How much further will an engine with 150K miles go?

Kerri

New member
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
I'm looking to buy a TDI (in the Austin area, if any one has one to sell). I've looked at several with over 100 thousand miles on them.

How many miles can I expect to get out of a TDI engine?

How about when running on bio?

What sort of mechnical issues should I start to expect with higer mileage?
 

gardentender

RIP, Gone But Not Forgotten
Joined
Feb 17, 2000
Location
Dullest Texxus
TDI
Jetta GL 5 spd, 2001, Galactic Blue
depends on how well the engine was taken care of in the first 150K. regular oil changes with a good quality oil, regular timing belt changes, other maintenance, all documented? if so, you can count on another 150K or more. if not, your mileage may vary proportionally.

good maintenance ain't cheap, but expensive maintenance at a dealer is not always the best, either. spend some more time in here, noodle around and learn. don't expect to get a good car for cheap.

i lurked in here for several months before i bought my 2000 Jetta TDi, and it has over 211K miles on it now. never had a failure of anything in the drive train (engine, clutch, transmission) that affected reliablilty. i did have the plastic drain on the bottom of the fuel filter crack and prevent me from starting one morning. was fixed with a replacement filter in about 3 hours. this was around 30K miles or so, since then i've changed my own fuel filters in addition to oil, oil filters, engine and cabin air filters. Have used BioDiesel in varied mixtures for about 100K miles now without a problem. If used conservatively, I think BD keeps an engine running well considering the fuel's lubricating and detergent/cleansing nature.
little nicky nacky things might occur, such as broken glove box hinges, but how often do you use the glove box??
don't be in a hurry, do your research and you'll find a good car, maybe not in Austin, maybe further away.
 
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Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
1,350,000 miles till VW thinks it will need an overhaul PROVIDED you follow the maintenance guidelines in the ownersmanual, no joke.

DB
 

ScorpionBoy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Location
CO
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Drivbiwire said:
1,350,000 miles till VW thinks it will need an overhaul PROVIDED you follow the maintenance guidelines in the ownersmanual, no joke.

DB

that is frickin' amazing. would that be just a top end overhaul or do you need to replace the crank too? what an awesome number.
 

Joe_Meehan

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Ohio USA
TDI
NB TDI, 2002.5, Silver
If you turn around now and head back, you should get back to the start with no problems and ready for another go around.
 

MikeS_18

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Location
Bow, NH
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, '13 Passat SE, '64 Ford Econoline
I agree with the Gardentender. I lurked here for about 6 months and then started shopping. It took another 5 months to get my car which has 73,000 on it. Knew what I was doing and thus had no hesitation at all.

Read about timing belts, coolant migration, turbo failures, injection pumps. Those seem to be the big ticket items (more than $600 installed) but those that frequent the dealers get to spend hundreds/thousands on things that the people in the forum would drive an hour to your house to help you do yourself. Example - friend with a jetta gasser had the car at the dealer today for an oil change. "Maam, your emergency brake cable is sticking and needs to be replaced." $240 quoted. It's a $30 part and an hour or two under the car if you have no clue what you are doing. No thank you Mr Dealer.

So, read read read, and ask lots of questions and use the support of this forum to ensure that you get the value out of the car and it will go as long a you want it to. I know I will get bored of it before it dies.
 

v_lombardi

Active member
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Location
gulfport, MS
TDI
2001 golf, m/t
i got my car in dec 2005 with 133,000mis. it was well maintained and they provided all the records. the only thing i have done is oil changes, wiper blades and put in 4 new engine glow plugs last night.

vince
 

gardentender

RIP, Gone But Not Forgotten
Joined
Feb 17, 2000
Location
Dullest Texxus
TDI
Jetta GL 5 spd, 2001, Galactic Blue
v_lombardi said:
put in 4 new engine glow plugs last night.

vince

and you probably didn't even have to do that. most of the time glow plugs just get dirty and need cleaning. but, sometimes it is simpler and more reassuring to remove and replace.
 

