Any member have any experience with this engine? It's getting to be "new car time" (2nd car) and am considering one. Thanks in advance for the replies.

John (DH)

 

The wife drive a TDI Jetta, and I would buy another in a hearbeat. Check out www.tdiclub.com

 

What would you like to know. I work at a VW dealership. They are excellant engines. What exactly are you looking at?

 

Looking at probably the Jetta and was curious about the expected engine life, maintainablity, etc. I know they get good mileage but what are the weak links(like the IP on the 24 valve CDT, front suspension, KDP, etc). Thanks.

John (DH)

 

What year? 2004 and newer has the new Pumpa Duece, different engine from the 2003 and earlier. On the earlier TDis, MAF (mass air flow) sensor. As far as maintenance, timing belt @ 40 or 60k miles, synthetic oil needs to be ran in them, service intervals are every 10k on them. I wouldn't recommend Bio-Diesel, I've seen Injection Pumps fail. Vw know says that B5 is ok to run in them, but nothing more. The 04 and newer ones, the only thing that I've seen are EGR issues and a recall on the transfer pumps. I'm Ca., so theres not too many. I've seen these engines with 200,000+ miles on them, but then again, I've seen them messed up pretty good because the Timing belt broke, cylinder head was toasted, holes in pistons.
As recommended early, the TDi club has a lot of info about these engines. I hope this answers your questions. Tye

 

Tye: Thanks for the response. How hard is to change the belt(s)?

John (DH)

 

It's not too difficult if your mechanically inclinded, but there are some special tools that are needed and a VAGCOM is nice to have to check the fuel pump timing. You have the timing belt, tensioner, a couple of rollers and some stretch bolts to replace. It is an interferance motor, So if the timing off, or the belt brakes, it will bend valves.

 

If you buy a new one make sure that you have read all you can on how to brake them in! If they are not broken in right they will get worse milage, and the engine wont last as long.

Coop

 

i just bought one with 250,000 miles,uses a quart in 2000 miles,but from what i can tell it's leaking probably 90% of that.from the tdi page i gather that t-belts should be replaced every 70,000,although the one i just bought he said he got 101,000 out of a belt,as he put on 50,000 a year,age probably plays more of a role then milage if it's raked up pretty quick,also they are good for the intake manifold plugging with soot,and several members of the tdiclub have bypassed the system with a custom unit that helps,the intake plugging issue seems to be in the 98-03 range,otherwise i sure love mine,also if you get one you can fill the tank then vent it and get another 2 gallons or so in it,guy on the tdi page just put on 1400 miles on a tank of fuel(25.1 gal)impressive to say the least.oh one thing about the jetta if you are over about 5'10 your head will hit the roof in the back seat,if thats the case go for a passat,lots of room there but they are the perverbial hens teeth,if you do find one they will want a pretty penny for it.and if you want the super milage get a stick they average about 5mpg better then the auto's.

 

BBWD
I live in Grand Prairie. My wife drives a 03 jetta. We have gotten as much as 57 mpg on the few trips we have made. The cars normal week is spent driving in traffic and still gets over 40 mpg.
If you want to get the best mileage you need to consider the manual. If you can drive a standard its a fun car to drive.
I change the oil by pulling it out of the dipstick tube. I have changed the fuel filter once and is a piece of cake, as is the oil filter. As with most all egr engines, the intake will eventually have buildup of crud and will have to be cleaned but I'm waiting until 50k miles or so to worry about that.
I am looking into the vagcom within the next few weeks so if you get one I might be able to help you do some of the mods you will read about on the tdiclub.

The 2004's are a little different. The have changed the injector pump. They need a motor oil that there are few suppliers. Not hard to get, just not many options. Did I say that synthetics are recommended? Other than that the new ones are good cars and still get good mileage.

Mine (wife's) has around 33 thousand miles 1year9months and has been problem free.

 

My 01 TDI has been good. Had to unplug the intake manifold once, turned the egr off with the VAG-COM. Had the MAF sensor go bad. That being said its a good car. VW was not very nice to deal with in Canada. The car just turned 100,000 kilometers and we get 55-63 mpg imperial. I would not buy another Jetta as it is too small , The back seat is only good for ankle biters. I would have a very good look at a Passat. The 04 TDI is supposed to have fixed the EGR and MAF problems. Be careful as the alarm system is not good as the thiefs just put a screwdriver into the key hole and the whole car is now disarmed for their liesure, a fix is to blank out the key hole. I have the part numbers for that. I have had numerous VW diesels and they go forever. Just bougth a 84 with only 132,000kilometers on it so it will go a while yet.
Good Luck.
Bob

 

VERY NICE!!! GREAT MILAGE and Will last a long time! Great resale value too. I have bought and sold many of them. (I am a dealer) I always have people asking if I have any. Great choice!

 

Nope! There are still problems. Whats happening is the EGR coolant tube is leaking and gumming up the EGR valves. VW still has no fix yet. We have an 04 Jetta wagon that has had the problem since new. We've replaced the EGR and coolant pipe 3 times on it in 8 months and 10,000 miles. On the second visit the MAF took a dump.

 

As far as the Jetta goes, which years are best? Is there one type that is better than another?

 

Aside from those issues, how about as a whole?

I have been trying to nudge the wife into a Jetta TDI. Mainly for the mileage, then for the longevity. She gets tired of cars after about 4 years. I have a little longer attention span for vehicles, and that seems like a model I could toy around with.