2.0 Gen 1 post fix impressions, issues, etc.

Long time lurker .......... Since receiving the Fix almost a year ago, I've been thinking about purchasing a Tune finally. However which one to go with has been my biggest challenge.

Malone Stage 1 or Kerma Stage 1 .... Just confused! Could someone point me in the right direction(s) as to a real comparison on them both? Fuel economy, Power, and driving dynamics. I commute mostly highway Monday through Friday at about 80 miles a day / 400 miles a week. I consider myself an aggressive driver and somewhat of a left lane hog = fast.

My Jetta is lowered on Coilovers and I'm running 18.5 inch rims.


Any input would be greatly appreciated.

After having the fix for almost a month now, I have noticed almost 0 difference on my 2012 6-speed manual sportwagon.

I can't hear any more diesel noise.
I don't see a perceptible change in MPG. I just did a mountain trip I've done dozens of times. 47 mpg on the way out, 60 mpg on the way back (via MFD).
I don't feel any change in power.
I haven't detected a single regen which is a bit odd.

I have noticed a small hiccup now and then right around 1800 rpm.

Seems like I agonized over nothing for the last year.
Very happy with my decision so far.

I'm happy for you, Senor Swifter (a Jetta 1.4 turbo/5M - while fuel efficient and somewhat torquey - can't come close to my late '17 buyback 2013 JSW TDi 6M).

The HPFP and DPF issue potential - as the miles piled up - began to concern us.

Meanwhile a brand new 2017 Jetta TSI is pinch hitting. I'd like another VW TDI (but then again folks in Hell want ice water......................................

all the best,

ez

After searching, I wasn't able to find any threads or posts on this for a modified 2013 JSW.

Has anyone else noticed a low frequency rumble at low RPMs? It's rather loud but the car is otherwise operating very well.

My unmodified 2013 JSW didn't have this audible rumble so I'm hoping someone can assure me this is common with the modification?

It might be a loose heat shield from where they worked on the DPF.

Houston!! We have a problem. Check engine light came on yesterday while driving home. Dropped it off at Volkswagen this morning. My service advisor just called and said that the DPF, EGR Filter, and the NoX Cat will need to be replaced again under warranty Keep in mind that EGR Filter and NoX Cat was replaced under the Emissions Recall back in August 2017! NOT GOOD! It didn't even make it a year.

I'm pretty ****ing pissed! Not only will it take up to 10 day's to get the parts from Germany it's going to be a 2 day job.

This is ****ing ridiculous!!!

Summary of my Journey with my 2010 Jetta TDI

DPF replaced at 81,881 ( Warranty )
Injector Plates, Covers, and Seals replaced at 100,185 ( Warranty )
Exhaust Flap replaced, DPF, EGR Filter replaced at 119,994 ( Warranty )
Emissions Modification Software update NoX, EGR Filter, Exhaust Flap, and Rear 02 Sensor replaced at 131, 330 ( Warranty )

At this point I'm just dumbfounded! The Jetta now has 146,000 miles and although it does have an extended warranty it looks as if I will be looking for a new replacement. It will be sad to see it go, but I just can't continue down this path. I hope I'm not giving everyone a sour taste in their mouth but just wanted to give my feedback on the Emissions modification and my current experience.

Either your dealer is really bad at installing stuff, or you have figured out a way to minimize the life expectancy of the exhaust components. What is your driving pattern, just out of curiosity?

Diesl said:

Either your dealer is really bad at installing stuff, or you have figured out a way to minimize the life expectancy of the exhaust components. What is your driving pattern, just out of curiosity?

Click to expand...

Driving pattern primarily consists of Highway driving 80 miles a day Mon-Friday. I have a little bit of a lead foot and mainly drive 80MPH or faster on the Highway. At this point, I'm just baffled as to what could have caused the failure

Side note: The Jetta was dropped off at Volkswagen this morning and I believe I should get it back sometime tomorrow.

Just curious how many miles others have on their rides since having the Emissions Fix?

Well, my dpf and egr filter were replaced 1500 miles after the emissions fix. If these things break pretty regularly, I hope the pattern manifests before my warranty runs out (at 131k miles). I'm now about 4k after fix, so too early to tell. But the regeneration frequency is now back to ~ every 200 miles, which makes me worry.

Diesl said:

Well, my dpf and dgr filter were replaced 1500 miles after the emissions fix. If these things break pretty regularly, I hope the pattern manifests before my warranty runs out (at 131k miles). I'm now about 4k after fix, so too early to tell. But the regeneration frequency is now back to ~ every 200 miles, which makes me worry.

