Volkswagen TDI talk

[Unimog]

What I like to do is this.
You search RossTech for what's needed to do what you want to do then give me a ring and we will set up a time to meet at my shop where I will let you use my system (under my direction).


I've found with most cars that you need to go to the dealer to get a "new" key programmed to your car, they require a special code that the dealer won't give out any more.

If you already have a fob that works and the second fob that's easy but with a completely different module I suspect a dealer trip is in your future.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

Nice! I have the RossTech instructions. I'll just have to verify they don't need the special code before I call. Thanks!

 

[RNandKT]

Actually, yes... VW builds an SUV, the Touareg with a TDI engine, but it's very different than the car engine. The older one is a V10 and makes 550 ft/lbs of torque! It's considered a 'pig' and only gets 20 MPG. There is a newer model Touareg with a TDI V6, it gets better mileage and still makes 500 ft/lbs. I don't know much about it though.

There are a couple other Diesel SUV's out there. The Ford Excursion came in the 7.3 diesel for a while (not sure that years). Also the Jeep Liberty had the 3.0 liter CRD diesel from 05-07. And they are putting that diesel in the Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 this year (rumors of it going in to the Wrangler next year).

 

[Kiel]

2.8 liter in the liberty is a vm engine. 3.0 grand is a fiat engine

 

[Greg]

There are a couple other Diesel SUV's out there....

Yep... but he asked about "TDI" SUV's & TDI is VW's diesel engine name and this is a VW-specific thread.

 

[rockdog]

We have a 2010 Jetta TDI Haven't had any problems so far. ( crosses fingers/knocks on wood/prays loudly!!!) Wife's car, bought it new. She drives it to work and back, so it only has 36000 on it.

 

[Hickey]

I love the VW diesel engines. It's just too bad they come in a VW.

The electrics are the main issue with all VW's.

I cut my teeth on diesel rabbits. Had a few very bad experiences with Flinns VW repair that ended in court. It may be under new ownership by now, since that was 20 years ago.

I find myself tempted by the TDI's every once in a while, but my own experiences and those of friends and family keep me safe from buying one. I love the new Beetles, just can't trust them.

 

[RNandKT]

2.8 liter in the liberty is a vm engine. 3.0 grand is a fiat engine

You are correct the Liberty was a 2.8 CRD, my mistake, but that diesel was made by an Italian company called VM Motori, and fiat is 50% owner of that company. The 3.0 is actually directly related to the 2.8. Funny at the time they were making the Liberty, Chrysler owned most of VM Motori, but sold their share in 2007 when the diesel wasn't working out for them, but now they are partnered with Fiat, and they are back working with the same diesel company.

Yep... but he asked about "TDI" SUV's & TDI is VW's diesel engine name and this is a VW-specific thread.

True, but TDI and CRD are only the fuel delivery method for the diesels anyway. TDI just stands for Turbo Direct Injection, and CRD is Common Rail Diesel. The difference is just how the fuel is injected into the engine. Sorry if I got off topic, I thought it was a more broad diesel thread. Obviously there are a lot of other diesel options out there.

I had spent a lot of time researching it once as I wanted to do the swap (and I looked into all options, VW TDI, Jeep CRD, Cummins 4BT, etc). Ultimately I came to the conclusion that if I wanted a better MPG diesel I could buy a TDI Bug/Jetta for less than even the aftermarket parts I would need (not even counting the engine) to do the swap and it would get 15 MPG better in the car than my Jeep anyway. So ultimately decided if you want better MPG's, buy a car to commute in and a Jeep to wheel in.

 

[Greg]

Well, I sold/traded my 2000 TDI Jetta (which was paid for long ago)... it was a great car, I already miss it. When I sold it I had 268k miles and was ready for many more...

It has been replaced with a 2006 TDI Jetta that is very similar to the old one, white in color, 5 speed manual transmission and well cared for by the previous owners. I bought the new one with 115k miles on it. I was lured in by the nice leather interior, slightly larger size and updated look. Probably shouldn't have bought the new one, as the 2000 was running/driving fine.

Here's the 2000, just before it went to another RME member. Looks pretty good for a car with almost 270k miles!-

And now the 2006 TDI Jetta...

It had some upcoming mods/changes, the headlight lenses are fogged up so they're going to get replaced. Also going to add some fog lights too. The car MAY be getting an ECU tune that'll add 80 ft/lbs, which will put it near 260 ft/lbs of torque. A clutch upgrade would be wise, but that's down the road.

 

[Troop92]

My son has a 2002 GTI with the 1.8T. It is THE biggest pile of shit I have ever had the displeasure of owning. I don't know if his is a lemon but it really is the worst car I have ever been around, and I have owned 3 Jeeps and 20 something Fords, so that's saying a lot.

My brother bought the car with 20K miles on it and took pretty good care of it. It now has 160K on it and every electronic component on the car is going bad, or has been replaced. The oil pressure sensor has been replaced 3 times, the oil pan, pump and pickup were replaced, The timing belt was replaced, the coolant level sensor was replaced, the cooling fan control unit was replaced and is acting up again. It leaks oil from just about every place two parts are bolted together and contain oil. It has had 2 clutches (the slave on the first went bad around 60K miles). The check engine light has only been off for a few weeks a year after spending a few hundred dollars in sensors to get it to pass inspection/Emissions. The wheels seize onto the hub after about 200 miles and require a 5lb dead blow hammer to remove even with anti seize on both the wheel and hub. Lug bolts instead of lug nuts are pure evil and could only come from a country capable of producing Hilter.

Obviously the 1.8T is a gasoline engine... I don't know much about them. The only reason I DD a VW is because the TDI engine.

Sucks to hear about his problems, I know every car manufacturer has it's lemons. Sometimes it's best to just walk away! I had to do that with my '03 Dodge.

