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Yes, it is kinda fuzzy math converting HOURS to MILES... however, your numbers do not match the others I have seen regarding the design-hours for the original TDI engine.
In any case, the suspension, body and other moving parts will wear out long before a well- cared-for TDI engine.
I dunno, I just think it's setting expectations unrealistically high.
But you are 100% correct on suggesting the point is moot, since very few cars survive long enough to even *get* near 400K---they succumb to collision, vandalism, or some other catastrophe of wear and tear.
Getting back to the TDI in general, here's an interesting road test of the 2011 TDI---interesting in that it tested fuel economy in a "conservative" "normal" and "fuel mileage be damned" mode. The conclusions were not what you might expect:
2011 Jetta TDI Road Test
I am much more interested in the facts -n- figures. The MPG numbers they acheived are to be expected from a test-mule vehicle which was most certainly not broken-in with loving care. Also, the best MPG is not realized until after about 30,000 miles. (Even my gasoline engines had better MPG after about 30K.)... this may be due more to the gears, bearings and other moving components of the drivetrain "losening up".
I find it interesting that some "testers" tend to forget this is a large-heavy vehicle with a lot of amenities... yet they insist on comparing it to a hybred which was specifically designed to be efficent. (Small and NOT adorned with all those amenities.)
---they did in fact gather quantitative data. It might not be the *best* science, but it is better than throwing out numbers over a couple of beers.
I do agree, though, that comparing the Jetta to a hybrid rather misses the total picture.
Actually it wasn't the fuel mileage per se that interested me--it was that spirited driving yielded almost as much fuel economy as being conservative. That's what I thought was worth mentioning. It rather speaks to the characteristics of diesel engines I think.
Definitely not.
Some gas engines behave this way too, but IMHO it seems to be mostly moderate horsepower / performance vehicles. If you try this with a Camaro SS, it won't work out in favor of leadfooting. But I bet the results would be highly similar for other sub-200 HP compact and midsize cars.
I have a diesel Ram and an Olds Achieva SCX, both with 5spd manuals. I use two routes home from work, one highway, the other stop and go. The diesel loses 5% FE on the stop and go route, and the Olds loses 10%. That's with babying the Olds and flogging the Ram, too.
I am sure you know that this is because a gasoline engine CANNOT be run lean under any conditions lest the pistons will melt. Hence, the fuel-injection MUST be maintained based on the throttle-plate opening. A gasoline engine is constantly wasting power creating a vacuum against the throttle-plate.
A diesel engine has no such restriction and is actually throttled by controlling the amount of fuel injected. There is no throttle-plate in a diesel. This is another reason a diesel engine gets such good MPG... it is not constantly working at sucking a vacuum against a throttle-plate. Instead, the power goes to the wheels.
BTW: My TDI gets 56 MPG carrying 4 adults and luggage in 90 degree temp and the AC blasting. (I have repeated this over several 14-hour drives)... a hybred cannot even dream of doing this. (I am not sure 4 adults would last 14 hours in a hybred anyway)
What speed are you travelling at?
Your car is bigger and more comfortable than the midsize hybrids that are available now or are coming on line soon??? I'm not saying any hybrid would get as good as mpg as you say you are getting but there are plenty that are as very comfortable and bigger than a Jetta or Golf.
I haven't seen anybody else EVER report those kind of numbers with a loaded car. Approaching 50mpg maybe but that's it. I have heard of cars(gas and diesel) hit that number when they are being driven at 35-40 mph for a short periord of time in controlled conditions in some kind of mpg contest but not an everyday driver. That must be some car you have there.
Its not the same as diesel ignition though.. of course.
I'm kind of wondering that myself. After the second stranding I called another tow truck, and the tow driver, who drives a diesel all day, managed to get it to start after I couldn't. So I drove it back to the dealer, and then had them walk out and try to start it again. It wouldn't. So they got to see that after a long drive it won't re-start. It is there now, getting checked over again. Hopefully they'll track down the issue and it will be cheap to fix, since I'm already out of warranty.
I usually lock in the cruze-control about 6MPH over the speed-limit. This is because I know that German automobiles purposly read about 2MPH higher than the actual roadspeed. (Hence, I am traveling 4MPH over the limit.)
I also know that my TDI engine torque-peak is at 18000 RPM, this translates to maximum MPG at 55MPH.
You may sense that I am an engineer and use my knowledge to squeeze the best MPG out of my vehicles.
The "optimum" gasoline-air mixture is known as stoichiometric. (14.7 to 1) This means all the oxygen in the mixture is 'used up' after all the fuel burns. HOWEVER - in practice, this considerd a lean mixture and is only a theoretical optimum mixture.
I could go into the theory behind 'swirl' combustion-chambers, multi-valve heads, dual sparkplug, specialized cooling systems and other 'tricks'.... but the bottom-line is that for a gasoline engine, one HAS to inject extra fuel to keep things cool and prevent pistons from melting.
