Just got a 2009 Jetta TDI

Gear-Head

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Ok. So i have always wanted a TDI (I have a Jeep CRD). I bought at an auction a 2009 Jetta TDI, with 49,500 miles on it, in pristine condition. One owner. I bought it for $4,500 + sales, tax, and title through an auction broker/dealer. Car is in great shape, like it truly has been well maintained.

So, what a great deal! Wait, I bought it knowing that the engine would not start. No further information provided. Dead Engine. So I figured that even worst case, I put $5,000 into it, and still a respectable deal - especially considering the mileage. I knew that it would not be a cake walk at all and was hoping it was something like an engine rebuild (which I can do). I assumed it would be a major issue, as someone would not walk away from this with a blocked fuel filter or bad mpg!

So, after a few days…this is what I have (after replacing the battery and the fuel filter). It is running, and appears to idle ok. Sorry, my technical manual from Ebay hasn't arrived.

1. Awful oil leak. I noted a spot in the oil pan where the oil is leaking significantly. It appears that the oil pan can come out without removing engine…is this true?

2. I found the big problem, I think. I think it is the computer (which is my handicap). It is running, but all of the dummy lights on the dashboard are lit up. Particulate sensor, flashing glow plug light, steering, engine workshop (?) etc. It appears to be in limp mode, as I tried to drive it around a bit and it acts like limp mode. When i got it back into the barn running, all of the sudden it started smoking fairly badly, like the injectors were off time. When I shut it down, reset battery, smoking disappeared.

I have tried the my memory fixes, like unplugging the battery for a bit, etc.

Questions:

1. Does this sound, to You, like a fried computer?

2. I have heard nightmares about VW service, and if it is the computer, are there alternatives to the VW (local trusted shop) to address ECM.

3. This vehicle came with a 5 yr/60,000 mile warranty. I fit under the miles and I am in the fifth year. Is there a chance that this indeed falls under the warranty? Or does being the second owner somehow violate this.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help.

Sincerely,
Mike
 

Paulinski

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Location
Brantford, Ontaro
TDI
09 Jetta Wagon Highline
First thing I would do is

1) Find somebody local with VCDS

or

2) Buy VCDS

Scan the car and see what DTC's are present I bet there will be plenty.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
First thing I would do is

1) Find somebody local with VCDS

or

2) Buy VCDS

Scan the car and see what DTC's are present I bet there will be plenty.
Paulinski is correct. Without VCDS you are working blind. Considering how much you will need it, I would suggest buying it. You will need either a MicroCAN or a HEX+CAN cable because a 2009 VW uses CAN bus comms. It will be the most valuable tool in your garage.

http://store.ross-tech.com/shop/cat/VCDS.html

Have Fun!

Don

P.S. Since you know nothing about the history of this car, the first thing to do is to pull out the fuel metering valve on the HPFP and look for metal shavings. Also check the fuel filter for the same thing. This will tell you something about whether or not the HPFP has self-destructed. If someone else "gave up" on this car and it sold that cheap, I suspect that you will have to completely replace either the fuel system or the exhaust system (both can cost more than you paid for the car).
 
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Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
Clear title or salvage? That could be a tipping point as far as warranties are concerned. If it has a clear title, then I would expect VW to cover any powertrain issues, as well as DPF and HPFP if those are bad.

I can't really add anything to what was suggested above, but here's hoping for your sake it doesn't turn out to be a train wreck....yikes.
 

Tdijarhead

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Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
At 4500 hundred dollars, even if everything under the hood needs replacing you still got a good deal. VCDS is a must. Go to Ross-tech.com and order one. I've bought several salvage vehicles in my lifetime, I consider it a challenge to see if I can get the vehicle back to serviceable condition. Farming out all the work ,unless under warranty ,will negate a lot of the savings you have achieved so far.
 

Gear-Head

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Thank you all for your advise. Believe it or not, it is a clear title. I am the second owner.

