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Comments
the car is falling apart. but i think you are right - VW will just say everything is fine. but i have to, in good faith, take it in one last time to see if they can fix it, then i won't feel guilty about getting rid of it.
Revving a cold engine, especially one with a turbo, anywhere near 3000rpm without giving it adequate time to warm up is definitely abusing it. Anthony already said that above. He is also right about letting the car sit and 'warm' a little, until the rpms drop from 1200 or so (idling) to the regular 800. My car acted weird once when I took off too quickly, and I never did it again.
Also, just because your engine light doesn't come on doesn't mean there aren't DTCs in the computer they will see when they hook it up to the computer. (Mine had 2 DTCs in there, and I never saw an engine light.) BTW, DTCs are (something) trouble codes, codes 'spit' out by the computer when something goes wrong inside it.
i will let you know what they say tomorrow.
Do not kid yourself. A freshly-started engine has many different metal parts that are expanding at different rates. This causes 'clearance problems' for several minutes until everything has reached a stable size. Are you aware that it has been PROVEN that most wear occurs during warmup of an internal-combustion-engine due to this?
Do you engine a favor and DO NOT rev it before fully warmed up. And for that matter (at any temp) do not rev it without a load on it either. (The pistons are trying to "fly off" the ends of the conn rods and can hit the ridge.) I assume you DO know what a "ridge reamer" is and how the ridge gets there in the first place.
VOCUS is correct about the turbocharger adding yet another highly-stressed part to the equation. Throwing massive amounts of HOT exhaust at a cold turbocharger is asking for trouble.... not to mention the added boost that it is pumping into the cold engine.
Revving your engine while not under load is awful for it, especially when cold, but still when warm. Just revving your engine wears your piston rings faster (and other as bpeebles explained). Do what you want if you think you know what is best for your engine, but be forewarned.
However, the turbo doesn't actually boost unless under load.
I had DTCs about my MAF sensor on my GTI and no CE light.
So here is what you are doing, Justin. You start your car, you immediately for some reason unknown to us (maybe you like the sound of the engine while cold, or it's your way of punishing the car because you don't like it, or maybe it makes you feel like a man - I don't know), rev your engine to 3000 RPM. Then you put your foot on the brake, the engine is sputtering because you just gave it a lot of air and gas while it's completely cold, then you put it in gear under load and the computer is trying to figure out what to do, to get back to normal idle, and you give it more gas, so it stalls and the CEL comes on. It would be great if you go to the dealer and the DTC reads "User abused me and didn't allow me to warm up, and my piston rings are hurting!". Also, you are not supposed to start the car while your foot is on the gas pedal, this is not good.
I suggest you listen to our suggestions and opinions considering the fact that we are right and you are wrong.
Although it seems you aren't happy with this car and you are abusing it and looking for an excuse to get rid of it. Hey, that's fine, some people just don't like some cars. So be happy, get rid of the car, and go get something else.
- Anthony
Revving the car when cold is not good for it, especially a car with a turbo. I used to rev the crap out of a used Bonneville my mother had when I started driving, when the engine was cold. You know what happend to it? By 150K when I sold the car for her, it sounded like the Baltimore Colts band under the hood, with all the tapping...
If you were to keep the car until 70-100K miles, you would see the affects of doing what you are doing. And you would feel them in your wallet too, in the form of a rebuilt head or new turbo.
God bless your son in the armed forces, and all our troops out there.
seriously, you realize that when you start a car, it revs at 12-1300 rpms. the reason i tap the gas, it to get it to stop. haven't you noticed that? if you tap the gas, it makes the car stop idling so high. and who said i start the car with my foot on the gas? who does that? i think you are reading much more into the situation than is really there. i don't REV the engine, i tap the gas, and it goes to 3k. not for minutes at time. the whole point is i like to start the car and GO. who has time to sit there and rev? the reason the car idles high is emissions related. cars are built to warm up FASTER now because cold engine emissions are awful. think about it - would VW design a car that immediately revs itself higher than normal on cold start if it couldn't handle it? based on the positions stated here, if anything, i am HELPING the car by stopping it from revving so high at cold start. so THERE!
BTW, i have four new J coils now, and a new Engine Control Module. i asked them why the car was misfiring, they said the ECM was the likely cause. there were a slew of random misfire codes. they also said that there is NOTHING i could do the damage the engine outside of not putting oil in it. as i suspected, car companies take into account the fact that this world is full of idiots. if cars really were damaged by revving the engine, the companies couldn't offer warranties.
anyway, they tell me the car should be perfect now. have to all of my keys in to get reprogramed though.
