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VW Jetta TDI

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Comments

  • altieri3altieri3 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks so much to all of you. Anyone know of a reliable independent TDI mechanic in New Orleans?
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Louisiana
    Go Scoot
    1945 Surgi Drive
    Mandeville, LA. 70448
    (985) 727-3143, Al Johnson
    www.goscoot.com
    MAP

    From New Orleans I think that is 40 miles due north west across the Causeway. Apologies, I took LA to mean CA LA LA LA LAND. I have had no personal dealings with this shop, but it did make the word of mouth list on www.tdi.com. Hopefully this will aid you in research.
  • blundyblundy Member Posts: 15
    I've been looking through the VW internet sites and places like Edmuinds and Kelley. I don't see any VW diesels listed. Yet VW had an ad on the tube that they are bringing in more diesels this year. What year is the latest diesel VW got into the US? Thanks.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    My understanding is this would be the 2009 MY.
  • rremer1rremer1 Member Posts: 7
    I got an email from VW saying that the diesel Jetta Sportwagen will be here in August. I had signed up for updates at their web site. Regular gas Sportwagen here in June.
  • icaticat Member Posts: 12
    I have a video regarding fuel filter changing on a TDI but it shows a different housing AND filter than appears in my 2006 Jetta TDI. I can easily remove the cover for the housing by removing a series of star head screws but do I remove the actual filter? I am guessing I have to pry the black cap off but I am not certain.
  • siberiasiberia Member Posts: 520
    Icat, see if these instructions are more clear:
    link title
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Nice differences!!

    However a cautionary note:

    ..."VW in their infinite wisdom has decided to install two different types of fuel filters for the A5. They are not interchangeable, and so you therefore must check the last 5 digits of your VIN. If it's 000001-814062 you need this fuel filter:
    -Meyle 2-hole Fuel Filter 1K0127434A ---
    If it is 814062 or later it's a dealer only item -OEM 1-hole Fuel Filter 1K0127434B --- "...
  • siberiasiberia Member Posts: 520
    That is in the instructions.

    Again, the best way to determine which type of fuel filter you need is determined by your VIN, so when you order a fuel filter, make sure to include your VIN!
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Yes, It is right in the introduction. I repeated it because it bears repeating. Pardon me for offering this contrast, but as easy as the fuel filter change procedure on the A4 (old) was, this is even easier!!! On VW specific web sites, it is still surprising how many questions are generated on the old style. After reading the A5 write up, I can see where and why this would generate even more, starting with using the wrong one!!!

    That aside, I do like the concept of changing just the filter element just like the oil filter design. You do not have to change the steel cartridge-saving a whole lot of resources throughout the fleet. I am surprised by the fact that just the filter element seems as costly as the old part.
  • jim314jim314 Member Posts: 491
    With just the paper element being changed it is much easier to satisfy the environmental requirements. The remaining oil can pressed out of the paper element very easily, reducing the amount of oil ending up in the landfill. The procedure may be that the oil soaked paper element is incinerated.

    The paper filter element was presumably the main cost of the filter. The absence of the steel can means that any flaws in the filter element would be visible, enabling detection of a defective filter. Quality control is enhanced.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Since the majority of vehicles are gasser, makes you wonder why they do not need to meet those same environmental requirements. This is not even mentioning the fact that D2 breaks down far friendlier than RUG to PUG. Indeed during the life cycle great pains are taken to limit RUG to PUGs atmospheric evaporations.
  • icaticat Member Posts: 12
    That was outstanding, thank you.
  • bristol2bristol2 Member Posts: 736
    I am not a current VW owner but could be convinced by this vehicle:
    link title

    Can any of you guys comment on the likelihood of VW truly coming to market with the Sportwagon TDI (non-50 state) in summer 2008 and then with the 50-state just one year later? Seems unlikely to me.

    FWIW, I'm in a non-CARB state and would FAR rather have the non-CARB version.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Reading the article, it says it’ll be 50-state from the start. Fall of ’08. Likelihood of it actually being here in fall of ’08? Pretty good. Likelihood you’ll wanna pay the premium VW dealers are gonna try to get for them? Ha!

    Once the diesel geeks buy them up it might be a different story. The bad part I see right now is a 30% fuel efficiency increase vs diesel running 20+% higher isn’t quite the payback it used to be. I’m still gonna check out the Tiguan if the AWD TDI version actually shows up. To date, VW has never offered an AWD diesel here in the states and I’m not holding my breath. But that’s the one I’ll buy if it shows.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    While not all that fuel efficient the Toureg V10 TDI is AWD.
  • ruking1ruking1 Member Posts: 19,826
    Dumb questions and off topic, but why do you want AWD, does it snow where you are?
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    While not all that fuel efficient the Toureg V10 TDI is AWD. Totally shot that one didn't I? Wasn't even on my radar.....so they haven't build an AWD car or car like vehicle which is where the Tiguan is heading.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Dumb questions and off topic, but why do you want AWD, does it snow where you are?

