VW TDI Reliability

[DavidPHumes]

Hey all,

So somehow I sold my WRX for $2k over book. That leaves me with needing to find something to drive.

Pretty much, I do nothing but drive to and from work, to and from my GFs house and to and from my shop. I have access to all of the heavy lifting vehicles I need.  I don't really care about how fun the car is to drive - I have my RX-7 for that - but I don't want to drive a total shit box either. I've never much cared about MPG but 45MPG is damn tempting.

Any thoughts on all years of the TDIs? I'm willing to spend $0 to $15k on a car. I'm sure regular maintenance is the biggest things on these cars. I'm obviously willing to do any work that the car would need. Any thoughts? I read a lot of bs online and I'm guessing it's mostly untrue. 

[Cryptic]

My brother had an 02 TDI... It had a few fuel pumps fail... under warranty though. I liked the car alot. So nice getting 45+ MPG

[summy670x]

Stay far away from the older body style auto's...  I also heard people were having problems with the newer automatics, and then VW raised the mileage on the warranty for the DSG trans to I think 100k.  I'd stick to a manual tdi either way.  Everything I've heard points to the motor outlasting the car, I seriously looked into getting one of these before buying my Civic.  Only reason I bought the Civic is the price premium on the TDi didn't pay itself off in the timeline I was going to keep the car.

[zbrown]

yeah i dont think you have to worry about the engine, VW wiring is another story though, lol

[RXTC]

I had a eco Jetta, the engine and trans outlasted the body, I got it with 150K on it, sold the engine and trans with 320K for more than I paid, junked the rusty body for some more $$


As said before I'd only get a manual trans.


50 mpg is not hard to pull on any of them.

[badassf4i]

i just got a 2011 audi tdi. so far i love everything about it. on i75 doing 75 with the cruise set i average around 52 mpg.

[frogslife2]

VW wiring= HUGE FAIL! I had a gti the car was amazing handleing wise. It also had 7 different electrical problems (FACT) I also was looking at a 79 rabbit diesel it has some potential it might be worth the 1800 bucks in the long run if gas keeps climbing.

[gnx7]

as said manual transmission only.  The older automatics have valvebody issues where they lose OD and Reverse.  I drove one for 8K miles like this though!  Still got 38mpg highway with no OD going 65mph!

'96-97 models were lighter and easier to get 50mpg+ highway but old body style and crap interior.

'99-02 were bettter and get 40mpg city and 45mpg mixed.  50mpg if you drive under 65mph all highway.  I got 54mpg one tank on a long trip.
they like to eat window motors/regulators and they are $300+ in parts to fix.  Other electrical quirks too as in gobbling glow plugs, glow plug harnesses, etc.

I believe the '03-05 models had camshaft issues (you need to confirm the years) which means they need to be replaced.  Otherwise they are great.

Also if they need a fuel pump which is about $1K you have wasted all that $ saved by not simply buying a more reliable Japanese car
If you do more than 20K miles a year... it is a wash.  If you do less miles the TCO will be probably higher with the European car.

VW's and all European cars need the suspension bushings/arms replaced about every 80-100K if you want decent handling
For your parts needs I always call Aaron @ BoraParts.com for just about anything.

The Jettas get better gas mileage than the Golf/GTI due to aerodynamics even though they are heavier.

The new Audi A3's will not get 50mpg going 75mph even with a tailwind.  They don't get as good of fuel economy as the older ones due to emissions and them being heavier cars.

www.tdiclub.com is a good place to learn more.   A Ventectomy also allows 2 more gallons of fuel in the tank effectively allowing you go to another 80-100 miles.

[HXMan]

Worked on VW's for seven years up to last August.  Overall the diesels were a little more reliable then the gassers.  The  00-03 engines ate glow plugs and glow plug harnesses like someone else said.  Also the intake manifolds would coke up, which would then have to be removed and media blasted out.  I would just disable the EGR to get around it.  Turbos would also take a crap at higher mileages.  Auto trans were pretty bad too.  ECT sensors like to crap out on them(like any VW of this generation).

04-06 engines changed to unit injection and were pretty good engines.  If you didn't change the oil enough and with the right oil the camshafts would wear out, since they drove the high pressure injectors.  The shut shut off valves also had some problems, causing the engines to shudder when turned of and a cel.  Went thru some glow plugs, but no harnesses.  Had some tandem pump problems, but most of those were recalled. Sound the coolest IMO.

09+ Engines, much more emission controls, much more complicated, but very smooth and more powerful.  The early 09's had high pressure pump problems, I would stay away from the ones that didn't have the pump replaced already.  Also had exhaust flap problems(which I heard are now being recalled), and had DPF temp sensor problems.  For most of the sensor problems I saw the DPF had to be removed, which is kinda a PITA.  I hear from my friend that still works there the problems are solved with the 2010+ diesels.

Suspension parts do wear out after a while, but they do that on any car.  Good thing is the suspensions are very easy to work on.  Plus VW bodies now last quite a long time.  I saw lots of cars that it seemed the owners never cleaned, and they wouldn't rust out.  VW paint is superior to Japanese cars IMO.

[YellowFin]

I have a 2009 Jetta TDI manual, bought it with about 20k miles, now at 75,000 miles and not a SINGLE thing has gone wrong (knock on wood). Haven't regretted it for a minute.

Initially looked into TDI's for the mileage factor, but turns out it's actually *almost* fun to drive.

So anyway, I randomly found a car in Texas with a body kit I liked, (I don't mind road trips) and driving from Dallas to Tampa ended up costing something like 75 or 80 bucks in diesel, which is pretty hard to beat...

here's a pic to give an idea of the kit I'm talking about.

[blacksi]

I bought my manual 01 TDI Jetta with 110k on it just rolled over 318k.

  I gave up on the glow plug thing and I just leave the cel on.  It really doesn't need them except for the coldest of days.  I've warped a lot of front rotors for some reason and it seems to be pretty normal from what I've read.  I had to replace both front window mechanisms, there are plastic pieces that break.  Just put a starter on this year and an alternator last year.  I've been exteamly cheap, I planned on a big 250k overhaul with hoses belts and suspension but that came and went so it's still running all original equipment.

Other than that just timing belt replacements, which are not as straightforward as a gas motor but are do-able.

I get 45 mpg mostly highway at 80 and usually floored in ever gear to get there which they say actually helps keep things cleaned out.

[gnx7]

I just bought a '99 Jetta TDI 5spd with 145K mile for $2K.  Down side is the timing belt snapped so off comes the head and some new valves/rebuild.  Should be into it for $3K total. 

[blacksi]

I just bought a '99 Jetta TDI 5spd with 145K mile for $2K.  Down side is the timing belt snapped so off comes the head and some new valves/rebuild.  Should be into it for $3K total. 

That's and awsome deal.  You can get a head, cam rebuild for not much more than a grand if you do the labor yourself.  Frank on TDI forum out in MO is great for head rebuilds.