HELP! 2009 Jetta TDI will not start

TDIzumSpass

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Location
Waukesha Cty, WI
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M
I could not find any other threads on this matter, so I thought I'd start a new thread (apologies for redundancy).

My 2009 Jetta TDI Sportwagen, 6-spd manual, with 8,900 miles on it, will NOT START. It is 34 deg. F in the garage where it sits. The car cranks and cranks, and eventually gives the oil pressure? warning light at the top of the MFD. There is plenty of fuel in it and the oil level is fine as well. Up until this point (this morning) it has NEVER taken more than a split-second to start, nor behaved strangely. I did have the TSB 2020606 - "OBD Function Optimization" software update done 2 weeks ago, but this is probably unrelated.

What in the heck is going on? :mad: :confused: I'm ready to have it towed to the dealership, but am dying to know what could be happening. Can anyone help?
 

DoctorDawg

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Location
Southeastern US
TDI
'09 Jetta Loyal Edition
Don't crank for more than, say, 30 seconds at a time, with a minute or so between attempts.

Is there fuel in the fuel filter housing?
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
Sounds like its not getting fuel. Just guessing though. If you want to check things out before hand. Check to see that the fuel filter canister is fuel of fuel and the canister does not contain a lot of water. Other than that, I'd let the dealer handle it. I'm not religious but, may God be with you.

Dweisel
 

Professor121

Active member
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Location
Wonder Lake, Illinois
TDI
2009 jetta
Rough cold start

Just tried to start my 09 jetta tdi and it died after a second of running. The second time I cranked on it (for about one to two seconds) it did not start. Cycled the key and cranked, started and died right away. Cranked again, started and ran rough, then smooth, then a little rough, then it was fine. ... :confused: Temperature outside is about 35 F and this morning at 22 F it started right away. My first thought was gelling in the filter. My second thought is ??? why didnt it happen this morning? Thoughts anyone? ---Keith
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
TDIzumSpass said:
What in the heck is going on? :mad: :confused: I'm ready to have it towed to the dealership, but am dying to know what could be happening. Can anyone help?
I would quit if I were you. Sounds like something is wrong and won't be solved by burning the starter motor out, Mr. Spass. Wait 'til Monday and let them deal with it.
 

TDIzumSpass

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Location
Waukesha Cty, WI
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M
got it running!

I had actually tried just that later in that day. Cranked for 10-15 sec, wait, crank again. When I cranked closer to 30 sec, it reluctantly started, ran rough for like a minute, then ran fine... Drove around to warm up and then refueled. My concern is that if this is happening at 32 F, what will happen at, say 0 F? Perhaps I should change my handle from "TDIzumSpass" or 'TDI for the fun of it' to TDInachverrueckt (to go crazy) or similar.

Thanks for all of the timely advice, nonetheless. You guys are great!
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
Professor121 said:
Just tried to start my 09 jetta tdi and it died after a second of running. The second time I cranked on it (for about one to two seconds) it did not start. Cycled the key and cranked, started and died right away. Cranked again, started and ran rough, then smooth, then a little rough, then it was fine. ... :confused: Temperature outside is about 35 F and this morning at 22 F it started right away. My first thought was gelling in the filter. My second thought is ??? why didnt it happen this morning? Thoughts anyone? ---Keith
Get yourself some diesel anti gel additive and give it a dose. See if that helps. You might also want to check the condition of the fuel in the fuel filter canister.

Dweisel
 

tomo366

TDI Lifer, Member #68
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Location
Kensington, Maryland USA
TDI
2015 Jetta SEL TDI
dweisel said:
Get yourself some diesel anti gel additive and give it a dose. See if that helps. You might also want to check the condition of the fuel in the fuel filter canister.

Dweisel
X2!! and get fuel from a know source.......
 

GoFaster

Moderator at Large
Joined
Jun 16, 1999
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Fuel gelling at 34 F (+1 C) should not be an issue.

The car is under warranty; if you know you have diesel fuel in the tank (not gasoline!) then let the dealer handle it. I hope you have the receipt from the last time you filled up. If the dealer tries to blame the fuel, then show them that receipt.
 

TDIzumSpass

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Location
Waukesha Cty, WI
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M
not long. I put on around 400 miles a week, so refuel every 1-1/2 wks. Tank was 1/2 full.

Who makes the diesel anti-gel additive?
 

TDIzumSpass

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Location
Waukesha Cty, WI
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M
dweisel said:
Sounds like its not getting fuel. Just guessing though. If you want to check things out before hand. Check to see that the fuel filter canister is fuel of fuel and the canister does not contain a lot of water. Other than that, I'd let the dealer handle it. I'm not religious but, may God be with you.

Dweisel
Does the filter collect water, and if so, does it purge it periodically?