That's rough, they either have lemons (which show up now and then) or didn't stick to good maintenance. I have a 2003 Beetle Turbo S with the High Output 1.8T, and it's been great. Bought it from my uncle w/ 32k miles on it, now have 125k. I've replaced a coil pack, clutch at 100k miles, the rear brakes last week (original!), and did a timing belt change at 80k. Other than that, oil changes with synthetic every 5k miles. The 1.8T was bad about oil issues if you used cheap oil, or let jiffy lube work on your car. I take mine to Cuturubus, their prices are stupid low, and they're great to work with.

I'm looking for a new ride, and TDIs are on my list if I can find a good one.

 

[Greg]

... I'm looking for a new ride, and TDIs are on my list if I can find a good one.

I would look online, there are many dealers that specialize in VW's and specifically TDI's. If you're willing to Fly & Drive, you can usually find a nice, low mileage car that is current on maintenance for book value. We almost went to Washington state to get a TDI Beetle for my wife, but ended up buying a cheaper, more neglected Beetle in Vegas.

 

[Rot Box]

Well if you didn't figure it out already I'm the one who picked up Greg's TDI Jetta My Grandma had two diesel rabbits and a diesel Jetta in the early 80's up until the mid 90's when my grandpa passed. Driving the Jetta brought back memories I haven't had since I was a little kid. The smell, the sound (engine rattle), the heater controls etc.. it's weird how much came back to me. This is my first European vehicle, my first diesel car (had many diesel pickups) and my first car--car. The Subaru's of old and CR-V are not car--cars lol. So far I'm loving it and kicking myself for not doing this sooner. There is no words to describe what 47mpg feels like and I'm already determined to clear 50mpg on my next fill up.

 

[Greg]

Well if you didn't figure it out already I'm the one who picked up Greg's TDI Jetta My Grandma had two diesel rabbits and a diesel Jetta in the early 80's up until the mid 90's when my grandpa passed. Driving the Jetta brought back memories I haven't had since I was a little kid. The smell, the sound (engine rattle), the heater controls etc.. it's weird how much came back to me. This is my first European vehicle, my first diesel car (had many diesel pickups) and my first car--car. The Subaru's of old and CR-V are not car--cars lol. So far I'm loving it and kicking myself for not doing this sooner. There is no words to describe what 47mpg feels like and I'm already determined to clear 50mpg on my next fill up.

Funny about the memories, amazing how the mind works like that. 47 MPG is awesome! How many miles out of that tank of fuel? Read up on hypermiling on TDIClub... I bet you'll get over 50 MPG with a few habit changes.

I felt the same way about my TDI, wish I would have bought one long ago... could have saved a lot of money!

 

[OCNORB]

Congrats Rot!!

Just an FYI- if you have any serious troubles I do have Vag-Com software if anyone here gets in a bind. Its saved me much more than I paid for it over the years. Our '03 was bought new and has NEVER seen the inside of a dealership.

 

[Rot Box]

Thanks guys

Greg, I was around 600 miles and couldn't stand it any longer---so I filled it then checked mileage. My commute to work is about 20 miles each way and I drive all of it at around 45-50mph or less with minimal stops. I think it's going to break 50 no problem.

OCNORB, I'll keep that in mind thank you. I need to get the software and become more familiar with it--pretty cool stuff from the sounds of it.

Have any of you guy's had issues with fuel leaks around the tank? The fuel pump clicked but I pumped a little more in anyway (I'm going to not do that in the future). Anyway at first I thought I must have overfilled it but it's been 100 miles and there was a ton of fuel under the car when I came home tonight Won't have time to troubleshoot or check the TDI forums until Monday. i'll probably check out the sending unit and lines. Looks to be coming from above the tank a bit but hard to tell. Maybe others have had this issue?

 

[Unimog]

I've never had a problem with fuel leaking. I did a ventectomy on my 02 TDI right after I bought it and I almost always top it off til the whole filler neck is filled with fuel.

 

[OCNORB]

Never had any fuel leak issues. No ventectomy, but I use the nozzle to hold the button in the neck down and fill that extra 1.5-2 gallons. Sounds like it could just be where the hose clamps to the tank.

 

[Greg]

Andrew, I didn't mention that... I apologize. :-\ I meant to and couldn't remember if we talked about in PM's or when we met up.

I have done the Ventectomy to that car, it was the first thing I did. The ventectomy allows you to squeeze in quite a bit more fuel and fill the tank to the top, plus the filler tube. I think the leak is coming from the fuel tank access, under the passenger-rear seat. I started having problems when I fully topped off the tank awhile ago. If I stopped fueling when the pump clicks off, it wouldn't leak... if I filled it all the way up, it would leak. When I looked into it, there's a locking plastic ring and an O-ring that seals it. I think that's the problem, rather than the filler connection to the tank.

 

[rockdog]

Congrats Rot!!

Just an FYI- if you have any serious troubles I do have Vag-Com software if anyone here gets in a bind. Its saved me much more than I paid for it over the years. Our '03 was bought new and has NEVER seen the inside of a dealership.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is Vag-Com software?

 

[Greg]

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is Vag-Com software?

It's the VW/Audi diagnostic software and is VERY handy if you have a VW. You can check all the diagnostics, clear check engine lights, change things like glow plug duration, etc. Here- http://www.ross-tech.com/

You can download the software for free, but you need to buy a 'interface' or the cable to connect your laptop to your car. I have this interface for my cars.... - http://store.ross-tech.com/shop/VCKII.html

 

[rockdog]

Thanks Greg! I'm going to buy a cable and program from Riff Raff for my truck so I can read the trans codes and other stuff I can't get to with my cheap scan tool. It works with a laptop, so I could use the connection part for our TDI.