Glow plug error code: replace one or all?

Hey fellas,

This morning I got the check engine light on. I hooked up the Ross Tech HEX-V2 cable and ran VCDS on my laptop.

It came up as cylinder 2 glow plug. First of all which location is that? Is that the second one from the left? Or the second one from the right?

Should I just replace the glow plug that is malfunctioning? Or should I replace all four?

It’s a 2013 Jetta sport wagon TDI.

Also is there a good source to buy these glow plugs?

Thanks for any helpful advice!

Cylinder #2 is the second one from the timing belt, i.e. from the left. Unlike the old-style plugs that were cheap enough to replace all four before the winter, these are quite expensive, so the common wisdom is to replace them only as needed. They also last significantly longer than the old ones did, I only had one of the four go bad on me in the 8 years I owned the vehicle. You may be able to find them on E-bay for a nice discount. I used my goodwill money when the dieselgate blew up to buy two pieces, and they were about $100 a piece (I bought them from a dealer).

Are the Beru brand glow plugs good? Found an online price of $63

See if its covered under the emissions dieselgate extended warranty

I sent my Volkswagen dealer an email asking if it was possibly covered under the extended emissions warranty. I’m waiting for an answer.

But I just wanted to know whether these BERU brand glow plugs are good? Would just like to know for my own information.

Thanks

Beru plugs are OE on many VWs. However, I'm not sure that Beru makes plugs for your car: i thought they were made for VW by NGK. Check the OE part number, it should be 03L905061 with the suffix H or K. If it is then they're the right plug

And I agree with replacing one at a time.

I called my Volkswagen dealer and the glow plug is covered under the extended emissions warranty

While I was searching online they do make the BERU brand glow plugs for my vehicle

Manufacturer Part Number
03L-905-061-H

So this is good for me to know for the future.

Once again thanks for all the helpful information!

I think the suffix has to do with the manufacturer, but I could be wrong. The two I bought (I never used them, they are still sitting on the shelf) have a suffix "G", and they were made by Borg-Warner, in Germany. When I was ordering them, I distinctly remember the salesman telling me that the suffix has no impact on the function, they are supposedly all interchangeable. Despite the fact that this statement came out of a salesman's mouth, I am willing to make an exception and take it for its face value. If these plugs were functionally different, then VW would have created a separate part number for each one of them, not just a different alphabetical suffix. Suffixes are usually changed only when minor changes that have no impact on the function of the product are introduced (good example would be a different vendor). The first 9 characters are identical on the glow plugs I bought.

One last word of wisdom - when the time comes and you have another one of them fail on you after your extended warranty runs out, make sure to remove the failed one and to install the new one with a deep 6-pointed socket, not a 12-pointed one (it's a 12 mm), and when you tighten the new one in place, it is an imperative to use a torque wrench. The reason for this paranoia is simple - the top end of the plug, including the hex that is used to tighten it, is formed out of a thin sheet metal. If you use a 12-pointed socket, the contact area between the socket and the plug's hex is so small that you may round the corners of the plug. The use of torque wrench is mandatory for the same reason - the plug is simply too fragile to tolerate any kind of abuse. Oh, and Beru was the manufacturer of that one plug I had to replace. Top notch quality, they are (or used to be) the OEM supplier for glow plugs even for MB and BMW.

I had one replaced last week under the emissions warranty. They will only replace what the computer tells them. So conventional wisdom of replace all at one time, will only work if you're willing to pick up the tab for the other three. I think it took them about an hour from the time the wife dropped her car off for diagnosis until they called and said we could pick it up.

hangman said:

While I was searching online they do make the BERU brand glow plugs for my vehicle

Manufacturer Part Number
03L-905-061-H

Click to expand...

That's a VW number, not a Beru number. Beru numbers are different: for example, an ALH glow plug is Beru number GN855. We buy Beru plugs out of Europe, I'll look and see if they have one for your car.

Suffix on a VW number does not indicate manufacturer.