I am going to order the VCDS today, so I can get my head around what is going on.

I like working on cars, and am actually excited about this one. I am, however, very interested in seeing if I caught "lighting in a bottle" with the warranty issue. It came with a 5 yr 60,000 mile warranty (I am in the fifth year, and less than 50k miles). It seems to me that this is a reasonable endeavor.

I have read on the interblogs that VW can be a nightmare to deal with on warranty work. I thought about taking a picture of the dash, mileage, and the all of the warning lights burning, and with my registration (VIN), just going over to VW to see what they say. ???
 

Gear-Head

New member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
I do know, that there is a serious oil leak coming from the oil pan, which I can take care of.

Does anyone know if the Oil pan comes out, without having to remove the engine or tranny?

Some of the cars, recently vintage, has designed the oil pan to not be removed without the short block out, or serious suspension/frame removal.

Thanks.
 

CopaMundial

Veteran Member
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Jan 30, 2011
Location
Southeastern PA
TDI
03 Jetta Wagon 5sp (New to me Oct 2014) 03 Jetta 5sp (RIP Aug 2014)
If you call your local VW dealer and give them the VIN they may be able to give you a heads up in terms of what work the car has had at other dealerships.

Also I would recommend that you get the car to a dealership for some diagnosis. I would tell them to feel free to fix anything that they are willing to do for free, but stop short of spending your money with them. The idea being that you have a record of the car being seen for these symptoms at X miles and X years... in case it does turn into a warranty fight later.
 

Gear-Head

New member
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Jul 26, 2014
Location
Tennessee
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI
Got the oil leak fixed. Found out through VW, that the following updates have NOT been accomplished (I gave them the VIN).

1. ECM software update (2011)
2. Mechatronic Unit (2010)
3. Fuse 2014.
4. Misfueling Guard.

It seems that the first two above may be useful. I took the fuel filter off, and it looks good. The previous owner had followed the VW suggested service updates, but they didn't update the computer?

It just seems, as unknowledgeable about the ECMs that I am, that the computer is very confused. Idles perfect, but then quickly goes into limp mode.
 

kcunniff

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Mar 14, 2013
Location
Southwest Florida
TDI
2005 Golf GLS BEW (5spd)
Once you get your VCDS and scan it, I suspect there will better information with which to continue the diagnosis of your car's symptoms.

Regarding the VW recalls/updates, do them all. The one I may caution you on is the misfuelling guard installation. Many have reported problems with actually being able to fuel their cars after installation (e.g., not being able to fully fill the tank, slow fill rates, and others) and end up un-installing it. Then again, many more have no problems. Point is, if you can be careful enough to not fuel up with gasoline, then you can do without this, in my opinion.
 

MichaelB

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Aug 11, 2009
Location
SE Wisconsin
TDI
2014 Passat SE DSG
The one I may caution you on is the misfuelling guard installation. Many have reported problems with actually being able to fuel their cars after installation (e.g., not being able to fully fill the tank, slow fill rates, and others) and end up un-installing it. Then again, many more have no problems. Point is, if you can be careful enough to not fuel up with gasoline, then you can do without this, in my opinion.
All the new cars come with the misfueling guard from the factory. When this was installed as an upgrade to a car like yours (if you read back through the threads) it seems like many people here just wanted to have something else to complain about and tell everybody that they didn't need it as they were to smart to misfuel their car. I had it installed on my 2010 JSW and I had no issues.
 
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kcunniff

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Location
Southwest Florida
TDI
2005 Golf GLS BEW (5spd)
All the new cars come with the misfueling guard from the factory. When this was installed as an upgrade to a car like yours (if you read back through the threads) it seems like many people here just wanted to have something else to complain about and tell everybody that they didn't need it as they were to smart to misfuel their car. I had it installed on my 2010 JSW and I had no issues.
Actually I have no direct experience as I did not have this recall performed on my 2010 Jetta. While I have read through a few of the threads related to the misfuelling guard, as with all other matters discussed in these forums, I always try to remain objective given the overall small sample size of observations/opinions from forum members and critically assess the information for how it relates (or not) to my needs. I also keep in mind that there is a disproportionate amount of negative feedback compared to positive feedback.

