2013 TDI Tune exhaust questions

buffa98

Active member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Location
SE PA
TDI
2013 SE DSG White/Cornsilk
Has anyone done a complete delete/tune after the diesel gate warranty expired? If so what delete/ tune and what were the results? The main reason im looking at it is because the adblue system has left me on the side of the road 3 times, All after the "fix" was completed. It was covered under the warranty, but I drive way too much not to trust the car.
 

AverageAndy

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2020
Location
Phoenix, AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2013 Golf TDI 6MT, 2013 Jetta TDI 6MT (R.I.P.)
Although I have not done this yet, I have looked into it and the two most popular options I have found are a Kerma TDI tune or a Rawtec delete and stage 2 Malone tune. If you have the means, love the car, don't have to pass emissions and plan to keep it I would spend the money to delete/tune.
 

buffa98

Active member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Location
SE PA
TDI
2013 SE DSG White/Cornsilk
Although I have not done this yet, I have looked into it and the two most popular options I have found are a Kerma TDI tune or a Rawtec delete and stage 2 Malone tune. If you have the means, love the car, don't have to pass emissions and plan to keep it I would spend the money to delete/tune.
THats kind of where i'm at, I want to hear from people that have actually done it, and what their results were.
 

Zambee500

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Location
Atlanta, GA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS, 2014 NMS Passat TDI SEL Premium
Following.

I have about 65k and 2 years remaining on emissions warranty and trying to weigh the warranty coverage for HPFP and turbo issues, versus solving the other problems with AdBlue and pesky DPF/regen issues.

Seems like it is close to $2k for delete and a tune to go above Stage 0.5 for our cars if equipped with DSG. At least Malone also requires the DSG to be tuned to go to Stage 2. Not sure if other tuners also require it, but I have a Malone tuner locally and I love the Malone tune on my 2005 B5.5 TDI.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Kerma doesn't touch emissions stuff so if less headaches are your goal, Malone is the best bet.

Also for DEF issues, I don't think you need to do full hardware deletes, a simple tune with DEF delete will just let the car ignore the system. Its DPF/EGR deletes that will require hardware.
 

Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
I had mine done 1 year ago on my 2013 passat at 160k miles... been 40,000 miles since with zero issues. Snagged a rawtek system when they had crazy deals right during covid. I actually used Jeef at rocketchip for the tune (malone is what everyone talks about but Jeff did all my A4 and have liked all his tunes). Slightly increased my MPG and greatly increased the power. Warranties suck if it still leaves you stranded...
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
I had mine done 1 year ago on my 2013 passat at 160k miles... been 40,000 miles since with zero issues. Snagged a rawtek system when they had crazy deals right during covid. I actually used Jeef at rocketchip for the tune (malone is what everyone talks about but Jeff did all my A4 and have liked all his tunes). Slightly increased my MPG and greatly increased the power. Warranties suck if it still leaves you stranded...
It sucks being stranded whether you have a warranty or not. Has nothing to do with a warranty.
 

Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
It sucks being stranded whether you have a warranty or not. Has nothing to do with a warranty.
I completely agree... however its not an either-or situation. Keep warranty that leaves you with failure prone parts and stranded or delete the crap that leaves you stranded... problem solved
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
You can have trouble with the emissions system the same as you can with any other part of the car. Yes it isn't an either or situation. You can leave them in until they start having issues that aren't covered or you aren't willing to let them fix. Then maybe a delete. Until then I will just keep driving the very nice running Beetle I bought. No point in deleting something that is working just fine. Rip yours out if you want to I guess.
 

Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
Again already did and was the best decision ever... I have no issue with people who want to leave things intact but as the original poster stated emissions components have left him stranded multiple times. I drive 30-40k miles a year, i have no desire to be stuck in some rural area with limited options.

So many of the issues on these boards are due to an emissions system that was, at best ok, then made worse by the fix. Then the "fix" created problems that leaked over into failure of other portions of the system (heater cores being a perfect example). Add to that dealing with dealers and service departments where customer service is a challenge AND delay and lack of available parts to fix the system. Lots of people dont have time to deal with that.

-Zambee, i responded to your PM, best of luck to you....
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
A lot of these issues could be avoided if they actually knew something about the car they purchased (not necessarily the OP). the regen process needs to complete and it seems from my reading here there is a huge group of those who know nothing about it, even what oil to use (even covered in the manual, albeit not in depth, for regens). Deleting for most is just the easy way out and costly as well. Just my opinion. I have had no issues on my 2013 Passat tdi or the 2015 Beetle tdi. I also use the VAGDPF app and monitor things. It seems those that have regular successful regens do much better than those without a clue. My 2006 Jetta was tuned and straight piped and so was one of the ALH engined Jettas I owned and a 2003 Beetle tdi. Doing a delete isn't new to me but I see no reason now to delete all of this stuff if it is working fine. "IF" I have an issue that can't be resolved maybe then I would change my mind. After warranty it may be cheaper to tune and delete than repair, but that is far off for me at this point. In other words it is a costly thing to do only as a preventive measure. It may make some sense if you have to repair out of your pocket. We will just have to disagree about this. Fortunately we are all free to make our own choices!
 
