VW Jetta TDI

ruking1

Actually (my .02 cents) the better. These diesels really like to be driven. Conversely once you drive them, one really likes to drive them. I had my TB/WP changed (100,000 miles) @ app the 4th year.

You have probably heard by now the importance of the correct oil (as specified by the oem owner's manual, I believe yours is the VW 507.00 specification).

shrifty

I heard about the oil and that number does sound right. Are there any stores around to get it? Autozone, Advanced Auto, etc... Also, what brands meet this specification? I'd like to carry an extra quart around just in case. Would there be a difference between oil for the summer and winter for TDI?

ruking1

Good.
No, they are not as off the shelf. You might want to look at the vendor section of www.tdiclub.com for whom carries what and at what price.

There are no specification differences between summer/winter oils for the TDI. The viscosity for the VW 507.00 specification is 0w30.

I still run the 03 TDI specification oils and the viscosity is 5w40.

asa

120,000 Miles is fine. My wife wants to run diesel vs gas cost comparison and this is an element in our analysis, minor as it is every 120,000 Miles. Thank you very much.

bpeebles

I thought the 2009 TDI engine has timing CHAIN (not belt)....but I have not researched it a whole lot. Perhaps the timing CHAIN is suggestied to be replaced at 120K miles?

mariobgoode

Just heard back from my dealer in N.E. PA. The wagon I special-ordered in July may not make it next month (November). It looks more likely to arrive in December. Does anybody know what's delaying deliveries? Is there a problem in the production line? Where are they making them these days?

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

bpeebles

Your VW dealer should have told you that there is no such thing as "ordering" a VW. Instead, if you desire a specific mix of options, you must wait till one of them comes thru the assembly line... then, if noone elses name is in front of yours for that specific mix of options, that vehicle is earmarked to be shipped to your dealership.

HOWEVER: I have dealt with some VW dealerships which are not very good at submitting such an order and following thru... Personally, I waited 3 months before I found out my "order" was sent to another dealership and sold. (I found out on the internet that the VIN my dealer gave me was sold in another state... I had to CONFRONT the salesman before they would admit it)

Ask your salesman to sit with you as they log into their internal VW delivery schedules and show you what is coming. They should have "visiability" to all vehicles on ships intransit to USA and what dealerships they are destined to be deliverd to. If they cannot do that simple task.. then your salesman may not be telling you the entire story.

If you want to "order" a specific vehicle which will be built to your specifications... get a Dodge! My Dodge truck was deliverd within 4 weeks exactly as I orderd it. The window sticker said "This truck built for Bruce A. Peebles" right off the assembly line.

shrifty

I don't know much about diesels myself, but the book says "timing belt". I would have to guess that in 09 they are using a belt, not a chain.

cosmo

Consider buying studless winter tires mounted on 15" steel wheels from Tire Rack. We typically get five to six winters (Nov 1 to Feb 28) of service from a set of winter tires. That's 15-18 months of vacation for the all-season tires, thus delaying replacement time. No all-season tire will give you the traction on ice that studless winter tires do. Also, rotate all five all-season tires every spring to extend the life of your original set and assure that your spare does not become a potential road hazzard just sitting in the trunk decaying away.

elias

two words for you for winter tires: Bliz Zaks .

(Don't even bother with the factory/turanza tires in the snow/ice,
and forget studded snows too. snow+ice tires are the way to go!)

sebring95

You might also consider Nokian WR's if you're not getting into really major snow. They have much better dry handling and will last longer. I ran the Nokians on my Jetta and don't think I would have been happy with the dry handling of the blizzaks. I ran them before and on a warm winter day they were too loose for my goose.

altair4

Here's another vote for the Nokian WR series (WR and WRG2). Severe Weather certified with the mountain/snowflake symbol and yet they carry a UTQG rating, too, unlike some winter tires. Snowy and Dry road handing is good. Wet road handing is fantastic.

asa

bpeebles, I think you're correct that the '09 TDI Jetta uses a timing belt because I read an article somewhere that said they used a belt to help subdue any hint of noise that a chain might produce. VW wanted to make the TDI as quiet as possible, hence the belt.

