2015 Gen 3 Fix Phase 2

[audiq7tdi]

Thank you

 

[tdi4ty]

Sorry to hear that. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame the techs. But take a look under the hood by the firewall near the turbo. They have the new wiring routed pretty close to the turbo and why I tidied up the wiring there. There’s only so many places to anchor the new harnesses. I doubt they have much time to detail the way most of us enthusiasts would do things. I noted some of the high temp snap covers were ripped too. I’ll be deleting soon so not worried, but I accept that these modifications aren’t vetted like the rest of a normal manufactured car would be. I love the car; it’s a great distance daily and being a hard core Mustang enthusiast with some featured in magazines and advertisements, it’s still a blast to drive.
I’d recommend those getting this done to have some patience.

I did notice that the wiring was pretty close to the turbo, so that was issue 1. I went to start the car after work and the vehicle's accessories only turned on. Odd I thought, so I turned the car off and back on again, this time I had a Engine Malfunction and Check Coolant lights. I turned off again and tried a third time, still had the same lights on. Now we get to the real issue...The main issue, which at this point makes me laugh and cry at the same time is it appears they removed the coolant tank on the far left side of the engine bay. What they didn't do is correctly fit the coolant hose to the tank and not only that, but the bracket for the tank was broken, which it hasn't been before. That is what I was smelling, coolant was spraying all over the entire engine bay. The coolant tank was also cracked, which wasn't broken before P2. Needless to say, I am beyond pissed that the coolant tank was just floating around the engine bay. When I tried to start the car a third time, coolant just dropped to the concrete below me. Car was towed to the dealership (60 miles from my work) at their expensive after a few choice words about this experience. I might just be the only one without any luck, but dang, this just keeps on getting worse and worse. This might just be my last VW let alone TDI. The VW Regional Manager for NE US received a call last night, so I should expect to hear from them as well. I hope no one else has to go through this nightmare that I am going through. On the bright side, they gave me a loaner for the next 2 weeks while I am out of town, free of charge (2018 Focus Titanium, not my choice, but it works).

 

[senez]

I did notice that the wiring was pretty close to the turbo, so that was issue 1. I went to start the car after work and the vehicle's accessories only turned on. Odd I thought, so I turned the car off and back on again, this time I had a Engine Malfunction and Check Coolant lights. I turned off again and tried a third time, still had the same lights on. Now we get to the real issue...The main issue, which at this point makes me laugh and cry at the same time is it appears they removed the coolant tank on the far left side of the engine bay. What they didn't do is correctly fit the coolant hose to the tank and not only that, but the bracket for the tank was broken, which it hasn't been before. That is what I was smelling, coolant was spraying all over the entire engine bay. The coolant tank was also cracked, which wasn't broken before P2. Needless to say, I am beyond pissed that the coolant tank was just floating around the engine bay. When I tried to start the car a third time, coolant just dropped to the concrete below me. Car was towed to the dealership (60 miles from my work) at their expensive after a few choice words about this experience. I might just be the only one without any luck, but dang, this just keeps on getting worse and worse. This might just be my last VW let alone TDI. The VW Regional Manager for NE US received a call last night, so I should expect to hear from them as well. I hope no one else has to go through this nightmare that I am going through. On the bright side, they gave me a loaner for the next 2 weeks while I am out of town, free of charge (2018 Focus Titanium, not my choice, but it works).

Boy, that's unfortunate.

I was told upon pickup of my Passat after phase 2 that they had to replace a coolant hose that developed a pinhole leak. I haven't had any of the other issues, but the car does smell like it's been sitting in a shop for more than a week. It's been almost a week since and it's just as strong as the day I picked it up. Maybe it'll go away.

 

[sohccammer427]

I did notice that the wiring was pretty close to the turbo, so that was issue 1. I went to start the car after work and the vehicle's accessories only turned on. Odd I thought, so I turned the car off and back on again, this time I had a Engine Malfunction and Check Coolant lights. I turned off again and tried a third time, still had the same lights on. Now we get to the real issue...The main issue, which at this point makes me laugh and cry at the same time is it appears they removed the coolant tank on the far left side of the engine bay. What they didn't do is correctly fit the coolant hose to the tank and not only that, but the bracket for the tank was broken, which it hasn't been before. That is what I was smelling, coolant was spraying all over the entire engine bay. The coolant tank was also cracked, which wasn't broken before P2. Needless to say, I am beyond pissed that the coolant tank was just floating around the engine bay. When I tried to start the car a third time, coolant just dropped to the concrete below me. Car was towed to the dealership (60 miles from my work) at their expensive after a few choice words about this experience. I might just be the only one without any luck, but dang, this just keeps on getting worse and worse. This might just be my last VW let alone TDI. The VW Regional Manager for NE US received a call last night, so I should expect to hear from them as well. I hope no one else has to go through this nightmare that I am going through. On the bright side, they gave me a loaner for the next 2 weeks while I am out of town, free of charge (2018 Focus Titanium, not my choice, but it works).

