NEW 28F6/T9 Glow plug recall for 04-05 TDI

[tditom]

Bob-
Is your friend familiar with the BSM work?

 

[GregNew2TDI]

Going to Sheppard Motors in Eugene, Oregon on Friday. Called them today, the guy on the phone seemed pretty knowledgeable about the recall. I'd like to see if I can't take any pictures as well to post. A little anxious going to a dealer as well, as this car (I'm the second owner) hasn't been in extremely cold weather being in the Pac NW and having no difficulties starting up. If anything, a fresh battery made the cranking faster and quicker. We'll let you know how it goes by this weekend.

Just finished with the recall. Took about 2 hours. I needed a TB change (quoted me $1100)...Too bad I already had it done for half that price. They also were kind enough to continue the sunroof drain recall nipple and 9mm casing removal that I had done by OldPoopie and allowed me to inspect the glowplugs. Couldn't take them of course. Looks like they all came out in one piece *whew*. No real noticeable difference in start up or GP light yet. Started up OK though. Pic is below. Overall, my expectations were met uneventfully, and I got a carwash out of the deal as well.

 

[Luke N]

Had mine done last week. I asked the dealer to hold the plugs so I could look at them. They must have forgotten about that and sent them back right away...

As for start-up conditions? It was -25ºC outside, and the car had been sitting for a few days. I cycled the plugs 3-4 times before starting the car. It was slow at first, then fired up very fast. Normally the process is just very slow and it's hit or miss whether the car will start. I'd say the new plugs make a huge difference when starting in very cold conditions.

-Luke

 

[GorillaBiscuits13]

I just got an email from the P.O. of this car about this recall. I haven't taken my car to a dealership yet, to get in the system because I've had no real reason to take it there. In the email however he said that he had replace some of the GP's himself, but some where original. Either 2 and 2 or 3 and 1. Not sure. My question is from reading through here they aren't going to change mine out right? I don't have any way to get the old ones back I'm sure, so it seems pointless.

Side note: Can anyone in the Southern Tier recommend a dealership in the Rochester/ Elmira area. Buffalo is a small possibility. I've read a little through the Rochester thread, but not a whole lot. Feel free to PM.

 

[T0M_NASTY]

got the recall done yesterday which was nice this is a new to me TDI and free glow plugs at 130000km is great i didn't think it was hard starting before little rough at -25C but it started. ignoring the fact that while they were driving it off the hoist they apparently broke my oil pan... the new glow plugs are an upgrade it starts easier and smoother then before at the same temperature and who can argue with free glow plugs well into the cars service life

just take the car to the dealer and complain about hard starting when cold i think this is an "as needed" recall

 

[Celerity]

Improved Mileage!

I can now add weight to the rumors of improved fuel economy with this recall vs running with the stock programming, as well as reduced smoke and smoother idling pretty much all the time.

My average mileage jumped from 38 to 44 (!), no other changes to vehicle or driving habits. Same gas station as usual (Fred Meyer), doubt they changed fuel though it's possible. I fueled up somewhere else today so I'll check again at the end of this tank.

Car has the tiptronic auto transmission. I've occasionally gotten summer mileage that high on long trips, but never in winter and never with mixed driving/commuting miles.

 

[Stick Miller]

OK - you guys be gentle. I'm original owner of an '04 TDI Jetta. Very stock with nothing but wash jobs, tire changes and oil changes until last month. The CEL came on. I live a long way from a VW dealer so I took it to a reputable (???) shop. They proceeded to take my head off to the tune of over $700. Honestly, I had the serpentine belt replaced as well as back up light repair, but these guys are high.

I paid the bill, left and last weekend the light came on again. This time I had an auto parts store hook it up and this code indicates the #4 "glow plug heater." My records show that the homeboys fixed the #2 glow plug. A couple of days after the first repair, I received the letter and sent documentation to VW for reimbursement.

I've had all recalls done, according to the VW dealer closest to me. This one is showing "open" for my VIN so I assume my car qualifies (except maybe for the #2 plug). The VW dealership is clueless about this recall but insists I need to get "right in."

