Thinking about cancelling my 04 golf tdi order!

I dont know if I am being paranoid about all the problems that the people have encountered with their a4 vw's look here www.myvwlemon.com . maybe I will buy GM

any inputs on this?

Whether you cancel or not, that's only a decision you can make. I can tell you that having a really good dealer and salesperson bypasses the problems most people have with the cars. The occaisional common problem comes up; the dealer deals with it. End of story.

While it's good to get online information about something before doing it (such as buying a TDI), don't let the online chatter scare you. I can find similiar stuff on just about any car you choose to name. Not that much of it isn't real, but my own experience has been it's exagerated a little. It's because we know the gory details of every possible thing that can go wrong, unlike a few years ago when only occasionally did we get to compare notes with another owner. It's a phenomenon of these groups /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I was driving on the highway the other day and suddenly realized that I'd substituted my old Harley days for my TDI. Believe it or not, they get the same mileage! The difference is, my '59 Panhead cost me $500 every other weekend due to problems, parts, and just being old. The TDI is fun in other ways and a lot more reliable and economical.

Food for thought!

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maybe I will buy GM

any inputs on this?

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Take your favorite search engine and type 'gm lemon' /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
Happy with my 04 Golf and 03 Jetta and 01 Passat 4Mo.
I've been driving GM cars (Cutlass Supreme, now Grand Prix - Company owned) for 20 years and they have been quite trouble free for up to 100 - 120,000 miles, about 2 years worth, then the company turns 'em, they get very problematic after that. For personal cars I've had excellent service out of VWs, wife, son & I run the heck out of em! Just keep up with the scheduled maintenance.

I've owned and driven Vw diesels since 1983. Of the cars I've owned, none have "died" less than 275,000 miles. Mostly trouble free. I have had 2 300-350k, mile cars Jetta and Rabbit, one 275,000 mile Jetta (gave it away, it woundn't die) and an 89 Jetta diesel with 622,000 miles on it when I totaled it in a wreck. I'm sure that if you type in any xxxlemon.com you'll find more than enough negative stuff to make you want to go to a horse and buggy. But, none the less, you can't take discussions on this board to mean that everyone has problems. We tend to be a bit over the top in terms of TDI facts. WE discuss things that normally people won't ever encounter. Make up your own mind, but I'm telling you from experience that the VW diesel is by far the best thing out there.

I checked out the "hateVW" website.
What a bunch of whiners!!!
If they hate the car so much sell it, It looks like to me they still keep it? Hmmmmmm maybe they dont hate it so much.
Most of the people on there I bet are people that dont ever pop the hood or check tire pressure!!!
All cars have problems.
I have almost 200,000 miles on my 99.5 TDI Jetta and only have had to do regular maint work.
Fixed EGR myself ect.... runs good and gets just as good mileage as any Hybrid asian /images/graemlins/eek.gif car and has waaaaaaaay more power /images/graemlins/grin.gif

thanks guys...I do not want to turn my back on vw just yet as all of my cars were vw and mercedes last car was 95 golf td with 340k km when I sold it no problems at all for me and 79 300D mercedes with 560k km again no problems

well I do hope all them electrical gadgets on gls and engine hold up to the time

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. maybe I will buy GM

any inputs on this?

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Get the GM. The dealer is most likely able to repair it when it breaks. The TDIs are sadly misunderstood creatures.

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. maybe I will buy GM

any inputs on this?

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Get the GM. The dealer is most likely able to repair it when it breaks. The TDIs are sadly misunderstood creatures.

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When I had a '96 Chevy Express van, which had ZERO problems in the 60k+ miles I had it, when I took it to the dealer for new brakes or trans service they used to drive me home and pick me up in a Caddy limousine!

When I had a Mercury Sable with 56k+ miles, which had ZERO problems, they would drive me home and pick me up in a brand new Town Car.

When I had a Ford Aerostar with 112k miles, which had ZERO problems, they would shuttle people in another new Aerostar.

All of the above vehicle had only regular maintenance done when I didn't have time to do it.

VW?
For the first 5k service they told me I could wait or "there's the phone to call someone".
It took about an hour and a half for basically a oil change and they put the wrong oil in it also!
Haven't been back since even though I've had numerous items break or wear out prematurely by only 46k miles but also past the two year warranty period.

Sure I like the way my Golf drives but if you are looking for a reliable vehicle that won't cost a lot in maintenance and has sub-par dealer support buy American.