.
Yikes! Our Passat is my wife's daily driver. It appears that there is a lot of "stuff" that has to be removed for this procedure. Check out the work order in Nuty 5.0 photo album linked a few posts back. No wonder a nine hour fix time was quoted.
.
Us "enthusiasts" would be well advised to inspect the work performed, the best we can, when we get our cars back. A loose part or a poorly routed harness may be caught before it causes havoc.

 

[Blue_Hen_TDI]

Glad I’m in no hurry to get this done; never want to be the guinea pig.

 

[Nutty 5.0]

Sorry to hear your experience tdi4ty. Just hoping they make all the wrongs right on hopefully your last visit! My dealer seemed to be concerned that I gave a good review on their survey but it came from the dealer not necessarily VW. I do worry that techs working on them don't really care much and have the "well (at least some) are getting some cash so I don't care" attitude.

It would be great if someone had what VW is referring to as their "circular" or whatever the actually full steps are. I'd like to review each part as there's bunch things played with: Subframe dropped, wiring, exhaust, coolant and hoses, etc. I'd like to think most of us here would too.

 

[sohccammer427]

Here are the steps that I read on the work order from one of our members here:
.
23YA- 2.0TDI Engine Gen 3 phase 2 A&B Emissions mod criteria 01
.
1. Drain coolant
.
2. Remove battery
.
3. Remove battery tray
.
4. Remove Air box
.
5. Route adapter wiring harness
.
6. Remove splash guard and modify exhaust according to circular
.
7. Remove driver side underbody panel & install new NOX sensor ctrl unit
.
8. Remove sub frame w/ steering rack to gain access to DPF
.
9. Remove DPF and install new DPF
.
10. The rest refers to software re programming
.
I'm not sure how inclusive this, but it may be at a minimum what they will do.

 

[bizzle]

.Us "enthusiasts" would be well advised to inspect the work performed, the best we can, when we get our cars back. A loose part or a poorly routed harness may be caught before it causes havoc.

Sounds like we should also be inspecting and documenting the vehicle *before* the work is performed.

 

[tdi4ty]

Sorry to hear your experience tdi4ty. Just hoping they make all the wrongs right on hopefully your last visit! My dealer seemed to be concerned that I gave a good review on their survey but it came from the dealer not necessarily VW. I do worry that techs working on them don't really care much and have the "well (at least some) are getting some cash so I don't care" attitude.

It would be great if someone had what VW is referring to as their "circular" or whatever the actually full steps are. I'd like to review each part as there's bunch things played with: Subframe dropped, wiring, exhaust, coolant and hoses, etc. I'd like to think most of us here would too.

I agree with that. The dealership has yet to make things right (besides the first mishap) and I am still concerned that after the fix, something else is going to go wrong still. I did receive word from the Service Dept. that as mentioned the coolant tank and hoses were to blame (anyone really could have told me that). It will be ready in 3 days, but I won't be picking it up anytime soon. Funny you mention a survey, my dealer doesn't do any of that after service, but it would be nice if they did.

Have been in the works with VW NA's Manager for the MidWest region on what to do with the car, since it seems to leave me in a consistent rut. I am also becoming increasingly tired of having it towed and repaired often. I wish I could enjoy the car as much as you guys have been.

 

[ddorrer]

UPDATE: Phase 2

So as I previously stated, my Phase 2 experience was good albeit a 8 day repair. VW paid my balance immediatley; direct-deposit. 4 weeks later I would like to report an increase of at least 5 mpg! Yes, I said increase. Most of my daily driving is Interstate roads at speeds 70-80 mph. Prior to Phase 1, my best mpg was 55, averaging 47-50 mpg. Post Phase 1 it dropped to 40-43 mpg; sometimes in the 30s, ugh. Post Phase 2 its back up to 47-50 mpg. No cross-country treks on off-road diesel yet but I will post my mpg soon.

 

[roni024]

Thanks for the efficiency update. My 2015 Passat, which I bought with Phase I already preformed, is also 40-43. It's good to know there may be an improvement coming with Phase II.

 

[jonferns]

I've averaged 45.4 mpg over the past 8500 miles on phase 1. I'm curious to see if that will improve with phase 2, when I finally decide to go in for it.


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[soldierguy]

I was going to postpone a little bit and milk the warranty.

Of course, there is some disagreement about how/if that would work at all.

I was also considering getting it done soon anyways because some are reporting less frequent regenerations and better fuel economy.

I just dont like being forced to do something.

