2012 Sportwagen Delete Process

Good evening!

After logging a pile of miles on a 2002 ALH 5 speed car, and some recent nickle and diming to be expected from a 313k car, I decided to move into the dark side and bought a loaded 2012 Sportwagen TDI with a 6M trans. Driving it just few miles, i loved all the refinements and tech. Yay me! True to the VW form, just 23 miles from the dealer delivery I have a MIL with a P0401 and a P2002 code. Ugh. 88k miles, freh from service with the VW updates done, this was a buyback which was just reconditioned.

As i stood with my MK4, the plan was to delete this and do a malone tune with the 1st emissions problem that arose....I was thinking I would make it out of the first damn day.

After reading, I see alot of info, but no great info on doing a 100% clean delete without it looking cobbled. I know I need to purchase and EGR delete, and fab a downpipe. What of all the wiring and such on this car? And, those who have done the stage 2 malone tune, are you happy with the drivibility?

Thanks for your time!

Ryan

It should be covered by the warranty. Just take it back to a dealer and get a free repair. After the warranty expires you can try the delete.

Personally I would go get your DPF and EGR filter replaced under warranty and after the emissions warranty has expired, then delete what you want.

There is a lot covered by the mandated warranty, including some expensive items....don't delete yet as they will void that warranty faster then you can blink an eye.

Matt927 said:

Personally I would go get your DPF and EGR filter replaced under warranty and after the emissions warranty has expired, then delete what you want.

There is a lot covered by the mandated warranty, including some expensive items....don't delete yet as they will void that warranty faster then you can blink an eye.

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These little cars are awsome but may or may not live up to the past ALH in some ways. When they were new the talk was about the good ol' 1.9 turbo IDI.

I 2nd matt in general. Why not get a warrentied fresh high dollar DPF, even if your going to shelf it soon.

If your area is anything as screwed up and goofy as California one day you may not need it and the next you will again. They managed to cycle out many older cars in the past this way.

Does anyone know details about the Malone tunes? is it the same stage 2 tune with and without the DPF delete?

Working out logistics, and whether the car can be driven after the tune is installed, before any hardware goes on.

Or if it all has to be installed at once?
background, local Malone dealer/tuner wont install the tune with dpf delete already installed...
So the ecu would have to be sent out of country instead.

I spent a bit and bought the downpipe and a resonator from Rawtek. Quality parts and easier than trying to reinvent the wheel.
You can’t run the car with the delete software and stuff there, or vice versa. Been there, car is not happy and it will result in limp mode.
I’m stage 2, deleted and couldn’t be happier.
I also bought the flashzilla hand held tool from Malone to go back to stock when/if needed without having to send the ecu in.
We have no emissions testing in my region. I’m also far enough from the dealer that warranty issues are not really going to happen either. (4hrs from dealer...)

Just an update. Chose to stick with the warranty. They are replacing the DPF, EGR filter and throttle valve. Should have the car back today.

Im going to install the Malone Stage 2 non delete tune, and run that through the warranty. Ill flash it back to stock in the event it needs to go in for service.

Thanks for the input gents.

Ryan

I was in the same boat at 80,000 miles (I now have 83,000) and I decided to let the dealership put the DPF on under warranty and I have no regrets. It was like a whole new car. It ran so much better with the new DPF. I can't deny that I cant wait for the day that the warranty runs out and I can tune and delete it.

I had deleted DPF/EGR and installed Malone stage 2 tune for ECU and DSG. This is was done approx. 6K miles ago (my 2014 JSW car has 182K miles on clock). In short, this is different car after all deletes and tunes. Besides considerable refined and more linear torque curve, DSG tune eliminated jerky downshift for 2nd to 1st in manual mode. I went with Buzzken straight downpipe, which was a a piece of cake to install and the fit was perfect.

What type of mpg differances if any are you seeing?

