I was told ..

so I was at my local VW dealership recently looking at a Passat TDI they had on their lot. it had the emissions fix and all of that.

during the conversation with the tech, I asked him 'how were the glow plugs, timing belt (and associated stuff with the timing belt)' and he answered everything but then told me that the 2012 to 2015 Passat TDIs dont have or use glow plugs..

I literally was blown away,... did he actually lie to me or is it true? I'm still in kinda surprised but I played it off.

They definitely have glow plugs. He either lied, or more likely, just knows nothing about the cars. Either way, I'd avoid that service department like the plague.

Confirming that they have glow plugs. What the guy might have meant was that the newer cars rely on GP a lot less than older diesels. The difference in pre-cold start glow duration between my (previous) 1997 B4 Passat and my (current) 2012 Passat is very noticeable. And I have a BMW that doesn't seem to hesitate much at all, even on very cold mornings.

jck66 said:

Confirming that they have glow plugs. What the guy might have meant was that the newer cars rely on GP a lot less than older diesels. The difference in pre-cold start glow duration between my (previous) 1997 B4 Passat and my (current) 2012 Passat is very noticeable. And I have a BMW that doesn't seem to hesitate much at all, even on very cold mornings.

Click to expand...

interesting!

jck66 said:

Confirming that they have glow plugs. What the guy might have meant was that the newer cars rely on GP a lot less than older diesels. The difference in pre-cold start glow duration between my (previous) 1997 B4 Passat and my (current) 2012 Passat is very noticeable. And I have a BMW that doesn't seem to hesitate much at all, even on very cold mornings.

Click to expand...

They still rely on them in cold weather. The biggest difference is how quickly they get hot. Even in -15F temperatures, the glow plugs are hot and ready to start in 3 seconds. Many people, including this “tech,” mistake the quick startup times for the car not having or not needing glow plugs.

He was probably a porter.