New TDI owner. Canadian parts vendors? Regen question.

New owner of a 2013 Golf TDI wagon. Just brought it home. It appears to be a Highline with 46000 km. Leather, navigation, panoramic roof, dual zone climate, 17 inch wheels etc and fresh from dieselgate.
I would like to do oil and filters.
Canuck Tire has the oil at $17 at litre (ouch) and I was wondering if there were any vendors in Canada who sell parts packages?

I drove it home 550 km without trouble. It says I still have over 500km of range left which is great.
Today I noticed the cooling fans running as I walked away from the car. I think it was doing this when I parked it after arriving home on the weekend. I assume a regen is going on.
Sometimes I drive my new F450 for a few miles to let it finish its regen. But it tells me how full the DPF is and lets me know when its going to happen.

Does the TDI have a light or a DPF level indicator? Is it safe to just let the car do its thing? Or should I drive until completed?

Welcome, and enjoy your TDI.
I buy my oil and filters on Amazon.ca... best price that I've found plus free shipping. And I've bought parts from both German Parts
https://germanparts.ca
and German OEM
https://germanoem.ca.

Even if you have a dealership close by (I do not), a Ross-Tech VCDS cable (quite often for sale in the buy-sell section here) and software are invaluable for troubleshooting codes. I do regular scans and log the results (DPF soot level and regen info especially).

I believe that the best thing to do is to let the regen complete before shutting down the engine. Regens are occurring more frequently after the emissions fix was done and I have a feeling that this frequency is stressing the filter. The DPF and related parts were just replaced under warranty on my 2010. I hope to get a long life out of the replacement DPF.

This forum has provided me with plenty of info, mostly reliable ;0)

Hi Ricohman,

Congratulations on the new car and welcome to the club.

My go-to TDi parts vendor is idparts.com. They have the right parts and supplies for our cars, pretty good prices and appear to ship to Canada without too much trouble. Someone else might know of a Canadian equivalent, but I’ve been very satisfied with idparts.

The general line here is that you should drive a bit farther to let a regen finish, if you know that it’s happening. While I agree that letting regens finish in one shot is preferable, an interrupted regen will pick up where it left off the next time the car is up to temp (somewhere around 120-140F). But as you’ve observed, there is no regen info available via the regular instruments. Some folks have added gauges that read data from the OBD port, I added a P3Cars multi-function display that mounts neatly in the driver’s air vent, but you have to infer a regen from the temp info provided or the regular signs like fast idle and fans running after shutdown.

As far as I know, the only way to get detailed DPF data is using a VCDS tool. While expensive, the VCDS allows you to prime the fuel system after a filter change, reset your service and inspection indicators, and personalize your car with custom convenience settings.

I’m sure that others will jump in with more info.

Eric

Polar FIS can be configured to show when regen is happening in your dashboard display. Also soot load, etc

Well I may be stranded at work. I drove the car a couple hours ago but now the car cranks and sputters for a second then silence. Almost seems to catch but it will not start. Funny how it does this now and not in my driveway. I am a pretty good mechanic but I don’t want to have to get my truck and trailer to drag it home.
What would be the first thing to check?

It finally started after 10-12 attempts. I ran an errand and parked it again. No codes or anything. Hopefully it fires up when I leave for the day.
I will bring the old Focus wagon tomorrow while I have a look at this. But with 28,000 miles its pretty clean under there.

If there's a MIL code take it to the dealer and drive their loaner until they diagnose and fix. If not, get a hold of a VCDS (maybe someone local has one, check here and other VW/Audi forums) to scan for codes. Some may be stored but not displaying to give you a clue.

PRY4SNO said:

If there's a MIL code take it to the dealer and drive their loaner until they diagnose and fix. If not, get a hold of a VCDS (maybe someone local has one, check here and other VW/Audi forums) to scan for codes. Some may be stored but not displaying to give you a clue.

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I made it home but the more I thought about it the more it seems like an old battery. My Ford 6.7's are fussy when it comes to batteries so I bought a new one to replace the 6 year old original. At least I think its original. The "12-28" stamped beside the negative post is probably the build date. We had a solid month last year when it never got above -30 so I would be replacing it anyway.

I bought a 730CCA battery and installed it. I was surprised by the draw on the battery when I touched the red cable by accident. Both of the cables contacted by accident as they are fixed in place and the electric battery blanket seems to snag them when dropping the battery in .

I will charge it up overnight and try this again tomorrow. No codes were thrown. It is hard to describe what it was doing. It seems like the starter kind of disengages just as the engine catches. But it only sputters for half a second then dies. The battery had 12.8 volts when I got home and 12.6 3 hours later. But it is nearly 7 years old. Hoping its something this simple. With 28,000 miles I think its a good place to start.

I haven't found anything cheaper or faster than idparts.com. Invest in an oil extractor with your first order.


Also I would track down a decent skid plate and whatever other goodies you want to throw at it.

crashtested said:

I haven't found anything cheaper or faster than idparts.com. Invest in an oil extractor with your first order.


Also I would track down a decent skid plate and whatever other goodies you want to throw at it.

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Skid plate?

I've been driving it today and so far it seems to be starting as it should. It sure spins a lot faster when cranking. Hope this was the problem.
I've been reading a lot about additives. The more I read the more inclined I am to use the Ford PM-22 I use in my F450. It's a lubricity and cetane additive along with a de-emulsifier.

ricohman said:

Skid plate?

