New to TDIClub? Introduce yourself here!

NuM3R1K

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2005
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
GLS, 1999.5 A4, Black
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hey, first time visitor to the forum and I think I like it here. I just spent the past five hours reading over all sorts of FAQ's, suggestions, posts, and mods and I think I've learned more about my car in that time than in the year and a half I've owned it.


Bottomline, I love my TDI. I think it's the best car I've ever owned and if my current one met an unfortunate demise another TDI would be at the top of my shopping list.

BTW, are there any members here from around Raleigh or NC in general. I see a lot of TDI's around here so my guess is there's at least a couple.
 

macmca

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2005
Location
Green Bay Wisc.
TDI
2001 VW Bug Blue/Purple
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi,

I have been reading in my owners manual and I am wondering how to tell if your keys need to be charged or if they take a battery. My manual talks about both. Plus if they need to be charged how do you know if they are getting low?

Thnx

2001 Beetle Diesel
 

SLCtdi

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
2004 Jetta Platinum Gray
Starting post for Newbie\'s

This is some great info. Thank you so much. I have been lurking for several months. I have had my Jetta TDI for 1 year now and recently had been driving very conservatively trying to get optimal fuel consumption. Then I read the 'how to' for shift points and have changed my style of driving back to what it used to be. My economy took a little dip, but it is so much more fun to drive.

Thanks to all the 'veterans' in the forum.
 

c5loadmaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Location
Riverside Co, So Cal.,
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Reflex Silver
Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hi all, another newbie has joined the club. I have a 2005 Passat TDI and just love it. I have always be a VW & diesel nut, but had a Peugeot 504 diesel when I was at college, BYU,
Hey BlakenedBora, how is everything in Happy Valley!!!
I recently retired from the USAF as an aircrew member, as my name implys. Served 20+ years and drove all those fantastic VW's in Germany on the Autobahn that can only be fantizied here in the USA. My wife thinks I have a terminal case of
"autobahn-itis", thank heaven for cruse control. Well, just wanted to say HI to everyone and glad to have found you all.
Rob
 

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

Lol! I left Happy Valley for the summer, I am now in the beautiful, green, humid, real-mountain-laced, amazing pacific Northwest

I'll find myself back in Happy Valley all too soon though. Oh well.
Welcome to the club!
-BB
 

Guttboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2005
Location
Colorado at 7500'
TDI
Jetta MkV 2005.5 Platinum Gray/Gray Leather Pk2
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Hey C5~!

I fly MC130s...flew AC130s for a stint in the early ninties...I have a couple of friends that flew on the C5!

Welcome!
 

SLCtdi

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
2004 Jetta Platinum Gray
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I'm jealous BlackenedBora. I went to grad school in the Portland area and I loved it there. Especially during the summer when it didn't rain as much. It's quite a different environment here in good 'ole Utah. I'm headed up to Portland this fall for a nice little vacation though.
 

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
This thread has been officially HIJACKED!!!


Give me a holler when you head up, we could meet up for lunch or something. (Although I head back to Utah on 23 August...

Now, back to your normal programming...
 

c5loadmaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Location
Riverside Co, So Cal.,
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Reflex Silver
Now back to the Newbies

Hey Guttboy,
How long have you been flying? I did a stint on 130s & 141s. I was asked if I wanted to cross train to C-17s but then the in addition to being the loadmaster, your also the flight engineer. The motto for loadmasters is "Wheels up, Feet up."
The USAF is cutting back on C-5 squadrons to one @ Travis and 1 @ Dover plus those at reserve bases. No more Mc Cord nor Charleston, they are totally C-17. Even March ARB here in Riverside has lost it's 141's and is getting their first C-17 in August. Now that I'm retired, it's time to Space A around the world and take my honey with me. She has never been out of CONUS.
Later
Rob
 

AnniePassat

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Location
Vancouver, British Columbia
TDI
MKV Jetta (now), B4 Passat (previous)
Re: Now back to the Newbies

Hi all,
I just bought a 1996 Passat TDI one week and a day ago. She's been babied, in great shape and I love her! It is a HUGE step up for me from my old car, and I am thrilled. On my first tank of diesel I got about 100kms to 5.1L. Couldn't be happier. I'm excited to see there are a lot of other people who love their TDI's as well!

-Erin
 

logarithm

Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Location
North Carolina, USA
TDI
Current Admirer/Future Owner
Re: Now back to the Newbies

Hi everybody,

I'm sorry to say that I don't own or drive a TDI...but I do drive a midsize SUV. It's a '98 Ford Explorer 4L and we (my family and I) think that its terminally ill. We think the head gaskets are shot, my transmission slips hardcore, and there's this strange rattling at idle.

I've been doing a lot of research and I'm very impressed with a Golf MKIV GL TDI 2-Door 5-Speed. I'm planning on it being the vehicle I graduate college and graduate school with, and like the idea of the outstanding fuel economy, reliability, cargo capacity, safety, and even performance. This is why I'm here. I'll be asking lots of questions to try to get a better idea of what I'll be getting myself into. I've read around for a while and have found myself to be incredibly ignorant. Many a technical term and acronym has left me dumbfounded.