    Yes, I get into snow. It would be the ulitimate vehicle being able to go where I need to go (i'm sure it would need snow tires) AND get much better mpg than the typical AWD choices out there. Of course if it has a significant mpg penalty it wouldn't be worth it. I can just drive my truck when I'm getting into the nasty stuff which is what I always did with my previous TDI. Say XX required trips using the truck vs a Xmpg penalty for the AWD Tiguan will be the start of the math equation.
  • british_roverbritish_rover Member Posts: 8,502
    Your other option would be Subaru as they are planning to bring their Boxer diesel engine to the states. It is probably still a few years off though.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    I may be in a unique position to comment on this. For many years, I only owned 4X4 vehicles (1976 Chevy Blazer, 1981 AMC Eagle, Honda CIVIC 4X4...etc)

    My wife REALLY wanted to stick with a 4WD vehicle... but I wanted a TDI. We compromized and got the TDI with the ESP option. Here in Vermont winters, this setup works very well.

    Lets not forget that VW has 3 distinct "systems" that help improve driving in slippery conditions.

    1) EDL (Electronic Differential Lock) which automatically applys brake on spinning wheel to force torque to other drive wheel.
    2) ASR (Automatic Slip Regulation) This system cuts throttle if BOTH drivewheels start to lose traction.
    3)ESP (Electronic Stability Control) This system combines ABS with yaw sensors and a steering-wheel-position sensor and can apply brakes on ANY ONE WHEEL. It is almost impossible to make the car go into a skid (I have tried it in snow-coverd parkinglot)

    I have tried to "outsmart" these traction-enhancing systems on snowy roads. If I 'dump' the clutch, these systems immedeatly take over and only accelerate the car as traction permits. If I slam on the brakes, the ABS takes over. If I turn too sharp, the ESP corrects the skid. It is almost uncanny.

    More about ESP

    For your enjoyment, here is VW commercial about ESP.

    Video comparing ESP to NON-ESP

    Here is a writeup about ESP.

    My point? - You may want to REALLY THINK about if you need 4 wheel drive vehicle. All 4WD systems add weight, complexity and reduce MPG. For me, getting up to 56 MPG far outweighs the need to have real 4WD when the other technologies will suffice.
  • cosmocosmo Member Posts: 203
    I would like to add my ditto.

    We drive the Cascade mountain passes several times each winter, and during heavy blizzards when the super troopers decide that everyone who is not driving a 4WD or AWD has to chain up, the biggest challenge driving our Passat and Jetta equipped with studless winter tires is to weave our way uphill through the big burly SUV's that are stranded in the middle of the road because their weight and torque are too much for their "mud and snow" tires to hold traction. I don't worry about the super troopers stopping us because we haven't chained up since they are usually helping the SUV's back down and over to a shoulder.

    Granted, when the snow is so deep you are pushing it with your bumper, a high SUV or 4WD truck with chains on the front tires is about the only way to go. And of course there are those folks who just really like driving on bad, bad roads. (I have to confess to being one of them.)
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    I believe a lot of the trucks/suv’s you see stuck are piloted by dumb-dumbs and/or have car tires. Every 4x4 I’ve bought came with useless highway tires that had to be upgraded. Easy fix, but most folks don’t make the change. I live two miles out a private road, which means if I don’t plow the road, it’s not clear. Our Odyssey has the electronic traction/stability gizmos and even with Nokians it’s not anywhere near as good my previous Audi A6, even with all-seasons. Keep in mind we have a couple very steep hills that you really can’t get a run for so it’s a rather extreme situation. I do know that a Passat TDI with Nokians and ESP would not make it up the road even after I plowed it. One of the members from another TDI club tried to come out the winter before last as I donated my heated building for a GTG. He was the only one to try to come out and I pulled him up with the tractor so we could work on his car. My daughters IS250 comes and goes relatively well. My Jetta with Nokians (pre ESP models) did ok, although I usually tried to leave it sit before the snow hit. It did quite good job on ice though and actually made it up a couple times in ice far better than the slushy snow we get.

    I think most folks can get around fine in 90% of situations with the systems you mention. I’m not fond of walking a mile in the snow up hill and can afford to give up some fuel efficiency. So far driving my trucks/suv's, I’ve never had an issue and going down the hills is a breeze with the low-range. If I could get into a high mileage AWD vehicle and not take a major mpg hit all year, I’d give it a good look. The next vehicle I'd consider commuting in won’t get anywhere near what a VW diesel will get so there’s significant savings all around. I tried an ‘07 Civic for awhile and hated every minute of it.
  • cosmocosmo Member Posts: 203
    Given your description of your "rather extreme situation", I humbly defer to your assessment of what works best. I imagine the blokes of BBC's Top Gear would have a bloody blast producing a road test episode on your private road during a harsh winter.
  • bristol2bristol2 Member Posts: 736
    Someone else mentioned it (and it may be heresy on a VW board) but Subaru is rumored (strong rumor) to be bringing out a diesel Outback in 2010/2011.

