New (to me) 2014 Jetta TDI

[ScottBob]

A few years ago I had a 2006 Jetta TDI with some issues (needed a new flywheel, sometimes wouldn't start). I decided that it would cost more to fix than it was worth, so I had to let go of it (and I needed the money for some other financial reasons).

Now that I've straightened my situation out a bit, I'm in a position where I can get another vehicle, and guess what - TDI it is again!

So here's what I got: 2014 Jetta TDI, the "plain Jane" value edition (cloth seats, no sunroof, no steering wheel controls, no navigation system), but it does have some nice things such as Bluetooth hands-free calling.

Looking at Carfax, it appears to have had one corporate owner (perhaps a rental?) The history is as follows:

• Vehicle sold in October 2014
• All services performed as scheduled
• Appears to have been part of the buy-back program, as Carfax says "Title or registration issued to manufacturer". The odometer read just under 49,000 miles.
• It looks like it was in storage from June of 2017 until late January of 2018, before it was transferred to my local dealership (only four miles had elapsed on the odometer since then). After that, it pretty much sat in inventory since January, until I bought it today.

My guess as to why it sat in inventory for over a year was because the emissions cheating scandal thing still left a bad taste in people's mouths, but hey, that didn't bother me, as loved my old dirty Diesel, and hated to see it go. So I settled on a $14,500 purchase price, and for the money, I got pretty much a worry-free car:

• The dealership did all the emissions system recall modifications, replaced the battery, did the DSG service, swapped the original rims with alloy rims from another car, and installed all new tires.
• They transferred over the original drivetrain warranty of 10 years or 120,000 miles, and added the 4 year 48,000 mile extended warranty after doing the emissions system.

I don't see much discussion here about 2014 Jetta TDIs, most people seem to have either 2011's or 2015's. I do know that 2015's and later have a different engine, and use DEF in their emissions systems, where 2014's and earlier don't.

So what do I have to look forward to (or dread)? I intend on keeping this one a while...

 

[tdiinsc]

Congrats on the Jetta! I myself just bought a 2014 TDI about 3 weeks ago. I also have the value edition w/6spd manual, but mine didnt come with bluetooth hands free. Mine for sure was a vw buyback and its easy to tell by looking at the carfax and seeing a Michigan title shows up (hint that vw bought it, but didnt mean that it sat in a large parking lot there). Mine apparently had both phase 1 and 2 emissions completed. Great car...im sure you'll enjoy it as much as i do.

Just make sure you drive it hard at least once a week to keep issues with the DPF clogging low. If you have a short commute each morning, you are more prone to it occurring since the car doesn't have much of a chance to generate the heat needed to burn all that crap out of the filter. You may find that you stop the car in the middle of regen cycles (fan still running when the car is shut off).

 

[bora2003]

I, too, recently bought a 2014 Jetta TDI Value Edition with just the right amount of technology in it back in March of this year. It is a 6-speed manual and has the same Michigan registration/title on its Carfax. Mine has 83,000 miles on it, but the price was right.

I haven't had any troubles with it and I think it' s a great car. Mine definitely experiences more regen cycles than I remember with my previous 2010 Jetta TDI wagon. It's a shame Volkswagen has abandoned the diesel motor for the future.

But, I have mine now.

 

[tdiinsc]

I, too, recently bought a 2014 Jetta TDI Value Edition with just the right amount of technology in it back in March of this year. It is a 6-speed manual and has the same Michigan registration/title on its Carfax. Mine has 83,000 miles on it, but the price was right.
I haven't had any troubles with it and I think it' s a great car. Mine definitely experiences more regen cycles than I remember with my previous 2010 Jetta TDI wagon. It's a shame Volkswagen has abandoned the diesel motor for the future.
But, I have mine now.

I haven't really noticed the car doing very many regens, i guess its happening behinds the scene on my brief highway commutes. Its possible that the quality of the fuel here is good, the quik trip by me doesn't advertise cetane numbers but it is ULSD with no more than 5% biodiesel added.

 

[ScottBob]

Okay, here's my first issue: The key won't turn off without a fight. I can stick it in and start it just fine, go drive around, etc., but when I go to turn it off, the key physically won't turn, like it's stuck. I can turn it forward like I'm starting it, it just won't turn off. Thinking that there might be some sort of safety mechanism involved, I made sure the gear shift was in park, the parking brake lever was pulled up, and I even stepped on the brake pedal, but I still can't turn the key off. I wiggled it this way and that, tried pushing it in and pulling it out, etc., but it won't turn off. Some cars have a button or lever to make it release the key, but not mine. After fighting with it for a few minutes, it finally got past whatever it's stuck on, and easily turned off. This happens every time I start it, and I don't want to break the lock (or key fob). Am I missing some sort of secret combination to shut it off, or do I need to go back to the dealership and get them to replace the ignition switch?