I'm sure there will be many people who will exclaim how bad their American car experience was but for me it just hasn't been the case.

I've spent more on just the Golf in just 40k miles than the three cars above put together repairing/replacing things that should not have broken or worn out as soon as they have.

Hmmmmm. My dealership is open until 2:00am 6 days a week for service (including the parts department) and loans me a car anytime I ask. Gotten to drive a lot of other things (like the Pumpe Duse) to boot. They also have a VW van to take people home etc. Sad to say, I think it's all in the dealership.

I guess I am lucky to be in Indiana where there are several VW dealerships. I have had great service at dpatrick in Evansville, which happens to also have Mercedes and BMW lines. I have found the technicians there to be very helpful and willing to share their knowledge on diesels in general.

Frank

I have 94K miles on my Jetta, and so far the only problem has been the window regulators. They gave me a rental and I had the car the next day. Over all it's been a great car. It drives light years better then I Grand Prix I had when my car was in the body shop from an accident.

I'ld buy another VW DIESEL!

Another think to keep in mind:

In a recent study, the VW Golf TDI came up as the safest car in the "small car" category, the Jetta TDI was third. Dead last was the Chevy Cavalier. I do a lot of driving... about 40k a year. I have been in two major accidents in my life... both times in Mercedes W123 chassis cars. I waled away from both accidents... in another car, it could have been my life. Safety is one of my #1 priorities. Many people are misled into thinking that certain types of cars are safer. It's kind of funny that you have a 1 in 6 chance of being killed in a 35 MPH crash in a Cadillac Escalade. The same crash in a Ford minivan gives you a 1 in 50 chance of being killed. Drive what you want, but do the research on the things that are really important to you.

VWs, like many German cars, can be a bit troublesome... but in general, they do last a long time. American cars tend to go about 100-120k miles, then need some major work, like a new engine or trans. I've got an RV with a GM turbo-diesel engine that's got about 23k miles on it and it already needs a new AC compressor, starter motor, and oil pressure sensor. Oh, and to get to the oil pressure sensor, you have to take the intake manifold off! That thing has needed far more work than my Golf, which has 37k miles on it. As a matter of fact, the only problem I've had with the Golf was one of the seat latches in the back. That was covered under warranty at 35k miles.

That's nothing compared with some of the problems Mercedes has been having recently. My last car was an '83 300D, which I sold with 410k miles on it. It now has about 450k miles on it. Original engine, trans, driveshaft, rear-end, and axles. Talk about a tank! That car also survived one of my big accidents, where I hit a non-moving car at 60 MPH. (No, it wasn't my fault... someone pulled straight out onto the highway illegally in front of me). However, Mercedes aren't built like that any more. They are still very safe, but I don't think you'll see many with 300k+ miles on them in the future.

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I dont know if I am being paranoid about all the problems that the people have encountered with their a4 vw's look here www.myvwlemon.com . maybe I will buy GM

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I followed your link to myvwlemon.com. I looked at a few threads, and about halfway down the first page I realized I was looking at a post from October 2002. Once explanation could be that VWs are extremely reliable, a better explanation is that the website is not very active.

I cannot speak to the subject of reliability, except for the TDI. There are a handful of well-known problems with the TDI-powered TDIs, and for the most part they have been resolved -- with the obvious exceptions of the MAF sensor and EGR/intake clogging. The clogging can be prevented, and there is a rumor that VW will release a new and improved MAF sensor.

If you drive a lot of miles, you will not regret your purchase of a Golf TDI. The TDI loves long highway commutes, and does not like short in-city commutes -- especially in colder climates where it does not have time to reach normal operating temperature.

Keep in mind that people tend to only report problems. If the thousands of people who have had no trouble with their VW's posted comments I'm sure they would be the vast majority. Three people where I work have exactly the same car (Silver Golf GLS TDI 5spd), all purchased within 6 months of each other, and none of us has had any trouble whatsoever...

Go for the Jetta, I recently had to sell mine because my war torn back could not tolerate the rough ride of the Jetta.

In 27,000 miles every problem was covered under warranty without a hassle.

The window regulator, MAF and the cylinder head was replaced.
The factory recommends 10K oil change, but mine was changed every 5k.

You will love the fuel mileage. The new fuel system should be an improvement over the antique injector pump system.

When the Passat diesel is avilable I will checkout the ride quality on those.

My first VW was purchased in 1959!

Be careful of the parking lot curb stops with the low front spoiler.