    It is a long wait but I am thinking it may be worth it since there is a good chance they will have a version with a manual. This gives me my dream vehicle: diesel on a car chassis giving great mileage, stick shift, awd (which I have no logical need for but a bizarre illogical craving for) and a wagon for handling + space - SUV mileage and corner lean.

    Still if the Jetta Sportwagon does have a version initially come out w/o the CARB equipment as suggested here: link title, I would prefer that since I am not in a CARB state and could happily live without the additional expense and complexity.
  • driverberndriverbern Member Posts: 23
    Can anyone tell me how many miles to expect from the turbo unit? And - how much does it cost to replace?
    Thanks.
  • siberiasiberia Member Posts: 520
    Bristol2,

    I currently own a Jeep Liberty diesel (3rd Jeep) and a 2005 Jetta TDI. Without getting into a discussion about pretend 4WDs drives verses real 4WDs, I can tell you that adding a diesel engine to a good 4WD drive makes it a much better 4WD.
    The diesel engine pulls so steady through bumper deep snow that you no longer have to focus on traction. The diesel engine is less prone to spinning up the drive train and less prone to bogging down. You just steer and try to find the road.

    This may be why some find TDIs to fair well against pretend 4WDs.
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    First; as I plan on getting a car late this year or early next year I will be looking for an AWD, mostly for its marginally better traction in emergency day to day situations -so I like AWD. (It won't be a diesel at this point because they don't make sense for me.)

    Second; As for offroad performance; my 1980 Corolla Auto., RWD, w/o limited slip, and with street tires, was able to negotiate every road I was crazy enough to take it on, very frequently passing AWD's stuck in the... whatever, and never got stuck!

    Better driving on my part? - seems doubtful. Other imponderables at work?- probably. Am I still going for an AWD when buying? Yes - for its overall better handling and recovery on wet, slick city streets where I would be doing 90% of my driving.
  • siberiasiberia Member Posts: 520
    Better driving on my part? - seems doubtful.

    Better driving on your part seems highly probable since you have been driving for at least 45 years.
  • dadgonebrokedadgonebroke Member Posts: 6
    Went to my local dealer in So. Fla. to ask about the Jetta tdi's that are to be delivered to dealers for customer test droves only. I was told that they were brought to them last week but were turned back because gas stations couldn't supply the correct diesel fuel for them to run on. WHAT? That's one explanation I never would have expected. He also said I ws the fourth person to ask about the Jetta tdi that morning.What the heck is going on?
  • hotchickhotchick Member Posts: 2
    NEED ADVICE BADLY!!!

    so I was driving along at about 120 km/h and a puff of smoke came out of my exhaust and then my engine died.

    Had the car towed to the nearest dealership where they told me that the turbo was dead and to fix it would be $2000 - and only after that was fixed, would they be able to tell me if the engine was dead or not.....

    Do I have any options other than to go ahead and fix it? I am guessing that the engine IS dead - and I am sure that is not going to be cheap to fix....the car is only five years old and has only 117000 kms on it....

    Is this common? Should I just cut my losses and say buh-bye?

    If you respond to this - please be kind - I really know squat about cars....that is why I am asking here - tired of being soaked!!

    PUH-LEAZE HELP ME!!!

    Thanks so much!!!! :)
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    I have a 2003 TDI myself and would like to hear how this turns out.

    It is very unlikely that pieces of the turbocharger got past the intercooler and into the engine.

    A TDI engine should be able to idle and run without a turbocharger (with very little power).

    Since your engine died, I am thinking that the sequence of envents may have been more like.
    ENGINE had problems... then metal pieces from engine got into turbocharger making it blow itsef up. (Keep in mind the turbocharger spins at ~20,000 RPM... it does not take much for it to blow apart.)

    You asked for options... If your enigne cannot start and idle WITHOUT a turbocharger. Then replacing the turbocharger may not be enough to get it back on the road again.
  • peachtree103peachtree103 Member Posts: 182
    I'm hoping that you got bad info, as is common from dealers on a pre-launch.

    If VW screws up this launch, and/or continues to delay, it puts a nail in their coffin as far as I'm concerned. They already have both questionable quality and a questionable dealer network. If they plan on delaying the re-launch of diesel any longer, I might as well just go ahead and buy a hybrid and/or wait another year until Nissan/Honda/Subaru and many other mainstream manufacturers (that are actually considered reliable) have diesel available.
  • hypnosis44hypnosis44 Member Posts: 483
    I think most would agree that 45 years of driving on city streets is no preparation for driving "off road" in street tires in my old Toyota without incident, while passing others stuck on the sides in their "AWD Off road" vehicles. And anyway, experience beyond that required to reach reasonable competency is drastically overrated.
  • hotchickhotchick Member Posts: 2
    yup. a bunch of stuff in the engine is bent. I can't remember all the stuff because my head is just reeling....it will be $11,000 to fix.

