New to TDIClub? Introduce yourself here!

icnick

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Location
Iowa
TDI
Jetta, 2006, Platinum Gray
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

There is currently no "good" fix for the EGR/sticky soot problem on the PDs. The EGR Vag-Com adaptation will not work on PDs. A lot of people have just unplugged their EGR and live with a CEL, but then you would not know if something was truly wrong with your engine. In time, I'm sure someone will come up with a mod that works well.
 

twigmama

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Location
VA, USA
TDI
Passat, 1996, Inky Blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hello!
New poster here.
I'm about to buy a 96 Passat and i'm curious about a few things. Various people (who probably think they know what they're talking about) have cautioned me against a Diesel car, but i'm out to prove them wrong.
One myth i already corrected was my mother's concern that the diesel would "gel up" in the winter. From reading the information on the site, i've learned that this is not true at all. Hooray! (also- i live in VA. Not exactly hardcore winters down here)

And the other thing was this:
My drive to work everyday is only 2 miles one way. (One would think i'd walk to work...but the 2 miles happens to be up over a mountain.) Will the short distance drive every morning and evening not allow the car to "warm up" and in turn be damaging the vehicle? Will it affect the car at all? It seems stupid, but i was cautioned about it and i can't seem to find any information on the subject.

If anyone would like to talk on AIM: my screen name is wecantaffordthat
I would love to talk to someone who could answer my dumb questions and maybe chat it up.

THANKS!
`suzie
 

icnick

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Location
Iowa
TDI
Jetta, 2006, Platinum Gray
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi, Suzie, I would bet that 2 miles up and down a mountain would be sufficient to warm the car up. I drive my 2005 Passat TDI 18 miles each way to work every day, and it only takes me about a mile to a mile and a half of driving 55-65 MPH to warm it up to operating temp. That's on the really cold days (zero degrees Fahrenheit)

The B4 Passat TDI is a great car, I think you'll really like it!

Nick
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I love my 97 passat tdi.

Your commute will be what it is - the car will deal. You may have to do some things earlier (in miles) than others would, but probably not more in actual time. You may do things in a year that those going twice your mileage would do in a year (10K vs 20K for fuel filters, etc). If you're putting the engine under load at 2200-2500+ rpms mostly, you may not have much clogging at all. Try to avoid under 2000rpm - shift for the drive.

I'd do it. But the passat is the easiest car I've ever driven for 7 hours at a time.

I'd take it easy until the temp gets up to 3 bars, but it should't take long going up gravity. You may not get 40mpg either.
 

savis01

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Location
IL
TDI
2000 beetle 1.9 tdi yellow
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I have a 2000 tdi beetle 1.9L with the check engine light on the code is P0380 the glow plugs ohm out good. Where is the relay at? any help would be apprecited.

Regards
Steve
savis01@yahoo.com
 

cram51

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2004
Location
Illinois - St. Louis Area
TDI
2005 Jetta - Spice Red
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Steve,

I wish I could help you out. I'm not familiar with the 2000 tdi's. I have a later model. One of our other fellow members will definitely chime in and help you. There are a lot of experts for these cars on this site. Good luck.
 

tomo366

TDI Lifer, Member #68
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Location
Kensington, Maryland USA
TDI
2015 Jetta SEL TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I have owned 9 Diesel cars since 1981. I presently owned 3
1984 Mercedes 300D with 254,000 miles a great car!!
A 96 Passat TDI with 93,000 miles also a great car!! I also owned a 97 Passat TDI for 5 years before that and that was a wonderful car!!
I also own a 2004 Passat TDI with 14,000 miles and I love it!!
Buy the Passat TDI you won't be sorry!!
 

JettaTDI2000

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Location
Illinois, U.S.A.
TDI
Jetta TDI, 2000, Black
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

In addition, test your battery. I own a 2000 Jetta TDI that had the same problem. It turned out to be the battery going bad.
 

cwaglytdi

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Calgary Canada
TDI
2001 VW Jetta TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi Everyone,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!!!

Question: I have a 2001 Jetti TDI and it has about 103,000 km's on it. I just had to replace a glowplug as it "quit" on me. How often should glowplugs last and/or when should they be changed?