I live in a fairly warm climate but we have morning temperatures in the 20's a couple of times a year. Quick smooth starting has never been an issue. Plenty of power and good fuel economy - I averaged 46+ on a trip last weekend. No emission inspection where I live.

I guess i just need a little advice, what with living down here in the sticks! Everything runs fine. I could put some duct tape over the light.
__________________

 

[Celerity]

Think about it this way. Right now it's 4 (or 3) free glow plugs, and a free glow plug control module, on a car that's 11 years old. That's hard to beat. Maybe you don't need them now, but you never do until that one day right?

 

[tditom]

... The CEL came on. I live a long way from a VW dealer so I took it to a reputable (???) shop. They proceeded to take my head off to the tune of over $700. ..

...I paid the bill, left and last weekend the light came on again. This time I had an auto parts store hook it up and this code indicates the #4 "glow plug heater." My records show that the homeboys fixed the #2 glow plug. ...

I think we are missing part of the story. What code was originally the cause of the CEL? What did they do when they pulled the head to remedy the code?

What do you mean by reputable? Are they from the "recommended mechanics list" here on tdiclub?

It was pretty cold here in San Antonio in early Feb. I haven't had the glow plug recall done yet and our car started fine. I'm not sure about going to the dealer for this unless I get the CEL or have starting problems. They can't screw up what they don't touch.

 

[halocline]

It was pretty cold here in San Antonio in early Feb. I haven't had the glow plug recall done yet and our car started fine. I'm not sure about going to the dealer for this unless I get the CEL or have starting problems. They can't screw up what they don't touch.

I'm in the same city and have exactly the same opinion; my car started with the 5V steelies in the coldest weather we've had here for years. No way am I taking it in to the dealer.

It's not just "4 free glowplugs, etc" its a change from the steel plugs that will absolutely not break off and ruin your engine to ceramics that may or may not, especially if some knucklehead drops one on the bench, then decides to use it anyhow, and it's a reflash that has been known to cause problems occasionally.

 

[Celerity]

It's not just "4 free glowplugs, etc" its a change from the steel plugs that will absolutely not break off and ruin your engine to ceramics that may or may not

Incorrect, 28F6 is for cars which still have the original Bosch ceramics installed.

 

[halocline]

Incorrect, 28F6 is for cars which still have the original Bosch ceramics installed.

Yep, you're right. However, it's easy for a dealer mechanic to break the old ceramics on removal, drop the tip in the engine, start it up, and ruin the top end. Guess how I know that one?

 

[talkinghorse43]

Had mine done today and I was surprised at how small the glow plugs are and how clean the tips were. I would post a photo (not allowed for some reason), but they remind me of the color of spark plug tips from a healthy gasser (pink/tan). I expected they would be black with soot. This is after 100k miles. Tips looked undamaged.

 

[chudzikb]

I have an 05 PD Jetta wagon, was looking forward to this recall, nope, nothing in the mail and the dealer says no recall for my VIN? Never had the original done, so should have qualified? What's up?

 

[halocline]

You probably already have the NGK plugs. I think later BEWs had them.

 

[rentstdi]

My local dealer tried to tell me their wasnt any recall for my Jetta. Then i asked about the sunroof drain recall. He says " yes, yes that can be taken care of"
Then I say "What about Recall 28f6/t9" and i get the same answer

WOW this dealer seams clueless Just got to make sure they do everything correctly now!