My wife still drives her 02 TDI wagon circa 60 miles a day to and from work.

After retirement she will go back to a Mercury Gran Marqius or a Town Car.

Enjoy your new TDI!!

Jack

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Be careful of the parking lot curb stops with the low front spoiler.

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That's a good point. If I'm nose-in to a parking space, I always leave the gearshift in reverse; if I back in, I leave it in first. I no longer run into parking lot curbs!

I'll say is this... I'm a dealer tech and I gladly ordered the first TDI PD. MFA showed me getting over 50MPG with an average speed of 70+ MPH on Sunday... so what GM car were you thinking of? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I would stick with buying it, why?
- much better mileage than most any other choice
- performance- I love the torque!
- versatility- the hatchback design!
- support of this forum and there are good dealers/mechanics out there!

Every car needs to be maintained. Find a dealer or a mechanic that knows these cars, they are around!

I've owned Toyota's for the most part and they have next to no problems. This Golf I've had has had a few problems, all fixed under warranty. This forum has the expertise to keep you out of trouble on a lot of items and offers great ideas for improvements that can be made to these little cars. I love the versatility, performance, mileage and with the support you find here and with a good mechanic, you'll be fine! Go for it!

I know how to do the most of the basic things like everyone on this board but while the car is under warranty ill be going to dealer for oilchanges and other maintenance

ill get the car and hope for the best

IMO it is not a bad idea to have the 5k service performed at a dealer service department -- though you may want to provide 4 liters of the motor oil you plan to use. (You only have one or two choices, though, for the PD engine.) Something might be spotted that got past the final factory inspection -- doubtful, but possible.

After that, it is a waste of time and money to have your oil changes done by the dealer. Take a look at the maintenance schedule -- there's really nothing there that you can't do yourself. If you do a 5-tire rotation, it easy enough to rotate your own tires. And all the filters are easy except for the cabin filter. Keep receipts and records of all the maintenance you perform yourself; that satisfies warranty issues.

Trips to the dealership should be reserved for warranty issues.

Watch out going to the dealer for an oil change on a 2004 TDI. MOST dealerships are NOT using the proper oil. I was just talking to someone who works for VW of America a few hours ago. Using improper oil WILL void your engine warranty. EVEN IF THE DEALERSHIP DOES IT! Don't believe them if they tell you otherwise. Most of them don't know. Others don't want to spend the extra money for the VW505.01 oil. There are only TWO engine oils available in the US that are approved for the PD engine: Castrol 505.01 and Motul Specific 505.01. Again... MOST dealerships don't use it. Make sure they do... or do it yourself. Go to the parts department and see if they have this:



If not, have them order it or go somewhere else. There is a Technical Bulletin about it. It is required and the older VW505.00 oil is NOT approved for PD TDI engines.

I was not going to chime in on this post but could not help myself. I have owned between 25 or maybe 30 GM vehciles over my life. Some new some used, some good some not as good. But the last three new vehicles I have owned, 95 Suburban 98 Pontiac GTP, (still own 58K miles) 00 Tahoe (also still own46K miles)have been great vehicles. The GTP has never been back to the dealer for any warranty repairs, not one!!! The 00 Tahoe did have a front transfer case leak and belt tensioner replaced thats it. I don't remember to many problems with the 95! I purchased my first VW in 2001, a Golf TDI, the entire engine was replaced @ 15K miles, I have replaced MAF sensors glow plugs glow plug relays with wiring harness, windows that fall down when you least expect it, door handles switchs that don't work coolent sensor failures rear brake pad replacement @ 18K miles EGR valve failures,. I have replaced almost every light bulb in the vehicle, you tell me which vehicle is more reliable? If it weren't for the fact that my VW gets 48 MPG it would have been gone a long time ago!!!

Well stated. Such is my own experience as well. Noticed how none of your cars have over 100k miles. As we've all been 'trained', you ultimately get rid of them before the real fun begins.

I think the european outlook on cars is different. They don't throw away cars like we do /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I did leave out my 73 Z28 Camaro, 72 SS big block Chevelle and 89 IROC convertable (159K and the engine has never been touched), all of which have well over 100K

That site, "www.mylemon.com" doesn't have the credibility or range of technical info that Fred`s TDI Club has. You will even find TDI owners in Fred's TDI club who've experienced problems with their car in various ways.

But don't base your decision wheter or not to buy an A4 VW on a site such as "www.mylemon.com" alone.

