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Volkswagen Jetta 2006+
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Comments
I hear what you're saying, driving a car that you "want" is better than driving one based upon reliability. but i don't know how that necessarily excludes one from driving a toyota or a honda.
The upcoming Civic Si sedan would seem to be one of those "pleasurable" cars.
Also, has anyone done an oil change themselves on the 2.5L engine? I wanted to get some input on that, as I know these use the paper cartridge filters... for example, do you really need to drain the filter housing before unscrewing it??
2. Go the the VW dealer and get the oil change - they use the right filter, long life, and SHOULD use 5W-40 oil since they had a lot of problems in the past with dealers ignoring this spec and using 5-30 instead, with resulting sludged turbo 1.8's.
3. The first oil change is supposed to be at 5,000 miles, the 2d at 10,000 miles, then every 10,000 miles thereafter. Almost everyone who comments on this, and my dealer when I had a Golf, recommends sticking with 5,000 mile intervals for the life of the car, and not extending to 10,000. Certainly if you DO decide to take it out to 10,000 miles between changes, you MUST use a VW spec'd oil.
4. Don't do the oil changes yourself. Or if you decide to, only do the "extra" oil changes. The 1.8 turbos had sludge issues and it was a lot easier getting VW to relent and acknowledge the issue when you had dealer receipts for the service instead of notes in your logbook and a generic receipt from an auto parts shop for parts. (It's an expensive car, the oil changes are cheap.)
While the dealer would, I'm sure, like to see owners changing oil every 5000 miles...with full synthetic oil why would this be necessary? 5000 miles is a normal interval for cars that have conventional oil. VW says 10,000 miles (or 12 months).
Anyone know of VW service dept.s using Mobil 1 0W40?? I've been hearing more & more that the Mobil 1 version was superior.
The only reason to cut the interval is contamination or other really severe condition (racing, idling, etc.). Regular person living in regularly polluted place driving regular way will probably do reasonably well on manufacturer-specified interval, as long as they stick to the specs of the lubricant.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
That's what I use for all three of my VWs: 2003 Wolfsburg Jetta 1.8T, 2003 Passat GLS 1.8T, and 1997 Jetta Trek 2.0. Good stuff. Keep within the 5000 mile change intervals and you will greatly reduce the chances of engine-related problems.
According to my mechanic, the #1 cause of all the premature timing belt & timing chain failures in the MK4s is due to sludge related cylinder head failures - not the timing belt/chain itself.
That alone should be enough of an incentive to use the correct oil at the correct intervals, and to play it safe, have the service done at the dealership to CYA in case of warranty claims... :shades:
Wasn't the problem that many used conventional oil, rather than synthetic? Meaning it was more about the oil than the change interval? Also wasn't the sludge problem a turbo thing or did the old 2.slow have sludge issues too?
The correct change interval, per VW, for the 2.5 is 10,000 mi (after the fist two changes). Maybe it stays 5000 mi for the turbo???
Conventional oil is a prime contributor to sludging. But there were many cases when owners exceeded the 5000 mile interval while using the conventional oil that the sludge issue reared its ugly head. Using synthetic oil would have reduced the possibility of sludging, even if the 5000 mile interval was exceeded....
Snowdance
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/snowdance38/my_photos
As you might have seen we were lucky and have been able to do many of the things we wanted.. We took many pics.. However they were on color slides.. And they went to heck.. So had almost nothing..
We did however make many friends over the years and kept in touch.. Most of what you see are pics that friends had and have sent us.. So I keep them posted there so they can see what we have in hopes that if they have some thing different they will send it to us.. Always intresting what they find..
Yep thats us.. Long time ago.. We have been together for 40 years.. Thats also us on the motorcycle.. We grew..
We use our two Jetta's for travel and towing our popup trailer.. They are good work horses.. Intresting enough the 2002 Jetta wagon with the 2.0 and stick shift is the easiest to pull with.. The engine makes its torqe at 2800 RPM.. And the 5th gear is fine for the flats and 4th will climb most any grade..
