P204F00 fault, VW has no fix!

wispassat

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
My TDI threw a CEL and P204F00 fault on 12/9 with 200 mile to no restart warning. Took into dealer 12/11. VW directed them to check DEF system for leaks, they found no issues, VW told them to hard reset the DEF level sensor, reset the CEL and give me back the car. That was 3 days in the shop! fast forward to 12/18, Same CEL 200 mile to no restart AGAIN. Took to dealer again 12/19, they Finally told me on 12/23 VW directed dealer to park it in the back lot as VW must work on a software update as several others have been exhibiting the same issue since the TDI update.
WHAT? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? WERE MY FIRST REPLY.
Dealer apologized but had no fix info from VW at all! Started ticket with VW cust. care. Last I heard from them 12/23. still no info! Said they will get back to me by 12/29. Dealer put me into basic model Jetta! VERY UPSET, Maybe keeping the car wasn't such a great decision after all! 90 miles a day for work will cost extra $ VW said they may reimburse me for the financial damage to me. I told Dealer I NEED to get into a comparable car, seeing mine is parked on their lot for the indefinite future!!!!:mad:

Signed,
in Limbo in Wisconsin!
 

Rico567

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Location
Central IL
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium (Turned in 7/7/18)
My TDI threw a CEL and P204F00 fault on 12/9 with 200 mile to no restart warning. <snip> VW said they may reimburse me for the financial damage to me. I told Dealer I NEED to get into a comparable car, seeing mine is parked on their lot for the indefinite future!!!!:mad:
Signed,
in Limbo in Wisconsin!
Unless VW comes across with adequate compensation (including a comparable car to drive while yours is on hold) sounds to me it'll be time to contact plaintiff counsel.
 

TheGrove

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
S Central PA (Breezewood)
TDI
2012 Passat SEL Premium Opera Red - Dieselgate Fix, KermaTDI Tune, 2004 Passat GLS Northern Green-RIP
My TDI threw a CEL and P204F00 fault on 12/9 with 200 mile to no restart warning. Took into dealer 12/11. VW directed them to check DEF system for leaks, they found no issues, VW told them to hard reset the DEF level sensor, reset the CEL and give me back the car. That was 3 days in the shop! fast forward to 12/18, Same CEL 200 mile to no restart AGAIN. Took to dealer again 12/19, they Finally told me on 12/23 VW directed dealer to park it in the back lot as VW must work on a software update as several others have been exhibiting the same issue since the TDI update.
WHAT? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? WERE MY FIRST REPLY.
Dealer apologized but had no fix info from VW at all! Started ticket with VW cust. care. Last I heard from them 12/23. still no info! Said they will get back to me by 12/29. Dealer put me into basic model Jetta! VERY UPSET, Maybe keeping the car wasn't such a great decision after all! 90 miles a day for work will cost extra $ VW said they may reimburse me for the financial damage to me. I told Dealer I NEED to get into a comparable car, seeing mine is parked on their lot for the indefinite future!!!!:mad:

Signed,
in Limbo in Wisconsin!
Your not the only one :(

Mine's been in 4-5 times (I've lost count) for the same issue. So far they've worked on the AdBlue tank, drained and refilled it, replaced the NOx sensor and replaced the EGR valve. The car ran fine after the fix (done in July) until it started getting cold just before Thanksgiving. Since then it's gone back into the garage about every week. According to the dealer where mine is being worked on they have about 5 of them with the same problem. Mine is the "canary" car, i.e. it is usually the first one out and back in when the fix doesn't work.

