My 2 cents on the PD recall

[VWV]

Just had the work done on my 04 Jetta as described in the TSB. Had it done as the wagon was getting sluggish when driving. First impressions are the wagon is more peppy in 5th but that's about it. All other gears it feels like the engine is running rough and the wagon is taking longer to cold start and smoking more at start. Was it worth the effort, probably not. I'm sure every poster here will have a different feel depending on how their car was running prior to the re-flash. My question is can this work be undone if I feel it's made the situation worse ?? Before I go futher with this I want to check the mileage to see if it's changed.

 

[tongsli]

Any updates?

 

[VWV]

Update on reflash. 2 drivers in this house and we both agree the wagon is much more peppy now in all gears, doesn't sound so rough as it did before when fully loaded.
Still waiting befofre filling up to see if mileage is affected, but judging by the gauge it looks like my mileage is dropping off quite a bit.
Before the glow plug light went out after 2 seconds in all weather and wagon started fiirst time very easily.
Now glow plug stays lit for 6 seconds and wagon sounds awful when starting (engine rumbles and barely catches) and is harder to start.
Looks like we gave up a quick start for a more responsive wagon in acceleration through all gears. A fair trade I guess will decide on my next fill up. Anyone else ?
Quick question on these reflashes, anyone know if they can be reflashed back to how they were before, just curious !

 

[HopefulFred]

I would bet a VW dealer does not have an old version to reflash you with, and wouldn't if you asked them to (if they do have it). A chip tuner may have an old version to rewrite over this one. Of course, if you're going to pay someone to reflash you 'puter, do you want the old default program?

 

[BobH]

The ECM update seems to have fixed my cold start problem. I posted back in Jan for advise (before the service bulletin) when I was really having a terrible time starting at temps below about 15F...
past thread
So far this year it hasn't got real cold - but I already see a big differce. When below about 35F the glow plug light stays on much longer now. It fires right up on first try. I will have to report back when it gets a little colder though.

Interesting thing when they tried to flash my ECM - it failed

Dealer had to have a new one delivered an install and then program. Maybe I had a bad ECM all along!

 

[Blue_Thunder]

I need help figuring out if my New Beetle 2004 PD needs the ECU flash. How can I tell? I don't understand the VIN numbers posted on this thread and the other one. What do I look for on my VIN number?

Thanks

 

[SilverTDIGolf]

Just call your dealer and give them your VIN and they will be able to see on the database if you need it done or not.
If it was manufactured after late 2003 it is probably fine, mine was manufactured late 2003 and needed the ECU flash and wiring harness.

 

[mickrat]

I had this done last week. My car was having trouble starting. It would start, die, and then I needed to crank it for about 15 seconds before it would run. Since the "recall" the only difference I've noticed(besides it starting) is that the car's horn no longer chirps when I lock it with the fob. I haven't noticed and performance change. Maybe the glow plug light stays on a second or two longer. The dealer called it a recall and that's what it said on the invoice.

 

[rentzusma03]

I just picked up my 04 Jetta TDI PD tonight from getting this work done. The dealer called it a TSB BG on Hard Start/Extended Crank. It took a couple of days to get done. Here are the notes: "while doing bg recall reflash program stopped / called tech line suggest pos discharge and reboot / started program again would not even start went right back to same fault #3323 / called tech line again / car needs new ecm / ordered new ecm" They didn't have one in stock so it had to be overnighted. After getting it back this evening, I have noticed a slight power increase and smoother overall performance while not having the glow plugs stay on longer than before the tsb work as others have experienced. Only problem now is that the cruise control doesn't work, no light and no function.

 

[PDG]

I had mine done about a month ago. I have an early 2004 bought in November 2003. My dealer would not perform the tsb, he said I had to receive a letter from VW first. Finally it was taking 30 to 40 seconds of cranking to start it in the morning. I told the shop manager if they didn't fix it they were going to have to tow it soon. They took it in, had it for two days. When I picked it up I could tell that the reflash advanced the timing just from the sound, a lot more diesel clatter.
I was looking for another car; I was very unhappy with this one. After the reflash I am pleased, and my fuel milage went from 40 mpg to 50, quite an improvement and it starts OK.

 

[mickrat]

Had mine flased last week. I'm still having problems starting. I'll have to take it in again.

 

[tdipd100]

Anyone in canada get this TSB done?

I read it - I've complained to the dealer and got no love from them. Had them start one on the lot, it was rough on cold start like mine. They said no - it's not normal to be that rough. I told them mine is exacly the same. They are demanding that I leave it over night. Grrrrrrr... This crap is annoying.