 

[El-Vez]

I got the letter and had the work done a month ago. I did have cold start issues on my '04 wagon but I knew the battery was getting tired so I confirmed that they had batteries in stock before bringing it in. They replaced GP's, and controller and claimed the battery was fine. Started much better, smoother and cleaner in our -15C temps but anything below that and the battery wasn't up to it and I had to boost it a couple of times. Since then however I have been experiencing intermittent no glow issues, which take increasingly more tries to energize and this morning I was only able to get the indicator light to come on about 3 times in many key twists and then it would disconnect before starting. I can tell when the circuit cuts out as the cruise light goes out at the same time, so I'm getting no preheat and no start at -15C. I'm now suspecting controller issues though it could be other things like the ign. switch or ECM, but I'm also left wondering if it has something to do with the reflash or.....
Any thoughts? The dealer is 90 min. from me and I actually think the fuel pump may be cutting out as well so I'm reluctant to head down the highway to visit my friendly dealer. I've been reasonably happy with this dealer and they have a good rep. but I recently had my '01 Passat 1.8 in for a CV boot and a couple of small items and ended up paying for 4.75 book hrs. @$115/hr. while I sat there for 3.5 and it included (free)recalled coil replacement so the work I actually paid for was more like 3 hours real time. OK so it's a 10 year old car and I got free coils and labor, so I'm supposed to be grateful but really it just grates to be charged that much more than it should actually cost

 

[turbocharged798]

Just got my car done, finally. Fighting with service guy, 2 hour wait, and 2 hour drive up and back is enough for me to decide that I will NEVER buy a brand new VW from there again. From now on, I will buy broken/toofed/used TDIs and fix them up. I do not want to support the stealership and their no-service department.

The service guy kept wanting me to drop it off because he said it will take a long time. I told him that I live an hour away and it is unacceptable to me to have to drop it off. Finally I spoke to a different service guy and he got me a 7.45AM appointment so I would be the first car to be done.

When I got there he was like" you are waiting?" I was like yes I am waiting. He was clearly pissed off and told me" its going to be 2-4 hours to do the recall" I told him fine and that I am going to wait. What a complete jerk.

Finally two hours later, the car was done. Same amount of driving time it would have taken to drop it off.

After the recall was done, the service guy told me that they had to replace the NGK "09" glow plugs I had in there with new NGK "09 glow plugs. He told me some BS story about they use "different metal" (they are ceramic) and can be damaged from using them with the original programming.

Luckily he gave me the old ones back. After getting back home from the no-service department, I promptly went to put the old ones back in. Then I found out that the tech "skipped" #4 glow plug and there was a brand new glow plug in the "old" ones he gave me. They can't even change a freaking glow plug without screwing it up.

At least I got a free set of glow plugs out of it.

They also reflashed the ECU and changed the glow plug relay.

Car definitely seems to idle smoother now. Less diesel "hammering" noises. They must have increased the amount of primary fuel gets injected before the main injection. Starts up quicker too. Fuel economy seems to be unchanged so far. Got 52MPG going back and forth to the stealer according to my MFA.

Glad that is over.

The recall its self seems to be very good though. I highly recommend getting it done. Just be ready to fight with the no-service department.


Edit: Can we possibly have this thread stickied until 2012 when the recall is over? Its quite important especially if there is people still running around out there with the original epic fail Bosh ceramic glow plugs and software. Because once this is over, its over.

 

[Stick Miller]

I think we are missing part of the story. What code was originally the cause of the CEL? What did they do when they pulled the head to remedy the code?

I believe there is a slight misunderstanding of my post. Here in Dixie when someone "takes your head off" it sometimes refers to being overcharged. He "took my head off", but he did not remove the cylinder head. I was grossly overcharged for the work done.

I went to the VW dealer in Macon, GA. Had an appointment and the recall was done in about 2 hours. No CEL light and no cost to me.

So far, so good.

 

[turbocharged798]

Just would like to report that I started the 04 this morning and it normally it would belch out a big cloud of blue smoke and the engine would shake around for the first 30 sec. or so on every cold start. Now just a tiny bit of smoke and it runs rock solid.

I'm impressed. VW got it right with the latest recall.

 

[CGDoig]

I just had mine done on friday. I reflashed my ecu with the original dealer flash, changed the map sensor back and dropped it off. They took about 4 hours total to do the entire recall along with my sunroof drain. Upon receiving the car back, I did not have a tune from Mark to put back in so I had to drive home without a tune which was fine, kept it easy the whole way, no issues. Car slept the night and got a retune in the morning. My big concern is the scangauge was showing 5.5 liters per 100kms upon drop off, after the recall before the tune it was showing 8 avg liters per 100 which I figure is normal for stock tune with my upgrades. Upon reflash with Marks new tune, no change. what would they have changed at the dealer that would hurt my mileage so much?