    Needless to say, I won't be fixing it. :cry:
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    will be $11,000 to fix.

    With out doing any research I would think it would be cheaper to put in a new engine rather than rebuild. Just my WAG.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 234,725
    Or... look for a used engine? :surprise:

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  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Or even better....get a 2nd opinion!! Particularly if this is a dealer we're "dealing" with.
  • bpeeblesbpeebles Member Posts: 4,085
    Are you sure that it was not your TIMING BELT that broke and caused all these problems? It sure sounds like a timing belt break to me.

    It cannot be repeated enough times... If one does not replace the timing belt at the reccomended intervals... one WILL end up with a boat-anchor for an engine.
  • icaticat Member Posts: 12
    I have a 2006 TDI and it has been great, We recently moved from the town where we bought the car to Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Any suggestions for a mechanic. It is a pretty major hassle to drive to the dealership in Akron.

    Thanks
  • siberiasiberia Member Posts: 520
    Trusted mechanics by state:

    link title
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    I have also heard of a good one south of Akron about an hour in West Lafayette (literally a one stop-light town). Swails is the name, I've not dealt with them directly but know some folks that only go to them.
  • mwachsmwachs Member Posts: 1
    Hello,
    My '94 Jetta VR6: turned on fan/circ.: clanking roaring sound and a foul smell. A couple days later sound disappeared but still no air; heater might be out to. Am afraid to try again. Smell is back. What does this sound like?
    Mary in Santa Fe
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    possible shredded rodent in there. on the bright side, it's probably not a capybara.
  • vwguy1776vwguy1776 Member Posts: 3
    hi,
    I recently had to shell out $2000 to replace my turbo that failed due to excessive carbon buildup. I own an 02 Golf TDI with 77,000 miles on it. The extended warranty company is balking at covering the cost due to the presence of this excessive carbon. I take good care of teh car and am pissed. does anyone else have this problem? any suggestions when i sue the extended warranty company? DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A CLASS-ACTION SUIT AGAINST VW FOR THE [non-permissible content removed] TURBO IN MY GOLF?
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    hello vwguy1776. no i do not know of a class-action suit nor that one could ever be won. it might be more appropriate to sue the fuel companies for the fuel and the govt for requiring EGR, but that wouldn't be a winner case either. the problem is often seen on vehicles where the engines were run lots at low rpm. since it's fixed now, be sure to "blow out the carbon" at least once per day, rev it like crazy to get on the highway or whatever.
  • blundyblundy Member Posts: 15
    Great ssuggestion to wind it up fairly frequetly. I have just over 100K and my egr is carboned up and refuses to open. My little check engine light goes on, the one that suggests emmisions should be checked. All else is fine. My mileage is slightly better now, about 50mpg. It seems to me that better mileage is less polluting than dropping a few more carbons into the atmosphere but I'm sure the government has thought it out real well as they usually do. If my EGR continues to stay shut, what is the downside, other than emmisions? Thanks for any and all advice on this. I'm interested in making this a long distance machine.
  • icaticat Member Posts: 12
    A couple of months ago I was having serious hesitation and lack of power issues on my '06 Jetta TDI and called the dealer to ask what might be the problem. Over the phone he said it was carbon build up and it would cost at least $1000 to repair it. I was not buying it with only 45K miles on the car. I changed my fuel filter and started using a diesel additive and the vehicle runs like new. I really have to question the diagnosis at 70K.
  • dieselfitter1dieselfitter1 Member Posts: 42
    YES! Always use a diesel fuel conditioner. Remember,our Jetta Diesels are not 18wheel highway tractors pulling HEAVY LOADS!

    You will get OVER-INTUITIVE people saying: If these additives were so good,the oil companies would be putting it in at the refinery. The fact of the matter is that they DONT and THEY WONT!

    If you drive mostly city,you might want to use more conditioner. The excessive carbon buildup that they are talking about is in the intake manifold. It gets there VIA the EGR system. I disconnected my vacum line so that the valve wont open.I am cocerned about carbon breaking off and getting sucked into the combustion chamber. Just my 2cents worth.
  • eliaselias Member Posts: 2,209
    hey there blundy. some people block off the EGR on purpose with a plate. So I think you might be fine leaving it that way, with no significant downside, maybe not even any change in emissions.
    I think it's of more concern if the intake clogs up with carbon. and probably that's less likely to happen now that your EGR is blocked!
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