I told them that my VIN is older then the TSB states and asked if the service was performed prior to delivery. Their response was "What TSB?". Then they indicated that the TSB may not be for Canada, might be US only. Sound possible?

 

[jettanorth]

I called the local dealer and they checked my VIN and then told me to make an appt when it was convenient for me and they would do the reflash. I just haven't gotten around to getting it in yet. So it appears that at least some of the dealers are aware that this reflash may or may not need to be done.

 

[Ferrari]

tdipd100, the Canadian VW dealers certainly know about this TSB. I went to Mississauga VW and they knew exactly what's wrong and what has to be done. I made an appointment for next Monday, hopefully everything will go as planned...

 

[PlaneCrazy]

Indeed, I'm in Canada and had the TSB done on our Jetta. In fact the dealer prompted me to have it done. I was not having starting problems but when I showed up for the 16,000 km service interval they told me about it and did it for me without any hassles.

I don't understand this dealer reluctance to do service work. After all since it is a TSB, VW will reimburse the dealer for it. If I owned a dealership I'd welcome the extra business. Win-win: dealer gets money from VW, and customer is satisfied and is more likely to return at trade-in time

 

[icnick]

Of course, with any warranty/recall/tsb work, the dealer's tech has to beat the clock in order for the dealer to make a profit or break even. Supposedly this is pretty hard to do, on VWs and Fords in particular. I hear that the factory published times for the various jobs are pretty optimistic.

 

[tdipd100]

I will go to another dealer. I've had a similar issue in the past with them and my 1.8t. I gave them a second chance because I bought my new TDI there.

Typically when I go in with a problem - I've done enough research and troubleshooting that I know what's wrong (and I'm usually right!). This service manager acts like he has no clue about what I'm asking. I'm guessing he's not acting - he is clueless!!!

There is another local dealer where I get very good service. I haven't gone there yet simply because I only have 3000k's on the car and feel the "selling" dealer should be taking care of stuff right now.

Glad to hear that other dealers are doing the right thing on this!

Cheers!

 

[SilverTDIGolf]

Did you mention this to your salesperson?
I'd be changing dealers nontheless.
Nothing worse than a clueless service manager.
Keep in mind it is normal for a TDI to run rough for a few seconds after startup, accompanied by smoke, when in colder weather.
At freezing temperature, mine runs rough for about 3 seconds then smooths out. It's normal.

What is not normal is them not knowing about the recall.
My dealer is in Canada and they knew all about it.

 

[tdipd100]

The salesperson is aware and is more than willing to take good care of me - he's a friend of a friend which is why I bought the car there in the first place.

I'm not too concerned about the rough idle right now either, and as you say - it might be normal. But what I do expect is for them to be honest with me, and to answer my technical questions with something other than a dumb blank stare. Pretty much kills their credibility if they don't know about a TSB that I can find easily on the net!!!

 

[Tom_B]

I had the TSB work done on my Jetta at the 5k service a few months ago (October?). I showed a printout (from this site) to the service rep and his first response was to ask if I was experiencing any problems. My answer was no, so he said the work typically would not be performed. However by the time they gave me a ride to work, he informed me that he had checked with VWOA and they recommended the work be performed.

I did notice a little smoother performance and a little less smoke at startup. My mileage went from 40-44 mpg before to a dead steady 47 mpg after (for the next 3k mi until the onset of winter diesel brought my last tank down to about 45).

 

[swartzentruber]

I had the TSB done about 2 weeks ago. The biggest change I've noticed is that it seems to smoke much less on colder/rainy starts. Our Jetta never smoked much on startup when it was warmer, but once it got colder, I'd get a mushroom cloud of smoke sometimes. Also, had the coldest start to date yesterday (probably between 0 and 5 F), and it started fine.

 

[njbud]

While visiting Myrtle Beach, SC. I was turning 15,000 miles on my 2004 Jetta TDI and decided to stop at the VW dealer and ask for an oil change. It was 3:30pm and they said OK but it would be finished in about 45 minutes. At 4:15pm the service writer told me about the TSB and said that they must do the job now, I said OK. At 5:00pm they offered me a loaner car because the the programing kept stopping 1/2 way through. I said NO that I needed my car because I was leaving for home (NJ) tomorrow morning. Service tech's stayed and continued working on my car and it was ready at 6:00pm. I paid only for the oil change minus 10% they took off because of the wait. The drive back to NJ gave me 44 MPG, a little better that the 42 I got on the way to SC. The last 2 mornings were cold here in NJ. The TDI started OK But I did notice alot of smoke at startup, never had this in the past. Car still runs great, but I notice that it seems to take a very long time for it to warm up, I am talking 15-20 minutes before I can get heat. I will ask the dealer here in NJ if he can do something about the lack of heat.

