2013 Touareg TDI - Reliability / Problem Areas

SUPERSTITION

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2020
Location
Halifax, NS, Canada
TDI
2015 Golf Sportwagen
I am looking at purchasing a 2013 T'reg Exec Line with towing pkg with 275,000km (160,000 miles). Not sure when the emissions were done. I am looking at this particular vehicle for light towing in my business and commuting 75% Rural/hiway 25% city. Vehicle is pristine condition in and out.

Simple Questions:
  1. Are these T'regs reliable (overall and powertrain)?
  2. Real world efficiency (running around 110KPH or 68mph)
  3. Is there an optimal highway speed for efficiency when not towing?
  4. What are the problem areas and potential cost of replacement? ($$, $$$, oh$hit)

no need to have lengthy answers

I have a 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI 6-Speed, and I love it. It has about 255,000kms. purchased at 207,000Kms and zero repairs outside of planned maintenance.
Thanks in advance,
 

mannytranny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 14, 2003
Location
CA
TDI
02 Jetta (sold, such a great car) '16 Touareg
Would be a good idea to see what work has been done on the specimen that you're looking at. It may still be under partial warranty from the dieselgate ordeal. Maintenance records would be very important as well.

Problem areas: emissions control stuff. DPF and AdBlue systems are problematic. Made worse by the 'fix.' You can look into deleting these systems if you wish, thus making the car much more reliable. Other potential problems include the fuel pump and the timing chains. How does it sounds upon cold start? Do you hear a rattle for 1-3 seconds after startup? Fuel pump is an issue, you would want to see religious fuel filter change records. Even then at 160k you may wish to replace it preventatively as it can be extraordinarily expensive to repair if it sends shrapnel through the entire injection system as it fails. Thats the worst of it. Its an expensive vehicle and any repairs would be expensive as well.

That being said, it is a very high quality car in terms of materials, feel, etc. They get good mileage for what they are. I'd say at 68 you would be able to get very near 28-30 mpg. Faster and the mileage drops. I usually see 25-26 at 78 mph on long trips.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
#4 - oh$hit (especially if you don't do your own wrenching)
Look for records of transmission\transfer case\diff oil services at that age.... especially if you want to tow with it.
Price out brakes and tires for it or ensure that what it comes with still have tons of life in it.
Make sure you have VCDS and are comfortable in using it.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
They are never as economical as the cars, and there are certainly less costly SUVs to own. They run and drive pretty nice, though. Tires and brakes are typically pretty short lived. And not cheap.
 

showdown 42

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
naples,FL
TDI
2016 TDI touareg
My 2012 TREG TDI was nearly perfect through 60K miles,when I traded it due to diesel gate for a 2016 TDI. The only issue I had was the AD blue heater which was warrantied under the diesel fiasco. I did buy a 10yr warranty which gave me real comfort. It was about $2500 when new. There a few small issues like the tailgate lift struts that had an issue,but were covered by the extended warranty.

I obviously liked my Touareg,because I got another. I do light towing a boat on a regular basis.
 

50harleyrider

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Location
charleston,wv
TDI
2005 B5.5 TDI/geared BSM, BV43A turbo,stage 2 TDTUNING. 2005 5sp manual passat tdi stage 2 tdtuning,BSM delete. 2015 Passat TDI 6sp manual.
I have a chance to get a 2010 Q7 Audi TDI but owner says there is some rattling going on most likely chain/tensioners. Is this a tough fix and are the kits available? 200k miles on it.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Timing chains (there are four of them) job on the CATA engine is over 20 hours labor. Engine/trans drops out the bottom, transmission gets removed from back of engine, then you dig into the chainfail.
 

Yai

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Location
Greater Toronto Area
TDI
2012 Golf TDI, 2014 Touareg- R Line
Ultra reliable and just maintenance of oil change, fuel filter and brakes. I love mine and has been super solid for 3 years, as I got mine used, just with 19k km though. It has 80k km now.

My local VW dealership rarely gets any TDi Touaregs for repair, from what service advisor mentions, and I have pretty good relations as they’ve done some maintenance and warranty work on both my TDI golf and Treg.

