TDI fuel filter change/bleed question

Fellas,

i have a 2013 jetta sportwagen TDI. The dealer has done the routine maintenance but I'm planning on doing fluid changes in the future. I'm at 80,000 miles


I've watched a couple of videos online about the fuel filter change and the bleeding of air afterwards with a Ross-Tech HEX V2 cable connected to a computer. Then using a software program to bleed the air from the fuel system.

Is it necessary to buy one of these cables which costs $200 to bleed the air?
Is the cable a good investment for many other applications on this vehicle?

Are there any other options?

Thanks for any helpful advice.

hangman said:

Fellas,

i have a 2013 jetta sportwagen TDI. The dealer has done the routine maintenance but I'm planning on doing fluid changes in the future. I'm at 80,000 miles


I've watched a couple of videos online about the fuel filter change and the bleeding of air afterwards with a Ross-Tech HEX V2 cable connected to a computer. Then using a software program to bleed the air from the fuel system.

Is it necessary to buy one of these cables which costs $200 to bleed the air?
Is the cable a good investment for many other applications on this vehicle?

Are there any other options?

Thanks for any helpful advice.

Click to expand...

Many here and including most dealers do not bother to purge the air by priming the system and have had no issues.

VCDS is a great tool, and will pay for itself many times over if you keep the car.

it is true that skipping the prime does not result in immediate problems, but you can search for HPFP and see that it is not the most robust system. Depending on how long you take to change the filter, and how you drive right after, you might not get a slug of air into the HPFP. then again, you might. if you do, it might or might not cause a problem, now or in the future.

if it was me (and it was me for nine years or so), I would get the cable, download the program, learn how to use it, including getting the air out of the fuel system after you change the filter.

having a VCDS also opens up a world of help online, since the first question folks will ask is, what errors are logged? can you run and post an auto-scan?

how much does the dealer charge for a fuel filter change? include markup from online pricing for the part, and labor. compare this with the Ross-tech purchase, and a couple tools you might need.

meerschm said:

VCDS is a great tool, and will pay for itself many times over if you keep the car.

it is true that skipping the prime does not result in immediate problems, but you can search for HPFP and see that it is not the most robust system. Depending on how long you take to change the filter, and how you drive right after, you might not get a slug of air into the HPFP. then again, you might. if you do, it might or might not cause a problem, now or in the future.

if it was me (and it was me for nine years or so), I would get the cable, download the program, learn how to use it, including getting the air out of the fuel system after you change the filter.

having a VCDS also opens up a world of help online, since the first question folks will ask is, what errors are logged? can you run and post an auto-scan?

how much does the dealer charge for a fuel filter change? include markup from online pricing for the part, and labor. compare this with the Ross-tech purchase, and a couple tools you might need.

Click to expand...

I agree with you about the VCDS being a great tool. Does the OP have a laptop to go with it? The real key with changeing the fuel filter in his car is to make sure it is as full of fuel as it can be before buttoning up the top. If I read his sig correctly he has a CR car that has the extended fuel system warranty if it got the fix so the HPFP is covered for the duration of the warranty. I would not purchase a VCDS just to prime the fuel filter.
Most dealerships do not prime the fuel system on these cars when changing the fuel filter and the OP states that his car has been dealer serviced for 80K miles, the HPFP has not grenated as of yet. My dealer serviced my car for the first 30k and did not prime the fuel system. At 40k I had JasonTDI do the service along with with a DSG fluid change (top fill) no VCDS monitoring the correct temp and draining off the excess like the book sez.... 4.5 liters of fluid out 4.5 liters of fluid in/done. Basicly the same as old fuel filter out/new fuel filter back in and go. At that time he installed a Nicktane 1 Micron fuel filter system for me and yes he did prime the new completely empty/dry filter with VCDS when it was installed.
Many people here have purchased a VCDS and then use it to turn off their door locks and DLRs, seat belt chime and run the fuel pump as they don't know what else to do with it ...well you get right?

Doing your own maintenance is a fun adventure.

meerschm said:

Doing your own maintenance is a fun adventure.

Click to expand...

my 2 cents........I always did my own maintenance and repairs for many years. I just turned 64 2 days ago and I feel that my adventures of car repair and PM are not my cup of tea anymore. Also, I have a bit more expendable cash now as opposed to when I was younger.

Thanks for all the information fellas. I'm planning on keeping this vehicle. I did have the emissions modifications last year by the dealer and got paid almost $7,000 by VW.

I just turned 57 but have no objections to start doing my own routine maintenance. I may eventually purchase the Ross-Tech cable. I do have a laptop running Windows 10.

On the advice of a friend i just ordered a Miti-Vac 7120. I'm looking forward to using this for fluid changes.

Any opinions on the Miti-Vac?

hangman said:

Thanks for all the information fellas. I'm planning on keeping this vehicle. I did have the emissions modifications last year by the dealer and got paid almost $7,000 by VW.
Any opinions on the Miti-Vac?

Click to expand...

So you have the extended fuel system warranty that covers your HPFP that's great. great. What Miti-Vac opinions are you looking for? It works....Nuff said.

I have a similar sucking device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPflVUzVxJ8

I have a pela 6000

http://www.pelaproducts.com/

I could not get it to completely drain the oil from my 2009 TDI, but others had no such issues.

I still like it, have used it to drain brake fluid to start the regular change of brake fluid.
and on other cars, power steering fluid, to renew, of course the VW TDI has electric Power steering which uses no fluid.

I also use it to renew auto transmission fluid, and plan to use it to help drain this fluid for my sprinter.

