Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Our local Drew VW is also very good. CA has a disadvantage on diesel technicians as we were late to the game. CARB had them blocked for several years, until the latest version. I took my 2005 Passat TDI to Drew for its service until I sold it. Cost less for that high priced oil change than my Sequoia with Dino oil change.
The dealer in Oregon I bought the Passat from told me keeping good techs was expensive. He sold Buick and VW. And his best tech left and went to work for the Cadillac dealership. He could not match the $150k per year salary. That was in 2005. Not sure if the economy has caught up to that wage or not.
That Florida dealer told me that Chrysler would do diddly-squat before the District Manager even showed up. The dealer where I purchased the CRD has told me that the Florida dealer was rather SHADY.
Going out later to look at a replacement but in the meantime, I am continuing my battle with Chrysler.
I asked several questions of the tech concerning how the DPF regenerates. Turns out that they could not (VW diesel techs) could not answer this. But what I did learn is this, there is no extra injector/valve to dump fuel into the exhaust stream to cook the soot so the only other way to do this is to spray some fuel into the combustion chamber at the end of the exhaust portion of the cycle when the exhaust valves are open. Now this is not without its consequences. As I have read, not all of this fuel gets exhausted/pushed out of combustion chamber and some does remain and gets on the cylinder walls, thinning out the oil film on them. Also, some does get past the rings into the crankcase causing oil dilution and a reduction in lubricating power.
The Einsteins (sorry Albert) at VW may or may not have taken this into consideration but some of the major U.S. diesel engine manufacturers including Cummins and Caterpillar have issued bulletins for their newer engines calling for more frequent oil changes because of fuel dilution of the crankcase oil.
With this in mind, it would behoove the owners of the newer TDI (2009+) to consider more frequent oil changes say every 5000 miles versus the 10000 miles VW calls for.
Part of the VW 507 specifications is to be able to go to 31,069 miles (aka 50,000 km).
Sidebar was 30,000 miles was recommended if one had engine warranty demand concerns as the BIG warranty is more like 3 years and or 36,000 miles.
Oil analysis is all fine and good but using 60K miles driven as a baseline reading is senseless. Beyond 60K miles is the issue and as injectors wear, they do not work as efficiently as when they were younger so they may not close as quickly or they could leak and since there is an extra spray of fuel during the exhaust cycle during DPF regeneration that means, depending on driving habits, faster injector wear/break down. Oil change intervals are an issue too. I feel that 5K is about as long as one should good on a crankcase full of oil be it gas or diesel and even if the oil is a synthetic.
Oil analysis is really the sum total, if you will of all those things you mentioned in effect MANIFESTING itself in the oil ! Ergo that is the real reason for the analysis. There is really NO question that all those things you mentioned and more are happening. Measurement and/or the analysis is really done to confirm (in effect) the RATE of engine degradation (slo mo of course) and whether or not your (developed for FLEET) maintenance schedules make (normally) economic sense. The other truth is even as lower OCI's (under 15,000 miles) yield much more aggressive wear metals and really induce a higher detergency state, statistically anything from 1,000 to 30,000 miles OCI's are just fine !!
So if they are, it really begs the question why change AT 1,000 to say your 5,000 when 30,000 miles will do?? The operative reality is something like why change @ 30,000 miles when 1,000 to say your 5,000 miles OCI will do !!!
As for horsepower claims, unless they show you a dyno slip, they got nothin'.
The OCI's proposed by VW and other EU diesel makers are based on EU diesel fuel and not our domestic swill.
I also take issue with your comments concerning detergency and I have a good example to give you. My wife drives a 1998 Chrysler with the 2.7L V-6. This engine along with several VW engines are known sludge producers. The timing chain tension is controlled by oil pressure and any iota of dirt in this tensioning system produces catastrophic results. I have been using a good high detergent synthetic oil in the engine for most of its life (Amsoil 10W-30) with an OCI of 3500 miles. I have done two oil analysis and no metal residue found in the spent oil. The oil pan gasket was replaced recently and the was absolutely no sludge, varnish, etc. found. Passages were examined with a fiberoptic device and found to be factory clean after 65K miles. The car sees city driving 90% of the time.
