twiggg
New member
Hey all, so I bought my 2011 JSW TDI maybe 4 years ago and have been absolutely loving it. No mods other than wheels, tires, and headunit and have been careful about never putting more than B20 in it. However very recently it seems every diesel pump within 5 miles of me in southwestern Los Angeles has swapped to only pump B50-B99 (I'm sure there are some here and there that are B20 but I don't have time to drive to every pump in LA traffic and trial and error which ones have <B20).
From what I've read the main concern with high bio-diesel concentrations is the oil dilution from regen injections, transitioning to biodiesel causing all the crud in lines suddenly cleaning and making there way into the filter (i.e. replace the filter when transitioning), and pre-mature DPF failures from regen. It seems all the lubricity discussions have pretty solidly landed on Bio being beneficial from that perspective and the remaining downsides are about the energy density (potentially lower HP and MPG but sounds like most accounts are in the noise of driving habits)
I had my HPFP fail about 10k miles ago at 65k (totally covered by my dealer, no questions asked, in and out in a few days from tow truck arriving at the dealer to driving home after the repair - was honestly a great experience) and I've still got a few years on my extended warranty post-fix so I'm trying to prevent voiding my warranty. I have struggled to find any information about >B20 usage on MK6 TDI's (CR JAA).
I talked with both my dealer about the recent change in what is available at the pump and they said their technicians just submit diesel testing straight to VWofA warranty folks for claim approval. I called VWofA to see if there had been any warranty language tweaks for California similar to other states with mandated higher Bio percentages and after a while on hold they said "You are approved to use any biodiesel in your 2011 TDI due to recent research into improved quality of biodiesel in North America" I asked if I could get that in writing and they said I would have to talk with my dealer, but again the dealer pointed me to them so I clarified so I am ok to put more than B5 in my car. She read back to the 5% biodiesel and I made she she understood that as written is says less than 5% not MORE than 5% and she again said "Yes any biodiesel is acceptable in your vehicle".
Not entirely sure what to make of all this and curious to hear from folks in the community. I think my plan is to just take the plunge and use B99, replace my filter, keep an eye on oil level and go from there. I am mechanically savy and while the warranty is awesome value, it will be up relatively soon and don't mind replacing my own filters/oil/etc. more often if it lets me keep driving this great car. My only other option it seems would be to sell the car because I can't refuel anywhere local to me.
From what I've read the main concern with high bio-diesel concentrations is the oil dilution from regen injections, transitioning to biodiesel causing all the crud in lines suddenly cleaning and making there way into the filter (i.e. replace the filter when transitioning), and pre-mature DPF failures from regen. It seems all the lubricity discussions have pretty solidly landed on Bio being beneficial from that perspective and the remaining downsides are about the energy density (potentially lower HP and MPG but sounds like most accounts are in the noise of driving habits)
I had my HPFP fail about 10k miles ago at 65k (totally covered by my dealer, no questions asked, in and out in a few days from tow truck arriving at the dealer to driving home after the repair - was honestly a great experience) and I've still got a few years on my extended warranty post-fix so I'm trying to prevent voiding my warranty. I have struggled to find any information about >B20 usage on MK6 TDI's (CR JAA).
I talked with both my dealer about the recent change in what is available at the pump and they said their technicians just submit diesel testing straight to VWofA warranty folks for claim approval. I called VWofA to see if there had been any warranty language tweaks for California similar to other states with mandated higher Bio percentages and after a while on hold they said "You are approved to use any biodiesel in your 2011 TDI due to recent research into improved quality of biodiesel in North America" I asked if I could get that in writing and they said I would have to talk with my dealer, but again the dealer pointed me to them so I clarified so I am ok to put more than B5 in my car. She read back to the 5% biodiesel and I made she she understood that as written is says less than 5% not MORE than 5% and she again said "Yes any biodiesel is acceptable in your vehicle".
Not entirely sure what to make of all this and curious to hear from folks in the community. I think my plan is to just take the plunge and use B99, replace my filter, keep an eye on oil level and go from there. I am mechanically savy and while the warranty is awesome value, it will be up relatively soon and don't mind replacing my own filters/oil/etc. more often if it lets me keep driving this great car. My only other option it seems would be to sell the car because I can't refuel anywhere local to me.
