# Anyone try out a Jetta TDI?



## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Hu99 said:


> The Jetta is okay.....if you want you car to *sound like a small tractor*. TDI technology is far from the sophistication of BMW or even Mercedes' Bluetec.


You need to get your ears checked. The tdi also uses Common Rail technology, and this is what produces smooth power. My 98 Mercedes that uses an Injection Pump is somewhat tractor-like , my 04 Passat (PD technology) is quite smooth and quiet.


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## bayoucity (Jun 11, 2010)

anE934fun said:


> Totaling a car because of a load of bad fuel - OUCH! :yikes:


It is a combination of multiple factors:

#1) 2010 Q7 TDI is a fairly rare car (Audi doesn't sell in volume compare to its German counterparts);

#2) If it is a second repair after initial claim, there is no guarantee next repair won't be traced back to contaminated fuel;

#3) The cost of subrogation will escalate as the gas station in question is own by company (imagine suing petroleum company);

#4) The cost of assuming the liability of insured driving the "problematic" vehicle;

#5) The cost of insurance (labor intensive- administrative, postage, claim adjusters, dealerships, phone calls & so on).


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## Philm35 (Aug 19, 2010)

Early in my car search, I drove a 2010 Jetta TDI with a manual transmission. I found the engine to be peppy but not overwhelmingly quick. The car had nice build quality, plenty of room, and had most of the features I wanted. The dealbreaker for me was the car's tepid handling and braking. I found myself wishing I could have optioned the GTI sport suspension and brakes... If that had been an option, I might have bought the car. I haven't driven an Audi A3 TDI, but based on my experience owning three different Audi's I would suspect it would be a much more satisfying drivers' car than the Jetta.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Philm35 said:


> Early in my car search, I drove a 2010 Jetta TDI with a manual transmission. I found the engine to be peppy but not overwhelmingly quick. The car had nice build quality, plenty of room, and had most of the features I wanted. The dealbreaker for me was the car's tepid handling and braking. I found myself wishing I could have optioned the GTI sport suspension and brakes... If that had been an option, I might have bought the car. I haven't driven an Audi A3 TDI, but based on my experience owning three different Audi's I would suspect it would be a much more satisfying drivers' car than the Jetta.


Wonder if the TDI Cup Edition would have been any better.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

*Coming soon VW Passat TDI*

How about the new US built VW Passat TDI?
It'll have the same 2.0 CR TDI as the Jetta but in a larger and more upscale body.
I would imagine that the Passat TDI will get a much higher range per tank since it has a 70L tank vs a 55L for the Jetta.

If only VW offers it with the 3.0 CR TDI used in the Toureg instead, it will be an alternative to the M-B E350 & 535D but at a much lower price.


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## DnA Diesel (Jul 31, 2010)

DC-IT said:


> How about the new US built VW Passat TDI?
> It'll have the same 2.0 CR TDI as the Jetta but in a larger and more upscale body.
> I would imagine that the Passat TDI will get a much higher range per tank since it has a 70L tank vs a 55L for the Jetta.
> 
> If only VW offers it with the 3.0 CR TDI used in the Toureg instead, it will be an alternative to the M-B E350 & 535D but at a much lower price.


Now the Passat CC with the V6 TDI would be a winner, but both the new Passat and Jetta are bland shells. Yuck. I think my Mk4 Jetta TDI has more soul than VW's most recently offered, de-contented cars.

Regards
D


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Have they released a date for the TDI Passat to be sold stateside? I always wondered why the TDI Passat was pulled from the US market. But never really kept up with all the VWs.


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## DnA Diesel (Jul 31, 2010)

The TDI was pulled when they went from the B5.5 platform to the B6 platform at about the same time as Merc yanked the E320 CDI's - they were hitting a model change and didn't have the SCR gear to pass 2007 emissions (also why Jeep stopped the CRD Liberty). It just took them a while to get around to working SCR back into the line-up, I think...not sure but I think the Passat is running Ad-blue system even though the Jetta isn't.

Regards,
d


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## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

IMO HPFP failure rates in the 2009+ TDI's are over exaggerated. I would check the NTHSA for complaints. Really my biggest gripe against the VW TDI (previous model) was that I had to have an A/T and I didn't like the VW DSG gearbox and I wasn't sure of the leatherette would be too damn hot in the summer.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

*New Pasat TDI gets 43MPG + 800 Miles/tank!*

As per news release:

For the fuel-conscious, a turbocharged diesel will be available, which will be good for 43 mpg on the highway, according to VW's preliminary testing, and would yield 800 miles of driving range per tank of fuel.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110110/DETROIT/110109919#ixzz1BOXiPXWf


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Snipe656 said:


> Have they released a date for the TDI Passat to be sold stateside? ...


I believe the latter half of the year.

The HPFP issues in the VW CR's do give me pause. VWoA does not have the best customer support record either .


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## GB (Apr 3, 2002)

DnA Diesel said:


> Now the Passat CC with the V6 TDI would be a winner, but both the new Passat and Jetta are bland shells. Yuck. I think my Mk4 Jetta TDI has more soul than VW's most recently offered, de-contented cars.
> 
> Regards
> D


Agreed. I'm a current VW owner (Eurovan) but the new Passat looks like a big disappointment both visually and dynamically. The fact that a diesel option appears to be the most exciting improvement over the previous model says it all 

Graham


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## boooomer (Apr 23, 2010)

BMWTurboDzl said:


> *IMO HPFP failure rates in the 2009+ TDI's are over exaggerated. * I would check the NTHSA for complaints. Really my biggest gripe against the VW TDI (previous model) was that I had to have an A/T and I didn't like the VW DSG gearbox and I wasn't sure of the leatherette would be too damn hot in the summer.