(I ordered my '06 NIssan Frontier with specific features, just like your Dodge. My truck arrived in six weeks, made in Smyrna, TN.)

ruking1

There is also a more arcane discussion about the advantages of a belt over chain. MB 320/350 turbo diesels (not sure what they currently call them) do run the timing CHAIN. The upshot (again depending one ones mileage horizon): the question is really of WHEN you replace either and NOT, IF. The second salient point is when you do, the chain costs (much) more. If it breaks before you do, ( because of a mistaken notion chains do not have to be changed) ... ah...... we are talking thousands in damage. A tertiary issue: what changes have/will be made to water pumps to extend their replacement schedules.

bobgwtw

Service Mgr. at Wray VW in Columbia, SC says the TDI still uses a timing belt. Big mistake not going to a chain llike they did on the redesigned 2.0 turbo gasser.

bpeebles

I just replaced 4 Nokian WR (went over 60K miles) with a new set of WR G2 (generation2 of the WR)

Here are a couple websites for NOKIAN
http://www.nokiantyres.com/
http://www.nokiantires.com/

Since I have well over 60K miles of experience with the WR... here are my comments.

*)The original WRs lived up to their claim as ALL WEATHER tires. They went thru many Vermont winters and only got stuck when the bumper was pushing snow!
*)The rolling resistance is low.. (I averaged 50 MPG)
*) They became NOISY as they wore.

The new ones (WR G2) are significantly quieter than the original WRs.... I have less than 100 miles on them so no further comments about the G2.

tditoronto

I have a 2004 Jetta TDI with approximately 150,000 miles on it. The clutch just started to chatter the other day, and I'm wondering if this would be considered premature wear? Has anyone else had similar mileage before replacing a TDI clutch? If replaced, how much was replaced? Everything including the flywheel?

gagrice

A 150,000 miles sounds pretty good to me. My 1994 Toyota PU only got 11,000 miles before needing a new clutch. It was driven by my son whom I would assume was not easy on it. In 1995 it cost me $900 to have replaced at the Toyota dealer.

Have you had any other trouble with your TDI?

malmouza

I am afraid to let you know the bill will be high. It is normal for any car to have the transmission start failing after 130,000 miles. For cars located in urban area with a lot of traffic the transmission has tendency to break a lot sooner than cars driven in rural area. The car transmission in stop and go traffic has tendency to heat up faster, and by consequence the oil breakup occurs leading to higher friction, and damage to the gears. The best protection you can do to avoid this premature transmission damage is to change the transmission oil every 15,000 miles. You’ll be amazed how dirty that oil is after only 15,000 miles. This also depend on the driving style, aggressive driving versus civilized driving. My advice to you in order to save money, you’ll be better if you find a used transmission with low mileage from junk yard, some cars that have been in an accident, rear crash have the engine and transmission still new, you can buy that transmission and give it to your mechanic to swap the old one for the new one. The cost of labor will be a lot less than changing the clutch and later after couple hundred miles you’ll find out that the gear also are failing. Good luck.

ruking1

Clutch chatter CAN be a signal. I look for that, plus clutch slipping. There truly is/can be a wide range in how many miles one gets out of a clutch. Barring manufacuturing defects, most of it is how a person drives and of course drives, given the conditions. My goal is 400,000 to 450,000 miles, but I do regularly drive the streets of San Francisco,... so of course, we shall see. I am currently at 110,000 miles.The car has also spend rush hour time in downtown Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, New Orleans, Tampa, Miami, San Antonio, Dallas, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Vancouver, BC.

