getting a full tank on a TDI.

There is a small button inside the filler neck, this will "burp" the air out of the tank while you're filling. There's a way to remove it, but I don't have time to give the details now. You can hold the button in with the nozzle while you're filling (can be difficult, but you'll get the hang of it) and you'll hear the air rushing out. I routinely get 14 gallons into my tank when on flat empty. When the tank starts getting full, Hold in the button in with the end of the nozzle and pump the fuel in slowly. Usually 2 more gallons will go in doing that You can actually fill the fuel right up to the rim of the filler neck, but I don't recommend that unless you're going to be driving for quite a few miles.

chrisb7 · May 2005

Thanks for the video clip, that makes it alot easier now. Wow, of course VW couldn't tell me that...

chris

pkipnis · May 2005

We just got a 04 Jetta TDI and it's great. I have a question as to the proper way to attach the front license plate to the bumper. The bracket seems to need two (1/2 11MM ?) holes drilled into the bumper but I'm concerned about messing up the bumper. If anyone knows the correct way to do it, I'd be most appreciative if you'd share it.

xertes · May 2005

I have a 2001 Jetta TDI sedan. It has almost 93,000 miles on it, and recently, it has lost a lot of power. I had my local gear-head check it out, and he said he thought it was the turbo, it seemed not to have any boost whatsoever. He doesn't know VWs that well, and thought it might have something to do with the Waste gate. I need help! What might be wrong, and about how expensive would a fix be? Is there any trouble shooting I can do on my own to try to figure this out? By the way, I am looking to trade up to a new Jetta TDI in the near future, and want to get this problem fixed so I can sell the car or trade it in. Thanks for your help!!!

sebring95 · May 2005

Low power at your mileage is most likely caused by either a clogged intake or a bad MAF sensor. If it hasn't had a new MAF, it's probably bad and they can be picked up online for around $100. You can try to check this by disconnecting the MAF and see if the power improves. It's located on the outlet of the airfilter and has an electrical connector on it. Just disconnect the connector and see what happens. If power feels better, that's likely at least part of the problem.

The clogged intake is a bit more difficult to explain how to diagnose on a forum like this. Here is a link to explain how to clean it. http://tdiclub.com/TDIFAQ/TDiFAQ-7.html#g If you follow the instruction for the A4 models through about #7, that should get the basica apart and you can at least inspect things. If the parts are "gunked" up inside to the point where a substantial portion is clogged, then it will drastically effect performance. I've taken some precautions to avoid this, and mine isn't too bad. Here's a pic of an EGR that's gunked up a bit:

I've seen these gunked up to the point there's barely a dime-sized hole. ">

VW Jetta TDI

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