Obd II scanner

Does a regular obd II scanner work properly on vw jetta tdi?

It will work properly it will just give you the limited information it was programmed to give.

Thank you. I hooked mine up but it would not load vin number. Shows no codes but IM is showing alot of problems I.e. misfire egr problem and a few other things. Was wondering if these are true problems.

VWs are essentially bilingual, they speak 2 languages.

The first is OBDII which is required by law. ODBII only cares about emissions issues (which usually includes the engine too) and it is somewhat limited in what it can see.

The second language is a VW proprietary language that dealer diagnostic equipment can "speak". This "language" can communicate with every controller in your car (and there are lots of them). To get a full picture of what is going on in any VW, you need a VW specific scanner. VCDS is the best, but there are also other tools that will work.

Your best bet is probably to find someone in your area with the right tool and learn everything that your car knows about what is going on. Going to a dealer is the most expensive way to do this.

Have Fun!

Don

OBDII became mandated for 1997 model vehicles, and technically should be able to pull the VIN via Mode 9. However, VW/Audi didn't start reporting the VIN through the data port until around 2002 year models. Silly Germans.