What VW TDI cars are reliable?

Yea the post mainly concerned TDI's but I witnessed and mentioned two bad experiences one with gas and one with diesel (sorry for the confusion). But the problems went way beyond the fuel type. Both cars had tons of " chassis " problems, electrical mostly.
 
The key to the vw is routine maintenance as zukgod said. One thing to take note of is using good fluids. A lot of the vw guys like some on fred's page would rather sacrifice their first born then do anything not recommended in their owners manual or bentley service manual. While by following this strategy they will always have good running cars they will always spend far more on parts. EX: The local tdi guru Im friends with almost had smoke coming out of his ears when I told him I got a replacement battery that was an interstate and not an oem dealer part. All tdi's require fully synthetic oil I recommend rotella t6. Antifreeze, you must use VW specific (the pink stuff). Luckily auto parts stores around me now commonly carry it. You use to have to go online or dealer only... for antifreeze :bang. The other big one is power steering fluid. I recommend amsoil synthetic. It is less than half the price of the pentosin that the dealer/napa sells. I have used this for over 20k miles and the steering rack did not sprout any leaks or have any issues whatsoever.

Mk3's AHU engine: are rust buckets and only come with a stick shift. If you find one that is not rotted out you will be golden. My gf's was rotted out and now the car is at the scrap yard and the engine is in my garage on a stand. A couple of things maintenance wise have been improved on the mk4's though. EGR bypass is a good idea, it can simply be done by pinching off a vacuum line on the intake.

Mk4's ALH engine: Generally great cars, parts are slighlty more expensive but not outrageous. Definitely much nicer cars. Corrosion is something to watch out for though, pretty soon these cars will start to go for much cheaper because of the age and condition of the bodies. The VGT's are not the most reliable of turbos. They often get clogged and must be overhauled or more commonly replaced.

Mk5. I dont know much about these engines. Except from my experience with a buddy who has one. I dont like the stick shift because you really have to rev it out like a gasser to prevent from stalling. And with less than a 100k on his he had to replace the clutch and dual mass flywheel.

Besides the info above two things I dislike most about the vw tdi's though are how bad the drive by wire is. It feels incredibly delayed and makes me feel like I'm not connected to the drive train. The second is the starters. I don't know what it is about them but it doesn't take long before you get starter grind.
Hope this helps someone considering getting their first tdi or one of another generation.

All in all they are good cars. I would recommend them, even though I only listed the cons above. They do go high miles although I have never personally seen a vw diesel go over 350k. Plus idk who would want to drive a 50-90hp car for that long anyways. I think they are better suited for people that are good weekend mechanics.

Sorry for the length
 
As already stated proper fluids and timing belt maint. are the keys to making a tdi go 300k plus. My personal car is a 01 TDI 5-speed 180k miles. only general maint. done to it. No complaints at all, only a few self inflicted problems from mods. I have had no clutch problems to date (and mostly city miles) and I regularly tow 1200+ lbs with it. Just got back from a 700 mile round trip to NC and averaged 49.9 mpg.

My brothers is an 01 TDI auto with 250k miles. He had trans problems at 175k. Cost $1000 to fix. VW automatics are pretty much crap in my opinion, his lasted longer than most, usually they begin to have problems around the 100k mark. A trans fluid and filter change with the first timing belt replacement is usually a good idea. Average fuel economy with an auto is 38-44mpg.

I rebuilt a 00 TDI a couple years ago that was bone stock with 75k and broke the crank, its the only broken TDI crank I have ever seen, the break was clean and looked like a manufacturing defect, it looked like it had been cracked for some time before the break. Other than that the engine was super clean inside.

My grandmother owns a 2006 TDI auto, 85k miles. Only complaint here is again with the transmission, its beginning to act up, since I have no idea how to rebuild automatics, it will probably cost $2500+ to rebuild by VW. Best of 46mpg.