The crankcase in any diesel is a very dirty environment compared to gassers. The VW diesel holds barely five quarts of oil which is simply not enough for such a long OCI. Mercedes Benz 3.0L V-6 diesel holds ten + quarts. It is one-third larger than the VW diesel and holds 100% more oil. That makes more sense to me.
As to the crankcase in a diesel being a very dirty environment compared to gassers, again I am not sure what to say. The sump of the TDI which I have done up to 30,700 miles has a capacity of 4.5 qts/4.2 L. As you might know, it uses a media "cartridge type" filter. It (old filter and engine innards) remains "whistle clean". Evidently, you see fit to run 3,500 miles (synthetic) OCI's to accomplish the same goals on your gasser !! ?? So consequently..., I run D2 product oils 8.77 TIMES greater miles than you to achieve the "same" end. Defacto, I think YOU are saying you think yours (gasser) to be FAR dirtier than ...mine, D2 !! ?? I tend to run gassers 15,000 miles (994,000 miles) and of late 20,000 miles seems pretty good. So as you can see my actions treat GASSERS as the "dirtier" (than D2) if you will. Specifically that is a range of 25% to 54% (cleaner, longer, you know what I mean?) .
While yes logically having a 10+ qt capacity might be nifty and have great utility and for many reasons It does perhaps present a host of interesting spin off consequences. So for example, the utility of higher sump capacity for the VW TDI would mean I could easily double the OCI. In my case, from 30,700 miles to 61,000/62,000 miles. While I know the filter is designed for 50,000 kms (converts to 31,069 miles) AND with I am sure a safety factor (unknown to me) I would probably swag, I would be compelled to change the filter @ 31,069 miles. Somehow a bypass (2 micron) filter system with 1 qt extra capacity (4.5 to 5.5 qts) might seem a neck and neck option.
I also noticed on my 5k invoice that besides the 5 quarts (I'm assuming they used around 5 qts) of oil they have 1 A3 - 32 synthetic oil. When I called the service depart. they said it was probably an error
Grey bottle in summer, white bottle in winter.
There are a lot of benefets to using a diesel-fuel additive. Unlike Gasoline additives, the ones for diesel actually do something. Some of the key benefets are
1) improved MPG (due to additional Cetane)
2) Reduced HighPressureFuelPump wear (due to lubricity)
3) cleans fuel-injection system.
4) Eliminate gelling in cold weather (may not be an issue for you in CA.)
So for one car, I use PS (gray bottle, WalMart 80 0z @ 17 per, 400 to 1 dilution) it advertises low saps, which I need in one.
I also use Primrose 405C, 32 oz for $15, 3000 to one dilution on another TDI, not requiring low saps.
Just explaining this to my wife, wouldn't be worth it...
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
VW504 (gasser standards)/507 (D2 standards) have actually been OUT for a long time, ( since 2004) if Total's literature is to be belived. So far more time and mileage and a myraid of scenarios are literally "water under the European bridge". VW is really ubiquitious on European markets. It is not like in the US where they hold what, 2.5% of the markets share?
Both Total and Fuchs list their VW specification oils as meeting the standards up to 50,000 kms (converts to 31,069 mles). http://www.lubadmin.com/upload/produit/FichePDF/lang_1/5833.pdf
http://www.fuchsoil.co.za/Products/TDS/Fuchs%20-%20Titan%20GT1%20Longlife%20III%- - - 20SAE%205W-30%20(VW%20504.00%20&%20507.00;%20ACEA%20A3;B4;C3)%20-%2031Mar08.pdf
What might be noteworthy about the two is both go back and forth being the oem factory fill. In addition both are excellent high quality oils. They are as most can imagine not well known in the US market, say like Mobil One.
the front are at 4 mm. I am looking to replace them with Hawk HPS, or possibly
Hawk Performance Ceramic. I am also considering Centric Premium rotors. Any
suggestions in the replacement of these parts would be appreciated. I am not
considering the OEM pad because they seem to wear very quickly. I am not
interested in better performance then stock pads, but longer life and at least
equal performance as the OEM pads provided.