Thanks
 

Rustynuts

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Location
Richmond, North England
TDI
VW Jetta 2.0ltr Sport TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Glow plugs last as long as they last, and change them as required. One plug in 103k kms isn't too bad IMO. Some recommend changing the whole set when one goes, but personally, I'd keep the three others handy and wait until they fail.
 

SoyDuke

Active member
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Location
Harrisonburg, Virginia
TDI
2004 Jetta GL Honey Wheat
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Thanks for all data for us newbies. Didn't know about minimum revs between shifts to keep the turbo happy til I read it here.
The info and encouragement on this forum helped in my decision to buy (yesterday) a lot.
 

cwaglytdi

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Calgary Canada
TDI
2001 VW Jetta TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Rustynuts: thanks for the info. I figure to wait anyways as the cost of one glow plug is expensive. I bought one for $55 (Canadian). Thanks for your help.

CwaglyTDI
 

twigmama

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Location
VA, USA
TDI
Passat, 1996, Inky Blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I got the Passat! After a few days of learning stick and driving 10 hours from NY to VA- i'm in love! Thanks the advice!
 

clancytool

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Location
Connecticut USA
TDI
Jetta 2000 Navy Blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Does anyone know if I can I save the results of a search so I can revisit later?
Thank you,
sclancy
 

Cincy_Mike

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2003
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
TDI
Auto 2003 Jetta GLS TDI - Galactic Blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Easiest: bookmark the page you're on. Easy: Save the page on your local computer and pull it up again when you're ready.
 

BobC

New member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Maryland
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hello! I'm brand new to this board. I've read the FAQ and some of the links. I imagine my answer is somewhere here but, alas, I'm too lazy to try to find it and hoping you fine people will straighten me out!

I am on the verge of buying a TDI .. In other words, probably my next purchase will be one but I'm not in a hurry. To make a long story short, I'd buy the 05 Passat in a second if it had a manual. Are there any options for someone like me that hates automatics! Have never owned one. I've driven my sisters Volvo diesel (in the UK and 5-speed, of course!) and WOW, what an incredible car. 43mpg. Great power. Lots of room. Does maybe Canada have a manual? If so, could someone from the US buy one from there and import it? If not, do you know if there any chance VW will ever offer the Passat TDI in a manual again? Thanks for your help!

Bob
 

icnick

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Location
Iowa
TDI
Jetta, 2006, Platinum Gray
Starting post for Newbie\'s

No, Canada does not have a manual option on their TDI Passat, either. You are out of luck, unless you want a Jetta or a Golf. Not only will there probably not be a TDI Passat with a manual in North America any time soon, but there will probably not even be a Passat TDI for a good long while after the current B5.5s are gone. No PQ46 TDI plans for us, I'm afraid. Also, VW seems to have decided that us stoopid North Americaners don't like manuals (wonder where they would've gotten that impression?
) so the Jetta V is going to initially be offered mainly with the 6-speed DSG as a "6-speed Tiptronic." If you want a Passat TDI with a manual, you could try getting a used B4.
 

BobC

New member
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Location
Maryland
Starting post for Newbie\'s

No, Canada does not have a manual option on their TDI Passat, either. You are out of luck, unless you want a Jetta or a Golf. Not only will there probably not be a TDI Passat with a manual in North America any time soon, but there will probably not even be a Passat TDI for a good long while after the current B5.5s are gone. No PQ46 TDI plans for us, I'm afraid. Also, VW seems to have decided that us stoopid North Americaners don't like manuals (wonder where they would've gotten that impression?
) so the Jetta V is going to initially be offered mainly with the 6-speed DSG as a "6-speed Tiptronic." If you want a Passat TDI with a manual, you could try getting a used B4.
Thanks for the response.. I figured as much. I'm tempted to move to europe just to be able to drive what I want!


I hope that's not true that there will be less choices for TDI's. I test drove both the jetta and passat (both 05's) and the salesman said that starting in 06, new federal fuel requirements for diesel will allow manufacturers to make more diesel cars. I was under the impression that VW and Mercedes had more TDI's planned on the horizon. Now whether there will be any manuals instead of crud-o-matics I guess is a different issue.
 

icnick

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Location
Iowa
TDI
Jetta, 2006, Platinum Gray
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Well, ULSD in 2006 may mean more diesel selection, but there will also be tougher diesel emissions standards. Diesel passenger cars are going to have to meet the same standards as gassers. This may mean not only particulate filters/traps but also urea-based NOx catalysts, which is a pretty complicated solution. Right now, TDIs are in a temporary Tier 2 Bin 10 classification.

