Idle Speed

The idle speed on my '99 gt tdi seems to be too high. tickover is 950 on the tacho is this right if not is it possible to correct?

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Compression Ignition Rules !!!

George:

Our TDI engine idles higher than most of us think it should. My tachometer also says 950 RPM's at idle, but when measured by a scan tool, the readout is actually only 903 RPM's.

That's about the normal idle speed. Control of the idle speed is built into the ECU ... i.e. there's nothing you can do about it.

Relative to the redline, the idle speed is high compared to most gas engines, but with compression like this, the slower it goes the more it shakes. It's better for the oil pressure, too. Nothing to be concerned about.

Brian P.
'96 Passat TDI

normal. seems high to me too. nothing can be done (emissions)

That seems a bit high. All the TDI's I have seen show up at about 900 RPM. The OBD-II
software that I have reports the revs at 903 RPM at idle. My Tach shows at 1/2 way between the 800 and 1000 RPM marks.

I don't know of any adjustments that could be made. Someone with more info on the ECU might be able to help though..

Drive ON!

My 2001 Jetta idles at around 850, or so it appears. I don't have a VAG-COM so I can't tell you what it's actually idling at.

I wish it idled down around 700 or so for crawling in traffic. Oh well.

That is correct idle (950) and most say thats where their tdi is idling now. The points raised about oil flow and vibration are well taken. It has been said this motor can become "oil starved" at long idle and low idle. Also, the higher idle will help to lower the vibration.
I'd leave the idle alone at 950 rpm.