 

[deltamed]

Nightmare!

Okay guys (and girls). Here's my experience. About a month ago, I took the '04 Jetta TDI BEW in for a myriad of recalls including the "28F6/T9 Glow plug recall". There was also a recall on the EGR Cooler which was replaced.
After the first trip to the Dealer I noticed a huge power loss and a Noise / vibration at 2300 to 2500 RPM. Sounded raspy like an aftermarket exhaust pipe installed on a Honda CRX or something.
During my fourth trip to the dealer, they re-programmed / re-flashed the ECU to the original settings. Car ran like before, but the vibration was still there.
I'm thinking the installed the EGR pipe wrong or damaged a seal or something...
On my 6th trip to the dealer and they are still working the problem. I can't complain about my Dealer because they are doing what they can, and have treated me well. Even supplying me with a car to drive while mine is in the shop.
The car ran like a champ before... My suggestion, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! DON'T DO THE RECALL!!!!

 

[Tweekster]

Denver area dealers for recall

It just makes me cringe to go to any dealer for a recall, because everytime the car comes back with loose or missing parts.

That said, I need to get the GP recall done on my 04 NB, and figured I would wait until the local dealers got a little 'practice' first. Can anyone recommend a Denver area dealer that they have had good luck with?

TIA

 

[Zedbra]

I just had mine done on friday. I reflashed my ecu with the original dealer flash, changed the map sensor back and dropped it off. They took about 4 hours total to do the entire recall along with my sunroof drain. Upon receiving the car back, I did not have a tune from Mark to put back in so I had to drive home without a tune which was fine, kept it easy the whole way, no issues. Car slept the night and got a retune in the morning. My big concern is the scangauge was showing 5.5 liters per 100kms upon drop off, after the recall before the tune it was showing 8 avg liters per 100 which I figure is normal for stock tune with my upgrades. Upon reflash with Marks new tune, no change. what would they have changed at the dealer that would hurt my mileage so much?

it's a clever trap to get you to want to buy a newer model! don't give in.

 

[PDBug]

Tweekster, I don't know if you think Boulder qualifies as being in the Denver area, but I am satisfied with the work Gebhardt VW in Boulder did.
Ken

 

[mrrhtuner]

Leavens VW in London Ontario just finished the job.

Car started a bit better with the new glow plugs, will see how it performs in time.

 

[Tweekster]

Tweekster, I don't know if you think Boulder qualifies as being in the Denver area, but I am satisfied with the work Gebhardt VW in Boulder did.
Ken

Thanks Ken!

I've been leaning that way, but Boulder is a long way from Castle Rock. To get decent service I'll probably do it.

 

[EXrider]

Ok, what's the deal on this recall? I got the letter in the mail stating that I need it. Problem is, I had Kerma load a tune on my ECU back at TDI fest in '08 and I do NOT have a Q-loader. I haven't had any CEL, glowplug issues, or problems starting in sub-zero midwestern winter weather in the past 4 years I've owned this car. Do I need to be worried about my glowplug tips breaking off? I'd really prefer not to lose this $400 tune on my ECU.

 

[turbocharged798]

Ok, what's the deal on this recall? I got the letter in the mail stating that I need it. Problem is, I had Kerma load a tune on my ECU back at TDI fest in '08 and I do NOT have a Q-loader. I haven't had any CEL, glowplug issues, or problems starting in sub-zero midwestern winter weather in the past 4 years I've owned this car. Do I need to be worried about my glowplug tips breaking off? I'd really prefer not to lose this $400 tune on my ECU.

What glow plugs are currently in there now?

 

[EXrider]

What glow plugs are currently in there now?

No idea, do I need to pull them out to check? Or is there another way to tell which ones they are?