Looking to Purchase 2006-2010 Jetta TDI Auto for Girlfriend

Gangles

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Location
East Coast of America
TDI
2012 Audi A3 TDI Hatch
Hey all,

I have an '03 ALH TDI 5-speed and I love it! My girlfriend's commute will be changing to 80-miles round trip. Her Mazda sees about 25 MPG average. I'm considering getting her a TDI, Volvo, or Subie. She wants an auto trans, which is why I am posting this. I know the auto trans on the 99.5-05 Jetta's are a weak point. Is this the case for the newer gen as well?

Thanks!
 

narongc73

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
VA/OH
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI
Unless you're going to be fixing the car for her, stay away from these cars. Nothing wrong with the Mazda at 25mpg.
 

crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
The DSG is extremely durable. The '06 is likely to need a new DMF, though it's likely it's already been replaced. Mechatronic unit(the brain box for the transmissions) can fail, but it's pretty darn rare. Transmission fluid needs to be changed more often, but the flip side is you're less likely to ever need to change the clutch.

The '06 is the non common rail version and has no DPF. If the factory cam hasn't been replaced, it'll probably need it. Engine harness replacement may be needed someday, or fixed. Door harness can also be an issue, and a loose ground here or there. When those issues are addressed, they're pretty damn reliable cars and many people have well over 400k miles on them. My city fuel economy isn't as good as my old ALH, but my freeway fuel economy with the DSG and power mods is consistently in the 50s.

The 2010 is the first year of the common rail. I had a 2010 Golf and it was the most trouble free vehicle I ever owned, and I even own a Cummins. I got 140k miles out of it without turning a single wrench for anything outside of basic maintenance. With that said, these are complex engines and have complex emission systems. There's a very slight chance of a HPFP failure, but if it happens, it's thousands of dollars. Fortunately, the new emissions fix I believe has a warranty for the HPFP. The emissions components(except DPF filling up with soot and needing clean or replaced) are almost entirely covered under a large warranty. And frankly, frequent freeway driving will keep it happy. The newer DSG is less likely to have a flywheel problem.
 

Carlos_TJ

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Location
Tijuana Mexico
TDI
2009 Bora (BXE PD)
^^^ isnt the 09 jetta tdi the first year for CR?
I know the mk5 golf was not available with TDI drivetrain, just gassers (rabbit=2.5/gti=2.0T/golf-r=3.2)

The 09 TDI jetta being the first CR has some issues with this year-only parts that may be expensive to replace.
 
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crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
^^^ isnt the 09 jetta tdi the first year for CR?
I know the mk5 golf was not available with TDI drivetrain, just gassers (rabbit=2.5/gti=2.0T/golf-r=3.2)

The 09 TDI jetta being the first CR has some issues with this year-only parts that may be expensive to replace.
Good call. For some reason I only thought about the CJAA and not the CBEA. The CJAA is like the CBEA, except they deleted the troublesome balance shaft. Some CBEA engines also have the cat welded to the DPF.
 

Satsonic

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 23, 2017
Location
Chicago
TDI
2006 Jetta TDi (BRM) - DSG Trans (02E)
I drive a 06 TDi Jetta on a daily 110 mile round trip. Beyond a routine maintenance I’ve only had to replace the steering angle sensor & throttle body. Both weren’t that terrible and took less than and hour to do. You can easily get 50+ MPG, but it does depend on your right foot. Keeping the cruise around 65-70 maximizes fuel consumption.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

CladNKaos

Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Location
KY
TDI
VW Jetta 2010
Hey Gangles, I may be selling my 2010 TDI Auto here soon to replace it with a Jeep Wrangler. My commute got astronomically shorter and I will need the ability to get to the station in the snow more than the fuel economy shortly.

I have had a new DPF installed, I am about to have Paramedick replace the timing belt, and its getting a new exhaust intake manifold as I write this.

If you want one that has had some of the issues worked through already, feel free to drop me a PM. There is still a leak in the rear sun roof drain on the driver side that has resulted in some water in the rear foot well. I will be fixing this myself soon.
 
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