 

[tdiinsc]

Okay, here's my first issue: The key won't turn off without a fight. I can stick it in and start it just fine, go drive around, etc., but when I go to turn it off, the key physically won't turn, like it's stuck. I can turn it forward like I'm starting it, it just won't turn off. Thinking that there might be some sort of safety mechanism involved, I made sure the gear shift was in park, the parking brake lever was pulled up, and I even stepped on the brake pedal, but I still can't turn the key off. I wiggled it this way and that, tried pushing it in and pulling it out, etc., but it won't turn off. Some cars have a button or lever to make it release the key, but not mine. After fighting with it for a few minutes, it finally got past whatever it's stuck on, and easily turned off. This happens every time I start it, and I don't want to break the lock (or key fob). Am I missing some sort of secret combination to shut it off, or do I need to go back to the dealership and get them to replace the ignition switch?

See if this helps you...
https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113564

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

Back to dealer ... ignition lock housing

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

I, too, recently bought a 2014 Jetta TDI Value Edition with just the right amount of technology in it back in March of this year. It is a 6-speed manual and has the same Michigan registration/title on its Carfax. Mine has 83,000 miles on it, but the price was right.
I haven't had any troubles with it and I think it' s a great car. Mine definitely experiences more regen cycles than I remember with my previous 2010 Jetta TDI wagon. It's a shame Volkswagen has abandoned the diesel motor for the future.
But, I have mine now.

Agreed on the regens, ESPECIALLY if you do a short trip, i’ve had gen 1, 2 and 3 kick into regen after short trips. If i take my tdis to the post office 3 miles away, shut it off, come home, its regen time! (Note: my commute for work is 32 miles each way (64 total), 29 of which are 70mph, the rest is 15-55 mph).

 

[GEFP]

My wife had to have all kinds of crap hanging off of the key. I warned her that it would eventually wreak the key but she doesn't listen well. One day it happened that we couldn't pull the key out. She discovered that if you lightly pull the key up as you are pulling it out then it will come out. I flooded the key slot with WD-40 and we haven't had issues since. Now she too uses a key with nothing hanging off of it.

 

[ScottBob]

Back to dealer ... ignition lock housing

Yeah, I called the dealer service dept. asking what to do, fearing I would have to disconnect the battery to shut it off. The service rep said the ignition lock housing had to be replaced (not the whole ignition switch, though.) They've seen this problem before, and as a quick fix, I could try turning the key all the way forward like I'm starting it (not to worry, the starter won't engage), then let it snap back. I tried that, and it worked. They said the repair is covered under warranty.

 

[ScottBob]

Okay, here's my (little after) one year anniversary update. The ignition switch was replaced under warranty. Then later, I had a flat on my way to work. I found out (the hard way!) that it still had the keyed lug nuts, but I could not find the key to get them off. I called the dealership and explained the situation. They told me to have it towed to the dealership, and they would remove the keyed lug nuts. Long story short, they payed for the tow, and replaced the (ruined) tire under warranty. No money out of pocket.

Since then, I've taken many 1,000+ mile trips with no problems. (Question: Where can I get a set of rails to install on the roof for a proper luggage carrier? The only roof carrier I could find was basically a big black cloth bag that had straps that hooked under the weather stripping, which interfered with the seal, and caused buzzing and wind noise issues while hurtling down I-10 through the Florida panhandle on the way to Disney World.)

Even though I bought my recalled TDI over a year ago, it looks like it has recently become a trend - check out this article at Jalopnik https://jalopnik.com/cheating-volkswagen-diesels-have-become-a-hot-commodity-1837505697. The extended warranty is a big draw, and even when I bring mine to the local dealership for regular oil changes and services, they seem to bend over backwards to help, offering rides to work, etc.

When the warranty runs out, I'm considering getting a tuner (Recommendations? Malone? Kerma TDI? Green Diesel Engineering?) And maybe even do the DPF delete.

 

[andreigbs]

Sounds like you have a solid car, so congrats.

And even rarer, you have a good dealer! Treat them nice and they'll hopefully continue to treat you the same.

A tune will really wake the car up. Any of the ones you listed is great, just choose one.

All the best.

 

[Al Tilley the bum]

Okay, here's my (little after) one year anniversary update. The ignition switch was replaced under warranty. Then later, I had a flat on my way to work. I found out (the hard way!) that it still had the keyed lug nuts, but I could not find the key to get them off. I called the dealership and explained the situation. They told me to have it towed to the dealership, and they would remove the keyed lug nuts. Long story short, they payed for the tow, and replaced the (ruined) tire under warranty. No money out of pocket.

Since then, I've taken many 1,000+ mile trips with no problems. (Question: Where can I get a set of rails to install on the roof for a proper luggage carrier? The only roof carrier I could find was basically a big black cloth bag that had straps that hooked under the weather stripping, which interfered with the seal, and caused buzzing and wind noise issues while hurtling down I-10 through the Florida panhandle on the way to Disney World.)

