[2012 Jetta TDI] Options for an oil temp gauge

Hello everyone, I am a new owner of a 2012 Jetta TDI buyback that went through auctions and wounded up at a small used car dealership. My car does not have an oil temperature / engine temp gauge. I can seem to find the parts for the gauge pods or steering wheel mounts, but I have no idea how I would go about installing an oil temp gauge. If anyone could point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated (gauges to use, what sensors I need and where to mount them).



For whatever reason, VW decided to do some cost cutting measures and take out the temperature gauge for the USDM and Canadian Jettas for the MK6 platform.

Old Jetta (A5) Gauge Cluster:

And the new one:




I would just like to have a way to know if my engine is running hot.


Also, I'd like your recommendations for a EGR gauge, as that will be the next one I will need.

You could use a Scangauge II for coolant temp and others. I have mine set on top of the steering column showing coolant, EGT, and catalyst temps (so I can see regens) and battery voltage.

P 3 Cars


This is the EGT reading

You have the same thing as the older cars, but instead of a needle that shows COLD, NORMAL, and HOT, you have a light that shows... COLD (blue), NORMAL (off), and HOT (flashing red). Same information sent to the cluster from the same sensor. Nothing changed. The "gauge" was not a real gauge anyway.

You have a solution in search of a problem. BTW, all the New Beetles were like this, as are a BUNCH of other modern cars.

Like andreigbs said, a Scangauge II will work for what you want. I have mine to watch the oil temp, urea injector duty cycle (so I know when urea is being injected), DPF soot load (so I know when I'm about to start a regen and when it finishes), and exhaust gas temperature (as another indicator of a regen).

I used to be able to monitor the urea tank level, but after the phase 2 update, the tank level somehow reads above 100% when the tank is full, so I don't watch that anymore.

soldierguy said:

Like andreigbs said, a Scangauge II will work for what you want. I have mine to watch the oil temp, urea injector duty cycle (so I know when urea is being injected), DPF soot load (so I know when I'm about to start a regen and when it finishes), and exhaust gas temperature (as another indicator of a regen).

I used to be able to monitor the urea tank level, but after the phase 2 update, the tank level somehow reads above 100% when the tank is full, so I don't watch that anymore.

Click to expand...

How did you get your ScanGauge II to show oil temp, soot load etc? I have a 2013 Golf TDI and I've programmed some values in manually from the xgauge webpage but there is nothing there about oil temp and soot load.

eccohrs said:

How did you get your ScanGauge II to show oil temp, soot load etc? I have a 2013 Golf TDI and I've programmed some values in manually from the xgauge webpage but there is nothing there about oil temp and soot load.

Click to expand...

Specifically regarding oil temp, I have a '15 like he has, and I found x-gauge info listed for a '15 Passat that seemed to work for me. I don't know off-hand what sensors the different engines did or didn't get over the years, so I don't know if you can monitor it or not. Here's the link, though.
Engine Oil Temperature (°F) 2015 VW Passat TDI SE 2.0L Diesel

EDIT: I don't have a DPF, so I've never looked into any of that stuff. I monitor boost, EGT, coolant temp, and oil temp.

eccohrs said:

How did you get your ScanGauge II to show oil temp, soot load etc? I have a 2013 Golf TDI and I've programmed some values in manually from the xgauge webpage but there is nothing there about oil temp and soot load.

Click to expand...

You will need to update the firmware version of your ScangaugeII. You'll need to send it in to them along with $25. This update enables those newer xgauge to work.

At the moment, I'm satisfied just seeing the EGTs and catalyst temps. Those tell me when a regen is going on.