2011 jetta tdi - sluggish first gear

[Laureneve]

Hello!
Just yesterday I got my brand new 2011 Jetta TDI highline, 6 speed manual. I will preface this post by saying that I am new, new, new. (In other words, new to this forum, new to TDI/diesel, and fairly new to driving with manual transmission.) Please go easy on me as I have, by no means, the expertise/experience of some of you! I apologize in advance if anything I say sounds stupid.
I have been driving my TDI around a lot for the past day (mostly city driving) and am noticing that it seems to be somewhat sluggish on the pickup in first gear. What I mean by that is that I am having a hard time accelerating up to speed. I can't seem to get much acceleration at all unless I shift to second almost as soon as I can. In first, if I give it more gas, I just end up revving the engine up to 4000rpms and only can get up to 25-30km/hr and not very quickly at that. I don't seem to remember it being like this when I test drove and it definitely isn't the case in the Honda Civic that I have been learning to drive stick on.
I am fully willing to concede that perhaps this is just my driver error and not the fault of the car. Part of the reason I bought this model was to gain more experience and become 100% comfortable driving manual. However, if it is a problem (unlikely on a new car?) I'd like to know. I was pretty sure that the TDI had pretty good torque and right now I feel like I'm crawling away from the intersections!
Any suggestions/advice?
Also, I have noticed a ratting sound that occurs mostly when I am going over bumps. It seems to be coming from the dash as if there is something loose rattling around near the odometer or something. Anyone ever heard of this before?
Thanks for helping a noob!

 

[Laureneve]

No advice? Anyone?
(P.S. Sorry for the cheesy smiley face graphic with the thread. I clicked on it thinking that it was inserting into the body of my message. Silly me!)

 

[tico27464]

When I test drove a manual, it was easy to stall, but when past that point, it had good torque and pickup, I suggest you take it in, in case the clutch is slippinng or something, It migt just be a matter of getting usedd to it. Also, the shift points are much lower on a diesel than most gassers, especially Hondas. I know people tend to bash Hondas, but they do make very fine manuals (autos another story). So it may be just a learning curve, but if you're getting high revs and low power, the clutch could be slippping (bad, very bad). AFA the rattle, can't help ya.

Good luck!

~T

 

[Laureneve]

Thanks for the opinion. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out!
Are there any other signs that I might notice if the clutch is slipping? I have noticed a couple of times when I've been sitting in neutral clutching the engine make some vibrations and a couple of times what felt more like a few shakes but I chalked that up to it being diesel. Is this normal or no?
Not sure how one would qualify this in tangible terms but is there any way to describe how much pickup I should be able to get out of first gear? Should I be able to feel some significant acceleration in first without having to switch to second? Right now it feels like first can do nothing more than basically get the car rolling so I can switch to second.
I will probably take the car in to the dealer today at some point anyway if only because I want to have them check out the rattle. I just want to know what I'm talking about when I get there. I feel a bit embarrassed to bring up the other issue if it really is just a matter of my driving, especially since I am a young-ish female new to manual which seems to make some people already expect me to not know what I'm talking about.
Thanks again.

 

[bigwoode]

Insane that this is happening on a brand new Jetta, wait a minute... I wish I could help you out, since it is a brand new car, I would bring it to the dealership. Most of the time they are used to taking advantage of unknowledgable clients (otherwise they wouldn't be bringing their car for service in the first place). But since this is a new car, they can't really do that. Best of luck!

 

[Laureneve]

Thanks. Just to clarify, is the vibration/occasional shake normal or a sign of a problem?

Normally I hate bringing my cars into dealer for service but, as you said, I figure if there is a problem now they have to just fix it, no questions asked. I'd just like to be able to confidently tell them that there is, in fact, a problem.

 

[Ski in NC]

First gear is only to get you started. It is normal for the engine to hit peak rev's quickly. Get into second and the pull will last longer. Diesels don't rev as high as gasoline engines, so first gear can't "last" as long. Probably nothing wrong with the clutch, etc as long as it pulls strong in other gears.

 

[procupine14]

Right now it feels like first can do nothing more than basically get the car rolling so I can switch to second.

Sounds normal to me. If the clutch were slipping, it would be really obvious I think.

I always just use 1st to get going and shift to second but my car is a little older. Not much has changed in the low gears on the trans IIRC

 

[MayorDJQ]

I don't have any problems getting up to speed in 1st gear. It's true that diesels rev lower, but if you step on it, it should jump nicely.

Have your dealer check it out, or test drive a similarly equipped car to see how it compares to yours.

 

[Fobulous]

First gear is to get you started like other posters mentioned. 2nd gear is where you speed up your vehicle.

Also, you can't really compare other vehicles with manual transmission either because every manufacture is different. Heck, when i was driving my old beat up'96 Mazda 626, i can take off on the 3rd gear if the car is not fully stop (going 5 mph) with my Jetta, it will stall on you.

However, i am not sure about the rattling sound, you might want to have it checked out..

 

[Turbosprezarka]

You could always go to another dealership and test drive the same car pretending to be a buyer. Something doesn't sound right. I agree that 1st gear runs out fast, but it should pull you as hard as 2nd.

Why would 1st gear feel sluggish, but 2nd doesn't? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[DPM]

pretty sure the CR engines limit torque in specific gears.

 

[procupine14]

pretty sure the CR engines limit torque in specific gears.

See, I wondered about this but I don't have one so I couldn't tell you

 

[pipes p]

its hard to have a sure thought about it unless one actually sees it for themselves, one possible scenario is as its getting warmer you may now have the ac on. on my old mk4 manual tdi, if i was not paying attention to what i was doing and let the clutch out as i did without ac on, i would either stall it or cluch would engage at too low of an rpm and lug for a couple of seconds. its a shot in the dark. but as others said, you cannot rev out 1st gear much on diesels, that was one reason on getting dsg. hope it turns out to be nothing. keep us informed how it turns out if you do not mind

 

[MayorDJQ]

Why do people keep talking about stalling? The OP says nothing about stalling, just that 1st gear is sluggish.

On my drive home this afternoon, I pulled onto a main road and gave 1st gear some pedal. 4,000RPM in 1st was 20-25mph (~40kph)and it got there briskly.

Give it a little more go-pedal and see what happens.

The acceleration is definitely conservative in 1st gear, but I doubt there's any torque limiting, as flooring it in 1st gear will chirp the tires. The ESP/ASR may kick in if you're on a wet road.

 

[Laureneve]

Thanks again for all of the advice. I will keep you updated on what happens.

I think what I am going to do is bring it in for service anyway for the rattling noise (that one just seems weird although, luckily, I am pretty sure that it doesn't have anything to do with the engine) and then while I'm there just casually mention that I'm having some trouble getting it up to speed. I told them I was a fairly inexperienced manual driver when I bought it so maybe I can get someone there to show me what to do. They can either help me out or, alternatively, discover that there is a problem.

 

[MayorDJQ]

Do you plan to bring it to the dealer you bought it from? If so, they should have no problem letting you take another 6 speed car for a short drive. You should know within minutes if it's just your car.

 

[tico27464]

I agree w/ others' advice about test-driving another, exactly the same, car--preferably at another dealership if you can. When you go back to the first one (if there is indeed a difference, and you don't find out that it's a characteristic of the car), my advice would be to definitely *not* let on that you are new to driving a diesel or a manual or anything like that. The sad reality is, sexism is alive and well. Best of luck!
~T