An update on the saga for anyone that was following whos interested. After the 1st issue of a P0401 and P2002 the day of purchase, VW replaced the DPF, EGR and throttle valve. The car went about 800 miles, then the MIL came back on. I noted in that 800 miles that it would regen every 100 miles. The codes that returned were another P0401 for the EGR and another for regen frequency. Took it back in, they said they didnt perform the proper resets after installing the new DPF, so those "resets" were performed, and i got the car back. 41 miles later....Mil on, now has a P0401 and P2002 set as it did the first time it went in. Its back there again. We will see how this goes.

Its under warranty until 142k miles, so I sure hope they can figure this out. At the current rate ill have to bring it in about another 63 times before the warranty is up and I can delete it. Lol.

Ryan

Your experience with the dealership and the frequency of both MIL and regen cycles (mine did it within 20 miles of the prior regen and I let both fully finish which took HOURS of idling!).... Your experience is why I aimed for a pothole and that stuff fell off.

I went with Malone and Buzzken. The fit was perfect and the result is much happier driving. Went from a calculated 37mpg highway (80mph) to 45mpg (80mph). This has slowly fallen off however, I elected to retain the second cat, I am going to investigate this week whether that has started clogging.

My car would be under warranty to over 200k miles, but I have little trust in the capability of the dealerships to find their butts with both hands and a flashlight. The warranty is only worth the quality of the company standing behind it. If the HPFP fails, VW's immediate answer is to deny coverage and fight and declare that misfueling must be the cause.

This doesn't inspire confidence that they will continue to fix a buggy emissions system and not "accidentally" break something else in the process. Getting the DPF out is a difficult process and requires some contorting. It is only a matter of time before they screw something up on the back of the engine. Better to only do it once.

Well, back to it.

They isolated the cause of the issue to a bad thermostat. Replaced that and replaced the DPF under warranty, AGAIN. 110 miles later, it was regenning a new DPF, so it sounds like the root cause is still present.

I noted yesterday, when the GF was moving the car in the driveway, there was visible exhaust, white, white-blue color during her manuvers.

They want it back today, so we can avoid destroying the DPF again.

This is a last effort on my part before the "pothole" happens. Lol.

Sounds like you are burning oil and coolant, based on the blue and white smoke. That could point to either the turbo, or the head gaskets are bad. All are covered under the DieselGate warranty.

Based on on the problems that many of us are having it would appear that VW's gamble to 'fix' and resell these TDi's isn't going to pay off. I bought my 2013 Golf (DSG) in Dec last year. It took only 2 weeks for a CEL to appear. They had the car 3 weeks to fix several problems, a bad DPF and EGR, and a bent right front axle. I didn't have to pay out a dime for those repairs.

I installed a Kerma tune about 3 weeks ago thinking I'd be getting better MPG. Well, I get better power, especially in second gear and up, but the MPG seems to be stuck right around 38-39mpg, but that is from a single fill up, and 80 miles of that on the OEM tune.


FYI: Kerma tunes require all OEM emissions equipment to be left in place. If I didn't have such a long warranty period left I'd have done the full removal and Malone tune. Either that or buy a low miles ALH car. I'm beginning to think I should have just removed the EGR & DPF and called it a day.

At the risk of tempting the VW gods and jinxing myself...

I have yet to encounter a CEL or any other emissions-related issue on my fixed '14.

Bought with 18k on the odo, now at 34k and change. Returns consistent FE, albeit doesn't have the punch that my previous '14 Golf had, pre-fix. Actively looking into tuning options to fix the fix.

[goes in search of wood to knock on]

CEL illumination in 5....4....3....

Crap, is this all common I am making plans to buy a 2013 with 49k on it.

Maybe I’m just lucky, but at 85k since new, with the fix just before 60k, my car is running like a champ. Never a code or problem, just regular maintenance, tires, wipers, and a battery. Runs great, pulls a trailer strong, and still delivers good mileage (down about 1.5-2 mpg since fix)

PS, and my pano roof is quiet and leak-free.

ewdysar said:

Maybe I’m just lucky, but at 85k since new, with the fix just before 60k, my car is running like a champ. Never a code or problem, just regular maintenance, tires, wipers, and a battery. Runs great, pulls a trailer strong, and still delivers good mileage (down about 1.5-2 mpg since fix)

PS, and my pano roof is quiet and leak-free.

