Got 5 miles off the lot and it broke down!!!

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
Bought a brand new, 115 miles, Jetta TDI last night. Drove off the lot late, 10:20pm. Here is what happened;

My finance was driving the Jetta in front of me to my house, about 10 miles away. About 1 mile from home she calls me and says there is a light blinking on the dash but everything sounds and feels fine. We got to my house and looked it up in the manual, it was the glow plug light, but when blinking it means "engine component failure, get to service center immediately".

We restarted the car and the light was off and everything seemed fine. I started to drive her home, about 3 miles, and about 1 mile from her house the blinking light came back on and the check engine light came on too.

We got out of the car and could hear a decently loud humming/buzzing noise.

The dealership is sending a tow truck out now and I stopped payment on the $7,500 check that was the down payment.

What should I do? Tell them to take it back and I want a new one? Wait to hear what the problem is and if it sounds like a small little thing just take the car back and hope it doesn’t happen again?

This sucks, but how can I make this work for me? I still love the new TDI, I just want one that’s not a lemon.
 

katman

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2002
Location
annapolis, md 21403
Similar thing happened to me when I bought one of my 06 tdis. brought it back to the dealer and thye had failed to take it out of transport mode. Then, within first 50 miles everything lit up. Got towed to a different dealer where they had it for a week. Service manager called and said they thoght it was fixed. I asked, what do you mean, you think it is fixed. He said they disconnected and reconnected all wires, lights, etc. Seems like it worked but he couldn't say what was wrong. Advised me to tell VW to take it back or promise the stand by the car beyond standard warranty. Car ran fine for 85,000 miles. Then we started having electrical problems, shifting problems and other ailments. VW spent about $5000 on repairs by the dealer and it still wasn't right. I think it was dealer incompetence. Anyways, VW gave me a nice check to buy a new VW.
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
Damn, although the ending sounds good, the whole point of buying this car was to have something reliable. My 2001 F250, 7.3L diesel, with 212k miles is not dependable. This car should be, I dont want it in service for a week. I think I am going to push for a new one

Anyone know what NJ lemon law states?
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
NJ Lemon Law: Car must break down 3 times OR be in the shop for 20 straight days within 24 months or 24k miles for it to be a Lemon.
 

Ski in NC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Location
Wilmington, NC USA
TDI
2001 Jetta ALH 5sp stock
I'd hold off making any decisions until you hear from the dealer. It could be a super simple non-issue. Or it could be a sneaky chronic hard to find gremlin. Just don't know yet. Keep notes of all that transpires at this point going forward.

Got a chuckle out of your "finance" miss-type!!!
 

DieselNerd

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
Location
Nashville, TN
TDI
2011 Jetta TDI
It's something simple that can be fixed I'm sure. Probably a sensor not plugged in good or something.

If it had over 100 miles on it, it had been test driven, so it can't be all that messed up.

Hang tight and give the dealer a chance to make it right. It sucks that your new ride is in the shop.
 

Roshermoore

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Location
East Texas
TDI
2009 JSW DSG sunroof
Probably minor!!

Hey, at least your problem happened quickly. Mine went 7,000 miles before a clamp on the intercooler came loose shutting everything down. We were 400 miles from home on a weekend, but all it took to fix the problem was tighten a clamp. It had not been adequately tightened during assembly.

Yours is probably just a very minor problem that can be easily remedied.

At least give the dealer a chance.
 

quietpeen

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Gettysburg, PA
TDI
2010 Jetta Sedan
that sucks, and I agree with the others to wait and see what it is before you get too upset and dislike your new purchase.
 

timwagon

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Location
Hauppauge, NY
TDI
2010 Jetta Sportwagen Stick
If you've stopped payment on your $7,500 check, that gives the dealer a considerable incentive to get to the bottom of the problem quickly. No dealer wants to have to unwind a deal.

Let's hope it's something simple, like a balky sensor or a bad connection.

Good luck, and let's hope it works out.
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
Got a chuckle out of your "finance" miss-type!!!
Haha my bad, fiance! :D

But really?? I thought everyone would be all for me getting a new car and definitely not taking this one.