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Skid plate


In VW's infinite wisdom, they placed the oil pan so freaking low on these cars, well since the very beginning really that they risk being taken out by many grade A Canadian roads.


I've had them on all 3 VW's now and could count by the # of dings just how lucky I have been.

crashtested said:

Skid plate


In VW's infinite wisdom, they placed the oil pan so freaking low on these cars, well since the very beginning really that they risk being taken out by many grade A Canadian roads.


I've had them on all 3 VW's now and could count by the # of dings just how lucky I have been.

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Well look at that!
I don't live in the city so that could be very useful indeed.
I am thinking of frozen ruts 6 inches deep in the winter.
First I need to get this car reliable then I will start adding some nice things.

I second the skid plate suggestion. That was the first thing that I did but raising the wagon 2.5 inches was the best thing that I've done.

https://roselandtech.ca/

Another excellent Canadian source of parts. Competitive prices.

Hope the battery fixes the problem, I’m still on my original. You might want to consider the drain mod to prevent intercooler icing. Small hole at bottom of charge pipe to let water out.

I think that’s the only issue I’ve had apart from a clicking sway bar link (fixed) and the post fix 3rd gear lurch/stumble. The mk6 isn’t near as low as a Mk 4 but I did hit a rock on an industrial access road and munched a plastic belly plate bolt.

The Polar FIS is great, probably provides more data than the F450, including an accurate speedometer, air, fuel, water, and three exhaust temperatures plus more, all displayed on your MFD. About 20 parameters available IIRC.

I've been using Battery Tender's for many years now. At roughly $45 a pop it beats having to buy a new battery every spring for the Miata, and I keep one on the Golf too, even though it doesn't often sit for more than 4-5 days at a stretch. I'm retired so I don't really need to get out and about in crappy weather, so I don't!

The Deltran Battery Tender isn't a trickle charger, it's a smart charger. I have two of their 1 amp chargers, one for each car. My last Harley (sold a few years ago) went 7 years with one battery, using the Tender Jr. which is 3/4 amp. More than enough for a MC. I only changed the battery out because I was selling it and didn't want it to die on the new owner.

My Miata uses a glass-mat battery due to it being located in the trunk, they are expensive, usually around $200 for a quality battery. The car sits for 4-5 months at a time, and I don't care to fire it up every so often. The Golf will get an $89 Wal-Mart special when its time for a new battery in it. Many years from now.

nucklehead said:

I've been using Battery Tender's for many years now. At roughly $45 a pop it beats having to buy a new battery every spring for the Miata, and I keep one on the Golf too, even though it doesn't often sit for more than 4-5 days at a stretch. I'm retired so I don't really need to get out and about in crappy weather, so I don't!

The Deltran Battery Tender isn't a trickle charger, it's a smart charger. I have two of their 1 amp chargers, one for each car. My last Harley (sold a few years ago) went 7 years with one battery, using the Tender Jr. which is 3/4 amp. More than enough for a MC. I only changed the battery out because I was selling it and didn't want it to die on the new owner.

My Miata uses a glass-mat battery due to it being located in the trunk, they are expensive, usually around $200 for a quality battery. The car sits for 4-5 months at a time, and I don't care to fire it up every so often. The Golf will get an $89 Wal-Mart special when its time for a new battery in it. Many years from now.

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I use a battery tender jr on my BMW GS. Those glass matt batteries are expensive. Learned that lesson already.
I bought this battery from Costco. In Canada the 730CCA battery is $134.
The car started perfectly yesterday after work and this morning again. I am pretty confident that was the original battery. I would have never made it through the coming winter even with the electric blanket plugged in.

Hate to hijack the thread but quick ? on the Polar FIS because it looks amazing and is not too bad price.

Is this something the dealership may find during routine servicing? Would hate to jeopardize the dieselgate warranty. Also anyone install on a 2010-2014 Sportwagen - the video on the Kerma site is a different platform.

Thanks in advance and again apologies for the hijack.

03GolfTDI said:

Hate to hijack the thread but quick ? on the Polar FIS because it looks amazing and is not too bad price.
Is this something the dealership may find during routine servicing? Would hate to jeopardize the dieselgate warranty. Also anyone install on a 2010-2014 Sportwagen - the video on the Kerma site is a different platform.
Thanks in advance and again apologies for the hijack.

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It should have zero bearing on any warranty.

I have one installed on a 2010 Wagon. The only difference in installation from the video on Kerman’s site that I can remember is taking the trim pieces off to get to the gateway is a bit different- well it’s basically a MK V as far as the interior trim goes. The FIS works on many different VW, Skoda, Seat, Audi, gas, diesel or hybrid. There are several pages of parameters which can be read but only about one page relates to TDI’s. The rest just won’t show anything, or can’t be selected

It’s highly unlikely the dealer would know the Polar was there and in any case it shouldn’t affect any Diesegate warranty. There is a connector which plugs in between an existing plug and the gateway and communicates with the FIS module. The FIS can be turned completely off in which case it is invisible to anyone driving the car. On a VCDS scan it shows up as an error, something to do with the phone not working, at least on my car which doesn’t have Bluetooth or a phone. If you had a warranty on your cluster, gateway or some other computer I can see a potential argument that the FIS affected the part but I am not aware of any such failures with or without the FIS. I’m pretty sure there are thousands in use around the world.

KERMA said:

Polar FIS can be configured to show when regen is happening in your dashboard display. Also soot load, etc

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On my priority list. From what info. Ive seen it seems to beat out the P3 in info, install & comp. $.