Dumb TDI preventative maintenance questions from a BMW Service Advisor...

Hi all,

New to the TDI scene, not to the VW scene (prev. had a 2016 VW Jetta Sport and 2012 Jetta 2.5)... Recently traded my beloved 2015 BMW M3 in on a 15 Jetta SEL TDI w/ DSG because I bought a house... anyways.

I've both been told mixed things and read mixed things regarding preventative maintenance on this car.

My car already had part one of the "fix" completed before purchase. I know part two is pending at the moment.

My car is at about 23k miles. I bought with around 18k on it in July. I was told an oil service was done with part one fix. I know the service manager at the local VW dealer (it's down the road from the BMW dealer I work at, which is owned by the same parent company) and was advised I don't need to worry about any service items until the light comes on the dash.

What is a good preventative maintenance schedule for everything? I was told by local guy with a Passat TDI that I should be proactive about changing the fuel filter, and he also recommended adding "Stanadyne diesel fuel additive" every other fuel fill up. He said the newer TDIs have a common algae buildup problem, and this additive helps prevent that.

A good friend of mine that is a diesel nut (Ford) recommended the same additive but only at every oil change interval.

Being a BMW Service Advisor I know that the manufacturer recommendations for service intervals can sometimes be a little too long... which is why I am posting here.

I do plan on tuning this car eventually - not sure how long I will wait for that. Can't decide between Malone and APR... I know I will hear a lot of mixed things in regards to that.

Looking forward to becoming a part of this community and enjoying this car. It's not the car it replaced in any regard - but it is a very fun car for what it is.

Lots of questions.
1) Stick to the recommended service schedule. As long as you use the correct fully synthetic oil, the recommended schedule is actually conservative. 10,000 miles for oil and filter and 20k miles for fuel filter. Unless you get unusually bad diesel fuel where you live, this should be fine.
2) a good fuel additive is not a bad idea. There are a number of good brands and different reasons for choosing one over an other depending on many factors. There are many threads here about fuel additives. Fell free to read as much as you want. I use a lubricity additive with every tank.
3) Malone specializes in tuning diesels and APR specializes in tuning gassers. For a TDI, I would stick with the experts in diesels rather than APR (also Malone is not the only good diesel tuner out there).

Have Fun!

Don

Regular spec'd maintenance is okay.

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/2015_Jetta.pdf

Fuel additives are a personal choice. There is no "common algae buildup" problem with the newer tdi's. It can get an algae buildup but this is rare and usually from fuel sitting for long periods of time. Most diesel already has some small percentage of bio in it and this is enough for lubricity. Some never use an additional additive and some use it all the time. Your choice to use or not. Most additives do not have an algaecide in them anyway. You have to buy a special additive just for that. Most want a cetane boost and/or lubricity improvement.

Wait to tune until after the final fix is done if that is what you choose to do. Just know that tuning and other mods may void the exceptional warranty that is now in place for these cars. Your choice again here too.

Good luck and enjoy the car!

JSWTDI09 said:

Lots of questions.
1) Stick to the recommended service schedule. As long as you use the correct fully synthetic oil, the recommended schedule is actually conservative. 10,000 miles for oil and filter and 20k miles for fuel filter. Unless you get unusually bad diesel fuel where you live, this should be fine.
2) a good fuel additive is not a bad idea. There are a number of good brands and different reasons for choosing one over an other depending on many factors. There are many threads here about fuel additives. Fell free to read as much as you want. I use a lubricity additive with every tank.
3) Malone specializes in tuning diesels and APR specializes in tuning gassers. For a TDI, I would stick with the experts in diesels rather than APR (also Malone is not the only good diesel tuner out there).

Have Fun!

Don

Click to expand...

Lightflyer1 said:

Regular spec'd maintenance is okay.

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/2015_Jetta.pdf

Fuel additives are a personal choice. There is no "common algae buildup" problem with the newer tdi's. It can get an algae buildup but this is rare and usually from fuel sitting for long periods of time. Most diesel already has some small percentage of bio in it and this is enough for lubricity. Some never use an additional additive and some use it all the time. Your choice to use or not. Most additives do not have an algaecide in them anyway. You have to buy a special additive just for that. Most want a cetane boost and/or lubricity improvement.

Wait to tune until after the final fix is done if that is what you choose to do. Just know that tuning and other mods may void the exceptional warranty that is now in place for these cars. Your choice again here too.

Good luck and enjoy the car!

Click to expand...

Thank you both for your input!

By the book is all you'll need. Fuel additive certainly would not hurt, your choice.

+1 for the fuel additive