I really don’t want this car, this is the first new car I have ever bought and I don’t want to worry about it breaking down in the first year, let alone month, I own it. :(
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
I really don’t want this car, this is the first new car I have ever bought and I don’t want to worry about it breaking down in the first year, let alone month, I own it. :(
JG, welcome aboard! Great story :)

Is this your 1st VW product?
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2017 Alltrack SE; Totaled 2015 Passat SEL, BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat SE w/ Nav,
if you calmly express your concerns about this car and owning it for the next 5-10 years, I hope they adress the issue correct it and maybe even toss in free floor mats or something. if they start giving you flack (bad fuel, hit a pot hole, you pay for the tow or what have you) then you start climing up the ******* ladder until you are happy.

Either way try and stay calm and try and let the dealer make you happy, but document everything if you do need to lemon this car, you'll have all the ammo ready.

Many people love this little powerplant and have had good luck, but there is alway a chance crap breaks, its just up to VWoA, the dealer, to own up to it and treat you the way you deserve to be treated.
 

Windjammer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Location
Cinti, OH
TDI
MK4 & Mk5
My guess, the dealer probably filled the car with unleaded gasoline. Stay on top of this. Go to the dealer asap & inspect it yourself. I would definitely open the fuel cap & give the filler hole a sniff.
 

DieselJeff

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Location
Nashua, NH
TDI
'10 Jetta 6MT & '11 Jetta DSG
:eek:

I hope not, keep us posted!

My guess, the dealer probably filled the car with unleaded gasoline. Stay on top of this. Go to the dealer asap & inspect it yourself. I would definitely open the fuel cap & give the filler hole a sniff.
 

TwoTone

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Location
DMV
TDI
05.5 Jetta (sold)
Haha my bad, fiance! :D

But really?? I thought everyone would be all for me getting a new car and definitely not taking this one.

I really don’t want this car, this is the first new car I have ever bought and I don’t want to worry about it breaking down in the first year, let alone month, I own it. :(

People aren't rushing you for a new car because the very simple fact that the exact same thing could happen to the next one a few thousand miles later.

Just because you swap this car out doesn't mean you'll get a trouble free one, after all this is VW:D
 

eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
:eek:

I hope not, keep us posted!
Misfueling by the dealer was my first thought as well, before I even opened the thread.
Wouldn't be the first by a long shot (mostly when the CRs were just coming out) and I wouldn't trust them to tell you of their mistake. I'd go to the dealer and take a fuel sample before they start monkeying with it. I would not accept the car if it ran on gasoline; the fuel system is too sensitive on these.
 

quietpeen

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Location
Gettysburg, PA
TDI
2010 Jetta Sedan
My guess, the dealer probably filled the car with unleaded gasoline. Stay on top of this. Go to the dealer asap & inspect it yourself. I would definitely open the fuel cap & give the filler hole a sniff.
from everything i read on this site, it is highly unlikely that they filled it with gasoline because if they did the car would not have run as long as it did, let alone start again and idle. The HPFP would be done
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
Thank you, yes it is, my third diesel though

I'm a little concerned that your "VW learning curve" may be very steep. It can be quite an experience, it's just a shame it happened so early :(

I wish you good luck in finding a resolution that you can live with, and the dealer doesn't torture you too long. Don't settle for anything less than 100%.

Take care.
 

TDI_Timmy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
2012 JSW, DSG, Pano
Reading this thread reminded me of this one:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=307732

Post #19 was the resolution but read the whole thing. His symptoms seemed pretty similar to yours. Turned out to be a wiring connector issue. He wound up getting a new car since it seemed that they couldn't fix it in a timely manner.

I am with the others, if they can fix it quickly and correctly once. Good luck and please let us know what the fix was.
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
I think gas would have made much more of a racket in the engine, not just the buzzing sound, it would have been misfiring and probably not lasted 11 miles.

I feel that it may be easier to say fix it when it is not the car you will be driving and worrying about breaking down in. But I am sure my feelings are just getting involved now also and I may not be being totally rational. But I want a new car.

20k miles from now I do not want to be saying “I know I should have made them give me a new car” because it breaks down again.