Click to expand...

Not Good!!!!

Here is the Update:

Picked up the Jetta from Volkswagen this morning. EGR filter filled with Soot which in Volkswagen's words caused the DPF to fail. My service advisor who is amazing basically said that when the Emissions recall was performed back in August 2017, the EGR filter was not replaced. However, when I pulled up the Service records for the Emissions Recall the EGR Filter, NoX Cat, Exhaust Flap, and Rear 02 sensor was replaced. The DPF was not replaced back in 2017.

Sooooooo ........... We have a complete EGR filter failure in 15,000 miles, which in my opinion could have been caused by the Software update. NOT GOOD!!!!
At this point the Jetta now has 146,000 miles. I'm not so sure I should have moved forward with the Emissions modification. I plan to keep the Jetta for now and will be monitoring the progression.

On a side note ........ I did finally got the Wireless Charging kit installed

I also forgot - There is a TSB out for Fault Code P0401, not sure if an upgraded EGR filter or DPF was installed.

15 tdi

...stage 2 fix: complete, virtually same mpg and acceleration... PLUS: 11 year warranty, plus $7000...
What's not to like?...

Gdp said:

...stage 2 fix: complete, virtually same mpg and acceleration... PLUS: 11 year warranty, plus $7000...
What's not to like?...

Click to expand...

Your kinda in the wrong thread.. this is for Gen. 1 cars.( no 2nd stage fix). but good to hear anyway

Hi everyone! So, I just had my 2013 Jetta Sportwagen in for its fix. I put it off for a long time because honestly, I love my car and a big part of that love was the fuel efficiency + the way it drives. But $7000 pays off that loan and saves us a huge payment every month, so in it went.

But since the fix, the car definitely drives differently. Half a tank doesn't yet tell me if the fuel efficiency took a hit, but the torque DEFINITELY did, and I am really sad about this. My husband, who also drives the car frequently, quipped "can we get it UNfixed?" (Not really; we really want the car paid off!) I've read through a bunch of this thread, and while I am not car-tech savvy, it seems there may be something we can have done? I see a bunch of talk of "tuning". Can someone tell me in layman's terms: is this a way to possibly get my torque back? What else does it do to the car? I want my get-up-and-go back.

I am someone who will drive my car for the next ten years before looking at another. I enjoy getting my money's worth out of a car and not having a payment. Also, I expected with a diesel to have LOTS of fun, enjoyable miles on this thing. Here I am at 60k, and I'm sad thinking of the next 100k. I mean, it's not a BAD car, but it sure doesn't drive like MY car anymore.

Fix folo

Gdp said:

...stage 2 fix: complete, virtually same mpg and acceleration... PLUS: 11 year warranty, plus $7000...
What's not to like?...

Click to expand...

Mirrors my experience. Had the fix done to my '12 TDI 6M two-door back in February. Just got back from an annual Portland OR-to western Ohio and back via Missoula MT road trip.


Fuel economy is slightly lower around town, and mine does the bucking and surging at low speed/low rpm, particularly when cold. On the highway fuel economy is almost unchanged. I generally add Power Service White on these long all-day runs and it appears to improve the fuel economy -- hard to tell when you're essentially running downhill from Laramie WY to Omaha. Sticking to name-brand high-turnover fuel seems to help.



Only recent problem has been a blocked heater core that cost too much to replace, but it takes a lot of disassembly to get to it.


Car now has about 78000 miles on it and about 20K on Pirellis that replaced the original Continentals.

suliabryon said:

Hi everyone! So, I just had my 2013 Jetta Sportwagen in for its fix. I put it off for a long time because honestly, I love my car and a big part of that love was the fuel efficiency + the way it drives. But $7000 pays off that loan and saves us a huge payment every month, so in it went.

But since the fix, the car definitely drives differently. Half a tank doesn't yet tell me if the fuel efficiency took a hit, but the torque DEFINITELY did, and I am really sad about this. My husband, who also drives the car frequently, quipped "can we get it UNfixed?" (Not really; we really want the car paid off!) I've read through a bunch of this thread, and while I am not car-tech savvy, it seems there may be something we can have done? I see a bunch of talk of "tuning". Can someone tell me in layman's terms: is this a way to possibly get my torque back? What else does it do to the car? I want my get-up-and-go back.

I am someone who will drive my car for the next ten years before looking at another. I enjoy getting my money's worth out of a car and not having a payment. Also, I expected with a diesel to have LOTS of fun, enjoyable miles on this thing. Here I am at 60k, and I'm sad thinking of the next 100k. I mean, it's not a BAD car, but it sure doesn't drive like MY car anymore.

