cmolle
Member
Hi everyone. I am posting my experience for other to consider and am looking for a factory recall notice.
I have a 2006 Jetta TDI with 64,000 miles on it. My wife drives +100 round trip each day - and this accounts for the high mileage on a new car. She stopped for coffee before going to work and could not get the car to run again.
The car would start and run for approximately 2 to 5 seconds. At that point, the car would stop running - sounding like it was starved for fuel. Pressing the accelerator while it was running resulted in large amounts of white smoke and the motor would still stop within the 5 seconds.
Since the California dealerships are not used to these newer diesels, they had to call VW Tech Support for help. The first thing they suggested was checking the fuel tank for a "black film", flush the tank and change the fuel filter. $380 later the car would run but would shutter violently when the accelerator was pressed. 25 days later, they received a new EGR valve and the car runs like new again (add another $512 to the total).
The final explanation from the dealership: the EGR valve was stuck open and caused the issue. The black film (which I never saw and the rep later described as not black but like a "dusting") was never indicated as a problem or as contributing to the problem. When confronted with the first repair, I clearly asked if the "black film" was in the fuel filter and I was initially told no but that the dealership would not continue until this was cleaned. (Keep in mind the same dealer just serviced the car 3,000 miles before and this included changing the fuel filter - no mention of "black film" at that time.)
I have a 2004 Jetta TDI that had a factory recall on the EGR valve last year. Since my 2006 has higher mileage than most, I wanted to post this experience as others may experience this issue.
If your car stops running for no apparent reason, have your mechanic check the EGR valve first. Also, be prepared to wait for the part to arrive - as I was told the part was backordered in Germany.
Hope this helps!
I have a 2006 Jetta TDI with 64,000 miles on it. My wife drives +100 round trip each day - and this accounts for the high mileage on a new car. She stopped for coffee before going to work and could not get the car to run again.
The car would start and run for approximately 2 to 5 seconds. At that point, the car would stop running - sounding like it was starved for fuel. Pressing the accelerator while it was running resulted in large amounts of white smoke and the motor would still stop within the 5 seconds.
Since the California dealerships are not used to these newer diesels, they had to call VW Tech Support for help. The first thing they suggested was checking the fuel tank for a "black film", flush the tank and change the fuel filter. $380 later the car would run but would shutter violently when the accelerator was pressed. 25 days later, they received a new EGR valve and the car runs like new again (add another $512 to the total).
The final explanation from the dealership: the EGR valve was stuck open and caused the issue. The black film (which I never saw and the rep later described as not black but like a "dusting") was never indicated as a problem or as contributing to the problem. When confronted with the first repair, I clearly asked if the "black film" was in the fuel filter and I was initially told no but that the dealership would not continue until this was cleaned. (Keep in mind the same dealer just serviced the car 3,000 miles before and this included changing the fuel filter - no mention of "black film" at that time.)
I have a 2004 Jetta TDI that had a factory recall on the EGR valve last year. Since my 2006 has higher mileage than most, I wanted to post this experience as others may experience this issue.
If your car stops running for no apparent reason, have your mechanic check the EGR valve first. Also, be prepared to wait for the part to arrive - as I was told the part was backordered in Germany.
Hope this helps!