New Beetle TDI and New Jetta TDI long term reliability

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------

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

- Peter

Reply to
Pete Cressman

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?

Reply to
Woodchuck

"FerdyPooh" wrote in message news:jG%Ub.12216$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews5.bellsouth.net...

I've owned a 99 "new" jetta since 3/11/99 and it now has 113k on it. It's a 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.

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Also there's lots of info at
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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

Reply to
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:

Reply to
manapy

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.

Reply to
Tundra Wookie

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.

Reply to
ELVIS2000

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.

Reply to
Rob Guenther

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 Wag> I am trying to get a few "real life" stories from New Beetle TDI and New

Reply to
bob

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----

Reply to
FerdyPooh

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----

Reply to
FerdyPooh

Also, have all the coil pack and window regulator problems been solved? If so, what year models would have the problems been solved in?

Thanks again--

Reply to
FerdyPooh

yes and I'm not sure, but my '02 has had the recalls done for both so if you're looking used an '02 is still a safe bet, as if the repairs haven't been done they should still be covered.

nate

FerdyPooh wrote:

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Your Hyundai will need its oil changed, it will need its brakes done, you will have to replace all its fluids every 2 years, its transmission will need a flush every so often. This is basically the maintenance that my Golf has encountered. Sure the windows clips and regs died, and the MAF died, but VW admitted that they skimped a little on the supplier and got shoddy parts that really were not up to VW standards. I didn't pay for these defects this was all done under warranty, and the MAF - I got money back from VW Canada after I paid out of pocket.

VW's parts prices seem a little expensive tho, but I mean there is always the aftermarket, parts should be cheaper that route, I just prefer getting genuie VW stuff.

particularly

Reply to
Rob Guenther

**Hey, Ferdy, you're not crossing over to the dark side are you? ;) I know you from the hyundai NG. I used to have a Santa Fe. The coil pack problems were mostly confined to 2001 to very early 2003 1.8T engines. I believe the 2000s were okay, but I'll be corrected if I'm wrong :) The VR6s had coil pack problems also. The window regulator problems were supposedly fixed for the 2003s also. That said, it still doesn't mean that stuff won't happen to them. Are you thinking of purchasing a VW?

Many of the VW owners I run into in different forums like,

vwforum.com vwvortex.com

...do much of their own work on their cars. There are many aftermarket/OEM goodies to be found, for example:

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Hope that helps a little,

kaboomie

Reply to
kaboom

I have a 2001 Jetta with 128000km.

Problems repaired free of charge under the warranty:

75000km - MAF 106000 - Brake light switch 118000 - Starter motor replaced and ignition switch (they say the extra load due to the starter motor going caused the ignition switch to malfunction).

It is out of warranty now and I hope everything stays together!

Loves the car

Ernest (South Africa)

Reply to
Ernest

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