Click to expand...

My wife's sentiments exactly. My comment was that if I wanted to drive my daughter's 05 Corolla, I would have just traded her.

GCAutoparts said:

Not Good!!!!
Here is the Update:
Picked up the Jetta from Volkswagen this morning. EGR filter filled with Soot which in Volkswagen's words caused the DPF to fail. My service advisor who is amazing basically said that when the Emissions recall was performed back in August 2017, the EGR filter was not replaced. However, when I pulled up the Service records for the Emissions Recall the EGR Filter, NoX Cat, Exhaust Flap, and Rear 02 sensor was replaced. The DPF was not replaced back in 2017.
Sooooooo ........... We have a complete EGR filter failure in 15,000 miles, which in my opinion could have been caused by the Software update. NOT GOOD!!!!
At this point the Jetta now has 146,000 miles. I'm not so sure I should have moved forward with the Emissions modification. I plan to keep the Jetta for now and will be monitoring the progression.
On a side note ........ I did finally got the Wireless Charging kit installed
I also forgot - There is a TSB out for Fault Code P0401, not sure if an upgraded EGR filter or DPF was installed.

Click to expand...

Nope, that's not correct. Your DPF failed, and that caused the filter failure.
Your DPF has likely been cracked for some time (based on the repeated EGR filter replacements by the dealer) and the new filter/software just caught it a lot sooner than the old versions. The TSB is supposed to inform dealers that the EGR filter failure is the symptom of a DPF failure so they don't keep throwing filters at a car and getting the same result, like in your case. Now that it's finally been fixed correctly, I'd expect many more trouble free miles.

I'm surprised about the comments for reduced performance. My car goes just as fast and accelerates just as hard. My issue is the herky jerky driving from all the regens and that does also affect mpg.

I have over 10k on my '09 (DSG) since the fix and I haven't noticed any difference in performance, much to my relief. There has been a 2-3 mpg decrease in fuel economy. Regens are more frequent, as well. I'm still happy I got the fix (with a new DPF and an extended warranty on many parts). Great car. Hope to keep it for a while.

Same here with our 2010: more frequent regens and fewer miles per gallon but no performance hit. We took it on a 15,000 mile road trip right after the fix and except for the fuel consumption, we couldn't be happier with how it performed towing our teardrop trailer.

^^I agree! It's still agreat car after the fix and I'm also planning to keep if for the long haul. So far it's been 8-years and 160K miles of driving enjoyment and honestly my car is still like new, except for road rash from my commuting on the front of the car and the windshield. And I kind of like that, wearing it like a badge of honor for all those miles on the road.

I will be taking my Jetta in for the fix tomorrow. I hope to have it back Friday and see what happens. with 159,000 miles on it I hope it can handle whatever modifications are done.

I have been getting just under 44 MPG and checking figures at every fill-up. I won't be happy to loose that kind of MPG.

I had mine done this week (2009 JSW with DSG). Got it back yesterday and haven't driven it all that much yet so these are very preliminary observations.

Agree with the other posters - the shift points seem to have changed (higher rpms) but no significant impact on drive-ability. I find myself needing to stomp a little harder than before to get moving but the car responds.

The impact on mileage feels more substantial - too early to tell what the tank will end up at but based on the MFD during my morning commute, but I'm expecting a hit of 15% or so. The impact feels greater under even moderate acceleration - the instantaneous mpg seems to very quickly drop into the low teens when I accelerate - this was not so before. Also, I noticed that the average trip mpg drops more quickly when stopped at a traffic light - again a new phenomenon. But this is not completely scientific - it's based on my observations during my 25 mile drive this morning.
Fwiw, my MFD was always biased upwards in the past and it may well be the case that it is more accurate now in which case the actual hit to the mileage may be less.

In any case, from an economic perspective the money I'll get from VW should more than compensate for the extra fuel cost. I used to spend around $1000 annually and it may be an extra $150 going forward so the $5k should go a long way. I just lose bragging rights.

All in all not as bad as I'd feared.

I got my Jetta back yesterday after having the smog mod installed. Driving home I did notice the difference in shifting (staying in gear longer till shifting). I think it’s more noticeable when the engine is cold (maybe helps warm the engine up quicker) but I am not sure.
I would think it may add to the reduced MPG but otherwise I don’t think it’s a problem.

I am not sure I should admit what I did but for accuracy and for information (others will want to know the outcome) I will give a brief explanation.