I'm 51 years old and have owned many cars so far in my life. I would say that my present 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon is the best and most enjoyable car I've ever owned in all respects, except perhaps for the Accura Integra 5-speed I owned in 1991 which was the most fun to drive performance-wise.

My '03 Jetta is the fully loaded version, so you might think that with all these gadgets, someting should have gone wrong somewhere over 30,000km (20,000 miles) of driving. But nothing has! Sunroof works flawlessly, so do the electric windows, the CD player, seat warmers. etc., etc.

My diesel TDI consistently started without a glitch on those cold mornings when the temperatures on the East coast dropped to -20 Celsius last January.

I've never owned a car with suh good road-handling capabilities and sheer braking power. As a former commercial pilot, I am picky about all things mechanical and I can tell you the VW Jetta TDI, that in my modest opinion, is a marvellous piece of engineering.

I bought the book on BOSCH "Electronic Diesel Control EDC" from Roseland Technical Services and, reading it along, I get the feeling that I am lookings at the technical specs for the next space shuttle. So much thought has gone into the TDI engine (and other parts of the car) that it's mind-boggling.

20,000 miles is a little low in terms of mileage to state categorically that a car is and will remain trouble-free.

But both my wife and I agree that this is the best family car we've owned so far. And would you know what we owned before: Toyota's much acclaimed Sienna mini-van (year 2000). Yet, we don't miss it one bit.

Your choice, man! What else can I tell you?

Steve

When I was considering my first TDI purchase last fall (2003), I too ran into a large number of negative posts about tdi's and almost decided against buying them. I quickly realized that most people who post on any car forum come in two flavours: gearheads and complainers. Talk to average people around you who have actually owned tdi's over a period of time and used them normally without mods... that's where the really valuable info comes from. I found in my questioning that, with one exception, they all loved their tdi's but were honest about the downsides.

I commute 75-80k km per annum, and so was looking at corollas, civics, and sentras (had a focus and a sebring-don't ask) for mileage.... with longer service intervals the tdi was very slightly cheaper for !avg! scheduled maintenance over the first 100k. The mileage of a tdi speaks for itself - it's even better than those ridiculous hybrids on the highway. I made a leap of faith and have put 35k km in the first 3 months and will never buy another North American or Japanese car again. Despite horror stories we hear about regarding US "stealers", I have found the dealers in eastern Ontario most helpful. The only caveat.... different VW dealers will charge different prices for the same procedure. I ran into that with the 32k service, and heard from a church friend whose son saved $450 on a timing belt replacement for his tdi by shopping around and driving to a dealership 100 miles away-and it didn't blow up on him.

I've been driving my TDI for over 5 years now. I've had expensive routine maintenance that I've never experienced with other vehicles. I've had items fail that I've never experienced with other vehicles. I have also gotten more pleasure out of owning my car than I have with nearly every other car that I've owned.

Volkswagen cars are fun little machines. They do require more attention than the average vehicle. The big sore toe comes from Volkswagen's customer care department and their dealer network. These two things simply suck!

I can deal with the mechanical problems. In fact I love to piddle on my car. But what I can't deal with is a lieing service department, a crooked parts deparment, a ineffective customer service department or a corporate mentality that says the customer doesn't matter to us in one little bit.

The purchasing decision all boils down to what you are looking for. I've had excellent results at General Motors dealerships but I hated their product. I've had horrible results at Mercedes-Benz dealerships but I loved their product. In each case I made a purchasing decision based on what I felt was acceptable to me at the time.

As I grow older I am feeling that customer service is much more important than the product that it supports. My VW days are numbered because of their customer care and poor dealer service. I love my TDI though.

I have got a 2003 Beetle TDI. The only problem I have had is with the rubber-like coating on the inside door handles starting to rub off, and the silver push-button on the emergency brake breaking off. The engine is solid, but the interior is shoddy. I wonder if the rubber coating is coming off due to diesel getting on my hands when I fill up.

Keep in mind...

Those that hate or have problems will whine and ****** about it. Those that don't have problems will tell all their friends, but generally don't go online selling its virtues.

Except for the fine folks here!!!

I looked at your post out of curiosity and then went to the web site. I spent less then a minute browsing and found a complaint about a 2001 Passat TDI knock?? What! there is no 2001 Passat TDI in NA! This site is an unregulated open pit for people to shout their frustration even though they know nothing about their own cars. Do your research in the TDI forum! all the problems and rewards of the car are open to all /images/graemlins/wink.gif