TXBilll

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2006
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
2000 Golf GLS TDI
A Better Car

If anyone is interested there is a 2002 or 2003 NB TDI with 45,000 miles for sale at Momentum VW of Jersey Village (NW Houston). I think they'll take about 15K for it, silver, loaded leather/sunroof 5 speed, etc.
 

TDIfor

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Location
Logan, Ohio
TDI
'02 NB Double Yellow
Drivbiwire said:
1,350,000 miles till VW thinks it will need an overhaul PROVIDED you follow the maintenance guidelines in the ownersmanual, no joke.

DB
DBW - do you know on what that figure is based? The 10,000 hours of use has been tossed around, based on what.. the marine iteration of the engine? But I figure that would amount to 300,00 - 400,000 miles, assuming an average speed of 30 MPH (ranging from 5 MPH pulling out of the driveway to 65 MPH on the hiway).

Don
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
Kerri said:
I'm looking to buy a TDI (in the Austin area, if any one has one to sell). I've looked at several with over 100 thousand miles on them.

How many miles can I expect to get out of a TDI engine?
It's still way too early for me to tell as I'm "only" at 227k miles on my 2002 Golf TDI. :cool:
 
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ScorpionBoy

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Location
CO
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
i didn't do a search to see if there is a thread, but anyone know who holds the high mileage record aroudn here?
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
TDIfor said:
DBW - do you know on what that figure is based? The 10,000 hours of use has been tossed around, based on what.. the marine iteration of the engine? But I figure that would amount to 300,00 - 400,000 miles, assuming an average speed of 30 MPH (ranging from 5 MPH pulling out of the driveway to 65 MPH on the hiway).

Don
The design life is actually 25,000 hours. Typical average speed of a road going vehicle is 45mph. city only vehicles fall around 40 mph.

My car is coming up on 5,000 hours of engine time (measured by Hobbs meter since new). I now have 220,000 miles and all cylinders were still pulling 550psi (new is 475 on an unbroken in crate motor) on all 4 at 200,000 miles.

I have repeat customers with over 400,000 miles still pulling 550 psi... I laugh when people say they expect 300,000 miles out of these cars.

DB
 

hkbladelawhk

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
TDI
2014 Golf TDI
Drivbiwire said:
1,350,000 miles till VW thinks it will need an overhaul PROVIDED you follow the maintenance guidelines in the ownersmanual, no joke.

DB
yea, world record was a 1988 Volvo P1800S with 2 MILLION miles + and its still going...no overhaul...

Check Guiness World Records
 

Kerri

New member
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
No maintanence recods on 77K mi - how wary should I be?

All good info, thanks everyone.

I'm looking at a 2002 Jetta w/ 77K mi that is just about what I want - but it was a trade in and the dealership doesn't have the maintenance records. How wary of this should I be?
 

NFSTDI

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Sunny California :)
TDI
'98 Jetta
I'd be a little nervous but given that it's just about due for it's first TB the only real issue is oil changes. If they were done the engine should be in great shape. If they were not done then the engine might be a bit worn from running tired oil. Chances are it's a decent car but one never really knows until it's too late. I gambled and after 17K I'd say I got my moneys worth. Even if I do have to spend some money replacing thing now and then I've enjoyed my car so much I'll do it with pleasure.
 

TornadoRed

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Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Drivbiwire said:
The design life is actually 25,000 hours. ... I have repeat customers with over 400,000 miles still pulling 550 psi... I laugh when people say they expect 300,000 miles out of these cars.
Good to know. My Golf is my work car. Since I work about 2000-2200 hours a year, my Golf works about 2000-2200 hours a year. So the engine should be good for 10-12 years, hopefully, and somewhere around 600k-700k miles.

I'll be satisfied with that.
 

eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
Living in a snow-belt with extensive use of salt, I'm sure the more common situtation around here is the engine far outlasting the body and suspension. We never can get more than 11-13 years out of our cars (usually around 200k) becasue the body simply rusts out and the suspension completely shot.
 

scooperhsd

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
One NICE thing about living in the south :D

If it snows / ices THAT much, everyone just stays home.

Either that, or they get into their 4WD SUVs and try to prove that 4WD equals 4wheel STOP :D :D and end up in the ditch...