Living in Ca. I knew I would be forced sooner or later to have the modification put in. SO I purchased a used ECU on Ebay. Thanks to Malone Tuning I had the demobilizer delete performed and made sure it ran normally. My original ECU had been modified with a 2.0 tune (also from Malone tuning).

When I took my car in for the smog mod can you guess which ECU my car had in it ????

I now have my original ECU installed and I plan on uploading (today) the 0.5 tune Malone Tuning was kind enough to give me when I purchased the 2.0 tune. Obviously, I will need to re-program the DSG if I want the 2.0 back but I’m not sure I want to go through the trouble and hassle. Time will tell (so will my MPG).

I should know if my MPG has changed by Friday 6/16. My normal highway/freeway MPG has been a steady 44/45 MPG figured by fuel used vs miles driven not the MFD display.

NOW I know what some of you are thinking, I am not going to answer all the questions about this but I will make 2 points.

1. Based on the research I was able to do (I am NOT a lawyer but I did speak with a group involved with the case) The modification will be required for registration regardless of the state accepting money from VW. IF I am wrong about this (or have been misinformed) I would rather be wrong on the side of caution and not get caught with my pants down.

2. I bought this car for the long haul, for what it can do, and how much fun the darn thing is. I don’t trust this “fix” to be a good thing for any of those items. If I thought I could have left it as is I would have gladly given up the 5K.
So for those of you with an itch to know how it all works out I will post again on Friday with my MPG and anything else noteworthy.

Texsize

Texsize, please keep us in the loop.


ez

I made my ~150 mile trip to work and back with the .5 tune in place.
Had no fault codes and the car ran well. I do miss the 2.0 tune but the difference between stock ECU and .5 tune is much bigger that the difference between .5 tune and 2.0 tune.

Will be getting a fill up tonight and then it's 3 days of my 150 mile commute. Friday night I will fill up again and that will let me get the MPG and see if there is any change. I don't really expect a significant change.

It would be real interesting to run my commute 3 days using the "fixed" ECU. that would really show the difference (if any) between pre/post fix.

texsize

Bought used post-phase one 2015 Golf TDI

Hi-

I had a 2012 Golf TDI, totaled it, got insurance money and buyback- big win- paid off some student loans.

I have been driving my 2005 TDI JettaWagon for a year and a half. After test driving other small cars, nothing compared to my 2012 Golf TDI and I bought a 2015 Golf TDI that went through phase 1 fix, 17K miles. I got it from Carvana, and the carfax was clean, but it has this weird hole in the door panel. Any thoughts or ideas of what is going on here? ( I have a 7 day test drive, so don't hold back!)

Thanks
Leah
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QYGGznUnmDzVgPsVgwRaSpK5fMUsb8Id/view?usp=sharing

Bullet hole? I don't have my car at home or I would check mine, but I wonder if there is supposed to some type of rubber plug that is supposed to fill that hole. maybe it's for shutting the door a little more securely.

texsize said:

1. Based on the research I was able to do (I am NOT a lawyer but I did speak with a group involved with the case) The modification will be required for registration regardless of the state accepting money from VW. IF I am wrong about this (or have been misinformed) I would rather be wrong on the side of caution and not get caught with my pants down.

Click to expand...

Where are you finding that in the settlement? I could only find statements that said the modification could not be required for registration by participating states.

kjclow said:

Bullet hole? I don't have my car at home or I would check mine, but I wonder if there is supposed to some type of rubber plug that is supposed to fill that hole. maybe it's for shutting the door a little more securely.

Click to expand...

Thanks! It is odd-- but after some research it looks like sometimes when people use those "paint-less dent removal" services they will drill holes in the door jam in order to access the dent. Should have been rubber plugged, but it wasn't. I'm guessing it's not that big of a deal and I can just go out and get a rubber plug for it.

flargabarg said:

Where are you finding that in the settlement? I could only find statements that said the modification could not be required for registration by participating states.

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I did not "see it" in the documents. what I did see was that the agreement said something like "you can continue to drive and register the vehicle for now"

If you want to leave your vehicle unmodified more power to you and I wish you the best of luck. I really hope you are right.

Because I am in Ca. I don't want to miss out on the restitution $$ and be forced to have the mod performed after all.

The information I got was from some law firm (in Virginia I think). I had called VW wanting to "opt-out" only to find out that the deadline for opting out had passed and I could no longer do that.

IIRC VW were the ones that gave me the number of the law firm. It was some kind of panel that consisted of lawyers from VW but also lawyers for the "plaintiffs" . That is where I got the info.