Back in the 1980s, Chrysler introduced the "Lean Burn" engine. It was a great concept... except that it overheated and melted pistons. A gasoline engine cannot be run lean without generating excessive heat in the combustion-chambers. This is simply the nature of the beast. There is no engineering to get around this fact.
SURPRIZE!!! Gasoline is actually not the best fuel for automobiles. If we were starting from scratch with no infrastructure, I am certain that engineers would recommend a different way to propel people in an automobile. But this is what we have, and there are drawbacks to using gasoline. One of these drawbacks is that running lean will melt pistons.
Then another scary instant happen to me on the highway about 2000 miles later. my car jerked while I was driving at around 60 mph on the highway. It felt like as if the car applied the breaks on its own. It happened multiple times during a 200 miles trip. Many warning lights came on for a short time but only the steering warning light stayed on for a while. Ultimately the engine limped and partially lost power and I had to pull off the road immediately. The car was finally towed to a dealership. They claimed this time the problem was a loose connection in the ABS module. However, the ABS warning light did not stay on when all these happened, until ultimately many warning lights stayed on.
I am very concern about these two critical safety issue and wonder whether they are actually related; both happened at highway speed. I would like to find out whether any of you have the same experience with the 2011 Jetta TDI Sportwagen.
As for problems, the only things I see in the Technical Service Bulletins list of any relevance is issues with 02 sensors on the 2010.
There's also a vaguely related recall campaign about a temperature sensor affecting the DSG automatic, making it shift into neutral and illuminating the "depress brake pedal" light as well as causing the gear indicator light to flash. Don't know if this is related exactly, but it kinda fits your situation.
The recall is
MFR'S REPORT DATE: August 20, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V333000
NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE09035
COMPONENT: Power Train: Automatic Transmission
POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 16000
Does anyone know the real story or how to add this later?
Thanks
My previous vehicle was a Jeep Liberty CRD that threw a rod at 77,594 miles. I am battling Chrysler at this moment to make them pay for the repairs.
I have a mind to say the JSW TDI is NOTHING like the Jeep Liberty CRD. As you probably know the JSW has been the "hot" version Jetta and TDI. As such, there are less of them made/imported and they are normally sold at a premium. They have held their resale numbers and percentages over sedan TDI's, albeit slightly. The additional thing about the later models is most JSW's are actually TDI's (last I have read 84%) . I myself have a 09 Jetta sedan (that MY sold 25% TDI's). So fire away if the TDI portion is of interest to you.
As to size, that is now irrelevant. I never took the Jeep offroad except once to try it in that environment. I bought it primarily for the diesel engine which is made by V.M. Motori in Cento Italy. They have been building diesels since 1947 and have a fairly good reputation. I have looked at and test driven the JSW TDI with the DSG trans. It was comfortable, quiet and had sparkling handling. It was a bit sluggish off the line but had very good mid-range power.
Thanks to all who have contributed answers. I would also like to hear about the 2005 and 2006 Jetta TDI. I would also like to hear about problems, maintenance costs, etc.
I have followed your whole ownership of the Jeep CRD. I am sorry to hear of your problems with that engine. I know you have kept everyone up to date. That just seems crazy it would not last any longer than 77k miles. What is a rebuild going to cost? I would imagine the Chrysler BK protects them from any kind of litigation. A real bummer.
On the Jeep blog someone mentioned the "Secret Warranty" or "After Warranty Assistance". I read that article and came away very angry at Chrysler. The article implied that loyalty also means getting your vehicle serviced at the dealer and getting your vehicle serviced elsewhere or doing it yourself is considered or implied to be an act of disloyalty toward the manufacturer.
When I purchased the Jeep in 2005, I did look at a Jetta wagon. I found it tight to sit in considering I was coming from a Dodge Dakota Pickup with the extended cab. I also looked at a basic Passat TDI wagon but the dealer I went to insisted that they do all of the maintenance because of warranty issues if I did the work myself. That was a real turn off for me.
I will be leaving work early today to look at a Kia Sorrento. A Toureg is just too much money. CarMax has 2009 and 2010 Jetta TDI sedans and wagons for a few thousand less than new and they have 20K or less on them. They also have a BMW 335d for $36.5K. It had 19K miles on it. If I had the money I might jump on that one.
I would think an independent diesel shop could overhaul that CRD.
The dimensions of the JSW have almost radically changed but really, not by much. The fact the 2005/2006 JSW's are PD engines might be the good/bad news and present buying opportunities. As you probably have heard PD engines seem to have a higher RATE of camshaft failures R/R can take the better part of a 2,000 dollar bill.
Some people had to pay for it out of their own pocket, others didn't.
Some covered by VWUSA "out of warranty". Some not. Sometimes the dealership would split the cost of whatever VWUSA didn't cover. Probably there are 95 variations of how it was handled in different cases.
(But I think we can guess which customers the dealerships mostly tend to go-the-extra-mile for - convincing VWUSA/zone-office/corporate to step up and pay for these by-design out-of-warranty failures.)
Needless to say , there are great TDI/VW dealer service depts, and others that are not so great. The one nearest to me happens to be fantastic....
sincerely,
armchair-mechanic