I've found a couple things. First, after getting the car back it usually drives for about 300 miles then the warnings pop on again. Second, if you keep driving it even with the AdBlue countdown going once it gets down to about 50 miles left the AdBlue countdown goes away.
 

wispassat

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Update 12/30/2017 No news is BAD news!
VW called me yesterday 12/29/2017
Left me a voicemail to tell me NOTHING, "we're working on it" Is all they said. Will contact you next Friday 1/5/2018.
At least the dealer got me in a CC loaner for now. They commented that I can only put 2400 miles on it before I need to return it to them. My hope still is I get MY car repaired before then. but it wont take long with 100 miles a day for work! Just put a new battery in it, if it goes dead sitting so long in such cold -10 they will be replacing that too! We briefly discussed compensation on the last call with VW Customer care for financial loss due to mileage difference. I was getting 40MPG with my TDI, the CC is at 26MPG.
Hope you (thegrove) are having better luck with yours, surprised they didn't park yours also.
 

TheGrove

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
S Central PA (Breezewood)
TDI
2012 Passat SEL Premium Opera Red - Dieselgate Fix, KermaTDI Tune, 2004 Passat GLS Northern Green-RIP
Oh mine is parked now. It's sitting at the dealership waiting for VW to come up with a fix. Service writer is on vacation this past week so I'll touch base with him on Tuesday about getting their loaner once it is repaired.
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Yesterday I got the 200 mile adblue message with CEL light on my 2013 Passat, however the adblue message is gone now and there is no countdown but the CEL is still on. My wife drove the car today to work with no issues and I will scan the car later to see which codes I am getting.

What seems to be strange is that the message appeared after I drove the car for almost 200 miles. We were coming back from mountains and about 5 miles from home is when I got the message. If DEF had been frozen I assume that the message would appear a lot earlier. Hopefully its just glitch and all I have to do is turn of the CEL light, according to some of the stories about the NOX fix at the dealer and the wait time I am not looking forward to that.
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Here are the codes that I got on the Passat. I have erased them and drove the car for about 10 miles and so far nothing. Wife will take it to work tomorrow and we will see if the CEL is going to appear again.


5 Faults Found:
20553 - Reductant System Performance Bank 1
P204F 00 [232] - Malfunction
MIL ON - Intermittent - Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Mileage: 96369 km
Date: 2018.01.01
Time: 13:41:22
Engine speed: 2252.00 /min
Normed load value: 49.8 %
Vehicle speed: 119 km/h
Coolant temperature: 101 °C
Intake air temperature: 49 °C
Ambient air pressure: 980 mbar
Voltage terminal 30: 14.540 V
Dynamic environmental data: 20 96
Unlearning counter according OBD: 40
Long-term adaptation of reduction agent dosage: 1.00
Calculated efficiency of NOx conversion: 0.921
Standardised airflow ratio: 1.3059
Current temperature in NOx reducing catalytic converter: 258.5 °C
NOx sensor 1: offset for correction factor: 1 ppm
9614 - Reductant Injector Bank 1
P2049 00 [096] - Short to Plus
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
15733 - SCR NOx Catalyst Bank 1
P20EE 00 [096] - Efficiency too Low
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
17262 - Terminal 30
U140A 00 [032] - Open Circuit
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
4629 - ECM Power Relay Load Circuit
P068A 00 [032] - Opens Too Early
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear

Readiness: 1 1 0 0 0
 

TheGrove

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
S Central PA (Breezewood)
TDI
2012 Passat SEL Premium Opera Red - Dieselgate Fix, KermaTDI Tune, 2004 Passat GLS Northern Green-RIP
Yesterday I got the 200 mile adblue message with CEL light on my 2013 Passat, however the adblue message is gone now and there is no countdown but the CEL is still on. My wife drove the car today to work with no issues and I will scan the car later to see which codes I am getting.

What seems to be strange is that the message appeared after I drove the car for almost 200 miles. We were coming back from mountains and about 5 miles from home is when I got the message. If DEF had been frozen I assume that the message would appear a lot earlier. Hopefully its just glitch and all I have to do is turn of the CEL light, according to some of the stories about the NOX fix at the dealer and the wait time I am not looking forward to that.
Welcome to the club. Notice my post #3, you will see this comes on after 200-300 miles of driving.

If you can keep driving it don't take it in to be fixed as there is no fix yet. The word I got from the dealership yesterday is "[FONT=&quot]Volkswagen is working on something – but there is no ETA on what that might be or when."[/FONT]
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Welcome to the club. Notice my post #3, you will see this comes on after 200-300 miles of driving.

