I just dumped my 2015 TDI SE

[flamingolegs]

So before anyone jumps all over my case, let me take you back to June 2015. I walked into my local dealer and pretty much made a spontanious purchase without much research. I always heard good things about TDIs. The only research I did was on my cell phone checking fair prices and finance deals. So I bought it

My first experience within 60 miles on the clock was a clunking noise that took them two weeks to figure out. It was a sway bar bar end link. This event lead me to this forum where I started learning about all the issues that plaque the Passat : Turbos, Adblue sensors, heater element etc.

Then I learned how much more expensive servicing the TDI is. I was pretty freaked out and knew I would change vehicles when the warranty expired.

To be honest the benefits of the TDI did not benefit me because I drive 6000 miles a year and 80% city.

So then we got the terrible news regarding the fruad commited by VW. At this point I have decided to cut my loses before its to late. Today I traded for a TSI Passat special edition. It is equiped with just about all the features I had on my SE manual. This time I went with a automatic and payments stayed the same after heavy back and forth negotiations.

I will miss the TDI and perhaps one day they will bring us the pickup truck that is overseas with a properly engineered TDI.

One last thing, while I was at the dealer I saw two other used TDIs in their vehicle processing area. I stayed with VW because I figured no other brand would give a competitive trade in. I also don't want to be waiting around for years waiting on class action lawsuits or have my TDI so detuned that it becomes a undesirable car.

Respectfully
JB

 

[325_Guy]

Dynamic story.

 

[tomo366]

This will happen again and again.....these folks should never have Bought TDI in the 1 st place......a shame really

 

[jrm]

they really are not a city car, if I was 60+% city id pick up the plug in camery

 

[ChrispyjVW]

So before anyone jumps all over my case, let me take you back to June 2015. I walked into my local dealer and pretty much made a spontanious purchase without much research. I always heard good things about TDIs. The only research I did was on my cell phone checking fair prices and finance deals. So I bought it
My first experience within 60 miles on the clock was a clunking noise that took them two weeks to figure out. It was a sway bar bar end link. This event lead me to this forum where I started learning about all the issues that plaque the Passat : Turbos, Adblue sensors, heater element etc.
Then I learned how much more expensive servicing the TDI is. I was pretty freaked out and knew I would change vehicles when the warranty expired.
To be honest the benefits of the TDI did not benefit me because I drive 6000 miles a year and 80% city.
So then we got the terrible news regarding the fruad commited by VW. At this point I have decided to cut my loses before its to late. Today I traded for a TSI Passat special edition. It is equiped with just about all the features I had on my SE manual. This time I went with a automatic and payments stayed the same after heavy back and forth negotiations.
I will miss the TDI and perhaps one day they will bring us the pickup truck that is overseas with a properly engineered TDI.
One last thing, while I was at the dealer I saw two other used TDIs in their vehicle processing area. I stayed with VW because I figured no other brand would give a competitive trade in. I also don't want to be waiting around for years waiting on class action lawsuits or have my TDI so detuned that it becomes a undesirable car.
Respectfully
JB

how upside down were you if you don't mind me asking... I am in a similar situation as you

 

[atoughram]

The economy loves people that take the initial depreciation hit, Enjoy the TSI!

 

[makattack]

they really are not a city car, if I was 60+% city id pick up the plug in camery

I know my situation is unique, but I actually did plenty of research and I live in the city. Yes, a plug-in/hybrid would make sense for short hops, but in most cities, there aren't electric charging stations on every street/parking spot. In Boston there are a good number of them, and one a few blocks from where I live... in a supermarket parking lot.

I take public transit/bike/walk to work depending on the season/how I feel, so I am lucky I don't have to drive.

Unfortunately, I have a hobby where I like to build and fly model airplanes (drones, in todays parlance). Generally speaking, you can't do that all day in a city park. I have to drive about 20-30 miles to my favorite flying sites out in the country. Once a year, I drive across the country to "fly ins" in other states (600-700 miles RT).

The TDI made perfect sense for me. I love the range, the way it drives, the cargo capacity, and am happy with my 2015 Golf SW/TDI/S/Manual -- even if VW reprograms the ECU such that the AdBlue needs to be refilled every 5K miles!