What makes you think that the TDI HPFP failures are over exagerated? There's been about 75 failures reported on the '09, '10 & '11 models in the NHTSA database SO FAR for an engine thats only been out for about 2 years. And thats only the folks who have taken the trouble to report the problem. It's really hard to say what the extent is and what happens when these cars get older.
I wasn't willing to take that risk. Especially given the $10k cost & VAG's blame the owner first attitude. 
OTOH if VAG acknowleged the problem, & came out with a fix and stood behind their cars -that would be different case.


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## SteveGu (Nov 3, 2010)

boooomer said:


> I wasn't willing to take that risk. Especially given the $10k cost & VAG's blame the owner first attitude.
> OTOH if VAG acknowleged the problem, & came out with a fix and stood behind their cars -that would be different case.


This is the problem for me. This type of engine has a proper place, great economy, decent performance and no DEF. BUT there are tons of non-disputed reports of VW refusing to honor the warranty for a variety of fuel-delivery problems, and not to the tune of a couple hundred dollars, but amounting to thousands. To me this makes no sense; either the system is too sensitive for the market (VW's fault, not the customers'), or they are unable to properly diagnose the actual cause and choose to push that responsibility to the owner (who does this?). In any case, the whole attitude is wrong; whatever the cause of the problem, it is magnitudes cheaper for VW to fix it as a manufacturer than for their customers to fix it as retail consumers, the whole $value pie is being maliciously shrunk by this approach. Even worse, since the real scope of the problem is known only to VW, people such as myself run the other way, even though the risk might be very small.


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## craig1214 (Feb 16, 2007)

Is there a risk of BMW D's having a similar HPFP problem? I assume there are many more VW TDI's in Europe and elsewhere. Is the problem isolated to USA?


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

SteveGu said:


> This is the problem for me. This type of engine has a proper place, great economy, decent performance and no DEF. BUT there are tons of non-disputed reports of VW refusing to honor the warranty for a variety of fuel-delivery problems, and not to the tune of a couple hundred dollars, but amounting to thousands. To me this makes no sense; either the system is too sensitive for the market (VW's fault, not the customers'), or they are unable to properly diagnose the actual cause and choose to push that responsibility to the owner (who does this?). In any case, the whole attitude is wrong; whatever the cause of the problem, it is magnitudes cheaper for VW to fix it as a manufacturer than for their customers to fix it as retail consumers, the whole $value pie is being maliciously shrunk by this approach. Even worse, since the real scope of the problem is known only to VW, people such as myself run the other way, even though the risk might be very small.


+ If I as the owner keep my fuel receipts and all oil change + service is doen by a VW dealer there should be no questions asked when a HPFP fails. The repair should be under warranty.

But what happens if the warranty period is over?
If I were to be stuck with the $10K repair bill the depreciated value of the TDI may make it not worth while to repair.

Why both to take such risks?
I'd be better off not buying a VW TDI.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Craig, In US the "D" has been out since 2009 model year. I have not heard of anyone with issues thus far. Fingers crossed.:thumbup:


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

craig1214 said:


> Is there a risk of BMW D's having a similar HPFP problem? I assume there are many more VW TDI's in Europe and elsewhere. Is the problem isolated to USA?


So far the problem does appear to be exclusive to US. Seemingly few reported in Canada last time I noticed on tdiclub, and can't remember seeing any reported in Europe.

Substandard fuel :dunno:


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

DC-IT said:


> + If I as the owner keep my fuel receipts and all oil change + service is doen by a VW dealer there should be no questions asked when a HPFP fails. The repair should be under warranty.
> 
> But what happens if the warranty period is over?
> If I were to be stuck with the $10K repair bill the depreciated value of the TDI may make it not worth while to repair.
> ...


This is why I was saying it becomes a throw away car. Every day I pass a sign that says new Jettas for something like $16k and I doubt the diesel is tons more than that price. So I will just assume though the diesel is $22k now this one repair is basically half of what the car is worth after I drive it new off the dealer lot. Give me a couple years of ownership and with the warranty gone due to miles and now the repair more than likely exceeds the value of the car. So basically I'd be better off just auctioning it off and buying another over repairing it.


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## anE934fun (May 10, 2008)

Snipe656 said:


> This is why I was saying it becomes a throw away car. Every day I pass a sign that says new Jettas for something like $16k and I doubt the diesel is tons more than that price. So I will just assume though the diesel is $22k now this one repair is basically half of what the car is worth after I drive it new off the dealer lot. *Give me a couple years of ownership and with the warranty gone due to miles and now the repair more than likely exceeds the value of the car. So basically I'd be better off just auctioning it off and buying another over repairing it*.


Kind of like what Hyundais were originally like - after the warranty was over, the car was driven until something failed. Then it was time to walk away from the car, as the repair cost was invariably going to be greater than the value of the car before the mechanical failure occurred.

I bet ole westy would sh*t a brick if I posted that his Audi was just a re-badged Hyundai.... :angel:


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