The 06 Jetta w/stick makes its torqe much higher and also is geared much higher so takes a bit more shifting but does pull well..
They both weigh about the same..
For us its a long way to every were.. If my wife wants to run down to the mall.. Its a 200 mile trip down to the mall in Redding Ca.. Nearest shopping of any kind for us is in Medford Oregon.. And thats a 100 mile trip.. We run lots of miles and have to cross high mt. passes to go any were.. We do learn a lot about what cars will and will not do..
Snowdance
The bottom line is that it is an entirely new type of transmission and VW/Audi should really be touting that fact. It outperforms both manual and traditional automatic transmissions. It is not humanly possible to shift the way the DSG does, whether in auto or manual mode.
I agree that calling it "auto" is a good marketing move, regardless of argiments from enthusiasts and engineers.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Is there also any filters involved?
Can anyone relate???
I am not sure if there is one in our 2.5 Jetta but we just use it as a family car and can't remember driving it with out some one in the passenger seat..
We do like the Jetta 2.5. We put in just over 3,000 miles in 6 days in it.. Ran just over 400 miles with a lunch and fuel stop in the middle at 125 mph.. Ran 300 miles or so at 95 to 110.. The rest of the trip was made at normal highway speeds of 80 to 95.. Our fuel mileage for the 3,000 miles was 30.6 mpg.. Not to bad for those speeds and AC on climbing hills and lots of wind.. The car does handle at speed very well.. I really think its a much better car than I first thought it was..
I am curious at which freeway can you drive at 125 mph most of the time? Are you sure you can get 30.6 mph at the average speed of 100 mph.
I want to do my own oil changes. I noticed I can't use my automotive ramps to drive onto since there's not enough clearance with the bumpers and lower thingys...how do you suggest I go about it?
Thanks,
Jerry
Also use the oil VW says.. Well perhaps not VW Oil its really Castrol 5W-40 .. Valvoline also makes an approved oil and I am sure others do too.. Just needs the 505 00 or 505 01 or 502 00 Or ACEA A3 rating..
I got a look into a 2.5 engine yesterday that had come back to the dealer with problems after 40,000 miles.. It was running normal 10-40 oil and not sure it had many oil changes.. The main problem seemed to start with the oil cooler cloging up from the oil heat.. And just got worse from there.. Then the valve train failed.. Guess I now understand why they say to use the type of oil they do..
Update on my rattle . . .
The rattle having re-surfaced after my visit to the dealer, I again tried isolating the source. I thought I had it a couple of times - a small piece of plastic wrapped around the bottom passanger corner of the windshield that, when tapped, made a sharp noise that penetrated the passanger compartment; then I suspected some of the componentry associated with the seat belt - but dealing with these (applying adhesive felt, etc.) disappointingly did not solve the problem. However, it now seems that the rattle is associated with the door handle. The passanger side door handle (on the outside) is loose and when I pulse my thumb against the mechanism (not the actual handle that moves when you open the door, but the "base" of the handle where your thumb goes when opening) I can create a rattle inside the door. So hopefully I can share this with the tech when I go in for my first schedules maintenance and they can fix it. I can deal with little squeaks and noises associated with body flex and road vibration - but the rattle has been distressing me.
Re speed, this car is a delight and seems to effortlessly cruise meta-highway speed. The torque is a delight because it accelerates impressively when already at considerable speed. Also, the torque provides nice acceleration up hills. The rattle has been irritating, but otherwise the car is a true delight and I very much want to resolve the problem.
Thanks
Any suggestions about what people feel about 2006 and 2007 models (not TDI) would be appreciated.
Thanks :confuse:
Wanted to know if this maintenance interval indicator only goes by how much mileage has gone by, or if it actually computes the oil life by monitoring rpm's, engine loads, temps, etc., like the oil life monitoring system in most GM cars. Anyone know??
Just keep in mind "reliability" when making a buying decision.
The Sandman
In mostly every area other than the rattles, I really love my new GLI, but I have a 50min commute each way for work so rattles can really grate on me - it's like fingernails on a chalkboard. We'll see what happens.