The last clutch job that I watched, the guy had 230,000 miles and had done a host of things to his car, suspension upgrades: struts, shocks, springs, front and rear sway bars, lower profile tires, expensive rims, chipped, two upgrades of nozzles.... I am probably leaving a bunch of key things out. If he was not approaching 275# ft (from 155 # ft) I would be surprised. The bottom line is we were standing there and he asked me if he should do the clutch (as he had the V6 upgrade at home). I had ridden with him and got a sense of how he drove and treated the car and told him flat no. Wait till he got clutch chatter/slipping and or both.(It should be fairly obvious just his power options seriously out powered his clutch) However I also said to him that if the clutch is pulled to check the condition, it was actually then marginally to way (depending on condition of course) cost effective to put in the NEW one. Curiosity I think got the better of him and he went back home to get the upgrade. When the clutch was pulled, it easily could have gone another 200,000 miles (430,000 total) . We just busted up at the projection and scenario we had discussed before the dismantling. The guru who was doing the job concurred. So the clutch (upgrade) was installed. He was a happy camper before, but I think because he could NOW use his power upgrades with more abandon, a happier camper AFTER.
To answer your question, you really have a couple of choices. The best would be to get on www.tdiclub.com. A vendor I trust is Bleachedbora who sells clutchs/flywheel/throwout bearings. Email him if you have questions. An upgrade (V6) is at $375. shipped. Look to get the service (clutch job) at a local GTG. We are talking less than $725. all tolled.

tditoronto

I've had virtually no problems at all with my TDI that have been engine related. I've maintained it by the book though, through the dealer, so it hasn't been cheap. I realize it is going to cost nearly $2,000 to do a proper clutch replacement, but I'd rather have it done right the first time. It's true though, I might end up with a new clutch, and a transmission that is on the verge of collapse. I dont' think there is anything wrong with the gears though. How would I know if the transmission, as opposed to the clutch, is wearing down?

nwjeffor

I'm in almost exactly the same boat. I "ordered" my JSW TDI on July 5th and was told it would take approximately 90 days to get a car. I have been told for the last four weeks that the car is in the "next build-out" and that they (the dealer) have a "commission number" but no VIN yet. I'm starting to wonder if I've been waiting all this time for nothing.

So, now that 15 weeks have passed, I'm waiting. I may take some advice I read on this thread and go to the dealer and look at their list of cars that are on the way.

bpeebles

You did not say under what conditions your clutch is "chattering" thus given the vague description, there is not very much a competent mechanic can tell you about your situation.

If you need to know the price to replace clutch ... CALL SEVERAL SHOPS and ask for estamates. This is such a rare occourance on VWs that you may not get much from asking on the internet.

A properly-treated clutch on a TDI should last for over 200K miles. Heck - one does not even need to touch the throttle when starting off from a dead stop.

As for your xmission, I can tell you that a VW manual xmission can EASILLY go over 200,000 miles. There should be no need to do anything but replace the synthetic fluid in the xmission with ONLY factory-recommended . (or RedLine MTL). I have never even HEARD of a VW xmission wearing out. (And I have owned many VWs over the years.)

mariobgoode

I will follow your advice and visit the dealer two weeks from today. That will give him time to get me details like VIN, if indeed it is in production. My understanding is he put in a search for the cars in production and scheduled for delivery since July, and sent in my order, but nothing has emerged so far, so I was their first custom order that is coming to their dealership. I'll make a point of checking the delivery schedule, as you wisely suggested. The rebate is only good until Dec 31, so if my car doesn't come in by then, I'll just give up and go get an Audi TDI which is coming next year. Keeping my fingers crossed.

siberia

Noisy dual-mass flywheel? Oil on clutch plate/disk causing judder? Only during engagement? At idle in neutral? Clutch in - clutch almost out - clutch out? Even incompetent mechanics need info.

