I am trying to get a few "real life" stories from New Beetle TDI and New
Jetta TDI (1995.5) and newer dubs. By now, there should be quite a few high
mileage units, especially the 98's 99's and 00's. I am not particularly
looking for "horror" stories; we all know that there are plenty of those
available at "carreview.com" and "my vw lemon.com" etc, and although those
are welcome to respond also, I would also like to hear from folks with
average and good experiences as well.


Please describe, in as much detail as practical and possible, the issues
that you have had with your TDI's--including mileage at problem and total
mileage at present. A good description of your vehicle's trim level and
options would be nice also.


Just trying to get a realistic picture of the long term with these cars, so
that I can make an intelligent decision of whether to buy or not----and
please, be objective----I am not trying to get anyone to sell me on VW. I
know that most folks that frequent this group love their dubs; maybe I'll
love one too soon; maybe not.

Thanks in advance------

I have a customer at work with a 2000 Beetle TDI that has 550,000 kilometres
on it....still runs like a top!

- Peter

"FerdyPooh" <fredjr1 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote

Long term=you will spend money to keep it going! TDI's last a long time as
long as you keep up with the services and timing belt replacement and don't
use CHEAP oil and parts. I personally service 3 (1999-2000) TDI's which have
114,000, 155,000, and one with close to 180,000 miles and all have had
problems over the years and all have kept to VW's service schedule but have
had some problems. The normal stuff such as MAF's, brake repairs, tires, and
other minor things over the miles of use. All 3 owners use *only* VW dealer
parts including VW Castrol oil and have NOT had the intake removed for the
what most report as a "common know problem" of the intake and EGR getting
gunked up! So is the problem related to owners who cut corners on service,
oil or is it because we have better fuel quality in our area... I don't
know? We have already replace a TDI engine because the owner fell his T-belt
would last a lot longer than VW said it should and guess what, HE LOST the
BET! Wonder if he is crying somewhere on the internet that his VW TDI is a
piece of crap! As for which car I would own that would be the Jetta over the
NB as I view the NB as a Sunday afternoon fun car. I think the Jetta will be
worth more money for resell down the road. If I was looking for a TDI I
would purchase the newest and lowest miles car my budget would permit and
presently that would be nothing older than a 2000. One last thing from
1998-2003 not much has changed for the TDI other than the newer engine say
the t-belts are now go for 80k miles.

Does this help?



"FerdyPooh" <fredjr1 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote

"FerdyPooh" <fredjr1 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote

gl model, no power windows or heated seats. A relay went bad under warranty,
one set of brakes and one set of tires. I replaced the timing and serpentine
belts as recommended myself but plan on $500 to have it done. The new style
belts and tensioner are rated for 80k miles instead of 60k and on new cars
it's 100k. The maf's fail but good replacements can be had for $100 or less
and are easy to put on. I had The body and paint are of good quality and are
holding up very well. A person I know has recently gotten a used 99 new
jetta for $4200, Spotless with leather and power. It has 236k miles on it
and had a cel and ran like crap. I put on a used gas maf I had, cleared the
error code, reseated the glow plug harness. It then ran like a champ with
one small exception, that was the "anti shudder" valve sticking. Intake
manifold clogging is a definet problem. Adjusting the egr setting with a
vag-com is supposed to be a long term fix, the root of the problem is our
high sulpher fuel. I use synthetic shell rotella 5-40 oil and change it
every 10k miles as the schedule says. Costs $12.88 per gallon at some wally
worlds but lasts longer.A vag-com setup is required to read/diagnose and
clear error codes. www.ross-tech.com Also there's lots of info at
www.tdiclub.com but remember us diesel fans tend to be fanatics about our
cars and can go overboard at times. My lifetime average mileage is of 47.6
mpg but your mileage may vary!

Would I do it again? Yes, except the company I work for said "everyone will
drive a company car" so there's no jetta tdi wagon in my future.


Jo Bo

on the whole - good car.
good mileage, decent power, looks good.
some notorious problems - intake clogging, mafs fail sometimes. thats
about it. aside from those things, the car is put together well.

my 99 is almost at 100,000 miles. its been good to me so far.
ill probably keep it till i have around 300,000 on the engine and then
depending on how the body is, maybe longer.


FerdyPooh wrote:


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"Woodchuck" <stv_euroski (AT) yahoo (DOT) comXXX> wrote



I love how shoddy engineering and construction has skewed our thinking
so that we accept the MAF as a normal service item.
Another score for GM.


--TW I want coffee. Now.