But atleast for a loaner I got a 2018 TSI Passat with Kessy and 23 miles on the ticker.

That right there could entice me to get in sooner rather than later. What distances are people reporting between regens after P2?


My car regens like clockwork every 240 miles for about 11-12 minutes (monitored by SG2). Every regen, I lose about 30 miles until empty on my range indicator, and I average three regens per tank, so I'm losing close to 100 miles of range per tank in regens.

I'm very interested in the regen piece as well. I drive pretty much all highway for my commute, and I'll typically get regens between 230-260 miles. I also monitor regens by a ScanGauge II, with the distance measured from the start of regen until the start of the next regen).

Others have mentioned an increase in fuel economy and shift points a little higher...both of those are good things.

I just had the 30K service done yesterday, and the service manager at the dealership I go to said he didn't have the Phase 2 parts yet. I think I'll get mine done sometime between 50-90K, which for me will mean 4-13 months from now. I might do it sooner rather than later if people start reporting consistently increased distances between regens, consistent reporting on better shifting (i.e. upshifting later in Drive), and consistent reports of better mpg.

 

[Blue_Hen_TDI]

I might do it sooner rather than later if people start reporting consistently increased distances between regens, consistent reporting on better shifting (i.e. upshifting later in Drive), and consistent reports of better mpg.

Same here.

I'm a bit leery of early anecdotes, especially this time of year when mileage naturally increases anyway with warmer temps, warmer tires, and warm-weather fuel.

I can almost guarantee that if Phase 2 had been introduced in autumn we'd have seen unfounded reports of the fix killing mpgs.

But if it's really increasing distance between regens, that alone is a win.

 

[TomB]

Wow! I am kind of glad I did the trade-in. All this work disturbing so many components to do the fix would have drove me insane knowing it. Any failures of other stuff would have been suspect.

I took the money, put 50% down on an Audi S3 Prestige Quattro and my payments are less than my 2015 A3 Prestige TDI. Sure 23 MPG versus my 33 MPG, but it is way more fun too.

I will wait for the return of VW/Audi/Porsche diesels before jumping back into TDI's after 17 years driving them.

 

[soldierguy]

Same here.

I'm a bit leery of early anecdotes, especially this time of year when mileage naturally increases anyway with warmer temps, warmer tires, and warm-weather fuel.

I can almost guarantee that if Phase 2 had been introduced in autumn we'd have seen unfounded reports of the fix killing mpgs.

But if it's really increasing distance between regens, that alone is a win.

My MPG goes down in summer. Increased AC usage, and the headwinds I get on the commute from work to home increase. In winter the headwinds winds aren't bad, maybe 5-10 mph. In summer they are typically 15-25 mph.

 

[Blue_Hen_TDI]

My MPG goes down in summer. Increased AC usage, and the headwinds I get on the commute from work to home increase. In winter the headwinds winds aren't bad, maybe 5-10 mph. In summer they are typically 15-25 mph.

You're an exception. Most of us live where there are four true seasons. I enjoyed my years living in California (other than the stifling and nutso politics and taxation), but the moderate climate certainly boosts wintertime mileage.

 

[BernieC]

Just got mine back Saturday after 8 days in the shop, 4 of which were me out of town. While taking things apart they found a transmission fluid line that had a hairline crack, but VWoA covered the repair of that line free of charge. When I picked up the car, the service advisor noted that VWoA said this wasn't the first time they'd seen this sort of thing during the Phase II work. I also had the car in for 80k mile service at the same time so that also explains why the car was away so long. I, too, notice the improvement in responsiveness at low speed. That lag/hesitation at 15-20 mph (particularly on inclines) seems to have improved greatly.

Likely unrelated to the Phase II fix I'm absolutely delighted that the dealer took care of an alignment/steering issue without me saying a word about it.

 

[luther]

Hello,

I have a 2015 Passat TDI with automatic / DSG transmission purchased new (old stock) in 2017, with phase one completed. No financial incentives, just the prospect of extended warranty. It currently has just over 12K miles. I've recently got the letter from VW for the phase 2 emission recall.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on what would be the best course of actions:
1. If I choose to go ahead and have phase 2 implemented, what do I really gain besides less emissions? Would it do more harm than good? I am reading some folks had very bad experiences, and my local dealers don't look all that familiar with the process and steps involved.
2. Skip phase 2 completely. Would I lose the extended warranty if I choose to drive it the way it is?

Thanks

 

[luther]

I have the answer for the question 2 above
The court settlement brochure says:
"The following pages outline the emissions system updates that are now
available for your Model Year 2015 Volkswagen 2.0L TDI and the
extended emissions warranty coverage that will be provided for vehicles
that receive the modification."

