New Owner, 2012 Sportwagon... The Journey starts!

Quick update:
Did the rear brakes.
The Harbor Freight brake caliper piston kit worked great and was $35 out the door with the 20% off coupon.
The Zimmerman Rotors and Akebono pads bedded in after 20 miles and feel fine.
Changed the oil again 4400 miles yesterday, as I thought I was driving it to Az today, and will be loaded up with 4 adults and luggage.....
Noticed evidence of a slight oil leak which I photographed, for investigation, but the oil change went smoothly. Tiny bit of fuzz on the drain plug magnet, but fine. Oil will go out to Blackstone for analysis.
However, I suddenly noticed that the inside shoulder of the front tires is wearing badly, and I’m not comfortable with them. There is no tread left for the inner inch or so, but no threads showing yet.
I will leave the VW at home and take our Mercedes ML Bluetec instead.

Will post pics later.
Anyone have experience with inner tire wear on these VWs, and is it normally just alignment or should I check for wear anywhere?

KeyTDI said:

Quick update:
Did the rear brakes.
The Harbor Freight brake caliper piston kit worked great and was $35 out the door with the 20% off coupon.
The Zimmerman Rotors and Akebono pads bedded in after 20 miles and feel fine.
Changed the oil again 4400 miles yesterday, as I thought I was driving it to Az today, and will be loaded up with 4 adults and luggage.....
Noticed evidence of a slight oil leak which I photographed, for investigation, but the oil change went smoothly. Tiny bit of fuzz on the drain plug magnet, but fine. Oil will go out to Blackstone for analysis.
However, I suddenly noticed that the inside shoulder of the front tires is wearing badly, and I’m not comfortable with them. There is no tread left for the inner inch or so, but no threads showing yet.
I will leave the VW at home and take our Mercedes ML Bluetec instead.
Will post pics later.
Anyone have experience with inner tire wear on these VWs, and is it normally just alignment or should I check for wear anywhere?

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My earlier gen vws did seem to wear the tire insides more than outsides, at least in the front. Haven't noticed on this one yet. Don't have a solution for you. Someone will know if that points to toe-in or whatever.

The insides of my tires wore down way faster. I actually didn't notice how bad they were worn until I changed out my front brakes. Pulled the first tire off and not only could see the obvious wear (something the VA state inspection should have caught before the vehicle was sold) but the major cupping. You didn't even have to run your hands across the contact patch it was that bad. 4 new Falken Pro G5 Sports later and the car drives way better than I could have imagined.

The Tec at the tire shop noted that German cars tend to have a little more negative camber to help provide a "sportier" ride. Its believable, but I tend to take the advice of people selling me something with a grain of salt.

The tire tech at your shop wasn't wrong - I had one show me that the control arms on my 03 TDI that should have had slots to adjust the camber... Were ROUND and that the camber was basically locked in from the factory. He said that there wasn't really anything he could do, that he could adjust the toe and align the tires that way, but if they started cupping that rotation was really the only cure for most German cars.

That car never really got severe with the cupping, but I had two other TDIs that did. I'm not normally that religious about the tire rotation on my other cars, but I had to be on those two.

I drive about 3500 miles a month. Guess im gonna have to get religious about the tire changes. Thankfully that tire shop does free tire balances and rotations as long as I have the car.

Ok, will report back on what I find.

Silly question...
My Son has a 2016 Audi Allroad, with 20k miles on it... and he put Porsche front brakes on recently...
So he has some good rotors/calipers/pads from his car up for grabs... and I will be needing rotors and pads soooo.... was wondering if they would fit my VW...???

Maybe. Only way to cross something like that is to have a good look at the actual parts.

Looked and found his calipers are large single piston and mine look like twin pistons. Then measured the stock rotors at 312mm, his are 320mm.
Not gonna happen.

Ok, so my VW started to do something odd this week.
Stopped locking and unlocking from the key remote. Also when I open the door, it’s chiming at me, but no info about why from the MFI.
Anyone have any knowledge?

Change the battery if it's not new and see if that resolves the issue.

KeyTDI said:

Looked and found his calipers are large single piston and mine look like twin pistons. Then measured the stock rotors at 312mm, his are 320mm.
Not gonna happen.

Ok, so my VW started to do something odd this week.
Stopped locking and unlocking from the key remote. Also when I open the door, it’s chiming at me, but no info about why from the MFI.
Anyone have any knowledge?

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Had something similar on our old 2010 and it was one of the rear door lock modules that had to be replaced. The "Lock" indicator for that door would not light up nor would it lock even though the alarm would be set.

Update:
Changed the Key battery and it seems to have cured it!

Confirming that the key Battery must have been the issue, as it has not happened since...


Blackstone report came in, looks good, but not perfect.


Will post the whole thing for reference, but here is the lab's comments..


Your engine looks pretty good in this second report. Aluminum and chrome are fine next to averages so we aren't seeing as much piston or ring wear, but iron is actually higher on a per-mile basis, showing more steel wear than last time.

It may look lower at face value, but iron should be a little lower since averages are based on about 8,800 miles. We'll just watch it from here. The viscosity was a little low
and there was some fuel (1.0%), but neither is problematic at these levels. Small amounts of fuel are often
from normal use. Feel free to use this oil if you like it.

KeyTDI said:

Confirming that the key Battery must have been the issue, as it has not happened since...


Blackstone report came in, looks good, but not perfect.


Will post the whole thing for reference, but here is the lab's comments..


Your engine looks pretty good in this second report. Aluminum and chrome are fine next to averages so we aren't seeing as much piston or ring wear, but iron is actually higher on a per-mile basis, showing more steel wear than last time.