If you can keep driving it don't take it in to be fixed as there is no fix yet. The word I got from the dealership yesterday is "[FONT=&quot]Volkswagen is working on something – but there is no ETA on what that might be or when."[/FONT]
Thnx Grove I'll try not to take it to dealership. Hopefully the CEL wont come back and if it does I'll keep erasing it until the fix comes out.
 

d2freeman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Location
NC
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Count me in, got the CEL and 200 mile count down on my way home tonight.
I cleared the faults and will see if it comes back on again.
 

wispassat

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
200 mile countdown

I agree, after resetting the fault It comes back in about 200 miles. After I got the initial fault and CEL with 200 mile to no restart it did not count down but the CEL stayed lit. I believe you should be able to reset the fault and continue to drive it. Parking at the dealer is NOT a good substitute for driving my car! I mentioned restitution for mileage driving the CC gasser I have as a loaner. They have so far seemed open to the suggestion. We will see! If they made a CC in TDI, I would have bought one!!! NICE car. Looking forward to my conversation with VW Customer care tomorrow. I don't anticipate they will have any answers though. Again we will see. Good luck to all of you suffering the same issue!
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Wanted to give you guys a little update. My wife has been driving the car everyday since I cleared the code and check engine light and so far it has been fine. Check engine light did not come on and car performs great. Lets hope it stays that way.
 

wispassat

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
200 mile countdown

I got the fault on a Saturday, dealer reset it Monday and on the next Monday morning it returned again.
 

d2freeman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Location
NC
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Wanted to give you guys a little update. My wife has been driving the car everyday since I cleared the code and check engine light and so far it has been fine. Check engine light did not come on and car performs great. Lets hope it stays that way.

Same, here - reset the fault and it has not come back after almost 1000 miles.
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
Wispassat, hopefully your issue goes away once the weather warms up. I would assume its much colder in Wisconsin than in Georgia.
 

