Dealer requires engine flush???

jbrone

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Location
Ohio
TDI
R.I.P.: '98 Jetta TDI
Was talking TDI trash yesterday, and a person said the only thing they dislike about their TDI is the expensive engine flush the dealer requires every 35,000 miles to keep the warranty valid. This person is getting oil changes at the dealer with "certified" oil, "definitely" synthetic. Car is I think a 2003 Golf.

Huh?

Does anyone else know about this, and is it normal? I just dropped my jaw and said nothing, but it sounds like a "stealership" tactic.
 

EatsOil

Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Location
Pompano, Florida
TDI
2003 Golf GL 2dr
I was also wondering when to change engine coolant. I can't find any info in the owners manual. Is G12 suppose to be 100,000 mile coolant?
The GM DEX cool red coolant was suppose to be 100,000 mile coolant and that turned out to be a disaster. It totaly broke down and turned into sluge before 50k miles. My tdi has 65k on it and the coolant still looks fine.

Bruce.
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
Bruce- the issue of G12 being good for the lifetime of the car has been discussed at length. I've never heard of anyone claiming the coolant had failed them, no matter the mileage on the car.

Generally speaking, when the water pump is replaced every 100K mi, most of the coolant gets replaced anyways. I wouldn't bother replacing it before then.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Change the G12 coolant when the water pump gets changed at every timing belt interval. Otherwise, DO NOT touch it. It is not the exact same as Dex Cool (Dex has been reformulated 7 times since its first use in '96, and it does have many similarities to G12 it is still not 100% the same, and from what I have seen G12 is not at all problematic like Dex was/is).

That dealer with the flush is likely pushing BG services, most of which are of the "snake oil" variety. That dealer is just being dishonest, plain and simple. The motor flush is not really a bad thing, but it is not really necessary if the car is maintained properly and it is certainly a lie to say it needs to be done to maintain any warranty...in fact the VAG owner's manual specifically states to NOT do any such things with additives in the oil! :rolleyes:
 

Lex4TDI4Life

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
NorCal
TDI
2001 Golf-Ute TDI GLS 5spd Manual
VW Diesel Flush - Isn't this discontinued?

Not sure if this is the same procedure, but:

My buddy was working as a parts guy at the local VW dealership in '05/'06. He told me they could do some sort of flush/clean/diesel whatchamawhozit to my engine and that they would love to try my car as a free test as they had never done it before. Before it had a chance to happen, VW discontinued the chemical/procedure as it was detrimental to the engine. Does anybody know anything about this and is it actually possible that some stealerships are still trying to do this?
 

meganuke

TDIClub Contributor, Vendor
Joined
Mar 6, 2003
Location
VA/CT
TDI
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Sounds like the BG stuff for cleaning the intake and turbo without removing it from the car.
 

Kayakkermit

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2005
Location
Ontario
TDI
Jetta TDI, 2002, Silver
now why is it that the first thought that crossed my mind when I read the thread title was "there's a lot of dealers that should be flushed" ? :D
 

tditom

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Location
Jackson, MI
TDI
formerly: 2001 Golf GL, '97 Passat (RIP) '98 NB, '05 B5 sedan
tditom said:
It is definitely not normal. It is BS.
Actually it is normal for the dealership to try to get you to pay for unneeded service.
 

MikeS_18

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Location
Bow, NH
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, '13 Passat SE, '64 Ford Econoline
is it something that they do to the car, or does he have to go in and bend over and they do it to him? eitherway, same result...
 
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scurvy

Good Ol' Boy
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Location
Chicago IL USA
TDI
2006 Golf
Lex4TDI4Life said:
My buddy was working as a parts guy at the local VW dealership in '05/'06. He told me they could do some sort of flush/clean/diesel whatchamawhozit to my engine and that they would love to try my car as a free test as they had never done it before. Before it had a chance to happen, VW discontinued the chemical/procedure as it was detrimental to the engine. Does anybody know anything about this and is it actually possible that some stealerships are still trying to do this?
I concur with meganuke, it sounds awfully similar the BG Intake Clean process. Had a nasty habit of hydrolocking TDIs or causing runaway conditions, both of which typically led to the owner getting a new engine on VW's dime. Allegedly it works great on gassers, but not on the high compression ratio diesels.