I'm sure the lack of snow / ice / salt is a contributor to our 1988 Acura Integra with 230K miles still looking and running good.

And the Beetle is now at 150,000 miles and running better than ever.
 

TDI'watcher

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Location
Faribault, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS 4A Black on Black
Kerri said:
All good info, thanks everyone.

I'm looking at a 2002 Jetta w/ 77K mi that is just about what I want - but it was a trade in and the dealership doesn't have the maintenance records. How wary of this should I be?
Well you can look at it a few ways. Would you rather buy from a dealership without maintenence records or a private party without records? At least a dealership you can go after finacially easier if they try and ream you over on a lemon. If you like the color and overall package of that TDI get it independantly inspected real quick or put down a deposit with an inspection clause. They go quickly if you've been paying attention to the market.
That particular vehicle you can haggle down some as it will need the timing belt replaced after 80,000 miles. But don't have the dealership do it, get your area TDI guru to change the belt. It will be cheaper and be done correctly. The dealerships are known to do them poorly and not replace all the needed components to cut corners and also not use the 2003 model timeing belt rated for 100,000 miles. Just make sure a fully synthetic oil was used ever oil change. You'll have to cross your fingers how close or if it was a VW specified oil.
The Carfax entries should only matter if there are any accidents on it. Usually most entries are VW warantee fixes and recalls. Some of the electrical bugs back then would take multiple trips to the dealer before they finally figured it out it sounds like with the relay 109 and MAF issues.
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
you're really close to runonbeer... he's a guru, and should be able to help you with a TB change.
 

TDIfor

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Location
Logan, Ohio
TDI
'02 NB Double Yellow
Drivbiwire said:
The design life is actually 25,000 hours. Typical average speed of a road going vehicle is 45mph. city only vehicles fall around 40 mph.

I have repeat customers with over 400,000 miles still pulling 550 psi... I laugh when people say they expect 300,000 miles out of these cars.

DB
Thx, DB, Ive been looking for this info.

IVe had cars in which the engine was fine, but the subsystems were all going or gone - radiator / heater core leaks, electrical failures, rust, shocks/struts, all of which made continued maintenance not practical.

How does the rest of the car hold up in this context? Do the engines typically outlast the rest of the car? Or is the lifespan of a TDI simply a function of how religiously a person jumps on problems?

thx!
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
The high mileage TDI's hold up really well, even the rust belt ones thanks to the VW body and cavity coatings they apply at the factory.

I am in the process of replacing my suspension, all the rubber components are being replaced (Shock mounts), nuts and bolts, struts, rear springs(getting stronger springs for more weight carrying ability). Also when I am in there I will be spraying everything with clearcoat (rust protection for suspension hardware) and also using anti-seize for easy removal 200,000 miles from now :D

Keeping these cars going simply involves getting under the car and cleaning it up every now and then. Attention to small details like rock chips, door dings, loose trim (3M adhesive) go a long way to keeping the car looking great and running great.

ALL my cars get the engine cleaned every 10,000 miles or when needed. I can't tell you how many cars I see where the owner has never cleaned the engine. I alwasy ask them, would you keep your computer looking this bad and allow oil and grime to accumulate on the motherboard? Clean cars, clean engines and keeping after the underside of the car are what determine how long a car will last.

I have myself to blame, but my front calipers bleeder valves got corroded, so I am getting a set of refurbs, painting them and installing them with better dust caps and making sure that I inspect these more frequently. Again I can't tell you how many people are oblivious to the fact the brake fluid MUST be replaced every 2 years!

DB
 

NFSTDI

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Sunny California :)
TDI
'98 Jetta
TDI'watcher said:
Just make sure a fully synthetic oil was used ever oil change. You'll have to cross your fingers how close or if it was a VW specified oil.
I am under the impression that there is no such thing as a fully synthetic diesel blend oil. I thought all fully synthetic oils were for gassers. Am I wrong about this?

I would be more concerned about diesel blend oil being used then synthetic but what do I know. I bought my car knowing it had had lots of non synthetic diesel blend oil used. I was just happy to see the records indicating that the changes had been done on time! Oh, and by either the dealer or one of two shops who knew how to work on a TDI correctly.
 
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