The 99.5-2003 ALH engines are the best in my opinion, easiest to work on, good power, lots of available mods, and great fuel economy.

Heres is a list (from my experience) of the most common issues with TDI's. Keep in mind many of these could be prevented with routine maintainence.

-Timing Belt failure (All years)
-Automatic Trans not shifting/not shifting properly (All years)
-Clutch/Dual mass flywheel issues (99.5-up)
-Glow Plug/Glow Plug harness failure (99.5-2003)
-VNT actuator or Vanes stuck (99.5-up)
-Clogged intake from egr (99.5-2003)
-Cam failure (BEW engines)
 
Great info ^ but the intake clogging affects all tdi's including mk3's so I think 96-up. Idk about the newer ones (mk5 and up), but anyone who owns or buys one of these and hasnt cleaned the intake you have a fun hour and a half minimum ahead of you. I have seen some intakes that you couldnt even pass a quarter through because of all the egr build up.
Ex:
clogged-intake-tdi.jpg
 
01 and 06 tdi Golfs here.. 01 218,000. It's WOT all the time with me driving it. Will sit for month or so in the summer, start and run fine. I just over hauled the suspension. A/C works. heat works. Hatch servo is broke. Needs door seals. Body makes creaking noises.. Other wise, it's never failed me! 30hp tune, clutch, PD in tank fuel pump, and exhaust work is about it over stock. Can't wait for the turbo to break! :)

the 06. 100% stock. runs perfect. Needs the EGR removed/disabled and cleaned up if figure. body makes some noises. TB done. interesting oil leak coming from the intercooler. these do suck oil though the PCV valve into the turbo from the factory. I need to look at that some day. 107k miles.

fun little cars for sure!
 
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Well put wbbrown and whoabeats. But just an fyi on the VW antifreeze. In 97 VW was sued by GM for hiring one of thier CEO's in violation of a non compete. Part of the judgement was that VW had to exclusively by GM antifreeze for so many years. That was when they switched to the pink stuff, the same stuff you would would get in an S-10- its dexcool. However it was not compatible with another color or you will get the brown gel from mixture. I recall this from the days of the mailing lists...before forums other than the BB existed.
 
Timing belt failures are not an issue - its owner negligence.

01-03 auto transmissions are terrible
04,05 are ok, but still an auto.
05+ DSG auto transmissions require DSG service every 40k - why yours is acting up, could be the DMF as well.

All the VNT problems outlined above can be remedied by 3rd gear WOT to redline twice daily, similarly with clogged intakes(before they get clogged). ULSD doesn't clog intakes, but it might leave 1/8" or less, like Jason's 06 golf intake(I checked).
 
JFettig said:
All the VNT problems outlined above can be remedied by 3rd gear WOT to redline twice daily, similarly with clogged intakes(before they get clogged). ULSD doesn't clog intakes, but it might leave 1/8" or less, like Jason's 06 golf intake(I checked).
Click to expand...

I get a limp mode while driving sometimes..
Are you saying that if I give it WOT quiet often thst it'll help/cure my turbo issues? (if thats what it is)

02 golf just turned 100k , intake and egr delete was done 2 years ago.
I guess it could be a vacum line but from what I've read / been told it sound like turbo vanes or actuator...

Last codes I had about a month ago.

Codes:

P0674 - Cyl. 4 glow plug circuit
P0402 - EGR circuit flow Excessive
P0245 - Turbo wastegate solenoid A Low
P0118 - coolant temp sensor ( been this way since I git it 35k miles ago)
P1538 - Fuel cut off valve Open Circuit
 
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Not exactly with your situation.

Check those codes with VCDS and report back, sounds like you might have other issues to work out.

Also - I was exaggerating a little bit about WOT to redline, even though its pretty common for me ;)
 
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JFettig said:
Not exactly with your situation.

Check those codes with VCDS and report back, sounds like you might have other issues to work out.