At any rate, I was only offering my opinion for the new owner's consideration.
 

2.2TDI

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I find it stupid that the misfueling guard is only on CR models... if vw thinks its diesel owners are that stupid, they should have recalled the mk4s and the brm models...I dont see the logic, but that's just me...sorry to side track
 

JSWTDI09

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Las Vegas, Nevada
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2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
I find it stupid that the misfueling guard is only on CR models... if vw thinks its diesel owners are that stupid, they should have recalled the mk4s and the brm models...I dont see the logic, but that's just me...sorry to side track
The difference in in the fuel systems. The CR's HPFP has been proven to be somewhat fragile and it only takes a little gasoline to cause it to self-destruct. The Mk4 engines could handle a little bit of gasoline much easier. Add this to the fact that VW is under investigation by the NHTSA for the HPFP failures and VW is trying to convince everyone that the biggest (only?) cause for this is owner misfueling. Installing a "misfuelling protection device" and then blaming the owners is a whole lot cheaper than actually admitting to a flawed fuel pump design and recalling millions of cars to preemptively replace the HPFPs.

Have Fun!

Don
 

2.2TDI

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The difference in in the fuel systems. The CR's HPFP has been proven to be somewhat fragile and it only takes a little gasoline to cause it to self-destruct. The Mk4 engines could handle a little bit of gasoline much easier. Add this to the fact that VW is under investigation by the NHTSA for the HPFP failures and VW is trying to convince everyone that the biggest (only?) cause for this is owner misfueling. Installing a "misfuelling protection device" and then blaming the owners is a whole lot cheaper than actually admitting to a flawed fuel pump design and recalling millions of cars to preemptively replace the HPFPs.

Have Fun!

Don
I understand the difference and am aware of the HPFP issues, but VW's theory is flawed... by them saying "hey, let's put guards on our 2009+ tdi's, because our tdi owners are idiots and put gas in them. If they put gas, the system goes kaput..."okay, yes it does, and yes the owner may be an idiot. Now tell me what difference does it make if another owner has an ALH and puts gas in it? Does that make him less of an idiot because he drives an ALH and we can forgive him because everything will be okay with the car? It still doesn't change the fact that their CR fuel system is crap, all it does is say "hey, we know our system is crap, so let's put the guard on so the idiot owner doesn't make it go kaput and this way we cover our asses..."

You see what i'm saying? It's pretty evident which ever way you look at it that it's their fault, they're just trying to sweep it under the rug...( which is really sad)
 
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JSWTDI09

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Joined
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Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
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2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
You see what i'm saying? It's pretty evident which ever way you look at it that it's their fault, they're just trying to sweep it under the rug...( which is really sad)
You are basically correct, but there is a difference (in the cars, not who is responsible). Many people have put gas into their ALHs. The difference is that the engine just quit running, they realized their mistake, they drained their fuel tanks, blew out the fuel lines, put in a new fuel filter, filled the tank with diesel and continued to drive as if nothing had happened. Put gasoline into a CR and when it quits running, it usually costs many thousands of dollars to get it running again.

Have Fun!

Don
 

2.2TDI

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You are basically correct, but there is a difference (in the cars, not who is responsible). Many people have put gas into their ALHs. The difference is that the engine just quit running, they realized their mistake, they drained their fuel tanks, blew out the fuel lines, put in a new fuel filter, filled the tank with diesel and continued to drive as if nothing had happened. Put gasoline into a CR and when it quits running, it usually costs many thousands of dollars to get it running again.

Have Fun!

Don
Agreed... anyways sorry to side track, to OP, hope you can figure out what's wrong with you're 09 and get it on the road
 
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