VWoA has no plans to bring in a "B6" (PQ46 platform) Passat TDI, definitely not before ULSD, in any case.

I'm tempted to move to europe just to be able to drive what I want!
They have such a problem with diesel soot (due to the immense popularity of diesel vehicles) in some cities in europe that there are places where you cannot drive a diesel in the city core during certain days/hours.
 

eyetdiman

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Location
Wilmette, IL
TDI
'04 Passat TDI Sedan
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Ed,

That's a great piece of work you did. Perhaps at some point it could be updated to include the '04 PD's?

Tom
 

eschady

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2002
Location
Milton, WI
TDI
2003 Jetta GL Black w/gray int.
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Tom, that is a good suggestion considering many of the newbies are probably on the new engine. Unfortunately, since I don't own a PD, I really haven't been doing the research/reading up on it yet. If you want to put something together (links of the relevant posts), I'd be more than happy to incorporate it into the initial post.

Ed
 

Frederking

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2005
TDI
GL 2005 red
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I have been searching for any mention of heaters not putting out heat even when the engin is up to operating temperature. I froze in -25 C weather in Ottawa, but eventually took the car into the dealer. There is a problem with either poor design or poor manufacturing in a joint in a heater tube. The tube has to be removed, cut open and reamed out. TDIs in Edmonton and Calgary are having this done too. I hope to hear about other solution to more heat when the engine is warm.

Bob freezing in Ottawa
 

wrencher

Active member
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Alberta, Canada
TDI
2004 Golf TDI PD, Black
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I would like to know more about this, pictures, diagrams, whatever, cause when it is -30 old Golfie is a little too chrispy inside!

Thanks
 

cwaglytdi

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2004
Location
Calgary Canada
TDI
2001 VW Jetta TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi,

I replaced one of my glow plugs about a 2 months ago as the old one quit. Just recently my engine light came back on again and as per Vag-com and it gave the #16764. I tested each plug and they are all fine. All are the same ohms. Vag-com said its an intermitent glow plug???? Could it actually be a plug or is the busbar the problem? Maybe its something completly different. Any ideas?
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Could just be a bad connection between the harness and a gp. Clean the contacts and put back on, clear the code then try again.
 

BIGBUS

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Location
RICHMOND, VA
TDI
2000 JETTA GREEN
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi, everyone, I'm BigBus, and I'm a newbie.
I'd like to know where I can find detailed power curves for an A4 (2000 Jetta TDI) that shows power, torque, and BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption...this is what I'm really after)all the way down to 500 RPM or low idle. Also, in reading some of the general information, I find conflicting information on driving techniques. If low load acceleration between 1000 and 1500 rpm doesn't spool the turbo, what harm is there? It would seem the only difference is that there would be no boost pressure, and therefore no reason to cause damage to the turbo or anything else, yet some info indicates there will be significant damage if one doesn't "wind it up" . My background tells me that it only takes 150 HP to pull 13'6" X 102" truck with 80,000 Lb at 55 MPH on level ground, and the Jetta weighs considerably less, thus requiring only a few HP to maintain speed or even accelerate....if we get 65 HP at 1900 RPM (peak torque), what is "clutch-up" torque at 900 or 1000, and why would you need more than 30-40 HP to accelerate? I have a 1973 THING with 40 HP that does surprisingly well....and I'm sure the HP curve is way lower than the TDI's at low RPM.
Any links to the VW engineers or performance nerds who can tell me what HP demand is for this car at 35 MPH?

Thanks,
Buster
 

BleachedBora

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Location
Gresham, Oregon
TDI
'81 DMC-12, '15 GL350 CDI 275 hp/448 tq - '81 Caddy CJAA, '05 E320 CDI 250hp/450 tq, '23 ID4 AWD Pro S Plus
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

*Shakes head...*
Welcome yes, newbie yes...
Run a search on "Intake clogging" and you will have enough to read for years. Don't baby the thing--trust us. Too many $'s spent by those who don't believe.
-BB
 
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