3 years, 37,000 miles... and I'm pretty sure the car has no soul.

16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
This engine is in no way as simple as the old SOHC 2.0L cross flow engines, LMAO. The forced induction alone compounds the complexity quite a bit, but add in the vario intake, vario cams, vario flow water pump (which is a $300 part, made of plastic, and they are already starting to fail...), there are two thermostats, an additional water pump (because you know, one overly complex fragile one isn't enough... let's add another one!)... heck, even the oil pump is controlled electronically!
I think it performs admirably well for its small size. But simple it is not. Not by a long shot. :p
It seems you misunderstood me. Let me clarify again.

This feels like the modern-day ABA. VW's blue collar engine.
You call out to specifics like the water pump, which is on top and easy to access. None of that timing belt horse ****. And are you talking about the electric auxiliary water pump on the 1.4? Yeah, the CVCA has two of those... so, three water pumps. I stand by my comments of "beautifully simple" and will only add that its complexity and serviceability are a far cry from the nightmare that I know the EA288's will be. The SCR/DPF/EGR system alone is reason enough. They're trying to regulate diesels out of existence, and it appears that it's working pretty damn well. These things limit my experience and enjoyment. Yeah, I long for the days of the 1Z and ALH and there are realities with today's diesels. But like I say, if I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a 1.4. My experience is that it returns 41mpg in the same conditions my CVCA returns 48mpg. Fuel cost difference alone negates savings. You've gotta really love diesels or hope it'll go 300k for some kind of break-even point. You're arguing semantics, and I thought of all people you'd get my drift. Sorry I was mistaken.

I'm keeping my TDI, but only because of the dieselgate extended warranty on the above said items.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Feels like and is are two very different things. ;)

It lists 3.8 hours labor to replace the main water pump on the 1.4L. No semantics in that. Straight from the book.

Much of the same excessively complex and fragile bits on the CR TDIs are also on the newer gasoline fueled VAG engines. Just different names, or different locations, as the diesel and gasoline engines no longer are sprung from the same architecture as they had traditionally been.

VAG is not alone in this trend, as pretty much everyone else is doing the same thing. We are seeing all these small(ish) turbocharged engines having all kinds of problems ranging from failed turbos to failed cooling system components to failed engines. Every day. Every. Single. Day.

Yesterday it was a 1.4L Cruze turbo. Today some Equinox issue. We have a dead 1.6L turbo Escape out back abandoned here (blew up on their vacation... 2013... :eek: ).

We had a newish (2010?) CRV in here last week, about the 10th so far this year, with its vario cam tensioner causing this awful metal on metal grinding at start up. TSB 09-010 (look it up, covers all the 2.4L engines through 2013). And half the time, the fix is too late, they already need chains, sprockets, and a bunch of other stuff, and half the engine has to be torn apart to fix them. An Accord was hauled out of here last week that needed an engine due to this.

I have a 2015 Durango in here that has dead LED license plate lamps. $40 each. $80 in parts just to make the license plate lights work... and it requires taking the entire inner trim off of the hatch to replace them! :eek:

It is crazy, and I see people bailing on "old" cars because they think they will cost to much to keep on the road. LMAO.... :p

The only reason I am even posting here is because I see a LOT of people suddenly decide to take a buyback and get in a new VAG car with one of these gasoline fueled engines, and a lot of these people think everything is just peachy keen, and it is not always that way. I've had probably five GTIs in here already since all this nonsense started that have already broken on their new owners that were victims of a buyback. Yeah, they put 100k miles for essentially nothing on a TDI, that didn't so much as hiccup, and now they have a new GTI that is on its 3rd water pump in 40k miles. :(

This may very well be the push some folks want for the electric car. It isn't that they are getting significantly better, just that the regulations for internal combustion engine cars, first diesel, next gasoline (particle filters are coming for those, too) are getting such that the manufacturers simply cannot make them within a reasonable cost for the general consumer and be as durable as they had gotten in the recent (decade or so) years.
 
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Stealth TDI

Pre-Forum Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 1998
Location
Newport News, VA
TDI
2017 GTI APR Stage 3 (395 hp/376 lb-ft)
John,

Scott, how are you liking the 1.4? I'd like to try one with a manual transmission.
I drove it 575 miles from Cleveland to SE Virginia without any fuel stops. I drove a little over the speed limit (70 mph posted much of the time) and managed a hand-calculated 45 mpg. Not bad, given a brand new engine and my travel speeds. Given the price spread between RUG and diesel fuel, that works out to the same cost as getting 55 mpg in my TDI, which I could only do at truly boring speeds.

I used the trip home as a "break-in voyage." So I didn't do any aggressive driving. It felt every bit as capable as the TDI it's replacing, though perhaps with a little less initial kick (236 lb-ft vs. 184). This will remain true for her as she drives like a granny. I'll have to take it out from time to time to beat on it and ensure it's properly exercised. :p The things she doesn't like about it, compared to her TDI w/Premium Package:

1) 5MT vs 6MT. She misses the 6th gear, as did I the first time I tried to put it in 6th. But the gearing is really tall. I could cruise at 55 in 4th (but didn't) and the engine speed was below 2000 rpm at 60 mph. So five speeds is sufficient for the 1.4T.

2) No power seat adjustments. She'll get over it; how often does one really need to adjust the seat back, anyway? :rolleyes: Now I must admit that I find the adjustment handles to be rather frail looking. They're a tad beefier in the 2014.

3) No lighted vanity mirrors. Yeah, get over it. Fix your face before you leave the house. Problem solved. :p

4) She hasn't spotted this yet, but she'll have a conniption when she discovers that the visors don't slide rearward for improved side protection. I have to admit that I missed it, too. I may find a set of visors that slide and swap them out.

5) She also hasn't noticed that the base stereo has only four speakers instead of eight (actually nine since her TDI had Fender). I may find the Fender A-pillars and wire them in.

6) AndroidAuto is a new feature for her. She may come to like that.

I think that's it for now. The clutch feel is different, but that's the case with nearly every car. Overall, she'll get used to the different features. Her 2014 Jetta TDI with Premium Package was a good car, but I felt like taking VW's "we're sorry" money to get into newer cars for free. :cool: I'm not mad or "embarrased" about VW and the TDI. I used the buyback as an opportunity to try other cars. My GTI has been great ("Why did I wait so long?"); we'll see about the 1.4T.

Scott
 
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