 

[SSTDI]

I had my TSB work done back in Sept/Oct and it was working fine. I took my TDI to a self power wash car wash and it's been hard starting for a few days now!!! The enigine light came on after a few bad starts, ARGH! After starting it a few more times since, the engine light went out. I think I am going to just pretend it never happen?! DeNile it ain't just a river any more!

 

[Dick_Larimore]

Check out this link to a discussion of a bad/missing ground to the ECM that causes hard starting when wet. Your dealer should have been aware of the problem.
hard starting when wet

 

[SSTDI]

Yeah they did replace or add a new ground I forget exactly which. It seems to be doing fine now even with all this snow, rain & ice.

I seriously missed New England I like the snow even though my car has never been so dirty. (and when cleaned doesn't stay so for long)

 

[Jwagen04]

I had the recall (TSB) work done on my '04 Jetta Wagon last week. It had a rough idle that would bounce between 850-1000 RPM when just approaching operating temp from cold start, so I figured it was time to take it in. I was reluctant to do so based upon the hit and miss results people have seemed to have had, but I didn't have much of choice once this rough idle showed up. The engine ran and started great previous to this, except for the occasional surge at low RPM's in lower gears.

I was told the car was done a few hours after dropping it off. However, when I arrived at the dealership they told me there was still something that needed to be done. After a few minutes of waiting around, I was told that the car was not starting and it was throwing a code. They put me in a rental to get back to work, and I got a call again that it was ready. It was ready this time and everything seems fine. After the work was completed, it does not have the rough idle anymore except at first startup which is normal. The one thing that does bother me though is that the glow plugs are on WAY longer then they used to be...I would say about twice as long. Also, it used to fire right away, regardless of temperature. Now, it cranks a good five seconds before firing. Is it a problem? Probably not, as I have read others had the same experience. It just seems like I exchanged one annoyance for another. Anyway, that is my thoughts on the TSB.

 

[Tango_Kilo]

After the work was completed, it does not have the rough idle anymore except at first startup which is normal. The one thing that does bother me though is that the glow plugs are on WAY longer then they used to be...I would say about twice as long. Also, it used to fire right away, regardless of temperature. Now, it cranks a good five seconds before firing. Is it a problem? Probably not, as I have read others had the same experience. It just seems like I exchanged one annoyance for another. Anyway, that is my thoughts on the TSB.

At about 12F this morning, my glowplugs were on for 6 or 7 seconds. It was noticeably less than this last winter in similar temps before I had the TSB work performed. I have a shorter crank time, but there is a few second delay after turning the key before it cranks.

 

[Landgolier]

Mine is in the shop getting this done right now and it has been a real ordeal. I first took it in a month ago, called first to make sure they could do it, made an appointment and dropped it off at 9am, with assurances that it wouldn't take longer than 2 hours. I walked across the street to barnes and noble to wait it out, and got a call about 45 minutes later. "Um, we don't have the software for the ECU flash, but we're getting it friday." When I get back they tell me to make another appointment after I've called friday to confirm that they have the software, and to drop it off the night before so that they can confirm that it smokes on cold start (thought about just shooting some video or telling them to call my neighbor, but figured they deserve to see and smell for themselves). Fast forward a month to me again having time to deal with this, so I make an appointment, put it in the night drop with a printout of the TSB and a note taped to the steering wheel, and call at 11am for a progress report. It takes 10 minutes and 3 people just for them to find the car and the right service manager, and they say it's going to be "later this afternoon". 3:30 rolls around, and they call saying it's going to be tomorrow morning, and would I like a rental car?

They're nice people, but for christ's sake, how long does it take to flash the ECU and splice a couple of wires? VW has this taking 110 "time units," which I'm assuming are minutes. I'm really starting to worry about what they're doing to my baby.

If anybody wants to write the words for "The VW Dealership Blues" and do the vocals, I'll lay down the bass and guitars and find a drummer.

-L

 

[tdipdphd]

I had my recall done and completed in about 2 hours time.
No muss. No fuss.

Car has never vibrated/rough idle since then again.

 

[hdmech]

My 2004 jetta is in right now for the "fix". I went out in the morning to start it and it ran for 1 to 2 seconds. after that all it did was crank, no smoke or fire. I called roadside assistance and they towed it in. The service manager called and let me know that the flash and wiring fix cured the problem. I get it back tomorrow.