Also - I was exaggerating a little bit about WOT to redline, even though its pretty common for me ;)
Click to expand...

:lolly:

My gf's car would often go in to limp mode. I believe it was the vac line that ran to the ecu. I guess it is common for it to make the ecu think that the turbo is boosting higher than it is. Once that happened it would completely cut the nuts off of the car and you would have to downshift to third to make it up a hill on the interstate.
 
whoabeats said:
:lolly:

My gf's car would often go in to limp mode. I believe it was the vac line that ran to the ecu. I guess it is common for it to make the ecu think that the turbo is boosting higher than it is. Once that happened it would completely cut the nuts off of the car and you would have to downshift to third to make it up a hill on the interstate.
Click to expand...

Yes.. Once it limps the car has NO nutz at all!

You just have to re-key it and it clears it for a while. But thats a PITA due the fact that it blinks the headlights twice, and day or night people think you're pissed at them and want them to move over..

So , vacum line to ecu? Is that inside the cab?
I really need to learn more about these cars.
 
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An ex had an mk5 BRM/DSG. Car was fun/super nice to drive but was the biggest piece of **** car I've ever had to work on. I wouldn't own one without some form of a warranty unless you are a good mechanic and don't mind buying specialized tools. On it's 3rd DMF at 90k. That was even before the kerma tunes went on. Had the ice accumulation in the door jamb problem even with the foam strips. That led to bent door corners (both sides). Replacing the rear brake pads is a little different because of the parking brake. The recirculator flap was jammed. The camshaft was also on its way out, even after being serviced at a dealer its whole life until she got it (I ran T6 in it also), but that's somebody else's problem now :hehe:

If you get a DSG and tune/mod it I would def be changing the fluid and filter every 20k if not sooner. With VCDS its an easy job. Pretty scary how they want you to overfill it then run the trans up to temp then drain fluid out within a 4* temp window and just watch it bleed while you're hoping you tightened the fill level tube enough. Timing belts aren't that bad of a job either though, just takes time and more specialized tools.
 
280000 miles with normal maintenance,drivetrain bullet proof,power door lock actuators are junk,radio antenna are junk,cup holder -JUNK,glove box hinge-JUNK.
All that said I love mt TDI
 
My 97 passat has 310xxx miles run it every day runs like a top not had a bit of trouble just regular maintenance. I do all the work on my family's tdis we have 9 total(all are manuals). We have alhs and 1z/ahu's seems is if you keep up on the maintenance theres not very much issues (about 6 of the 9 have over or right about 200,000 miles other 3 are up to 250k) the alhs ride a whole lot better then the old ones but the old ones parts are cheaper and easier to work on (i.e takes me close to 5.5 hours to do timing belt on an alh and about 2 on the old cars) but as said above the interiors on the newer ones the glove box latches and center consoles are what i seem to see broken all the time. I love all ours they are some money saving machines.
 
Another thing that has not been mentioned when it comes time to do a timing belt applies to ALH (possibly newer ones?? dont have much experience with pds or crs) since the timing belt drives the water pump on those be sure you either get your shop to do it or make sure you look when ordering parts to put a water pump with a metal impeller on it countless times they have come into my work with the factory ones which are plastic (or cheap aftermarkets) that the impellers are either melted or they crack and the shaft just spins and the impeller does nothing causing it to get hot at idle and act right going down the road... other then that like said above there great.
 
99.5-04? ALH TDI's run for a long time and are nice when they dont have any limp mode issues. Mine has 400k on it
 
I have an '00 5-speed TDI Jetta, 186k miles, never cleaned the intake. I suspect the fact that I drive it like I stole it helps keep the VGT vanes from ever sticking, and probably helps keep the crap out of the intake as well. I periodically pull the IC tube and look into the intake with a mirror and flashlight. I'm probably about due for a cleaning, will check it visually next oil change. I agree the cupholders, glovebox hinge and antenna suck, but the rest of the car is pretty decent.
 
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