VW Canada TDI question

Hi guys

Currently in Mexico with my 2015 TDI Passat and here until almost the end of April.

My daughter tells me I have a letter from VW Canada with regards to the current emission situation.

Can someone please tell me what I need/have to do? Am I correct in assuming that there is/may be a deadline to contact VW Canada? Do I have to contact VW by mail, email or telephone? What contact info is there for VW Canada.

I have no interest in turning the car in, love the mileage and the size and the ride quality.

Any relevant and helpful information is appreciated posted to this forum or via PM to me.

Thanks

I believe its just a recap of what is on their website already. There is a court hearing the 2nd or 3rd week of March in Ontario to see if the buyback is approved by the courts. Nothing needs to be done at the moment. Just sit tight and enjoy the sun in Mexico.

Nothing to do unless you're planning to opt out of the settlement.

Why risk getting wrong second hand information and just ask her to take a picture of the letter and send it to you? Then you can decide what you want to do.

It will be the same letter that other owners of 2015 models are getting. It is announcing that the first stage of the fix is available and, until such time as the courts approve the deal (expected sometime in March), you can have the software fix done without impacting your subsequent choice to either select a repair plus compensation, or buyback. But you are not REQUIRED to do this. You can do nothing until such time as the courts have approved the deal.

Since you are in Mexico, you won't have access to a Canadian dealer to have this software modification done ... and it doesn't matter. You don't have to do anything yet, just stay tuned for what happens after the courts approve the deal, you will probably have to sign up at a website similarly to how the Americans have been doing it. Even if you are still in Mexico, you could still do that.

Enjoy the weather down south.

Thank you for the helpful posts. That is exactly what I was looking for.
Yes, as I am writing this at 10 am and 25° in the shade
And a pure blue sky, I know my time here is winding down for this season.
Thanks again
R

Rudy, snow showering here....just around freezing. Skiing in the spring bumps was fun....it's been interesting weather, but winter is still here! So, you stAy away! For a few weeks anyways!

Hi Jetta_Pilot,
Can you advise if where you are staying if they have the ultra low sulfur diesel, and if not, how is your TDI running on the low sulfur stuff? We winter in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and are planning on driving next year. I was going to seek out a Passat like yours until I realized that we do not have ULSD here...
Thanks,
Neill

neillt said:

Hi Jetta_Pilot,
Can you advise if where you are staying if they have the ultra low sulfur diesel, and if not, how is your TDI running on the low sulfur stuff? We winter in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and are planning on driving next year. I was going to seek out a Passat like yours until I realized that we do not have ULSD here...
Thanks,
Neill

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So far have not had any problems using Mexican Diesel. I brought 2 gallons of DEF fluid with me which I bought in bulk at a US truck stop for $ 5.79 from a dedicated DEF pump.
Strangely enough I seem to be using less DEF on this trip. So far only 2.5 litres in 4,500 km.

Buy a 2 gal ( 7.5 liter) can and fill it with DEF at a US truck stop, its very hard to find here.

I had planned on buying 5 gallons of BIO and at every fill in Mexico to add a couple of litres of BIO, but couldn't find any in Laredo, Tx.

( Last summer I did a 6,000 km trip to PEI and used a lot more DEF, 5.5 litres, by the time I got back home)

What I do do though is every time I'm on the highway here, I use the manual shift option and instead of running in 6th gear I'll be running in 3rd or 4th for maybe 15 minutes at higher revs and hopefully higher exhaust temps to try and burn any crap in the exhaust system? Sort of using regen on the fly.

An acquaintance here has a 2013 Passat TDI and he drives much more than I do. Drives in town and other short trips and tells me he's had no ill effects. I only use my car for longish trips, 150 km return other trips I use my motorbike.
I'm assuming the DEF and emissions system on a 2013 and a 2015 would be the same. He does nothing different from normal driving. He also thought he was buying a Jetta and was surprised he bought a Passat. He also has no clue whether his is a Trendline, Comfortline or a Highline ! Duh!

BTW: Low sulphur Diesel is supposed to be coming, but don't hold your breath. Maybe now that Mexico is open to other gas companies that may happen.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Where do you spend your winters? Google led me to Ed (Ted) White, who has been compiling data on LSD use in ULSD vehicles, but focused more on trucks and RVs. It appears that the northern Baja and some border states have ULSD already. He also advised that a couple refineries have switched over already to the ultra low. Gives me more confidence in seeking out a TDI Passat for next year

Over the last few years "Pemex", up to now the one and only filling station has been putting up stations all over the place, seemingly in anticipation of the coming competition. I would say there is one every 10-15 km much better than it used to be.

I am about 220km S/E of Puerto Vallarta near Barra de Navidad on the Pacific ocean.

One very important item you'll need is the adapter for the truck nozzles, the smaller car Diesel pump nozzles are few and far between here.Buy that at a VW dealer.

neillt

Well I just came back and during my time in Mexico I only filled up there maybe 6 times.
Best of my knowledge it is NOT ULSD.

But I used the silver PowerService additive very liberally. Buy at Walmart in the US at US$ 19.00 for a huge bottle. Many times I ran the car in manual shift mode to bring the engine up to higher revs and to try to do regen on the fly. On my way home in mountainous areas near Saltillo on Mex-57D I ran in manual shift mode on the DSG tranny going downhill in 4th gear doing about 145kmh using the engine to slow me down.

Also take a NEW 2 gallon gas can and buy the DEF fluid at any US truck stop for US$ 2.19 US gal. Last I bought came to Cdn$ 9.53 (US gal 2.960) for 11.20 liters. See elsewhere in these forums how to add DEF yourself. Don't know yet how much it will take to fill the DEF tank now that I'm home.

Worth carrying around 2 gallons of DEF just to save a couple of $?

how much DEF does the car go through? I guess if it is not readily available, might be worth carrying 4.5 litres, but again, how much are you saving?

TDIFred said:

how much DEF does the car go through? I guess if it is not readily available, might be worth carrying 4.5 litres, but again, how much are you saving?

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Fred you can't equate the availability of DEF here in Canada or the USA with Mexico. Not very common nor readily available there and even a dealer has to special order it in.

Jetta_Pilot said:

Fred you can't equate the availability of DEF here in Canada or the USA with Mexico. Not very common nor readily available there and even a dealer has to special order it in.

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I guess if you do a lot of driving and you have to use more of the DEF because the fuel might be dirtier, you run the risk of running out and it ain't worth it...
makes sense.
Cheers, Rudy, welcome back.
PS how was the drive thru Trumpland?

TDIFred said:

Cheers, Rudy, welcome back.
PS how was the drive thru Trumpland?

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Thx Fred, I had some trepidation's about entering the USA from Mexico. It was an absolutely painless 5 minute process. I did not see any difference from previous drives through the USA.