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In the same line of reasoning, the life expectancy of a VW TDI at 220,000 is probably (statistically) a whole lot shorter than one at 120,000.
And of course, there is the entire rest of the car to worry about.
So, to me, such high mileage claims, whether they can be proven or not, are pretty much irrelevant for most people's experiences with the car.
If anything, the reputation of high-mileage cars probably causes more bad buying decisions to be made than normal.
I actually had a chance to buy a '98 VW Beetle diesel, clean car, very high miles (214,000) for $1,300, but I turned it down. It started hard (never a good sign on a diesel) and they have a pretty bad reputation for the overall car I mean.
I already have an old German car to repair. :P
I am wondering if there is any known issues of to much electrical power being generated within the Jetta causing the starter to short out?
Of if there is some other issue that may be causing this the starter issue?
Also what seems to cause the stalling issue, is it the MAF sensor that plays a role in the stalling?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
possibly swap it if it's separate, while also inspecting starter gear teeth and flywheel teeth for excessive wear, considering this idea:
possibly all the symptoms could be explained if the solenoid sometimes wasn't retracting the starter gear, leaving the starter being spun by the engine after engine is running, and the smell being the starter bearings/windings cooking and/or from starter acting as a weak generator competing to set the voltage/potential different from the 13.8V the alternator/voltage-regulator is supposed to maintain.
some of the electrical (ozone) smell may be from the alternator/voltage-regulator working to defeat the varying voltage induced by the starter motor running.
Varying voltage could be observed via vag-com or other diag tool, and also could account for stalling.
In reality, there are only about 2 or 3 battery manufactures left. EVERYONES batteries are made by those same manufacturers.
"Interstate" Batteries has wharehouses all over the country and their batteries are no worse than anyone elses. They sell everything from celphone, laptop batteries all the way up to huge UPS (Unintuptable Power Supply) batteries and Solar-cell storage batteries.
If you are on a low budget, they even sell refurbished car batteries. (fully tested and waranteed)
I even take my rechargable power-tool batteries to "Interstate" to rebuild them. They open up the battery-pack and install matched cells.
All I did was bring in the old battery, they gave me the prorate refund and settled up on the new replacement battery. They would have installed it but I just brought in the battery.
Has this car been more trouble prone lately? Has VW fixed anything in 2011 or 2012 models that should make me consider it despite my mechanic's advice?
Thanks in advance.
So for example, one defect in a fleet of say 5,000 (JSW TDI's), will have far different numbers and percentages than say one defect in 200,000 each ( of Honda Accord/Toyota Camry) As you can see, that one defect can and has to happen many more times (10 TIMES more) in a Accord/Camry before numbers are even significant let alone labeled an issue, vs a JSW TDI.
Others are a series of coded messages from your mechanic. What he is really saying: he has neither the equipment, expertise and practical experiences to service a diesel. In effect, you will be now on your own (after the VW warranty periods) should you chose the diesel. If he were to service YOUR diesel, statistically (all things being equal) he can not come close to the level a service a specialist in TDI's can. I am sure he would hate to lose you as a customer. (aka stay WITH the Honda/Toyota)
So to answer your questions PRACTICALLY. VW's are really built to be repaired. This can be seen as a good thing OR a BAD thing. All but the diesel components are normal "CAR" repairs (a wheel and tire on a VW is a ...wheel and tire on a Honda/Toyota) Honda/Toyota's are really built to be appliance like, which oh by the way can be brought in to be fixed. Almost by necessity, I would seek out a specialist IN TDI's.
I just recently clicked off a major tune cycle for both (110,000/120,000 miles, 100,000 miles) a 2004 Honda Civic and a 2003 VW Jetta TDI. At LIKE MILES, you will probably not guess which needed more maintenance AND cost more and was procedurally and technically more complicated and took more time.
sidebar: I can be VERY specific but don't wish to bore the general thread if that is not of real interest.
Yes - it is DIFFERENT than a gasser. But the TDi actually has LESS things to fail.
NO ignition system (coil, sparkplug wires, sparkplugs....etc) These things simply do not exist on a diesel engine.
I have to agree with the other appender who suggested that perhaps your "trusted mechanic" is simply not familiar with the TDI engine and does not wish to lose a customer.
Also, do not forget that ONLY the engine is different... the rest of the vehicle is the same as any other VW. Same brakes, same suspension...etc Hence, your mechanic should be able to handle most of the "standard" maintenance duties.
My wife LOVES her Jetta TDI and prefers to drive it over my turbocharged Baja.
On long roadtrips, (over 4 hours) the 56 MPG is unmatched by any other vehicle sold in North America. It gets over 750 miles per tank of fuel.
....and dont let ANYONE tell you that diesel fuel is "hard to find" or "too expensive" I can tell you that diesel is sold at most refuling stations.
I have a spreadsheet totaling every drop of fuel ever pumped into my wife's TDI. The all-important COST PER MILE is $0.05 (over 125,000 miles)
My motorcycle barely matches the cost-per-mile of the TDI!!
I am living proof of the old saying, you can't keep making the same mistake over and over, and expect a different result.
This is not an excuse for the lack of durability for your emissions system, but I had app $4,600 in repair fees for a 1985 Toyota Camry. It was done at the time by a local Toyota dealer. Yes and like yours, a couple of miles outside the warranty. Looking back on it it can only be descrbed as a sludge monster with a whole bunch more issues. They actually as a good will move did a lot of OTHER things under their "secret customer service warranties" Needless to say Toyota reliability has been , even back then and remains... ledgendary.
Dealerships are getting more competative about priceing shop work these days. The bill was $658.00 inc taxes.
The old belt and idler pully that came off still looked to be in mint condtion.
Dealer said I did not use correct oil, but they did the oil changes.
Dealers using the wrong oil in your engine is way too common. Problem is proving it. I would talk to the service manager first and bring all your paperwork. If they don't accept some responsibility I would get a hold of VWUSA. They are trying to improve their image. Good luck, and keep us posted.
I wanted to post pictures but not sure how or if allowed on Edmunds.
Thanks for your input on oil. I have used Mobil One in my gas cars for years, but warned by VW that warranty would be void if I did not use Castrol 505 01 from VW.
http://www.vw.com/en/contact_us/nav/contact_us.html
You can post pictures. Make sure they are no wider than 640 pixels. You will need a photo server of some sort like Photobucket or Montypics.
Upon repair, folks that have used the Mobil One 5w40 TDT oil have experience wear levels way below those using the recommended Castrol oils. I can link a series of UOA's that shows much lower wear levels at 20,000 + OCI's. on a repaired camshaft.
Things like this don't necessarily hurt a car's reputation. I mean, look at the Volvo B18 and B20 engines from the 60s & 70s. These cars enjoy a good reputation for "running forever" but their camshafts were total junk. However once fixed (using IPD camshafts) they ran a long long time.
So you just deal with it and move on.
As for debris getting into the engine after severe camshaft wear, that's a touch and go thing---seems to me if nothing drastic happens in a few hundred miles, you're safe. I'd certainly do a 1,000 mile oil change though and make sure I have a magnetic oil plug.