I value all or your opinions and information, please keep it coming, it does make me feel much better that if they won’t give me a new car most of you fee that is not a problem anyway.
 

TDI_Timmy

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Location
Seattle
TDI
2012 JSW, DSG, Pano
I guess it all depends on how much gas is mixed in the diesel. There was a thread in the Golf section about a guy who mistakingly put gas in his car. He said he got a ways from the station and as soon as the gas hit the HPFP is disintegrated it sending metal shards throughout the fuel system. He didn't mention anything about misfiring.

My feeling is, with any man made product (even if it is robots) there is going to be some error. If they fix it once that is great and that is what I am hoping for. If not, and it is recurring you have that lemon law on your side. I remember my dad had an Excursiom 7.3L diesel and it was in and out of service for an oil leak. Almost had it lemoned - even took the heads off the new truck (wasn't ver happy about that as it wasn't broken in yet. When they did that they forgot to put the oil retune line back on and it spewed oil everywhere - huge puddle underneath when we parked. Luckily it didn't spit all the oil out. Finally after 2nd attempt they fixed it and it was great for another 60K miles - sold it because didn't need a big vehicle like that anymore.

I do agree that it is a lot tougher if it was my own car, if you really want a different vehicle from them I hope you have started that conversation with them. Don't let us tell you what to do. Good luck.
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
Reading this thread reminded me of this one:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=307732

Post #19 was the resolution but read the whole thing. His symptoms seemed pretty similar to yours. Turned out to be a wiring connector issue. He wound up getting a new car since it seemed that they couldn't fix it in a timely manner.

I am with the others, if they can fix it quickly and correctly once. Good luck and please let us know what the fix was.
The guy in that thread got a new car. I hope I do too
 

marc77777

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2012 Golf GTI black/black
Mine ended up on a tow truck 2 weeks after purchasing, I had a similar issue as you (blinking glow plug light) but mine ended up stalling when it happened the second time (an hour after the first), turns out it was a loose connection on the fuel pump.

Trust me though I feel your pain, buying a new car and having issues right off the bat.

Good luck!!
 

J.G.R.

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2011 Jetta DSG
Mine ended up on a tow truck 2 weeks after purchasing, I had a similar issue as you (blinking glow plug light) but mine ended up stalling when it happened the second time (an hour after the first), turns out it was a loose connection on the fuel pump.

Trust me though I feel your pain, buying a new car and having issues right off the bat.

Good luck!!
Did you find that problem or that is what the dealership told you? Would that be a possible problem for mine since it has 115 miles on it when I bought it?
 

alberg

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Location
Portugal
TDI
1.6 Tdi CR
Hope you had the problem fixed.
I have a friend that was waiting for his new ride at the dealer when he was told the car broke down and had to be worked on for at least a week ( new motor brain)
I myself had the gearbox opened when had 200km.
It has now 150000km and still running, soo it could be a good thing:)
I also had on my VW cousin called SKODA OCTAVIA, at 5000km show up the glow plug light. Stopped the car and started again, it now has 20000km and never again showed up the light. Wonder:eek:
But still a good thing:D
 

pipes p

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Location
edmonton
TDI
2011 jetta tdi dsg
if you calmly express your concerns about this car and owning it for the next 5-10 years, I hope they adress the issue correct it and maybe even toss in free floor mats or something. if they start giving you flack (bad fuel, hit a pot hole, you pay for the tow or what have you) then you start climing up the ******* ladder until you are happy.

Either way try and stay calm and try and let the dealer make you happy, but document everything if you do need to lemon this car, you'll have all the ammo ready.

Many people love this little powerplant and have had good luck, but there is alway a chance crap breaks, its just up to VWoA, the dealer, to own up to it and treat you the way you deserve to be treated.
+1, if you are not satisfied,with the fix, keep on them!
 

pipes p

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Location
edmonton
TDI
2011 jetta tdi dsg
from everything i read on this site, it is highly unlikely that they filled it with gasoline because if they did the car would not have run as long as it did, let alone start again and idle. The HPFP would be done
agreed, you would not get 2 blocks if that happened
 
Top