 

[Jbratstdi]

The TDI is not for the faint at heart.... Hey to each is own I love the TDI and knowing that when we leave FL (and we watch the same cars pass us a couple of times on the highway) for NYC and I don't need fill up until just after DC well it speaks volumes. Its funny looking at them because there saying to themselves Hey didn't we pass them back in....
TDI FOR LIFE

 

[BKmetz]

Mostly short trip & city driving is a valid reason to sell a TDI.

I've talked 2 coworkers out of buying TDIs because of their driving habits, mostly city. The wife drives a Passat SE 2.5 for the exact same reason.

I don't even want to think about the stress on the emission system with mostly shorts trips and the emission system never gets to or maintains proper operating temperature.

As far as the VW/EPA scandal goes, meh... I'm sure as hell keeping mine.

 

[flamingolegs]

how upside down were you if you don't mind me asking... I am in a similar situation as you

Well you really never know the way they play around with the numbers. But the paper work said 22000 trade in allowance. Hope this helps you.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Sounds like VW's Emissions issue gave you a rationale to get out of a car that was a poor choice for your driving habits. What's odd to me is that despite being concerned about maintenance costs you bought another VW.

 

[MikeTV]

This is the first and I'm sure many more "Dear John" letters to come. Mods probably should just put a sticky thread for all those that want to rant and say thanks for all the fish.

 

[GyroRon]

I would NEVER buy a vw if it wasn't for the diesel engine. Matter of fact if Honda or Toyota offered a diesel, I would never buy a VW period. I bought my TDI jetta because it was the only diesel car in this size and price range. ''For you, you should have bought a prius. They get great city mpg and they are very reliable.

As for all the issues and negative posts here.... Let me tell you something, I am on a slew of forums for all the various hobbies I am into. EVERYTHING has issues. People that don't have problems, don't post, you only see the people that do have problems.

 

[Abacus]

No kidding, buying a non-TDI VW is the last thing is consider. Engine aside, look at all the other problems they've had and how little VW stands behind them.

I'd never even remotely consider a VW that wasn't a TDI.

 

[Spike_africa]

Seems like you made the better choice for your situation by getting a gas model. No harm no fowl.

 

[tdiatlast]

...sigh...yet another doomsday poster...the OP, not me! Good luck with future car purchases.

I'm a completely satisfied, mostly city owner. 93k on the JSW, 33k on the Passat. I'm getting right at the EPA promised mpg (better in the Passat), so no complaints here. My ash load in the JSW is on par with others at 93k, my tailpipe is white-glove clean (yes, I know, only a sign of soot, NOT the dreaded N2O pollution!), and I have chosen to ride out the current negative scene with VAG, as the quality of my cars hasn't changed one bit since the fraud was disclosed, and I'm confident everything will work out.

I honestly feel that if all of us were to sell out en masse, the snowball effect would be disastrous for VAG, and Germany, and the EU, etc. etc. VAG has admitted to their fraud, and now we will watch closely as they pay for their willful, egregious failure.

The CRTDI does require more attention by the driver/owner, and certainly has had teething issues, as has the entire industry, dealing with mandated emissions restrictions. However, my experience with 2 stellar dealerships, and the overall reliability of the cars has kept me as a customer.

Always sorry to see a member here leave, except when I learn that they probably weren't good candidates for the "non faint-of-heart" TDI enthusiast club in the first place! We're all a little (probably more than a little!) bit crazy!

 

[sdeck]

This is the first and I'm sure many more "Dear John" letters to come. Mods probably should just put a sticky thread for all those that want to rant and say thanks for all the fish.

I betting there only be 42 of them.

 

[BuckarooBanzai]

Love my Passat TDI. I think if anyone looks at any forum for any car you can see enough individual issues people may have that it might scare you off that car. People generally don't post "hey nothing happened yet again today" posts. For one, I'm thankful to be forewarned of any issue that may crop up, have enough common experiences, and be informed when it may happen to me and I can provide the service center more info. Thank you all you veteran members for posting all this great info!