Manual transmissions usually give warning signs (except under abuse) long before they fail completely. I drove a manual transmission over 30,000 miles with a bad input shaft bearing once before I got tired of the noise and replaced it.

shrifty

Thanks to all with comments regarding the tires, I will definately look into the Nokians (never heard of them before). My current tires seem ok in the snow (light snow so far), but I will have them replaced before the winter season begins.

tditoronto

They haven't taken the unit apart yet, and I would be reluctant to have that much labour cost put into it, unless I knew what the outcome was going to be. A knowledgeable mechanic told me after driving it at around 100,000 miles, that it would not make it to 120,000 miles without replacing the clutch. Here I am at 150,000 miles and it is only now starting to convince me. The clutch lost it's buttery smoothness probably at around 20,000 miles, but isn't that common. I mean, I've had 4 manual transmission cars in a row, and nothing quite matches that "New-Clutch" feeling. It doesn't last long though. Then again, I've only ever owned VWs, so I can't really speak for the clutches of other brands.

As for how it sounds / feels, it is restricted to feel...there are no related sounds. I'm easy on the clutch. I never ride it, and it is almost fully engaged before I start to push the accelerator. However, just recently, I'm noticing that as I'm starting to push the accelerator, the clutch is slipping. It shudders, but there is no sound. I can feel it through the pedal, through the seat of my pants. Another thing that it is starting to do occurs as I'm accelerating onto the highway from an onramp, usually in 3rd or 4th gear. It doesn't happen all the time, but there is a momentary lack of power, or so it seems. I've decided that either the clutch is slipping and allowing the engine to rev slightly without the related additional momentum that you would expect, OR the engine alone is experiencing power loss. Could the turbo be dieing? The dealer mistakenly diagnosed it as the cause of a noise at around 100,000 miles, so I ended up getting a new turbo under warranty. It only has 50,000 miles on it.

Too many of these things are happening within days of each other. The clutch is obviously wearing, so I'm reluctant to assume that the turbo could be going at exactly the same time. On top of it all, the coolant hoses split about a week ago, and within hours of that happening, the front suspension started creaking as if it had no lubricant on it. I assumed that maybe the leaking coolant disolved the lubricant on the suspension. The mechanic noticed my suspension bushings were worn, so they replaced those, along with the coolant hoses. Unfortunately, after a few hours of silent suspension, the creaking noise came back louder than ever.

If I fix all this stuff, I'm probably going to be $3,000 in the hole, and keeping the car for another 150,000 miles

jraguilar86

I don't know if anyone has told you this before but it seems like you had been using petroleum based diesel for a while. This type of diesel is dirty, specially in the US. What happens when you switch to bio-diesel is that the motor runs cleaner and supposedly even cleans any dirt particles left behind by the petroleum based diesel. What happens next is that the fuel filter gets clogged up from all the dirt that was cleaned by the bio-diesel. Try switching out the fuel filter. Maybe that will help you out. Still I don't think running anything higher than a B10 is good. VW says that B5 is fine and that they are experimenting with B20 but I really doubt B5 and B10 are all that different. Good luck and get back to me if you found a solution.

redvw

Does a Jetta TDI need to be plugged into an electric source in the winter months(New York) if it is parked outside overnight? :confuse:

bpeebles

TDI does not need to be plugged in... but if you want heat inside the cabin within 10 miles, it sure helps.

An automatic xmission tends to generate more heat into the cooling system than a manual. (That is one reason automatic gets lower MPG). VW knew this and added electric heater for antifreeze when you have manual xmission.

For CERTAIN you should cover the radiator air inlet during the winter. Lengths of pre-slitted 1/2inch pipe insulation is PERFECT for this job.... just slips between the slats of the grille. When ambient temps go up, it can be easilly removed and tossed in trunk with spare tire.

redvw

I have owned 4 VW's, the last one was a Corrado. The Corrado and Rabbit GTI had reliability problems (electrical related). Four different VW dealers were not able to diagnose or repair the Corrado causing me to sell it with low mileage.