What did they say was wrong with your ECU?
It'll take 3 seconds to reprogram the keys at the dealer.
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If I can get this kind of mileage from a 180hp 1.8T that I can chip and make 'scream', why get a TDI?
I like the idea of a diesel, because they are cheaper, simpler, get great economy, and last forever. But also, I drove an auto TDI before I bought my 1.8T, and it wasn't half as fast. I guess I am not as ready to 'slow down' as I thought...
I know TDIs have monster torque, but is that gonna get me to 60 as fast as the 1.8T will? That's basically what I am concerned about, having power to merge and accelerate with authority, as well as getting good economy.
You also have to admit, 27+ is great for the 1.8T, considering the power it has on tap (and believe me, I use the power too!)...
See, I have this problem...I love speed. I also love the idea of 50mpg though. Which will I take, given the choice? Well, I chose the T over the TDI and 2.0, knowing that I commute 80 miles daily, so that should make it clear..
VW HASN'T fixed the bugs on a car introbuced in 99. After 4 model years! 2002s, 4 years after the Jetta came out and a good 6 years after the first 1.8T engine, have coil problems. Obviously, VW doesn't fix known problems, so what would make anybody believe a 2003 will be better than a 2002 or a 2005 Jetta?
VW is not a customer service oriented company. No matter what year you buy, you're in all probability gonna get shafted by them eventually.
The coil problem started from the supplier, not VW. Not to give them any credit, but it wasn't VW's fault. They also changed suppliers as soon as they found out there was a problem. But the detriment against them, as it always has been, is the way they handled problems. Let's look back at how they handled the window regulator problem. I know people with 1993 (MK3) Jettas with reg problems, yet it took VW until 2002 to admit to the problem and start reimbursing people who have paid for 2, 3, even 5 repairs to the same or different windows. That right there is crap.
Also, had VW came out at first and said, 'we have a supplier problem with the coils, we will proactively replace all the coils that are thought to be bad for free', then there would be far more happy customers. Personally, I really like the car alot and would not think 2 times about buying another one, perhaps if another manufacurer sold it. As it stands now, with VW's poor attitude toward customers, I think this Jetta just might be my last VW.
See, things like this is what makes the Jetta stand out. Too bad VW can't get their customer support together...
I personally stuck a pack of gum in the driver window to see how this thing worked, as I didn't even know the car had it before that night.
I am just glad the car does have it. Otherwise, I might have had one badly hurt little kid on Friday night.
also, i know jetta's have recently held their value pretty well. are those days gone? my first car was a protege and, although it was a great car, i feel i got pretty burned when it came time to trade it in. i would hate to experience the same thing with the jetta. maybe i should look into leasing? hmmmmnnn....
I know what you mean about resale, I was burned on 2 Proteges myself. The Jetta is alot better, from what I have read. But, all cars' resale values are down now because of the economy, so keep that in mind.
Anyway, I found that the 40K is mostly 'check, check, check', and they only change the oil, air and pollen filters and the spark plugs. And I am paying ~$400 for THIS?!? Don't think so. I can do the checking myself, and just get them to do the tune-up and oil change for me. Then I can take the saved cash and buy something nice for the car...
The Passat will give you a good amount more room for the baby seat, I have had 2 of those as loaners so I know.
Amazingly, I found the level of difficulty similar to the Jetta when installing 2 baby seats in the back of a New Beetle loaner I had. The Passat was easier, but a rental Impala was the easiest.
you know that is crazy, if i had the money, i would pay $50k for the A4 Cabrio. even though i know it won't be as reliable as it should be, it is the most beautiful convertible on the road, period. LUV IT! that is how VW can have poor service and questionable quality, by making cars that are just better than the rest when sitting on the new car lots and on the test drives
funny, i always thought ALL station wagons were family cars. i'll have to look into the jetta wagon a little more closely.
He didn't believe me, so we tried with a pencil - and sure enough it worked!
They can design pinch protection into the window regulators, but they can't design a window regulator that won't break. Screwy.
- Anthony
Hey, I have a question for you. How do you know the regs are about to break on you? My driver window has sounded like it's grinding for a couple days, but it might be something on the window itself rubbing the rubber on the door as it goes down. Is this a telltale sign, or what?
BTW, I have 34.5K miles, and still on my original regs.
I was gonna do a spark plug replacement while I was there, since I am at 35K and won't really have time to take the car back at 40K. They told me it would cost me $170 or so for the work though!