 

[dbias]

I bought my 2015 Passat TDI SE on March 15. As of today it broke 16k.
Too busy to worry much about this situation till I see something concrete.
If it just ups adblue fill from 15 to 5k no pro blem. Would like 200k warranty on ALL emissions related equipment.
A funny aside, the 2010 honda accord I traded in on it I just received a engine warranty extension for ring sticking causing excessive oil consumption. Lol......zigging and zagging.

 

[gcodori]

I had the opposite experience happen to me...

I recently (one year ago) purchased a CPO 2013 Passat TDI SEL. I had to get a second key made and while it was at the dealer they gave me a Passat SE with a gas engine. It may have been the TSI. It wasn't the 1.8T.

Ugh, going from the TDI SEL to a gas SE was horrible. The trim was really bad and looked low rent/rental car quality. Didn't have the door over the cubby under the radio. And the radio was OLD SCHOOL. Monochrome display and all. Yuck.

The engine and auto tranny were not well matched. The engine was course sounding and the tranny struggled to make the right shifts. They did not pair well together.

I ended up parking it at a mall down the street and having lunch instead of giving a good run. It was not enjoyable at all.

By the way, this is my second used TDI purchased. The first I purchased 10 years ago with 60K on the clock and now has 266,000 and I still drive it. Still gets 40 MPG all day every day. The 2013 had 23K and I put 20K on in one year.

I'd definitely look at a Honda or Mazda if I were looking at a base model gas engine powered car.

 

[mkane]

Bought our's on the 18th of this month. Not very many 2wd wagons on the market. With a diesel to boot. The car's in the service department with 212 miles on the clock. Ad-blue tank & pump being replaced. Hope it's not a lemon.

 

[alphalfa]

I drove a 2015 tsi and the tdi last friday. thought both were good on first impression. may go back for a second on the TSI. I see the VW BOD moved the head of Porsche into the ceo job. gotta believe Mr. Mueller will fix the engineering issues and bring up the quality. the TDI intrigues me and my 130 mile per day commute. but won't touch it until they fix the hpfp issue.

 

[Not_Agn]

I traded my passat tdi off this past May. The heater core issue at 40000 miles didn't sit good with me. The dealer and vw did cover it at that time. But weren't real happy to do so. The dealer quoted me $1200 for the heater core replacement. I was not willing to have that bill in another 40000 miles. They had to replace the heater core and egr cooler again to get heat out of my car. So anything else plugged up? Who knows? And any fuel savings I have been getting could easily be negated by these premature maintenance. I agree the passat tdi was a very roomy, comfortable car, with exceptional mileage. But I could be getting close to 40mpg with a car that costs half as much. I understand these cars would be much smaller and have their own problems. So my wife and I now have a new Honda pilot. To each their own. And if their resale wasn't bad enough, dieselgate! Glad it's gone!

 

[bryce850]

Every car has there issues heck my mom's tsx by 80 k had transmission clutch and at 85 motor now at 130 the list is far to long car has been horrible. Seems like luck of the draw now days with cars.

 

[flamingolegs]

Hey guys me again. Well I have put 60 miles on my replacement TSI last night the check engine light came on. I went to start the engine and it did not start on the first try, perhaps I did not hold it down long enough? On the second attempt all is well but I now have the light on and it won't go away after a few other restarts. This is just too funny now!

The TSI drive train is pretty good. It's turbo has almost no lag, but I did notice a difference in the drive quality on the highway. I assume the extra weight and torque of the TDI make it feel more planted.

Looks like time to connect my scan tool and read the code. Anyhow I figured I would give you guys a good laugh.

JB

 

[tomo366]

I personally do not think it is funny.....any of this...People bailing and losing there A$$ on perfectly good cars and do not even know the story yet......oh well AMF!!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Thinking of looking for a clean manual transmission '14 JSW. If someone gets desperate enough I might get a good deal.

 

[tomo366]

Thinking of looking for a clean manual transmission '14 JSW. If someone gets desperate enough I might get a good deal.

That is a Great Idea maybe I will! Looking for one for Corey right now!!

 

[flamingolegs]

Code 0236. Turbo / Supercharger boost sensor. Oh boy!

 

[Not_Agn]

I lost $1500. Not much to worry about for me. That could be almost a heater core replacement in another year? Or exhaust flap, or freezing door handles, or ad blue heater, or loss in fuel mileage? Or simply a huge loss in resale after this diesel gate.