Even though I bought my recalled TDI over a year ago, it looks like it has recently become a trend - check out this article at Jalopnik https://jalopnik.com/cheating-volkswagen-diesels-have-become-a-hot-commodity-1837505697. The extended warranty is a big draw, and even when I bring mine to the local dealership for regular oil changes and services, they seem to bend over backwards to help, offering rides to work, etc.

When the warranty runs out, I'm considering getting a tuner (Recommendations? Malone? Kerma TDI? Green Diesel Engineering?) And maybe even do the DPF delete.

I'll happily admit to hopping on the TDI bandwagon. Just picked up a 2013 Jetta w/premium this weekend. 58k miles, $12k CPO from the local VW dealer.

I've been test driving cars for a few weeks and tbh VW weren't even on my radar, and diesel *really* weren't on my radar. But I saw some of the recent articles about them and I figured it couldn't hurt to test drive. Found a super clean manual trans at the local dealer and after the test drive... that's all she wrote.

We'll see how I feel about this in a year but I kept my monthly payment super low and in the four days that I've owned it... man is this thing fun to drive! I forgot how much fun stick shifts are to drive, and the torque from that turbodiesel puts a stupid grin on my face every time.

I've been stuck driving a boring Altima with a horribly unreliable CVT for several years and I feel like I just got released from prison. I forgot that driving can actually be fun.

 

[tdiinsc]

Okay, here's my (little after) one year anniversary update. The ignition switch was replaced under warranty. Then later, I had a flat on my way to work. I found out (the hard way!) that it still had the keyed lug nuts, but I could not find the key to get them off. I called the dealership and explained the situation. They told me to have it towed to the dealership, and they would remove the keyed lug nuts. Long story short, they payed for the tow, and replaced the (ruined) tire under warranty. No money out of pocket.

Since then, I've taken many 1,000+ mile trips with no problems. (Question: Where can I get a set of rails to install on the roof for a proper luggage carrier? The only roof carrier I could find was basically a big black cloth bag that had straps that hooked under the weather stripping, which interfered with the seal, and caused buzzing and wind noise issues while hurtling down I-10 through the Florida panhandle on the way to Disney World.)

Even though I bought my recalled TDI over a year ago, it looks like it has recently become a trend - check out this article at Jalopnik https://jalopnik.com/cheating-volkswagen-diesels-have-become-a-hot-commodity-1837505697. The extended warranty is a big draw, and even when I bring mine to the local dealership for regular oil changes and services, they seem to bend over backwards to help, offering rides to work, etc.

When the warranty runs out, I'm considering getting a tuner (Recommendations? Malone? Kerma TDI? Green Diesel Engineering?) And maybe even do the DPF delete.

My vote goes to green diesel. Almost 10,000 miles later and my fuel economy on my local route has consistently stayed 6mpg higher than pretune, even though the winter. The extra added power and overall smoothness just add to it.

 

[ScottBob]

Well, here it is six years later, and oh the places we've been! From where I live (near Baton Rouge, LA), it's been to Disney World and back, to Columbia SC and back three times, to Frankfort Kentucky twice (Bourbon country!), and twice to Mountain Home, AR (up in the Ozark Mountains); averaging 40 MPG on all those trips.

Mere weeks before a trip back up to Kentucky (to see the solar eclipse), I made the mistake of letting my 16 year old nephew borrow it... Head on collision! Okay, calm down, calm down, it was low speed fender bender in a neighborhood, no injuries, no airbags deployed, and it's still driveable (and I've continued to drive it daily back and forth to work for the last three weeks), but the driver's side headlight, bumper, grill, and hood are all crunched in. The front bumper is held together with zip ties, making it look like a FrankenVolkswagen. (I ended up renting something else for the eclipse trip.)

I've since filed a claim with my insurance agent, and they gave me a payout for the damage. (They also gave a payout for a prior, unrelated claim for a large dent on the passenger side rear quarter panel that happened in a parking lot, because I didn't discover it until one day when I went to fill up. Might as well get everything taken care of at once at the body shop.) The total payout was around $6300. The actual resale value (according to J.D. Power) for a 2014 Jetta TDI in fair (not wrecked!) condition is around $6800. The insurance co. did not declare a total loss because the claims were separated by about two years.

It has 133,000 miles on it, and is now past due for the timing belt to be replaced. (It also needs a brake job.) So now I'm at a crossroads... Get the body work done, then spring for the timing belt and brake job; or cut my losses and put the insurance payout towards another vehicle? Well guess which way I went... I'm now the proud owner of a 2015 Jetta SE TDI with 6 speed manual. (2014 TDI had a DSG, so I'm learning how to drive a stick shift all over again...)

I'll do a write-up of the 2015 later (how do I upload pictures?), and I'm going to sell or auction the 2014. (I'll put a link in the classifieds once I figure out how to upload pictures!) Seeing that it's still running and driveable (DPF was changed under warranty at 106k miles and I never did do any tunes/mods after the warranty ran out), it ought to be a great deal for those who can do body work and give the engine some TLC.