In article <jG%Ub.12216$Rl4.2043 (AT) bignews5 (DOT) bellsouth.net>,
"FerdyPooh" <fredjr1 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote:


Have the following inspected prior to purchase. Otherwise these are
expensive repairs.

1) Time Belt and Tensioner. These need replacing at 40k. If it was
replaced, make sure they were replaced with the newer, longer-lasting
80k parts.

2) intake manifold. I purchased mine with 38k on it and by 50k the
intake manifold needed it's "out of car enema." This is seemingly
common with the TDI (though perhaps not in Europe with their higher-spec
Diesel). You will know if it needs cleaning if you are losing power at
high speeds, if the car is hesitant accelerating in 2nd gear, et al.

3) Glow Plugs: make sure they work, especially if you live in a colder
climate. Mine have been OK, but I did need to replace the relay.

4) Various VW recalls: see that the car is up to date on recalls. If
you don't have the full set of service records, most/all VW dealers can
check the recall history by looking up the VIN. Mine was mostly up to
date, but a failed MAF was covered by VW's extended 70k warranty on the
MAF.

So... I paid $9,000 for my '99.5 Golf GL TDI in March of '03 and have
put another $1,500 in it since. Not too much fun. I knew the Timing
Belt would need changing, so I negotiated for that when purchasing the
car (they were asking $10,500) -- but the intake manifold was a
surprise. I'm hoping that with all I've done the car is set until 120k,
when the Timing Belt is due for another change. I'm assuming the intake
will need another cleaning sometime around then as well.

No super high mileage, just a 4 year stint as a company car (abuse those
things take... ohh my), then a year under my control. What am I left with?

A 1999.5 Golf TDI GLS, with every option availible at the time minus maybe 1
or 2 things, everything works perfectly on it, almost 90K Kms on it.

Things that have gone wrong-
MAF sensor - VW Canada has recalled them, money back
The window regs/clips - recalled
A strut for my trunk blew when it was -35° C outside... probably too cold
for the seals which hadn't been worked by open/closings in days.... possibly
more then a week.

When I got the car I had the turbo, engine and those various bits tested,
decarbonized etc... The turbo was performing perfectly, and there was a bit
of carbonization in the engine which was cleaned, they told me I bought a
great car (it was serviced religiously by the VW dealer 300 meters away from
where it was a company car) so far it has been.

At 90K I am going in for the tranny flush (its an automatic TDI... 100K
service interval for the fluid, may as well get it done with my 90K fluids
service).
"FerdyPooh" <fredjr1 (AT) bellsouth (DOT) net> wrote

I have a 96 Passat Wagon TDI. Has 141,000 miles on it now. Use it for
work (80 miles round trip) every day. Only problems so far have been
one window regulator ($140), shifter linkage needed rebuilt (new
bushings) for about $50.00 parts/labor, just replaced the original
exhaust system (cat-back) last month. Change timing belt as required at
60k and 120k miles. Oil/filter change with Delvac 1 synthetic every
10k miles. Changed all fluids at 100k. Thats about it. Very reliable.
Only let me sitting the one time when the shifter fell apart.

Note: New 04 TDI PD Jetta Wagon is on the way from Germany for the
wife. Traded in an 02 GTI. Sticking with TDIs from now on.
OVER OUT

FerdyPooh wrote:

Generally speaking, it looks as if some or most of the responses so far that
the cars exhibit a generous amount of high maintenance, but are overall
fairly reliable. If my take on this is wrong, please advise---

Parts and service (especially parts) seem to be much more expensive than
their American, Japanese, and Korean counterparts. VW's seem to have certain
"quirks" that must be dealt with in order to happily own one----

(By the way, I already own a 2004 Hyundai Sonata GLS----the quality, fit
and finish, warranty and reliability and value of this car is absolutely
beyond reproach--prolly a big surprise to hear as most folks have badmouthed
Hyundai's for years due to their ugly past reputation----Hyundai has done a
180 degree turn around in terms of quality, and truly is the best kept
secret in the automotive world----they are working VERY hard to change their
image, and doing a great job of it----hard stigma to get rid of, trust
me---it reflects in their resale values---but it is, however, a very BORING
car, sorry, I digress)


Back to the subject-----I am a genuine home mechanic, have an extensive
garage and tend to do all work possible on my own autos (have fully frame
off restored a couple of vintage ones, but not German ones or VW's), need
input on special tooling, knowledge, a little more info about VAG-COM---is
this a special diagnostic program just for VW? What about common OBD II
scanners and code readers?

Info appreciated on aftermarket parts (not performance stuff, just
replacement parts)

Thanks again, talk soon----





"Woodchuck" <stv_euroski (AT) yahoo (DOT) comXXX> wrote