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Lex Tdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Location
Lexington ky
TDI
2013 Passat
Yeah i dont usually pick on someone's opinion but i just dont really understand the thought process. It will cost you time (break downs, headaches, dealing with service techs, getting loaner cars, going back and forth to the dealer) and aggravation now AND then time and money later. Or your can just you can just solve it all with the same amount of money now and be done with it. Both people who posted are having issues with the emissions, it has nothing to do with deleting being a "preventative measure." The entire thread is about them and their cars... not your car.
-Yes deleting is just the easy way out.. but it is not more costly if you plan on keeping the car for a long time, because you wont be paying to keep the emissions in place after the warranty is gone (if you've seen what the prices are for any emissions fix you WILL delete when the warranty is gone, its cheaper to delete and tune).

In addition you will be saving fuel money... for me that equals about 125 gal (getting 4 mpg higher based on fuelly data) per year.

-The amount of regens and length of regens was much worse after the fix.... i was driving 200-300 miles a few different times per week pre-delete and i was astounded how often i finished a long trip with a regen going, that never happened pre-fix
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
. I have had no issues on my 2013 Passat tdi or the 2015 Beetle tdi. I also use the VAGDPF app and monitor things. It seems those that have regular successful regens do much better than those without a clue. My 2006 Jetta was tuned and straight piped and so was one of the ALH engined Jettas I owned and a 2003 Beetle tdi. Doing a delete isn't new to me but I see no reason now to delete all of this stuff if it is working fine. "IF" I have an issue that can't be resolved maybe then I would change my mind. After warranty it may be cheaper to tune and delete than repair, but that is far off for me at this
While I agree with you about leave a working system alone I'm scratching my head as to what regens have to do with the SCR system which will lock out the ECU from starting the car? the SCR system has about 4-6 sensors/parts that if one fails most likely will result in a no start due to an emissions interlock. No matter how much you monitor each regen and never interrupt a regen, it won't prevent an issue popping up with the SCR system
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
From my reading the dealers have been fairly good at replacing this whole unit when there is an issue. Usually has to do with the def tank heater system. I had this issue and took it in and everything was replaced under warranty. No issues with taking it in and having it done as it set a check engine light but didn't strand me as I was prompt getting it in. Never really heard of the sensors being any kind of a common issue.
 

packmule97

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2021
Location
texas
TDI
mk6 golf
Mines been deleted for a little over a year, I used darkside for the dp, its 3" turbo back, mec evo egr+asv delete, intake flaps removed and my tuning is done by mrtuning (malone tune had issues that they blamed on me which martin fixed). The car was a night and day difference and gets better fuel economy, if you can get away with the legality of it all then I highly recommend it. I'm from Texas, and stationed in North Carolina so I'm not given any issue at the moment. Any other questions feel free to pm me, I've deleted several buddies mk6 and mk7 tdi's
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Mines been deleted for a little over a year, I used darkside for the dp, its 3" turbo back, mec evo egr+asv delete, intake flaps removed and my tuning is done by mrtuning (malone tune had issues that they blamed on me which martin fixed). The car was a night and day difference and gets better fuel economy, if you can get away with the legality of it all then I highly recommend it. I'm from Texas, and stationed in North Carolina so I'm not given any issue at the moment. Any other questions feel free to pm me, I've deleted several buddies mk6 and mk7 tdi's
Ft. Bragg by chance?
 

buffa98

Active member
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Location
SE PA
TDI
2013 SE DSG White/Cornsilk
First off thank everyone for your replys and info/opinions. I will let everyone know what route I take.
 

deltamed

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Location
Utah
TDI
'04 Jetta TDI
Yeah i dont usually pick on someone's opinion but i just dont really understand the thought process. It will cost you time (break downs, headaches, dealing with service techs, getting loaner cars, going back and forth to the dealer) and aggravation now AND then time and money later. Or your can just you can just solve it all with the same amount of money now and be done with it. Both people who posted are having issues with the emissions, it has nothing to do with deleting being a "preventative measure." The entire thread is about them and their cars... not your car.
-Yes deleting is just the easy way out.. but it is not more costly if you plan on keeping the car for a long time, because you wont be paying to keep the emissions in place after the warranty is gone (if you've seen what the prices are for any emissions fix you WILL delete when the warranty is gone, its cheaper to delete and tune).

In addition you will be saving fuel money... for me that equals about 125 gal (getting 4 mpg higher based on fuelly data) per year.

-The amount of regens and length of regens was much worse after the fix.... i was driving 200-300 miles a few different times per week pre-delete and i was astounded how often i finished a long trip with a regen going, that never happened pre-fix
AMEN!
 
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