losing power

Hi, I have a 2003 jetta wagen. I am loosing power. I fell and have to get neck surgery and I am not back to work so money is tight. I took it to a guy I knew and he changed the fuel filter (which I already changed) and put in a glow plug.....He said that there was low temp from cylinder 1 and 3 but wasnt able to do anything else.
When I pull out it takes awhile to get going but once I am going, she flies.
Going up mountains I can't get above 55 and thats with a running start. I haven't been using it, have my daughters car until I can get the money to take it to the dealer. My son doesn't know too much about tdi and could change stuff out if we knew what it might be. Any one have an idea of what it may be?
THANK YOU

Look at the top of the page, there's a vagcom list, find someone in your area to help with some testing. I'm sure most will do it for beer money if anything.
It sounds like you need to test the maf and maybe the vac pipes and boost pipes for leaks.



I bet that fall was a pain in the neck?

Lots of possibles. Dirty intake, rusted actuator on the turbo, stuck VNT vanes in the turbo, bad vacuum lines, failed N75 valve, bad MAF.

Unplug the MAF and see if it runs better. If so that's an easy fix. If not, then move on. Next I'd look at the intake for clogging, then to the actuator, N75, and vacuum lines.

I'd suggest you get the car to a guru and see if he can help you sort it out. There are several around you although none may be super close. What part of PA are you in?

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Lots of possibles. Dirty intake, rusted actuator on the turbo, stuck VNT vanes in the turbo, bad vacuum lines, failed N75 valve, bad MAF.

Unplug the MAF and see if it runs better. If so that's an easy fix. If not, then move on. Next I'd look at the intake for clogging, then to the actuator, N75, and vacuum lines.

I'd suggest you get the car to a guru and see if he can help you sort it out. There are several around you although none may be super close. What part of PA are you in?

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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLY.....I live about 30 miles north of allentown. We are going to try the maf tomorrow...I'll let you know if it was as easy as that....lol....my luck I'll be going from there but at least I have idea's now!!!! Thanks again!!!!

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Lots of possibles. Dirty intake, rusted actuator on the turbo, stuck VNT vanes in the turbo, bad vacuum lines, failed N75 valve, bad MAF.

Unplug the MAF and see if it runs better. If so that's an easy fix. If not, then move on. Next I'd look at the intake for clogging, then to the actuator, N75, and vacuum lines.

I'd suggest you get the car to a guru and see if he can help you sort it out. There are several around you although none may be super close. What part of PA are you in?

Click to expand...

thank you

A failed maf sensor definitely renders the car a major slug, mine was instant night and day difference to the point that merging onto the interstate from a short flat entrance ramp with a 5-speed was almost impossible and borderline terrifying when it failed... It got up to 70mph eventually after I was on the freeway but the other drivers weren't very happy with my merge at all...

I'm told there's a vacuum line or two on the firewall that can cause that same type of power drop if they come loose but I haven't had that experience yet...

I hope you have a speedy recovery and find/fix the car problem quick and easy!

gene's foreign car service in broomall, pa is good (half hour to 45 min west of philly). Thats where i take my car. They are very good and specialize in tdi (only do tdi/audi/honda). They arent super cheap, but do it right.

good luck!

Recently I was experiencing a similar issue in my 03. Turned out to be my actuator was rusted. I was kinda lucky that it stopped functioning in a low boost range so I didn't really notice it at low rpms and it just kinda maxed out at higher rpms, until under just the right conditions it started limping up long hills. I simply switched the ignition on and off and got the boost back, but got a little old on the highway

Now it's like really driving a TDI. The boost is spectacular both in low and higher gears....Never knew what I was missing... Good luck

Stay away from the dealers, they will just start throwing parts at it at your expense. You have come to the right place for help. Good luck

merk said:

Stay away from the dealers, they will just start throwing parts at it at your expense. You have come to the right place for help. Good luck

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Yep, what he said ...

Thank u for ur reply!."everyone is soo nice....yeah a real pain in the neck....lol......we unpluged the maf and it has more power ....not near what it had but it is better....so my next step is to order one

zukikat said:

A failed maf sensor definitely renders the car a major slug, mine was instant night and day difference to the point that merging onto the interstate from a short flat entrance ramp with a 5-speed was almost impossible and borderline terrifying when it failed... It got up to 70mph eventually after I was on the freeway but the other drivers weren't very happy with my merge at all...

I'm told there's a vacuum line or two on the firewall that can cause that same type of power drop if they come loose but I haven't had that experience yet...

I hope you have a speedy recovery and find/fix the car problem quick and easy!

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That is what mine does! Merging is terrifying.....we unplugged the maf....got better but not like before....so i guess i am shopping for a new maf sensor...hoping that because it got better that that is what that means Thank u for ur help!

Unplugging the MAF tells the computer to give you a fixed (stored data) amount of boost, better than a broken MAF but never as a good one.

I think you have the potential to learn how to diagnose your car quickly. Good luck!

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Lots of possibles. Dirty intake, rusted actuator on the turbo, stuck VNT vanes in the turbo, bad vacuum lines, failed N75 valve, bad MAF.

Unplug the MAF and see if it runs better. If so that's an easy fix. If not, then move on. Next I'd look at the intake for clogging, then to the actuator, N75, and vacuum lines.

I'd suggest you get the car to a guru and see if he can help you sort it out. There are several around you although none may be super close. What part of PA are you in?

Click to expand...

Hi, I am having the same issue with my 2003 Jetta TDI. Scary Power loss. Changed the fuel filter. Also taking a little longer to start in the morning. Can you point on the forum where to find an illustration of where the MAF is? Thanks, Tom

ralekato said:

Hi, I am having the same issue with my 2003 Jetta TDI. Scary Power loss. Changed the fuel filter. Also taking a little longer to start in the morning. Can you point on the forum where to find an illustration of where the MAF is? Thanks, Tom

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You can't miss it. It's where the large hose enters the air filter housing and has an electrical connector on the side.