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x's 2!

Ca weather helps IMO

( Knocking on wood). I've put 12,099 miles on my 12 JSW purchased last December . It had the emission fix and was CPO'ed by my local dealer. It's been flawless and seems to run better and better.

I'm a little over 28K since the fix, non CPO so I'm pretty attentive to keeping the fluids and filters changed regularly (10K oil & filter/20K FF). What seems to work the best is drive drive drive, these TDi's don't like to sit for long periods or be driven only short distances.

In fact I'm trying to put another 20-30K on it before the extended emissions warranty runs out, so I can get the DPF and EGR replaced on VW's dime. If all goes according to plan I should have a relatively fresh DPF/EGR combo to put on the shelf for a rainy day, when I move back to the country and delete.

ksing44 said:

It should be covered by the warranty. Just take it back to a dealer and get a free repair. After the warranty expires you can try the delete.

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good luck on that end.. I had similar issue happen with a 2012 jetta sedan i bought.. within a couple days bringing it home from the dealer... bam.. check engine light then same codes came up... car has been sitting down awaiting parts in pieced. the dpf/egr parts they are waiting on are backorderd.. been almost two months now... been driving a loaner car from the local dealer in my town at their expense until i get my car back...... Meh...

^^That's too bad about the delay. Mine was quick and painless, but it was a while ago. I'm still loving driving my little 2010 Golf TDI, but I understand it isn't the same for people that have too many issues.

Good luck with the car when it's back in your hands!

I got my 2014 with 16x,xxx on it last October. Changed all the fluids right after I got it so I knew they were done. I did the second oil change on it in June, and the third exactly 2 weeks ago. (yeah, that's 10k miles in 2.5 months) and it will likely be due for change #4 before I've owned it for a full year. I'm already at 193k, the "warranty" is only good for 48k from when I got it... so about another 15k miles.

I'm not regretting AT ALL that I hit that "pothole" with it. On this trip, I'm averaging 40mpg at 85+ mph, The West is a big place with fast traffic. Very happy.

pharcyde145 said:

what seems to work the best is drive drive drive, these tdi's don't like to sit for long periods or be driven only short distances.

I can get the dpf and egr replaced on vw's dime. If all goes according to plan i should have a relatively fresh dpf/egr combo to put on the shelf for a rainy day, when i move back to the country and delete.

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...x2!

Sorry for the lack of updates on this. Been busy. Got the car back after they diagnosed a thermostat issue, replaced the DPF, again. Car vent 110 miles then performed a regen. Obviously not ok. I took it back, they had it for about 3 weeks and did/found nothing.

I picked it back up. 2 days later, there was a starter issue. (this car is getting frustrating at this point) In the process of removing the starter, I opened the airbox....Found a filthy K&N air filter, and a holy ****ing contaminated MAF sensor. I cleaned the MAF, installed a new MANN paper air filter, and its been regening in 350-450 mile intervals and running great since. About 3000 miles on it since I got it back.

This was a reconditioned car that VW just went through, so I never thought to check the air filter, as they just serviced it.

Hopefully this will be the end of the problems for a while.

Ryan

Your last post should be a sticky thread for K&N filters

Good thing you found the problem and fixed it.

Happy motoring!

Dont you love dealing with past owners history? If not for the K&N you probably would have had no issues.

Glad all is well now

New update. **** this car.

Driving saturday, stepped on the clutch to downshift from 6th to 5th, the pedal stayed on the floor. Floated gears home.

Tried to bleed it for good measures. Unlimited supply of air. Nothing dripping from the bellhousing, so figured the master was a good place to start. Replaced the master with an OE part. No change. Yay.

So out the transmission comes.

I would like to keep the dual mass flywheel, as i love how smooth they are on the diesels. I have read that the LUK DMF and clucth holds up much better than the OE Sachs unit.

Again, I understand the reliability benefits of a solid flywheel conversion, but really prefer the drivibilty and quietness of the DMF over a solid unit on a TDI.

Anyone have any input on this matter?

Thanks.

Ryan