Joined the TDI club today

Well, I bought a 2001 Golf TDi GLS, Silver, Luxury package and Monsoon today.

It was kind of a sudden decision, but I had been thinking about hi-mpg a lot and with all the crud going down, it seemed like a good idea to have a vehicle that can 40+ mpg for the next few years.

You never know, but fuel is usually an issue when the world is not peaceful.

Did well on the car, it has a few miles on it but still new. (250 when I got it). Seems like a good car and it drives very well indeed. No squeaks or rattles.

The inside has a fairly strong solvent smell to it, like Var-Sol. It's not like diesel smell, I'm not sure what's up with that. I figure it will dissipate shortly.

The other thing is this Monsoon radio. Cassette deck. I don't get it. This is 2001. CD should be standard. I don't even own a single cassette tape.

Car is pre-wired for a changer, but I'd rather get a good in-dash single CD. My stereo store guy says an Alpine change with adapter will work though. The Monsoon seems to be integrated into the keyless entry system, so I'm not sure what is involved in doing a swap out vs. adding a changer.

Mud flaps? Does VW offer mud-flaps for this vehicle? They sure helped keep my Altima looking good over the years.

Anyone want to buy a 97 Altima?

Yes VW does make mud flaps or splash gaurds for all it's models. They're something like $23.

As far as the stereo is concerned, the alpine won't work, i don't think. The deck is a panasonic, so look for a panasonic changer. An in dash is avail. for your car also, but it's big bucks$$$$$.


EAR

I swapped my monsoon deck (cassette?? yeah right) out the first week. I installed my Alpine CD deck from my previous car, it was cake. To do this you will need a wiring harness adapter and an antenna adapter (available from Crutchfield among others). The Monsoon system sounds much better with an upgraded deck IMO.

One thing to be aware of... if you have an aftermarket deck installed the stealer will not plug into the cars diagnostic system until you pull it out (a 2 minute job in my case that the stealer wanted to charge me 68 bucks for.. I did it myself with my Micra Leatherman).

This nonsense is because the factory deck is wired to the diagnostic system and if you bugger up the wires it can fry the dealer's very expensive machine.

Wired into the diagnostic system?

Oh lord, that's nuts.

I never could figure out this obsession with lock-out coded radios. The vw radio "remembers" the car it came from, so I guess that it is tied into the car's system/security microprocessor somehow. This keeps you from having to recode the radio anytime the battery is disconnected.

I found out Kenwood makes an inexpensive CD receiver that is color-lamped specifically for VW's.

I might just opt for a VW oem changer, just to stay clear on the warranty and/or technical implications. It's only $350 or maybe I'll see one on ebay. Wonder if the dealer will just sell it as a part sans installation.

Originally posted by BawlsyTDI:
An in dash is avail. for your car also, but it's big bucks$$$$$.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">My '01 came with the tape deck and now it's going in to the dealer to be replaced under warranty since it only plays one direction correctly.

How much is the in-dash unit supposed to cost? Svc writer told me around $450! Is the trunk CD changer much less and will it work fine with my OEM tape deck setup?

Why can't VW let me pay the difference between the new tape deck they'll supply anyway under warranty and the in-dash CD that I want? Neither the svc writer or VW Customer Care said this is possible.

***?

The in dash CD is an add-on for the '01, it goes in the cubby hole.

Buy one from Impex, vwparts.com. I did. Takes 10 minutes to put in. I think it was around $240 shipped.

Personally, I don't like CD changers, and don't like any of the CD players that VW offers; they have this slow, underwater way of operating that I find frustrating. The hands-down best CD player on the market is Alpine--I put one in every vehicle I buy. In my '02 Golf I have an Alpine in-dash. It's plugged into the Monsoon system with that amp, and I couldn't be happier with it. This is the way to go for me, with a visor carrier for CD's. Don't like to have to get out of the car if the urge hits me to listen to a certain CD and it's not in the changer.