Does anyone know if this is related to a fuel pump issue? I saw a lot of comments about this on the site, and worry that this will be an $1100 part (I called today) that has to get replaced every 25k-50k miles.
 

securityguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Location
Virginia
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI Sedan
Filter does collect "some" water but not much. No, it does NOT purge it periodically. Good reason to use an additive that takes care of the small amount of water that's present in the fuel during a fill-up or via condensation in the tank. Check out Opti-Lube, PowerService, Stanadyne and others that have an excellent reputation.
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
TDIzumSpass said:
Does the filter collect water, and if so, does it purge it periodically?

Does anyone know if this is related to a fuel pump issue? I saw a lot of comments about this on the site, and worry that this will be an $1100 part (I called today) that has to get replaced every 25k-50k miles.
Any water in the fuel will collect at the bottom in the fuel filter canister. While it does happen its not a commom occurance,but should be checked periodically. Twice a year would be good. To clean any water or sediment from the canister you need to either use a vac pump or remove the canister housing by removing the two bolts and one nut.

Who told you the fuel pump would have to be replaced every 25k to 50k miles????

Dweisel
 
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dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
TDIzumSpass said:
not long. I put on around 400 miles a week, so refuel every 1-1/2 wks. Tank was 1/2 full.

Who makes the diesel anti-gel additive?
Go to any truck stop or agri stores and they should carry some type of diesel anti gel additive. Power Service, Howells, Optilube,STP and FPPF are just some of the common names. Walmart carries Power Service. Make sure you get the additive with anti gel and not just the injector cleaner.

Dweisel
 

TDIzumSpass

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Location
Waukesha Cty, WI
TDI
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M
dweisel said:
Any water in the fuel will collect at the bottom in the fuel filter canister. While it does happen its not a commom occurance,but should be checked periodically. Twice a year would be good. To clean any water or sediment from the canister you need to either use a vac pump or remove the canister housing by removing the two bolts and one nut.

Who told you the fuel pump would have to be replaced every 25k to 50k miles????

Dweisel
I'm just being paranoid, as I've had to replace my fair share of fuel pumps, and am concerned after reading various posts about a HPFP failure and VoA's reluctance to fix the problem. I think I will buy a case of the Stanadyne Performance Formula as an insurance policy.
 

Russellb05

Active member
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Location
Pittsburgh PA
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
I had the exact same problem last night when I left work. It was roughly 38*F, I let the glow plugs warm up and turned the key, the engine fired and then immediately died. I tried starting it again a few times and it would crank but not turn over.

I called WV roadside and they sent a tow truck out. The tow truck drive put a booster on my battery and after a few seconds it started and then died. After another attempt the engine started and ran rough at first and everything was fine after that.

Could this be a case of bad fuel or possibly a battery/alternator problem?
 

TgusDiesel

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Location
Williamston, MI
TDI
09 Jetta Sportwagen TDI
TDIzumSpass said:
I could not find any other threads on this matter, so I thought I'd start a new thread (apologies for redundancy).

My 2009 Jetta TDI Sportwagen, 6-spd manual, with 8,900 miles on it, will NOT START. It is 34 deg. F in the garage where it sits. The car cranks and cranks, and eventually gives the oil pressure? warning light at the top of the MFD. There is plenty of fuel in it and the oil level is fine as well. Up until this point (this morning) it has NEVER taken more than a split-second to start, nor behaved strangely. I did have the TSB 2020606 - "OBD Function Optimization" software update done 2 weeks ago, but this is probably unrelated.

What in the heck is going on? :mad: :confused: I'm ready to have it towed to the dealership, but am dying to know what could be happening. Can anyone help?
We had the same problem yesterday. 2009 Jetta TDI Sportwagen, autotrans, 5800 miles. It ran fine all week, Friday night I parked it in our garage which is 48 degrees. Hubby went to start it Saturday afternoon and it turned over and then died. Would not start at all after that. Cranks, but no start and the oil pressure warning light came on.

We had it towed to our dealer and will have to wait until tomorrow now to see what is wrong.

Any insights from others on what was wrong with their TDI's? :mad:
 

ropesca

New member
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Location
Wappingers Falls, NY
TDI
2001 TDI Jetta
Get yourself some diesel anti gel additive and give it a dose. See if that helps. You might also want to check the condition of the fuel in the fuel filter canister.

Dweisel
I believe that this problem may be a key recognition problem. Does the idiot light flash with a key and a car on the dash? I've had the same problem in the past. I would just keep cycling through and give the gas pedal a little extra to rev the engine and it seemed to work.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
I believe that this problem may be a key recognition problem. Does the idiot light flash with a key and a car on the dash? I've had the same problem in the past. I would just keep cycling through and give the gas pedal a little extra to rev the engine and it seemed to work.
Actually, the problems that they had over two years ago was more likely the intercooler plugging with condensation. a little known problem two years ago, but very common now

Or it could have been the HPFP failing. A little known problem two years ago, but very common now.

Or it could have been the intake throttle flap sticking closed. A little known... You know the rest.
 

El Dobro

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
NJ
TDI
2017 Bolt EV Premier, 2023 Bolt EUV Premier
Nearly half the posters here haven't posted in some time. Hmmm...
 
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