Please excuse my ignorance when I ask a stupid question. I'm not exagerating when I say I don't know jack squat.
 

ssbourbon1

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Location
Asheville, NC
TDI
2000 Jetta GLS 5sp- Black, 2006 NB DSG- Red
Re: Now back to the Newbies

Hi everybody,

I have owned my 2000 Jetta TDI for a week now (53K on it) and I am loving the gas mileage. I do a lot of highway driving for my job and have gotten 51MPG so far (driing about 73MPH and through the mountains of NC quite a bit. A much better fuel economy than the car I was driving before.

I found this site after buying the car and nw I think that I will be getting out the tools and doing some of my own maintenance since the wealth of info on this board shows that this diesel is pretty easy for a lot of things. Thanks for being here TDI Club and I hope to be a member for long time!
 

spuimatt

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Location
West Michigan
TDI
2003 Indigo Blue Golf TDI
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

I am a newbie and have a question about the ventectomy. I understand the procedure but am unsure of the benefit. Is the purpose to increase MPG or to increase range?

Thanks.Matt
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Re: Starting post for Newbie\'s

Matt, only the fairy god mother can increase MPGs. the vent trick permits you to add another gallon or two and provides a more repeatable "FULL" level for the sake of a better per-tank fuel economy calculation.
 

spuimatt

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Location
West Michigan
TDI
2003 Indigo Blue Golf TDI
MAF question

Thanks for the clarification dieseldorf.

I wonder what everybody's experience with the MAF sensor is? I have a 2003 Golf TDI and with ~45,000 miles on it and have had to have the MAF replaced at ~30,000 miles and again at ~44,000 miles. The dealership also tried to sell me the $600 intake cleaning service. Is there a way for me to verify that I need this maintenance? I am sceptical because I consistently use the entire rpm range, and I don't really trust my local dealership service department.

Matt
2003 Indigo Blue 4dr Golf GL TDI (purchased new)
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Re: MAF question

a failing MAFS is easily diagnosed with VAGCOM...no guesswork required!

Clogged IM: visual inspection. FWIW, you can purchase a virgin IM mated to a brand-new turbo for $675 at IMPEX.
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Re: MAF question

Has anyone else had a similar experience with multiple MAFS failures?
sure, many people have. I'd be checking the condition of the ground connections within the vehicle before installing any more MAFS at $65. Also, inspect the air filter for damage.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Re: MAF question

Has anyone else had a similar experience with multiple MAFS failures?
sure, many people have. I'd be checking the condition of the ground connections within the vehicle before installing any more MAFS at $65. Also, inspect the air filter for damage.
And many people here consider a K&N air filter as a damaged intake.
 

spuimatt

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Location
West Michigan
TDI
2003 Indigo Blue Golf TDI
Re: MAF question

Yes I have heard that the TDI gets plenty of air with a stock air filter and that the K&N is unnecessary. I need to change my air filter-I think I am over the interval... Speaking of service intervals, I was advised by my local VW garage (not the dealership) that the fuel filter does not need to be replaced every 20,000 miles. He made it sound like it was a very complicated procedure and that the service interval was very conservative. I just changed mine for the first time at 45,000 miles and thought that the procedure was rather straight-forward (I watched the internet video at http://www.cincitdi.com/richc/fuelfilter.html a couple of times). Any other thoughts on the fuel filter? I am a little uncomfortable with the 10,000 mile oil change interval. I change mine every 5,000 miles with Mobil 1 Delvac 1600 5W40 full synthetic and Mahle filter. I wonder if I am being excessive?
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Re: MAF question

I am a little uncomfortable with the 10,000 mile oil change interval. I change mine every 5,000 miles with Mobil 1 Delvac 1600 5W40 full synthetic and Mahle filter.
Matt, what kind of car do you have? on the oil, do you mean Delvac 1300 15W-40?


I think changing the fuel filter annually is a decent idea unless you do very little driving.
 

spuimatt

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Location
West Michigan
TDI
2003 Indigo Blue Golf TDI
Re: MAF question

I have a 2003 Golf TDI with 45,000 miles. The oil that I have been using is Mobil 1 Delvac heavy duty synthetic 5W40. It comes in gray 1 gallon containers.
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Re: MAF question

Matt, good selection and that oil is fine in your car!
 

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: MAF question

Concerning MAF failures - it has been suggested that opening and looking at your air filter may cause MAF failures, since the air filter does not seal completely after it ages a bit. If you have opened yours, do it again and take it out, and see if there is a little line/area of dirt going past it. If you have gone this far, change the air filter, since your old one won't seal well.

Also, one individual reported 3 or 4 mafs in a short time, then discovered that he/she (believe it was he, not positive) a hole in the filter element itself - about 1/4" long and sufficient to allow dirt in.

And the K&M's are blamed by some, especially if they are over oiled.

Also, pay attention to the grounds, if you haven't cleaned them, spend 1/2 hour and do so.
 
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