I am considering the purchase of a Jetta TDI next year, has VW reliability improved?

ruking1

I would say yes and no. While I do not have any experience with the two that you have mentioned, (ok I had a 70 VW Beetle app 250,000 miles all but 10,000 put on by me, 78 Rabbit 95,000 miles, 03 Jetta TDI 110,000 miles) the latest 2009 incarnation Jetta TDI is a WAY better vehicle than the previous generations. What has not become real clear (by virtue of being BRAND new) are the 2009's quirks. (and ALL vehicles have them) Also, not many have the requisite 90,000 to 150,000 miles to talk about a significant cycle up to and past the first timing belt/wp change(120,000 miles I am told for the 09 model). At those levels, one can swag to the next TP/WP change.

Another is the so called definition of reliability. What does that REALLY mean?

As a comparison, I have the "highly reliable" Honda Civic (04) . Honda defines it SANS "consumables" Well, needing tires at 74,300 miles and three alignments the way the Civic does, does NOT count in the reliability measure, even as I am still running oem tires on the VW Jetta @ 110,000 miles and have not NEEDED any alignmenst. So at 300 per tire set and 90 per alignment, the Civic has cost me $ 570. MORE in operating costs. While this is factored in at the per mile driven cost. It clearly is NOT factored in @ the reliability measurement.

(As history I also had a 82 Honda Accord manual)

cosmo

We had one problem, an electric motor that controlled an air flap, on our 04 Passat TDI purchased in 07/04 that now has 50,000K miles on it. Not one single problem with our 06 Jetta TDI purchased in 05/06 that now has 30,000K miles on it.

By the way, based on our frustrating experience with an Audi and a nephew's similar experience with a Corrado, I suspicion your problem on the Corrado was the fuse panel.

ruking1

While in theory the VAG.com, OBD port, aka onboard computer should be an almost direct pointer to monitored items AND cut down the common corrective action of "throwing parts @ the problem" :shades: : it does seem a lot of VW dealers continue to "throw parts @ the problem" !? :lemon:

freeantelope

I am having power loss on my 1999.5 Jetta TDI.

The whole story is important here probably. Head needed rebuilding, has new camshaft, timing belt, tensioners waterpump since it was all open. I also had the turbo actuator valve replaced (the bladder gizmo behind the engine). Right after that the turbo worked great, car ran like a dream for about a weak. I then noticed when the turbo would spool when at high RPMs that it would skip and then plop into limp mode. It has gotten progressively worse so that now it will drop off almost from the first acceleration in first gear. It will usually fix when the key is cycled.

when I run the codes I get P0101 an P1550 (regular handheld jobby), and under the the Vag-Com there are also codes for the rear ABS sensors.

So far to fix this issue I have replaced the Turbo Solenoid (up by the windshield with the hoses going to it), I have replaced the MAF....I have taken apart the hoses going to the air filter (all clear). I have visually inspected the vacuum hoses and though a little frayed don't see any breaks. The air filter is relatively new.

The connector plug (that plugs into the MAF) is a replacement plug so it leads me to believe someone looked at replacing that before I came onto the scene. I am thinking I should check to make sure that is wired well...but what else should I try. Any advice, happen to anyone else? I am reaching the end of my wits thinking about it....need some things to check so I feel like I am sniffing out the problem....give me your best shot!

Jason
WVO 2001 jetta TDI GLS auto
1999.5 Jetta TDI GL :confuse:

sebring95

While my '00 TDI had a few niggling issues here and there, I'd say it was very reliable. My clutch was fine at 180k (car was totaled) and I had considerable performance mods that made it possible to slip pretty hard if I dumped the clutch.

Neighbor stopped by this weekend and he'd recently turned 150k on his '06 Jetta TDI. The only "repair" he's made was to replace the glowplugs a few months back. I ask him about the clutch after reading some of the posts here and he said said it was fine. Granted we (as do most TDI owners) drive largely on the highway so there's really no reason the clutch won't last a very long time. I'ver also not ever heard of anyone that lost a manual tranny on a tdi.

elias

150k on a 2006 TDI is awesome.
How often does this dude replace fuel filter etc ? Does he use the factory maintenance sched and do ya know, is he a member of Fred's?
cheers...

sebring95

He's doing 20k on the fuel filters. Everything pretty much by the book and he does it all himself. He's not on web, although I printed some tips and such for him from Freds. I also helped set him up with Bentley manual, a VAG-com and an old laptop. He doesn't get too excited about the miles....his '99 Ram diesel has over 350k as that used to be his commuter. He's a part-time farmer and just always commuted in his truck until he bought the TDI.

ezshift5

....his '99 Ram diesel has over 350k as that used to be his commuter.