 

[Lightflyer1]

Hello,

I have a 2015 Passat TDI with automatic / DSG transmission purchased new (old stock) in 2017, with phase one completed. No financial incentives, just the prospect of extended warranty. It currently has just over 12K miles. I've recently got the letter from VW for the phase 2 emission recall.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on what would be the best course of actions:
1. If I choose to go ahead and have phase 2 implemented, what do I really gain besides less emissions? Would it do more harm than good? I am reading some folks had very bad experiences, and my local dealers don't look all that familiar with the process and steps involved.
2. Skip phase 2 completely. Would I lose the extended warranty if I choose to drive it the way it is?

Thanks

The only thing that will be done to your car is add a sensor and the pipe needed to install it and some coding changes. I had mine done and it is really no problem or change at all. Do it. At some point later you will need to go back and get the rest of it done (70k miles or so, dpf etc). They completed mine in less than a day with no issues. Your warranty out to 162k miles requires you to get this done. I wouldn't really worry about it at all. For our cars, low mileage stop sale cars, this is the least involved procedure there is.

 

[sohccammer427]

The only thing that will be done to your car is add a sensor and the pipe needed to install it and some coding changes. I had mine done and it is really no problem or change at all. Do it. At some point later you will need to go back and get the rest of it done (70k miles or so, dpf etc). They completed mine in less than a day with no issues. Your warranty out to 162k miles requires you to get this done. I wouldn't really worry about it at all. For our cars, low mileage stop sale cars, this is the least involved procedure there is.

Interesting... So for me, with < 70,000 miles (manual) because the DPF will not be replaced then the removal of the sub frame w/ steering rack to gain access to DPF, that step would not be done? If that's true then it may not be too complex. The DPF replacement seems to be the most labor intensive.
.
If that be the case I may decide to go with P2 (although I may wait a few more months) if better mpg's and less regens keep being reported.
.
Do you get the restitution $$$ if your car only qualifies for Phase2 1.0 as opposed to 2.0 (DPF replacement)?

 

[Lightflyer1]

I have no idea as stop sale cars get zero restitution.

 

[Fixmy59bug]

Interesting... So for me, with < 70,000 miles (manual) because the DPF will not be replaced then the removal of the sub frame w/ steering rack to gain access to DPF, that step would not be done? If that's true then it may not be too complex. The DPF replacement seems to be the most labor intensive.
.
If that be the case I may decide to go with P2 (although I may wait a few more months) if better mpg's and less regens keep being reported.
.
Do you get the restitution $$$ if your car only qualifies for Phase2 1.0 as opposed to 2.0 (DPF replacement)?

You only get restitution if you owned the vehicle before the buyback was announced.

If you bought new AFTER the stop sale, then you are entitled only to the fix and extended warranty.

 

[Mark_J]

I purchased a new 2015 Passat that had phase 1 done before it was sold of course, and have the letter for phase 2 and have been told there is no phase 2 restitution. Which makes sense to me. The extended warranty is worth it to me and never expected any money when I bought the car.

 

[luther]

I stopped at the dealer today for the phase 2 (23Y8).
After they took some pictures, mileage etc, and opened an order with VW, they confirmed that the only thing being installed during this phase is the second NOx sensor and another SW update. They will reschedule me once they received the parts they ordered today.

 

[sohccammer427]

You only get restitution if you owned the vehicle before the buyback was announced.
If you bought new AFTER the stop sale, then you are entitled only to the fix and extended warranty.

I've have an approved claim with VOA and have received the restitution $ for having Phase 1 completed.
.
Now on to Phase 2. With < 70,000 miles on my 6-speed I'll get the 2nd NOX sensor, software fix, but no DPF just yet.
.
If I get what I just described, will I get P2 restitution, or does the entire fix (DPF replacement) have to be completed?

 

[Lightflyer1]

I don't think any one has been down this path yet. You may be one of the first. I would bet they will pay when you get this done sooner rather than later.

 

[bizzle]

My MPG goes down in summer. Increased AC usage, and the headwinds I get on the commute from work to home increase. In winter the headwinds winds aren't bad, maybe 5-10 mph. In summer they are typically 15-25 mph.

Something else is accounting for your mileage differences. Even in San Diego we still get summer and winter fuel mixes. I do not think the refineries make a special California mix we use all year around, although our market is possibly large enough that it could be done.

 

[MichaelB]

Something else is accounting for your mileage differences. Even in San Diego we still get summer and winter fuel mixes. I do not think the refineries make a special California mix we use all year around, although our market is possibly large enough that it could be done.

I could be wrong but I would surmise that Cali distributes winter blend fuel because many long-haul trucks will be going into some very cold areas hauling freight. It would really suck to get into the mountains on the way east and have your fuel gel. Same for freight trains and Amtrak. It is not just about pickup trucks local delivery trucks and the few cars that burn diesel.