TDI Breakdown

[SkyPup]

Here is some info and a URL of the first complete new TDI failure that I've heard of. It seems to have been due to a "manufacturing problem acknowledged by the dealer" I posted it here to see if anyone else has experienced similar problems?:

Bad Things That Happened To My (98 TDI) Car

April 14, 1999 The car is back! New engine, new name: Jesus. The ABS checked out okay (yeah, right). Time to start yet another break-in period. Also, the courtesy light has been fixed, and I'm told a new stereo will be ordered. We shall see. For some odd reason, it's now difficult to shift into first gear. Hm.

April 6, 1999 In an effort to revive my car, the dealership is replacing the engine (with the so-called "long block"). I have also instructed the repair of the mysterious stereo voltage spike, the sloppy and noisy ABS system, and the finicky driver's side courtesy light.

April 5, 1999 The engine problem has been diagnosed. The dealership admits to a manufacturing problem in the (aluminum) cylinder head. The porous nature of this piece allowed the pink coolant to seep through to the oil and into the injectors. Besides fouling the injectors, it apparently also trashed the rings. Probably explains the loss of power I detected in February, eh?

March 30, 1999 The death of my car. You know, it seems that bad things always happened on the way home from work. My car started shaking, so I pulled over and popped the hood. The engine was trying to dance out of its mount. The service guy at the dealer said he hadn't seen anything like it. Still not sure what happened, but I lost total compression in two injectors, most in the third, and have a coolant leak in the fourth. They think I'll need a new engine. Meanwhile, they rented an Olds for me to drive around in (and told me it would be quite a while). Yuck. My car had about 4800 miles on it when this happened.

February 10, 1999 Strange loss of power. Felt like the turbocharger wasn't working. Weird. Changed the way I drove (specifically, I started shifting into a higher gear at 2000 RPM), and the problem seems to have gone away. I wonder if the turbo is supposed to kick out at too high an RPM. However, it seems that, after it kicked out, it didn't want to work at all. OTOH, it could be something else entirely.

The url of this is located at:

www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Makeup/4333/hfcmain.html

 

[D.Johnson]

My My. Only a week to get the car diagnosed and fixed? I'm a bit jealous. My TDI is now entering its 9th day in the shop, and no one can figure out what is wrong. I think that they have replaced every connector, chip, wire, fuel line system, and yet, the engine still quits. And instead of admitting that the car is a Lemon and looking for a new one for me, they keep saying....well, we're in contact with the VW tech department, and I'm sure that we will figure out what is causing your engine to cut out. As if I want the car anymore. Everytime that they have "solved" the problem, it quits on me anew a few miles down the road.
Did reach a positive note today. VWoA finally agreed to send the regional rep to look at my car, and he will make the decision to replace the entire car or not. But, it would have been nice to have the entire thing taken care of in just one week!
derrik

The owner of a very sick indigo blue GOLF TDI GLS with the luxury package.

 

[SkyPup]

Here is the response from an email I sent to the owner of the TDI that died due to a manufacturing defect:

It was a manufacturing defect. The cylinder head was porous and it allowed coolant to seep into the oil and injectors. There’s nothing I could have done to prevent it, except to have chosen the white one over the black one.
Symptoms: poor mileage (towards the end I was averaging 35 mpg), gradual loss of compression, and at the end, the engine was bucking and it was nearly impossible to keep it from stalling.

 

[mickey]

D. Johnson, that's not a very uplifting story. You'd think a big company like VW could keep at least one "roving" TDI mechanic in North America to deal with these things, but I don't think anybody outside of Europe has a clue. That's not just a VW problem, though. My dad went through a similar experience with his Ford Powerstroke until he found a Ford Diesel Guru, who diagnosed about a dozen defects in a very quick five minutes. If he wasn't related to the guy, he'd still be stuck in dealer service hell. Americans just don't know anything about diesels. I'm sure your car's problem is a very simple one, it's just not simple enough for the simpletons at your dealer. Hang in there! Life will get better!

-mickey

 

[Plastic19]

I got my car back yesturday. 100 miles and no problems yet. The, "technician" replaced the ECU and some type of relay. The paper work was not ready when I went in to pick it up so I am not sure exactly what relay was the problem. It took only 4 days to figure out the problem. That must be some kind of record.

 

[Strack]

Tech Advice:

When bringing in your TDI for dealer service, try to find a mechanic in the crew who has experience in Diesel Technology. I know of one mechanic at a local dealership who's from Poland, he's been working on diesels his entire life, he likes them as well. Try to find someone who has a interest in the car, I believe they will do aa good job for you. Try to stay away from those who mock diesels for their lower horse power and exhaust smoke (no longer the case w/TDI's).