Very impressive (makes the 295k on my VW Dsl PU look like small potatoes).

best, ez

sebring95

My '03 Ram has over 200k, and that's nearly 100% towing at 15k trailer. My '01 Ram had over 250k when we sold it last year. Both were still very nice solid vehicles, that performed fine. The '03 actually has less rattles than my '05 Tundra. I don't buy into some of these folks that say a 300k mile engine is useless because the rest of the vehicle will fall apart.....maybe if it takes you 15-20 years to drive those miles. But if you're actually driving above average miles, (which is where a TDI is perfect) I don't know how you could argue against them.

siberia

I had a clutch act like you describe once. The rear engine seal was leaking and oil mist got on the clutch disk, pressure plate and flywheel initially causing judder. Eventually the disk became saturated with oil and began to slip under power at certain RPMs. Replacing the clutch and rear main seal cured the problem. Maybe that's your problem, maybe not.

siberia

My brother has over 90,000 miles on a 2006 DSG with ZERO problems. He has only changed his fuel filter once (at 38,000 miles). I have a friend who put 440,000 on a VW Rabbit with few problems - it's still running. He now has 220,000 miles on a NB with few problems.

mpgiv

Finally received my Jetta TDI sportswagon after waiting about three months( ordered 07-11-08). Has DSG transmission. Only have driven it about three hundred miles.
Tested MPG on a couple of 30-40 mile interstate trips. If driven at about 60 miles an hour( 1800 rpm) , I got as high as 47.4 MPG. Not bad. expect better after break in.
Even at 70 expect 40+ mpg

Handles great.built quality appears excellent. Nice amenities including two 12 volt outlets and a 120 volt outlet. My only complaint is the sunroof shade/screen, the interior can be pretty bright if the sun is at a certain angle.

mpgiv

ordered mine on 07/11/08 delivered on 10/30/08. so be patient

rbidd

I have had my TDI 6-speed manual sportwagen for about a month and have put 2,000 miles on it. I am averaging about 39 MPG and have maxed out at about 45.5 MPG on a 200 mile trip averaging about 75 MPH.

The car seems very well built and the seats are far more comfortable than those in my 2003 Passat. I love the panorama sunroof. Makes the black interior far more cheery. Overall I am very pleased so far and my dealer was great. No hassle and I got the car in 30-days.

One thing I have noticed is that the car makes a high pitched hum for a while after I shut it off. Is this normal? Does anyone know what this is?

ruking1

The most likely candidate would be the electric fans that are probably thermo wired to keep going to cool down the turbo after shut down. To confirm: before you go to shutdown, set the parking brake, open the hood latch then get out to open the hood, get back in, shut down the engine and get out to see if the fan is still on.(making the noise you describe)

rjplaan

Hey, I get the same whine when I shut down. My wife thinks it is the burglar alarm warning---not! It stops in a few seconds. Something must be depressurizing. Oh, my jetta has 1000 miles--have heard a loud metalic 'clunk' while cranking the engine--twice now. Engine starts and runs without a hitch.

siberia

On the Jeep Liberty CRD it's the sound of a small electric motor opening the EGR flow control valve / aka anti-shudder valve / aka anti-run-on valve just after shut down. It is attached to the intake manifold and the CAC hose is attached to it.

geo6

I have a 2002 Jetta TDI, the engine light came on. I checked the computer for the code. It comes up as PO672 01 anyone have any idea what this code means ? I can't find it in any book or even on the internet.

altair4

P0672 is a glowplug warning for cylinder #2.