Cheers
Ron
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
80k is a little different than the 275k the OP is after, so there will be more wear & tear to deal with, and it will all be out of warranty by now......
If you are comfortable doing your own wrenching, I say go for it.... if you have to get serviced at the dealer, it can get costly quite fast.
 

Yai

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Location
Greater Toronto Area
TDI
2012 Golf TDI, 2014 Touareg- R Line
80k is a little different than the 275k the OP is after, so there will be more wear & tear to deal with, and it will all be out of warranty by now......
If you are comfortable doing your own wrenching, I say go for it.... if you have to get serviced at the dealer, it can get costly quite fast.
Yes clearly there is a difference between 80k and 250k km. The simplest way I’d look at it is, look at all the high mileage TDI Touaregs. He asked how reliable these Touaregs are, I gave my experience and opinion and I plan on keeping mine past 300k+
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline
Lots of k on the clock doesn't always directly translate to cheap reliability.
I agree that there are plenty of specimens which have racked up good numbers, however it's hard to know just how big of a money pit they have been during their lifetime. For owners like you and I, who are still covered by the fix warranty, we are still relying on the 10y\193k to cover "most" of what might crap out.... that makes a massive difference.

At the clock reading that the OP has, he needs to worry about all sorts of suspension\drivetrain\powertrain "regular wear\tear" on top of all the stuff you and I don't need to stress about.

Realistically, parts aren't cheap, and if your mechanic\shop are butchers, driving a Touareg will put big dents in your wallet.

Back to OP's questions:
Simple Questions:
  1. Are these T'regs reliable (overall and powertrain)?
  2. Real world efficiency (running around 110KPH or 68mph)
  3. Is there an optimal highway speed for efficiency when not towing?
  4. What are the problem areas and potential cost of replacement? ($$, $$$, oh$hit)
1 - As a generic statement, yes. They were after all, a high end offering in VWs lineup.
2 - Everyone's results will vary, but it should be hard to be beat by anything comparable. The X5d is about the only similar vehicle that can challenge it.
3 - I believe the best results I've had were on a 700km trip with the cruise set at 120kph. (KW to Montreal, all 401 ~7L/100km avg on the cluster). I've also done a 4k round trip across Ontario (KW to Kenora and back), which consisted of a lot more elevation and speed changes and netted 8.1L avg on the same readout). My 40k ownership lifetime average is high 9s, low 10s and includes everything from said trips, to towing, to regular city use.
4 - See post #3
 

Yai

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Location
Greater Toronto Area
TDI
2012 Golf TDI, 2014 Touareg- R Line
Lots of k on the clock doesn't always directly translate to cheap reliability.
I agree that there are plenty of specimens which have racked up good numbers, however it's hard to know just how big of a money pit they have been during their lifetime. For owners like you and I, who are still covered by the fix warranty, we are still relying on the 10y\193k to cover "most" of what might crap out.... that makes a massive difference.

At the clock reading that the OP has, he needs to worry about all sorts of suspension\drivetrain\powertrain "regular wear\tear" on top of all the stuff you and I don't need to stress about.

Realistically, parts aren't cheap, and if your mechanic\shop are butchers, driving a Touareg will put big dents in your wallet.

Back to OP's questions:

1 - As a generic statement, yes. They were after all, a high end offering in VWs lineup.
2 - Everyone's results will vary, but it should be hard to be beat by anything comparable. The X5d is about the only similar vehicle that can challenge it.
3 - I believe the best results I've had were on a 700km trip with the cruise set at 120kph. (KW to Montreal, all 401 ~7L/100km avg on the cluster). I've also done a 4k round trip across Ontario (KW to Kenora and back), which consisted of a lot more elevation and speed changes and netted 8.1L avg on the same readout). My 40k ownership lifetime average is high 9s, low 10s and includes everything from said trips, to towing, to regular city use.
4 - See post #3
Agreed. I’m assuming he would be getting a heck of a deal for something that high in mileage or I’d look to spend more on a lower mileage, to take advantage of the dieselgate warranty. And, def helps to be able to do own work on general maintenance on wear and tear item.

cheers,
Rom
 
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