The next time a stealership says that you "must" have a certain procedure done by them (and them only) to keep your warranty intact, pull out your owner's manual and ask them to show you where it states as such, or to give you a copy of the official TSB from VWoA.

scurvy
 

Fortuna Wolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Location
Wilmington, NC
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI Auto Sedan
The BG intake flush was created specifically for the intake clogging on diesels, and if done improperly (which I hear was easy to do) it would make chunks break off and jam valves or hydrolock the engine (whoops). This is probably more some snake oil engine thing, which if you use the proper oil there won't be anything to clean out...
 

mrGutWrench

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 29, 2002
Location
Carrboro, NC
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, 5-speed, 563K Miles (July '23)
scurvy said:
(snip) The next time a stealership says that you "must" have a certain procedure done by them (and them only) to keep your warranty intact, pull out your owner's manual and ask them to show you where it states as such, or to give you a copy of the official TSB from VWoA. scurvy
__. I'd also pull out a copy of the Moss-Magnusson Warranty Act with the "tie-in to keep warranty in force" wording (i.e. the wording that says that what they're doing is illegal) and ask them if they prefer to refund the money that you've ever paid them for that or if they would like for you to request an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
 

chrisfiat

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Location
farmington nh
TDI
97 jetta
all of this dealer BS could be put to an end if owners would just do there part and READ there owners manual and contact there parent company if they have any questions about there dealers advice,...............but lac of education or failure to use a little common sence makes a lot of money for a lot of people
 

Matthew_S

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Location
Renton/Redmond, WA
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS galactic blue
Envirolution machines are popular with dealers. They work pretty well, unfortunately what they do is entirely unnecessary in my opinion. Dealers like them because a medium size dealer with an aggressive sales bonus program for the service writers and techs can net six figure annual profits with one or two of those machines.

http://www.envirolution.com/
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The dealers I have been at that kind of stuff was sorta pushed on you by management. BG, MOC, etc. all the same, cash cow. While they do have some products that work well when they are actually needed, the "prevention" side of things can get a little bloated.

If you for whatever reason are taking your car to a dealer for service, just bring your owner's manual maintenance schedule with you, and simply point out specifically that you just want those items listed performed.
 

DeliveryValve

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
Location
Western US
TDI
Passat GLS Wagon
40K service Interval

Hey Guys.

When I did my 40K service interval, the dealership automatically flush my oil engine with this BG stuff and if I remember correctly the service guy told me it was a high tech process. I just listened and shrugged at the time. Do you guys think it was just a matter of putting in a can of BG cleaner and drain the oil? If so, are they able to get it all out after flushing it? Now that I am actively reading stuff here on this forum, I am wondering if there is a possiblity that is flush could damage my fragile PD cam.

Other question I have is regarding the coolant as posted earlier in this thread. If this is a lifetime coolant, why did they flush and replaced the coolant as part of the 40k service? And if they go by that rule, why don't they just go and change out the transmission fluid. With all the posting on the net, the transmission fluid needs it at that time.

Thanks

Also
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
They did both of those things so they could charge you more money.

Consider that when the ORIGINAL coolant came out of my 99.5 at ~160,000 miles for the install of a coolant heater, it was still clear. No sludge, no floaties. (the previous dealership timing belt changed had not included a new water pump).

The oil flush isn't required either, but I wouldn't worry about it damaging the engine. The PD cam isn't fragile, it's just under a lot of stress.

IMHO changing the trans fluid at 50k wouldn't be that bad of an idea...

-Jason
 
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ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
DeliveryValve said:
When I did my 40K service interval, the dealership automatically flush my oil engine with this BG stuff and if I remember correctly the service guy told me it was a high tech process. I just listened and shrugged at the time.
You didn't just shrug... you also paid for it...

Whenever you're confronted by a dealer telling you to have something done that isn't on the service schedule ("We have determined that it's better for the cars"... etc...), ask to see an official VW document mandating or recommending the work... (A "Technical Service Bulletin" or equivalent...)

With friendly dealerships like this, who needs enemas...

Yuri.
 

Canadian_Grizzly

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Location
British Columbia, Canada
TDI
02 Jetta TDI
Recommending a procedure is different from telling someone their warranty will be void if they don't do it... which is fraudulent. Have your friend write a letter to VW and demand their money back and that VW clean up their act as allowing their dealers to pull this kind of crap gives VWs a bad name.
 

mrGutWrench

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 29, 2002
Location
Carrboro, NC
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, 5-speed, 563K Miles (July '23)
Canadian_Grizzly said:
Recommending a procedure is different from telling someone their warranty will be void if they don't do it... which is fraudulent. Have your friend write a letter to VW and demand their money back and that VW clean up their act as allowing their dealers to pull this kind of crap gives VWs a bad name.
__. Yup, illegal by Moss-Magnusson Warranty Act (I believe of 1975), as amended, in the US. Dunno about the GWN.
 
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