RS_tdi

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Iowa
TDI
2013 Passat
I'm having the exact same problem. Thank you wispassat for starting this thread. My version of this still-ongoing debacle is as follows:
2013 Passat 2.0 TDI. Original owner, always serviced at VW dealership. Prior to the software update the vehicle was amazingly reliable. Aside from replacing 2 heater cores and various recall items, we've had no issues what so ever, love the car. Which is why we opted for the restitution payment + fix option.
June 2017, mileage 102,916.
Dealership performed the "software update". From that point forward, it's been nothing but problems.
Nov 2017, mileage 109,699
1st occurrence of this CEL with adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Got it to our home dealership quickly who "Ran test and found adblue injector putting too much adblue into the system at 180 ml and spec is 170 and no pressure buildup in injector." Their fix was "a reductive agent injector remove and re-install". Basically they replaced the adblue injector and cleared the codes / reset the computer. Returned the vehicle to us.
Dec 2017, mileage 112,184
2nd occurrence of CEL and adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Was returning home from an 8 hour drive, still had about 280 miles to home and knew I wouldn't make it before I reached 0 on the countdown meter so coordinated with home dealership and drove it straight there without shutting it off. Left it there for repair. They found fault P204F and this time their fix was to replace the NOx sensor. They let me pick it back up and take it. Service Advisor informed us they're starting to see a trend and have "2 customers with this exact same issue after having received the software update."
Dec 2017, mileage 113,242
3rd occurrence of CEL and adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Christmas weekend, was traveling out of state when this happened and there was a record-setting cold snap across the country. Light came on again just over 300 miles from home, with over 300 miles remaining to our final destination. We had no choice but to turn around and go backwards an hour and a half to the nearest VW dealership and leave it with them (Lincoln, NE). Picked up a rental car (good luck trying to get one on Christmas weekend with no reservations). Left our Passat at that dealership and continued our trip. A few days later on the way back through we picked our car back up from the VW dealership in Lincoln. All they did was a code reset. Interestingly, the Service Manager at this dealership also informed me she has "2 or 3 customers with the exact same symptoms after updating the software". This is now the 2nd VW dealership that has told me this. Minutes after leaving the dealership on our way home we noticed it wasn't blowing hot air. The heater core had failed. This was the 3rd heater core to have gone out in 113K miles. So the remainder of our trip home was in -10 degree record breaking cold, we struggled to keep it in the high 20's inside the car even under blankets. Everyone was frozen by the time we got home.
Dec 2017, mileage 113,694
Once home, we had our home dealership replace the heater core, somehow it was still under warranty and they didn't charge us for it. I suspect because maybe the replacements they keep putting in it won't last more than 12 months, but I can't confirm that. Maybe it's because I'm still under 120K miles.
Jan 2017, mileage 114,551
4th occurrence of CEL and adblue no start 200 mi warning. This time we were 2 ½ hours from home traveling to a sports tournament for my daughter. Had to miss that and sit in yet another (now my 3rd) VW dealership service department while they run diagnostics on it. To no surprise, they got the exact same code, "P204F Reductant Performance code stored. Completed adblue level reset procedure and cleared faults". I was very fortunate this dealership had a service department even open on a Saturday, and on top of that were able to get me into their already full schedule. They released the vehicle to me and we made it home ok later that day. What's crazy is the service advisor at this dealership (now the 3rd one I've talked to at this point) also told me, and I quote: "We have 2 customers in this exact same situation as you, they've replaced everything and we still don't know what causes it. What we can tell you is that VW acknowledges there's bug in the TDI software fix that was applied recently and they are working on an update for it but we don't have an ETA. One of my two customers' car is so bad, I've had them in a loaner for over a month."
Common trends we've observed:
1. As others have noticed, it's always happened when on long trips of over 200 miles or more. Never happens when doing short trips or in-town driving. This is horrible because when you get stranded like that long ways from home, you've basically got 200 miles to find a VW dealership near you and pray that they'll even be able to help you. I refuse to let any other shop touch this Passat, given this crap going on with the software. Don't want to give them a reason to not warrantee it.
2. So far, has always happened when it's cold. But that could just be coincidence / timing. It will be interesting to see if it continues into this spring when things warm back up.
3. Every VW service department we've talked to (and that's been 3 as of this writing) has independently told us that they have at least 2 customers with this exact same issue where they've replaced everything (NOx sensor, injector, adblue tank heater, etc) and at this point there's nothing left to replace, yet the customers keep getting these CEL's with adblue no start in 200mi. warnings, and VW corporate is "working on it".
So the million dollar question is… When is VW going to come out with a revised version of their software fix? A version 2.0, or fix to the fix, basically.
It's also very concerning, as others have posted, that VW is directing dealerships to park customers' cars and hand out loaners. So far this hasn't happened to me, but then again, we travel long distances with our Passat and two of the four times this issue came up we went to foreign / non-home dealerships that viewed us as "just passing through".
If every VW dealership across the country is averaging 2 or 3 customers with this problem, then that's a LOT of cases. As one of the earlier posters commented about their car being the canary, I've heard the exact same thing "we're not sure why, but you guys are the rare 1%. Everyone else's TDI that received the update is just fine". At first that seemed plausible, but now I have to call BS on that, because I've now personally spoke with 3 different VW service departments each telling me they have at least 2 customers with this exact same problem. I'm no rocket scientist, but from where I come from we call that a trend.
I'm also not a litigious person, but one might consider this a "class" of people that need some serious representation. For those of us that opted to keep our TDI's by taking the "settlement + fix" option, I'm still waiting on VW to follow through with their end of the deal. A fix means fix. Not this mess. Sure we received our settlement check, but the time, energy, money, and distress caused by dealing with this debacle far exceeds that amount. It's painfully clear the fix isn't a viable or acceptable fix. So VW needs to either make that right, or buy these cars back.
Still undecided what we're going to do in this situation. Sucks all the way around.
 

