'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

[timtall1]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

I have an 04 jetta tdi that is experiencing a rough idle similar to other posts i have read. A four pulse, fore and aft vibration (visible engine movement) easily felt through the seat of the car. It only seems to happen when the car is up to operating temperature. The other issue, which i have not read about is a higher rev hesitation that is harder to reproduce. It happens at about 2500 rpm in 5th most consistently,but happens in 3rd and 4th as well. As i accelerate to about 115km/h and begin to lift of the throttle slowly all is normal, when the throttle is just about closed there is a stutter that is easily felt through the seat and driveline. I wouldn't call it a hesitation exactly because at this point i'm not trying to accelerate, just settle in to a power settting. It only happens when gently closing the throttle, if i just pull my foot off the pedal all is well. Otherwise the car runs fine. I also have an 03 golf tdi for comparison, the 04 has noticeably more power even though it is stil at less than 1000kms. The 03 didn't reach max power and fuel efficiency until at least 5000kms.

I contacted my dealer today and they suggested waiting until at least 1500 kms before bringing it in. Anybody out there with similar issues or advice.

 

[Arthur]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

I wouldn't bother taking it in for these items. Mine does the idle stumble, but it seems to be less using the amsoil cetane additive. The higher speed issue you have experienced - I think it happened to me b4 too. But no where near as frequent as the idle stumble. Sometimes on cold starts I have a brief dead pedal too, as in I start the engine, wait around 45 seconds to a minutes. Put it in gear and leave the pedal seems to have delayed reactions.

I'm gonna leave it all be. Unless my engine is dragging on the road off its mounts I won't be taking it to a dealership. Not unless I know a tech working at one. Besides these are not issues worth concerning too much about - if these are "problems"? you have no idea what we are going through with our Ford 6.0L powerstroke /images/graemlins/mad.gif That truck has more engine issues than you could conceive. You'll be at a red light, with your foot on the brake. Suddenly the engine rpms go up an extra 500 or so all by itself. With 560 lb-ft of torque you find yourself using two feet to hold the brake. Took it to the dealer as per the recall letter concerning these problems - get it back even more messed up /images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Nothing has changed in the past 10 years or so since the last time I took a car to the dealer for anything. I have even paid for parts and done work within warranty coverage for the sake of not going to the dealer.

 

[tdipdphd]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

it will be interesting how the rough idle plays out. another 04 pd owner said his EGR valve was dirty and needed to be cleaned out - all under 1600 miles. however, he is away and hasn't driven the car after the valve has been cleaned so there is no feedback on whether the car still rough idles or not.

i am around 1380 miles. but i have always had the rough idle since purchase (and even on the test driver......) so i thought it was a normal behavior characteristic.

however, as someone else pointed out, not all 04 pd owners experience this.

so what makes it random?

some rough idle 04 pd owners use additives and some don't (I haven't put any in the car at all).

again, another post pointed out that a TSB was on its way specifically for this issue.

i was told to keep an eye on it for now. but now i am curious to know if the EGR valve is dirty and since i am clueless about what it does and where it is, I wonder if it is even easy to take a look at it from opening the hood.

 

[Cummins Driver]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

VW bought back my 04 5 spd Wagon yesterday. When started, it belched a cloud of smoke worse than a semi on a cold morning for the first 30 seconds. It also ran very rough the first minute or so. When it <font color="red">warmed up</font> and under a light load, like what simply driving 60 MPH would place on the engine, it would miss randomly at about 2,000 - 2,400 RPM. Made for an interesting 55-60 MPH trip down the highway..... /images/graemlins/mad.gif

I am in the throes of deciding whether to buy another VW diesel (my 4th) or do something else. We have 4 diesel engines performing various kinds of work on our farm. I don't think the PD engine is a flawed design or the new technology is fundamentally bad. Rather, its my opinion the problem lies in meeting the new junk science emission regulations which the engine tuning has to accommodate. I have to give big kudos to VW for QUICKLY stepping up to the Customer Satisfaction plate! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

A little digging would probably reveal that emissions/tuning issues are behind the delayed the entry of the Passat PD.