So the interesting news is that the oem brakes and rotors are actually designed for longer life. You will/ would of course point back to me and probably reemphasize; did you NOT hear 26,000 miles????
So here is the logic. First off, Hawk pads are excellent products in the areas for which they compete. They are however very aggressive. Part of the reason for the ceramic offering is to give a so called lower dust offering. So if you brake in the style and the ways that you have with the oem pads and rotors(with no adjustments) my swag is you will get even FASTER wear. ( the minor caveat here is you start off with the same measure of pad material)This will be to the pads AND the rotors (inferior, as VW uses pretty high quality oem rotors, and pads for that matter. OEM, ATE or TRW would be better rotor choices) The ceramic would probably yield slightly longer wear as it is indeed HARDER (than the HPS for example)
I agree with ruking that 26,000 miles to wear out the stock pads is pretty, um, aggressive. I typically get at least 50,000 miles out of a set of pads. :shades:
I highly recommend you consider IDParts. They carry brake "kits" which are reasonably priced and you can customize the components as you desire. I have been ordering oil, brakes, glowplugs and virtually all other parts for VWs from IDParts for years.
The individual choices and combinations are almost short of TMI !
At each recent service I ask the dealer and they say the pads are not worn out yet. But close!
Ceramic brakes bring a whole set of tradeoffs which I understand are inappropriate for a street car. I advise against them even when they are an $10000 option from the factory.
Do you have any thoughts on which combination would be best? Are these part better suited for a TDI then Hawk brake pads with Centirc Rotors?
Let us know what you finally decide or your top 5 picks each in rotors and brake pads.
I do not believe the 2010 total VW sales figures are out yet.
I will post my review after I have a chance to observe how they work. I am not planning to have them installed for about one week.
On the 03 TDI, on this renewal registration cycle I was required to do a smog test. So on a 153,000 miles TDI it took the (smog only test station owner/technician) all of 15 seconds to declare this good to go.
This was a tad odd as before it was hooked up he kept saying that all diesels "smoked". Needless to say this does not inspire a positive attitude. No worries, but it does give one pause. I got a tad annoyed in that what should have been a (way after computer hook up) 15 second (max) smoke test, for some reason turned into what felt like 5 mins !! He kept getting the thing to red line, etc. I was annoyed because even on gasser SUV's they rev it to like 2400 rpm. So,... I asked him if there were any concerns/issues and he sheepishly said no and promptly moved on to the next portions of the test.
I ran across this link with a contact at the state if anyone is interested. It pretty much verifies what my nephew told me. They look sniff and hold their hand for the money.
smog check scam
I actually feel the EXACT same way about the gasser smog only tests. While off topic, a 17 year old gasser SUV passed with 185,000 miles with essentially ZERO harmful emissions (not even measurable!!!!!!) . I was way passed a 30,000 miles tune up. I also run 20,000 miles OCI's.
My wife so far has clipped the Mini Mirror,The Saab Mirror and now the Jetta Mirror on the Garage
Door Jam. The repair was the easiest so far. I visited U tube and got an overview first.
After careful inspection the CAP that is the ABS plastic cover was not cracked that is the most expensive b/c you need to PAINT it to match your car color the dealer said. I suspect that may not be true b/c it does not look painted. This part the CAP cost 240.75 + 100.00 to paint=340.75. The Mirror was 39.95 and the turn signal indicator 64.75 both these needed to
be replaced. The indicator is screwed on in four places you need a "T10x80" screw driver I got
one at a electronics store for another project that was lucky. The Indicator wire plug needs to
be unplugged the re- plugged when reassembly it is white and easy. The indicator has a "foot" clip that you press with your thumb to remove assembly it is located about 6 mm from the plug.
The Mirror snaps in place with notches engaging on a bass drum like mounting. The wires that
attach to the mirror are female spade type use a needle nose to remove the wire and replace.
The CAP simply snaps into place and your done the whole job took 30 minutes.
Good luck.
Bel Air Car Guy