GoFaster

Moderator at Large
Joined
Jun 16, 1999
Location
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Push for a loaner car, and keep that until VW returns your car "fixed again". The alternative is that there is some sort of lemon-law-like provision in the details of the fix. Investigate that. You've had more than three unsuccessful attempts to fix the problem.

You've used up 12,000 miles of the 48,000 mi warranty on the fix. Stop using up any more of them on this!
 

fastalan

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Location
Richmond BC
TDI
2010 Golf TDI Wagon
Would the quality of urea causes this type of issue? OEM VW urea vs DIY filled generic brand urea.
 

TheGrove

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
S Central PA (Breezewood)
TDI
2012 Passat SEL Premium Opera Red - Dieselgate Fix, KermaTDI Tune, 2004 Passat GLS Northern Green-RIP
Would the quality of urea causes this type of issue? OEM VW urea vs DIY filled generic brand urea.
Probably not, actually I would say no. One of the "fixes" VW had them do to mine was to completely drain the system and add fresh DEF fluid. As before after 200-300 miles it lit up again.
 

RS_tdi

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Iowa
TDI
2013 Passat
The alternative is that there is some sort of lemon-law-like provision in the details of the fix. Investigate that. You've had more than three unsuccessful attempts to fix the problem.
This is a very good point, thank you for bringing it up. It led me to do some digging and here's what I found:
I was looking at my recall letter I received from VW in the mail and it has a very key piece of information in it. It says for all cars receiving the software fix they "...will also receive an extended emissions warranty covering the emissions system of the modified vehicle, which includes a Lemon Law-type remedy to protect against the possibility that the modification causes subsequent service problems."
The Strange thing is, I can't put my hands on that exact Lemon Law-type "remedy" portion of the extended emissions warranty anywhere. The recall letter we received from VW makes it sound like we should have received this as part of the extended warranty documentation, but it's suspiciously absent from any paperwork we've ever received. The online version doesn’t mention it either.
After hours of digging I'm pretty certain VW has created a circular reference by which Customer Letters that went out reference vwcourtsettlement.com for more details, which references vwdiesellookup.com for more details, which references the Customer Letters they sent out for more details.
If anyone has copies of that extended warranty that actually discusses the "lemon law-type remedy" please share and cite sources.
Thanks in advance.
 

251

TDI Owner/Operator
Joined
May 11, 2002
Location
NW IN
TDI
2015 Passat TDI SEL
Ok, from what you guys say this fault happens after driving 200 miles. Is that 200 miles straight with no shut off and/or 200 miles including a stop for restroom, fuel and/or food where ignition is turned off? Also is this issue happening on ALL fixed TDI's or just some of them?

I ask because I've yet to have the fix done to mine plus I do a fair number of long road trips which are well over 200 miles one way. Wondering what my chances are of having this issue once I do the fix is all.
 

RS_tdi

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Location
Iowa
TDI
2013 Passat
251,

It's happened to me under both scenarios. I don't think a stop has any impact on it at all.

It's only happening on some TDI's. I've had 3 different dealerships tell me they have at least 2 customers with this same problem, while all others are supposedly just fine.

Roll the dice...
 

ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
I'm having the exact same problem. Thank you wispassat for starting this thread. My version of this still-ongoing debacle is as follows:
2013 Passat 2.0 TDI. Original owner, always serviced at VW dealership. Prior to the software update the vehicle was amazingly reliable. Aside from replacing 2 heater cores and various recall items, we've had no issues what so ever, love the car. Which is why we opted for the restitution payment + fix option.
June 2017, mileage 102,916.
Dealership performed the "software update". From that point forward, it's been nothing but problems.
Nov 2017, mileage 109,699
1st occurrence of this CEL with adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Got it to our home dealership quickly who "Ran test and found adblue injector putting too much adblue into the system at 180 ml and spec is 170 and no pressure buildup in injector." Their fix was "a reductive agent injector remove and re-install". Basically they replaced the adblue injector and cleared the codes / reset the computer. Returned the vehicle to us.
Dec 2017, mileage 112,184
2nd occurrence of CEL and adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Was returning home from an 8 hour drive, still had about 280 miles to home and knew I wouldn't make it before I reached 0 on the countdown meter so coordinated with home dealership and drove it straight there without shutting it off. Left it there for repair. They found fault P204F and this time their fix was to replace the NOx sensor. They let me pick it back up and take it. Service Advisor informed us they're starting to see a trend and have "2 customers with this exact same issue after having received the software update."
Dec 2017, mileage 113,242
3rd occurrence of CEL and adblue no-start 200 mi warning. Christmas weekend, was traveling out of state when this happened and there was a record-setting cold snap across the country. Light came on again just over 300 miles from home, with over 300 miles remaining to our final destination. We had no choice but to turn around and go backwards an hour and a half to the nearest VW dealership and leave it with them (Lincoln, NE). Picked up a rental car (good luck trying to get one on Christmas weekend with no reservations). Left our Passat at that dealership and continued our trip. A few days later on the way back through we picked our car back up from the VW dealership in Lincoln. All they did was a code reset. Interestingly, the Service Manager at this dealership also informed me she has "2 or 3 customers with the exact same symptoms after updating the software". This is now the 2nd VW dealership that has told me this. Minutes after leaving the dealership on our way home we noticed it wasn't blowing hot air. The heater core had failed. This was the 3rd heater core to have gone out in 113K miles. So the remainder of our trip home was in -10 degree record breaking cold, we struggled to keep it in the high 20's inside the car even under blankets. Everyone was frozen by the time we got home.
Dec 2017, mileage 113,694
Once home, we had our home dealership replace the heater core, somehow it was still under warranty and they didn't charge us for it. I suspect because maybe the replacements they keep putting in it won't last more than 12 months, but I can't confirm that. Maybe it's because I'm still under 120K miles.
Jan 2017, mileage 114,551
4th occurrence of CEL and adblue no start 200 mi warning. This time we were 2 ½ hours from home traveling to a sports tournament for my daughter. Had to miss that and sit in yet another (now my 3rd) VW dealership service department while they run diagnostics on it. To no surprise, they got the exact same code, "P204F Reductant Performance code stored. Completed adblue level reset procedure and cleared faults". I was very fortunate this dealership had a service department even open on a Saturday, and on top of that were able to get me into their already full schedule. They released the vehicle to me and we made it home ok later that day. What's crazy is the service advisor at this dealership (now the 3rd one I've talked to at this point) also told me, and I quote: "We have 2 customers in this exact same situation as you, they've replaced everything and we still don't know what causes it. What we can tell you is that VW acknowledges there's bug in the TDI software fix that was applied recently and they are working on an update for it but we don't have an ETA. One of my two customers' car is so bad, I've had them in a loaner for over a month."
Common trends we've observed:
1. As others have noticed, it's always happened when on long trips of over 200 miles or more. Never happens when doing short trips or in-town driving. This is horrible because when you get stranded like that long ways from home, you've basically got 200 miles to find a VW dealership near you and pray that they'll even be able to help you. I refuse to let any other shop touch this Passat, given this crap going on with the software. Don't want to give them a reason to not warrantee it.
2. So far, has always happened when it's cold. But that could just be coincidence / timing. It will be interesting to see if it continues into this spring when things warm back up.
3. Every VW service department we've talked to (and that's been 3 as of this writing) has independently told us that they have at least 2 customers with this exact same issue where they've replaced everything (NOx sensor, injector, adblue tank heater, etc) and at this point there's nothing left to replace, yet the customers keep getting these CEL's with adblue no start in 200mi. warnings, and VW corporate is "working on it".
So the million dollar question is… When is VW going to come out with a revised version of their software fix? A version 2.0, or fix to the fix, basically.
It's also very concerning, as others have posted, that VW is directing dealerships to park customers' cars and hand out loaners. So far this hasn't happened to me, but then again, we travel long distances with our Passat and two of the four times this issue came up we went to foreign / non-home dealerships that viewed us as "just passing through".
If every VW dealership across the country is averaging 2 or 3 customers with this problem, then that's a LOT of cases. As one of the earlier posters commented about their car being the canary, I've heard the exact same thing "we're not sure why, but you guys are the rare 1%. Everyone else's TDI that received the update is just fine". At first that seemed plausible, but now I have to call BS on that, because I've now personally spoke with 3 different VW service departments each telling me they have at least 2 customers with this exact same problem. I'm no rocket scientist, but from where I come from we call that a trend.
I'm also not a litigious person, but one might consider this a "class" of people that need some serious representation. For those of us that opted to keep our TDI's by taking the "settlement + fix" option, I'm still waiting on VW to follow through with their end of the deal. A fix means fix. Not this mess. Sure we received our settlement check, but the time, energy, money, and distress caused by dealing with this debacle far exceeds that amount. It's painfully clear the fix isn't a viable or acceptable fix. So VW needs to either make that right, or buy these cars back.
Still undecided what we're going to do in this situation. Sucks all the way around.