It may look lower at face value, but iron should be a little lower since averages are based on about 8,800 miles. We'll just watch it from here. The viscosity was a little low
and there was some fuel (1.0%), but neither is problematic at these levels. Small amounts of fuel are often
from normal use. Feel free to use this oil if you like it.

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That would be great if you could post a picture of your levels to compare. I just got my kit to sent.

Will do today if I get a minute.

Have the PDF file ready, but cant seem to attach or insert it anywhere...
My posting rules say I cant add attachments... why?

Well, everything has been great...
Car running fine, a few small issues, but nothing much....
Was overdue a little on my oil change... time wise, not miles...
Until Monday 3/15/2021.
Was up in LA picking up some tools, came to a junction, waited to turn left at a red light.
Light went green for me...
And then...

Yes, I was listening to ABBA... LOL
Guy ran the red on his side, I hit his passenger rear door hard... he span twice I think.
Guy tried to say I ran the red...
Nope, I have a Dashcam, so that story got squashed very quickly...
Even tho the crash looks mild, my knee is like a ballon, hit my head on the B piller seat belt mount, and my neck, and back are tweaked from the impact..
My poor TDI...
Ripped off the number plate, and mount, which ripped off the RH half of the bumper, smashed the healight.
Hood has a wrinkle in it.
Below that the crash bar had it foam ripped off and has a gouge in it.
Radiator/core support is cracked.
First estimate was $4500... but thats being revised currently... they might total it.

Can you only post pics from a photo storage place?

oh man! sorry to see this

if you have sustained injuries, i hope you went to the ER/Urgent Care to document them. if you have any receipts related to your car that will help increase it's value. your dashcam clearly shows the other driver is 100% at fault, so you should be compensated by his insurance for your injuries. don't accept a lowball offer and get a lawyer if they start to be difficult.

in the end, i'm glad you are "ok" and hope your car makes it.
could have been a lot worse.
best wishes.

p.s. you should be able to ad pics under the media tab and post them here, it's just not very easy.

Thanks.
I did attend an urgent care on the day of the accident, and the next day, I was really feeling it so got X-rays.
I have registered my injuries with the insurance company but have no idea what a fair offer would be when that time comes. We have personal injury attorneys in the family, but would prefer not to go that route.
I like the car a lot, and would like to keep it, even if it’s totalled. The insurance company already offered to cash me out at the agreed repair cost if it’s not totaled.
The repair would be well within my skill set beside the paint. Could get that done anywhere.
Let me see if I can figure out how to post pics.

Damn, that sucks! I hope you recover quickly from the injuries. You must be a zen master or something, not a single cuss word or even a groan is audible. Maybe that came later. How shocking that the guy running red lights didn't want to own up /s.

I think I was chilled out by the ABBA music... or more likely just shocked. He came out of nowhere! Boom.

KeyTDI, I have been away from the forum for a while and sorry to hear your TDI got involved in accident. I actually do not live far from you and was going to let you know that if you were planning on changing the timing belt, I can lend you the timing belt kit that I bought (and used it twice) on my 2010 TDI. But due to the unfortunate accident, you may not needed I guess.

Thanks!
The repair estimate was updated to $5400 as they think there is a crack in the lower radiator support.
I am awaiting the valuation of the vehicle from the bodyshop, which will determine if they total it or not.
I looked up my car on KBB and the spread of prices was $4700 to $8700 so plopped mine in the middle at $6700 so with the repair looking like $5500 and AAA saying their totaled limit is 75% of value it’s not looking good.
So, I looked for similar TDI Sportwagons locally and was completely shocked to see nothing similar for under $11k.
What are other people seeing out there?
If they offer me less than I can replace it for I’m stuck with one choice, buy it back and repair myself.
So, if that is the case, I need to begin planning.

Cannot figure out how to post pics. Anyone direct me to a tutorial or explain it?

so, here is what I see damage wise:
Front bumper cover is ripped in half and passenger side is torn off. The drivers side is skewed to the right and pulled out of the drivers fender slightly.
Lower center grill is shattered. Passenger side lower grill is gone.
The crash bar seems to have a foam cover on it, which went with the pass side of the bumper. There is a small crease in the crash bar itself.
I can’t see a crack in the radiator support, but I do see the pass side radiator shutter is broken.
Passenger headlamp lens is broken. Headlamp body is pushed outboard. Some suggestion that the pass side headlamp/radiator support panel is bent slightly.
Passenger side wheelarch liner is there but mount holes to bumper are ripped out.
hood has a small kink in it above the passenger headlamp.
Upper grill has a small piece missing off the passenger side, and a small scuff.
I will post pics of the damage on my Garage Journal thread.

Posted some more pic there.

So, I have questions for peeps here...

1/ The crash bar looks undamaged except for a soft crease outboard of the mounting point. No sign of bending or displacement of the main structure.
The bar foam "Absorber" is ripped off on the passenger side tho... In some assembly drawings, they show the absorber as separate piece..
But not the Sportwagon...

Like this.. but says only for sedan?.

2/ Have to replace the drivers side headlamp... thinking as the lights are crap anyway.
I want projectors so I can put LED or Xenon in , so these or similar make sense..
Will these fit, or any other suggestions?


3/ Thinking to put a foglight kit in instead of paying double for one outer grill...

Thoughts or comments are very welcome!

Anyone have any comment on these Projector Headlamps?

KeyTDI said:

Anyone have any comment on these Projector Headlamps?

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Garbage. There description alone would make me steer clear. Save a few more beans and get something proven, not offshore 2nds.

Ok, whats good?
Im pulling my parts list together this week while I wait for the check.