Funny, the '03 and below TDI's were very clean, IMHO and were overall less a polluter than the fleets of gas powered SUV's that get 10MPG we all see running around. After all, which vehicle puts more pollution in the air to drive say.... 100 miles? A vehicle which must burn 10 gallons of gasoline or one that burns 2 gallons of diesel? Whoops, am guilty of "preaching to the choir," sorry.

One factor that strongly influences my decision is whether someone will offer a chip fairly soon. I expect that will largely satisfy the various problems I have seen discussed in the PD Forum.

When I bought my Dodge/Cummins there were some issues with the "new" 24 valve 6B5.9. The same block is used in many applications including Motor Homes. I had the engine programming changed to the 275 HP Motor Home spec. Went from what recall was the stock 245HP and 460ft pounds of torque to 275 HP and 717ft lbs torque. (I have a manual xmission, the torque number would kill an automatic).

I have heard of the massive problems Ford is having with the 6.0. Haven't heard of a fix and know in many cases they have been simply bought back here in the US. Strange, the 7.3 was fairly stable and solid even though it was built around a block that began life as a gasser (albiet a real brute of a gas engine) before International became Navistar.

To sum up, I believe the PD is a solid design and a new chip will fix the various issues. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[timtall1]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

The car goes to the dealer on thursday so hopefully something positive happens. The car is totally driveable but a brand new car should not have issues such as this ignored because the dealers can be crappy. Its up to people who are having problems to keep the issue front and center with the dealers.

If everybody was having the same problems then i would suspect a major enginering flaw but this is not the case.

Consensus on this forum leads me to believe the EGR is to blame. Fingers crossed. Can this be bypassed? Fault codes? Decreased fuel economy or power? I dont have to meet air care inspections where i live so no problem there.

Are any european owners experiencing this same problem?
Are the euro spec engines significantly different than US/Canadian versons?

 

[Thunderstruck]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

717 ft lbs of torque? In a pickup truck? Bet you could tow a dozen of my car with those numbers.

 

[NHTDI]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

TimTall1
You should use a CETANE BOOST to improve the fuel quality.
The PD's need around 50 for a cetane #. Most diesel fuel is in the range of 42-45 cetane. This could be a simple fix to your problem.
I've used Stanadyne Performance Formula for 3 yrs now in every tank. Walmart carries Power Service Cetane booster. There is also an Amsoil product, and others on the web.
Do a google search if your interested in locating a product.

 

[Cummins Driver]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

Yep, 717 is from the dyno-test. With no load, I get around 22-23mpg /images/graemlins/grin.gif @a 60mph and its a dualie at that.

 

[Cummins Driver]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

After giving the matter some thought, I made the decision to go with another TDI instead of selecting another brand of car or going to a gasser. All of my TDI have been great cars and have delivered excellent performance, economy and value. Add to that, VW quickly intervened on my other TDI which has a failure well beyond the scope of what I have seen discussed here.

The company took ownership of my problem and satisfied me as a customer. /images/graemlins/grin.gif I now have identical TDI 5 Speed Wagon save for this one has ESP. I drove it extensively while at the dealer and experienced no engine miss, excessive smoke, hesitation, etc... hot or cold. Still, the dealer wants me to put 200 miles on the vehicle so all of us have a reasonable level of assurance the failure will not occur in this vehicle also.

You can bet that VW is going to come up with a service bulletin or Campaign to at least mitigate or possibly fully correct any problems the Emission Police /images/graemlins/mad.gif have imposed on the car. If there is no bulletin/fix, its <font color="red">chip time</font> when one becomes available.

Its been a great relationship with VW so far, why change? /images/graemlins/wink.gif Add to that, while I was at the dealer, two couples came down from Michigan and Ohio respectively to pick up their TDI's. Thats a long trip to make to a car dealer in southern VA for an automobile....

 

[SilverTDIPDJetta]

\'04 tdi pd rough idle/hesitaton

I experienced this for the first time tonight. The engine was fully warmed up, I was idling in Park, waiting for someone, and I felt it in the seat, the car was shaking just as everyone described here. Funny thing, I put it in D and moved forward a few feet, then put it back in Park, no more rough idle. Drove home (3 miles), idled it again in Park, smooth as normal. I have 1,050 miles on the 04 PD. I use Power Service with every tank so far. /images/graemlins/confused.gif