I feel your pain and frustration, however I think its time for a delete. After a 3rd time that's what I would be looking into. Hopefully once the weather warms up it will be fine. Good luck.
 

d2freeman

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Location
NC
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
no need for a delete, just a tune that takes care of the glitch.

(clears throat)
Will a tune also correct the other issues caused by the "Fix"
1. The loud rattle that occurs every time for the first mile or so.
2. the engine stumble anytime the outside temp is below 60 deg, after a few miles or so the stumble is gone.
 

Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
My dealership has called me multiple times about getting the fix, i told them i plan on holding out until this summer when (hopefully) all is resolved so i can be assured none of this crap will happen, will start a new warranty clock when i do fix it. Then take the money and delete and tune once that warranty expires....
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
no need for a delete, just a tune that takes care of the glitch.

(clears throat)
If you guys have a DPF friendly tune that addresses the "fix" problems please let us know! I cannot stand the stumble, random injection timing causeing loud diesel knock to come and go, and the poor MPG. After the fix sometimes it feels like I'm driving my Kubota tractor and not the Passat! when cold, when it grabs a gear injection timing is way to far advanced causing major NVH then in a second or two, quiet as a mouse.
 
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ssaric1.9TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI, 2003 VW Jetta Wagon TDI
no need for a delete, just a tune that takes care of the glitch.

(clears throat)

1. What kind of tune do you recommend, is it the stock tune before the fix or something like stage 1 tune?
2. Will it affect the warranty that VW provided together with the fix?
3. If it does, can the tune be removed and set back to VW fix tune in case there is a warranty cover issue on the car?
 

wispassat

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
UPDATE: its now 2/5, cars been parked at dealer since 12/19. VW Customer Care calls every Friday afternoon to tell me they have no answer yet! seems to be random with these TDI's. and they have not isolated the issue with the programming. I am currently in a 2017 CC so I have no complaint's other than getting 26 MPG compared to 38-40 with my TDI. Some issues are the wife cant drive the loaner, which I will be addressing with the dealer today, and the fact IT ISNT MY CAR! It does not seem to be a high priority for VW as I don't think it is affecting that many cars. This whole thing is very frustrating. I was told by the dealer they have 5 TDI's parked behind the shop right now with the same issue. Is anyone else thinking Class Action lawsuit?
 

Bloomy

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2010
Location
PA
TDI
2006 Jetta SE DSG
Just wanted to add that my 2013 Passat is doing the same thing. AdBlue warning comes on with either a 100 or 200 mile warning. Took it in once and they did the regen, reflash twice to get it to clear. Came back on six days later. Kept driving it and the AdBlue warning went away with the CEL staying on VCDS gave me the P204F. The CEL has left as well now. I will keep driving it until I see VW has a fix for it. I do have to say my service department has been very good. I do all of my own maintenance and repairs except for warranty work, so I had very little interaction with them until now. We are however entertaining trading it if this continues. The question is what to get.......
 
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