On the tdi, even though i could not get the total drain to work i used it to get a couple ounces of dirty oil from the filter compartment when changing filter and oil, and also to clean out the fuel filter can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65MMnubY4DA
looks interesting.

MichaelB said:

my 2 cents........I always did my own maintenance and repairs for many years. I just turned 64 2 days ago and I feel that my adventures of car repair and PM are not my cup of tea anymore. Also, I have a bit more expendable cash now as opposed to when I was younger.

Click to expand...

Happy Birthday.

I resemble your age, but still find it enjoyable to work on my own car.

(my wife even lets me work on hers once in a while)

meerschm said:

I have a similar sucking device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPflVUzVxJ8
I have a pela 6000
http://www.pelaproducts.com/
i used it to get a couple ounces of dirty oil from the filter compartment when changing filter and oil, and also to clean out the fuel filter can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65MMnubY4DA

Click to expand...

In the grand scheme of things what is a couple of ounces of dirty oil worth?
Thanks for the birthday greeting.

the fun of a tool collection.

back to the original question, a good set of Torx bits/drivers is needed to work on the car. and the understanding that the screws that hold on the filter cover are not sealing, just keeping the lid in place. the sealing dimension is in the radial direction.


Translation: the screws on the lid do not need huge amounts of torque to hold. and putting too much will strip the screws out.


also, since it is easy to spill fuel, make good use of shop rags/paper towels, and wash up any spills.

meerschm said:

the fun of a tool collection.

back to the original question, a good set of Torx bits/drivers is needed to work on the car. and the understanding that the screws that hold on the filter cover are not sealing, just keeping the lid in place. the sealing dimension is in the radial direction.


Translation: the screws on the lid do not need huge amounts of torque to hold. and putting too much will strip the screws out.


also, since it is easy to spill fuel, make good use of shop rags/paper towels, and wash up any spills.

Click to expand...

Good instructions,
In my original post, I tried to elate that you can do all that without the aid of a VCDS and most likely will not run amock

No need to purge. What I did is to overfill the fuel filter container with new diesel and then when you place the filter and top back on, it flushes out all the air + a significant amount of diesel. Be prepared with rags. Don't overthink it, this is about a 5 min job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mercdude said:

No need to purge. What I did is to overfill the fuel filter container with new diesel and then when you place the filter and top back on, it flushes out all the air + a significant amount of diesel. Be prepared with rags. Don't overthink it, this is about a 5 min job.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but it'll take more than 5 minutes to clean up the mess this will create. I love "shortcuts" too but come on.

cliballe said:

I'm sorry, but it'll take more than 5 minutes to clean up the mess this will create. I love "shortcuts" too but come on.

Click to expand...

Ah, no, it doesn’t. This isn’t comparable to the Exxon Valdez spill, it’s very minimal and gets absorbed immediately into the rag you wrapped around the housing. If this is a “shortcut” as you called it, then dealerships are taking “shortcuts” on cars coming in.

there is a rumor that the coolant hose material is not resistant to fuel.

so if/when you spill fuel, give it a spritz of simple green or similar, and hose it off.

TRAMPLINEMAN said:

If this is a “shortcut” as you called it, then dealerships are taking “shortcuts” on cars coming in.

Click to expand...

This is the reason mine (and a lot of folks' on the site) will never see another stealership.

Thanks for all the information fellas.

I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos on how to do basic maintenance on the vehicle.

I have also ordered a set of Torx bits and handles. I also ordered the low profile socket for the oil filter cap.

Thanks again!

Thanks for all the information fellas.

I will probably invest in this cable since I plan on keeping the vehicle.

Can anyone show me an image of where this cable connects to my vehicle?

hangman said:

Thanks for all the information fellas.
I will probably invest in this cable since I plan on keeping the vehicle.
Can anyone show me an image of where this cable connects to my vehicle?

Click to expand...

The video at the link below shows the location in an MKVII GTI, but it's in the same place and looks essentially the same.

OBD Location Video

I saw a video where the guy changed the fuel filter. He added fresh diesel to the filter canister and topped up the canister with Power serve.

Is this a normal or recommended procedure for a TDI?

use of fuel additives is a separate issue.

In general, they are not required.

the only thing you really need to do is get the air out of the fuel system after opening it up to change the filter.

as you learn more about the car, one useful skill is separating the useful info from the lucky, and the uninformed.

cliballe said:

I'm sorry, but it'll take more than 5 minutes to clean up the mess this will create. I love "shortcuts" too but come on.

Click to expand...

I'll bet ya that in 100k miles there will no difference between our cr tdis except that I saved myself the collective aggravation during fuel filter changes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hangman said:

I saw a video where the guy changed the fuel filter. He added fresh diesel to the filter canister and topped up the canister with Power serve.

Is this a normal or recommended procedure for a TDI?

Click to expand...

Power Service is mostly diesel fuel with their additives mixed in it (carrier). It's not necessary it just might make filling the canister easier if you do not have a can of diesel fuel. And of course, it won't hurt anything. Just a shot of cleaner when you start the engine.

mercdude said:

I'll bet ya that in 100k miles there will no difference between our cr tdis except that I saved myself the collective aggravation during fuel filter changes

Click to expand...

Yeah, okay bud for your sake I hope you're right. I don't think I could get aggravated with a fuel filter change because it's sooooo easy. What's worse: Cleaning up fuel in the engine bay or firing up VCDS to purge the air out? Hmmm tough one.... to each his own.

If you want to talk about slightly aggravating service bring up a thermostat change on these CR engines.