Tell me about Toureg TDI's 2013+

Spring1898

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Location
US
Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems? (talk me out of or into one)

Still haven't found a clean B5.5 to drop all my old parts into, and didn't realize the Touregs continued making diesels through 2017
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems? (talk me out of or into one)

Still haven't found a clean B5.5 to drop all my old parts into, and didn't realize the Touregs continued making diesels through 2017
They are actually rather great. The 3.0 v6 tdi is a pretty decent engine, not super cheap to maintain, but the biggest issues are coolant and oil leaks in the valley, which any v6 tdi owner will probably face at some time or another.
The older ones (pre 2013) had some issues with the timing chain tensioners, though some people I've talked to say they simply replace the upper tensioner and it works pretty good, I haven't had to do it on my q7 yet, but probably will eventually, as it rattles a little bit on startup.
Other than that, they are pretty decent vehicles.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
...and I think they are money pits.

The vehicle itself is not that bad. But what's under the hood is very complex and has a lot of fragile and expensive parts. The front axle bearings are also a weak spot. The propeller shaft center support bearings have a high failure rate. Depending on how they are driven, and the size tires they use, they can go through tires and brakes at an alarming rate. I've had customers that like clockwork every 20k miles they need a set of tires and one axle's worth of brakes, and these are in no way inexpensive items as compared to a Jetta or something. The SCR system on the V6 TDIs has a lot of problems, and they are often sitting waiting for parts for months on end. Once the Dieselgate warranty is dried up completely on all of these, I feel that will only get worse. Really a shame, because for an SUV, they really don't drive bad... mainly because unlike a lot of other SUVs these are not sprung from a stone-age ladder frame pickup truck.. They are a purpose-designed unibody SUV, like the BMW X5, the MB GLE (which is also the basic same underpinnings as the current Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango). They are sturdy, and capable in off road situations.

If you've got some other cars to depend on, and you can deal with a $5k repair popping out of nowhere with no warning and you can deal with that, then you could certainly tolerate owning one. But if not....

I have a customer wanting to sell his really clean 2014... 160k miles, I just resealed and rechained the whole engine. It needs the front axle (and there are only four left in the whole continent). I think it was like $4k for that. He just spent $10k on it. Has new tires and a new windshield, too.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
I own a '14. Bought it used in late '18 with about 60k on the clock. Currently sitting ~125k and out of AEM warranty. It's my only ride.
It will not compete in FE with any other TDIs, but for the pig that it is, and for how much it can pull and how capable it is in overall versatility, you can't touch it. I do my own wrenching and maintaining on it, outside in the elements, with basic tools and VCDS. Due to complexity, I wouldn't entertain even considering buying one without being able to scan it, and knowing what to look for\at.

As per above, parts & even regular maintenance stuff is more costly vs some 20 year old ALH, etc. Keep in mind that you are talking about a top of the line offering vs the other end of the spectrum, so costs and availability of certain parts can become an issue. If you rely on a dealer for work\maintenance, each visit will run you min 1k regardless of what it is.

There were no '17 TDIs. I'd suggest staying away from the '15+ as they have lots of issues with dying eyelash in the headlights, which requires a very expensive new headlight. There's also tons of failures with ACC, so steer clear of that option unless you have money to burn.

During my ownership, I've only done the following:
- pads & rotors all the way around once (will do again this summer)
- replaced one ECT sensor (PITA)
- replaced one set of tires (old ones were originals)
- changed diffs and transfer case fluids
- replaced aux belt and all pulleys\idlers
- replaced battery
- lots of oil\filter\fuel filter changes

Current issue - downpipe flex is leaking, so I'm driving around with a MIL. Have to find time to take DP off to replace the flex section as it also contains the primary cat, so a new replacement is a few $K from VW.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
Wait... I lied.... I've also changed engine air filter, cabin filter, and had one NOx sensor replaced under the AEM warranty by VW.
 

Spring1898

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Location
US
I would really like one but the idea of thousands in parts and time spent repairing, even things outside the engine scare me. They are also getting physically older and low mileage ones are hard to find and in some sense unproven.

Think they are probably out of my reach for now until I can 'afford' one. But man they look nice and capable
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
I have a customer wanting to sell his really clean 2014... 160k miles, I just resealed and rechained the whole engine. It needs the front axle (and there are only four left in the whole continent). I think it was like $4k for that.
You can let your boi know that there is info floating around on how to rebuild\refresh the front diffs..... (if he's handy)
There is also a user on here who does it and sells them on ebay and some forums for about 1/4 of that cost.....
I feel bad for your guy after he spent that much trying to maintain his ride.
 

Dannyboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
Mb
TDI
2014


Second video shows an audi engine but it's the excat same, apart from engine cover.
 

Spring1898

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Location
US
It is still on my list just not as high. If I can find a good enough deal will consider
How hard are they to wrench on?
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
Vague questions are vague.... what's your budget? What year trim are you after? In what area? What kind of mileage are you comfortable with?
All those are important starting factors.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
These are pretty inline with the market based on most units I've seen come up for sale
 

casioqv

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2015
Location
California
TDI
2009 Touareg TDI
Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems?
All of the above. They're also a uniquely capable vehicle for serious off-roading and heavy towing that somehow still manages to be as comfortable as a high end luxury car, and have handling that compares with many sports cars on a windy road hence building the Cayenne on the same platform. They achieve all of that with a lot of complexity, and expensive components.

You have to decide for yourself, but nothing really compares to the Touareg, it's sort-of in a class of its own as far as being a jack of all trades that does really well at all of them.
 

mannytranny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 14, 2003
Location
CA
TDI
02 Jetta (sold, such a great car) '16 Touareg
I bought a '16 with 40k miles in 2018 for $35k. I drove it another 30k and sold it for the same exact price in 2022.

Only problem over that time was once, when 150 miles into a 2000 mile trip the SCR system faulted and threatened to not start within 150 miles. It was not a joke. I was able to reset that with Vagcom, thank God. Nothing quite like being held hostage like that.

It was slow. I had it tuned with Malone, stage 2. That helped, but occasionally you'd punch it and it just felt like it was playing with a half deck. Very odd to me. Transmission tuning was terrible too. If you'd get a green light around a right hand corner in an intersection and then attempt to reaccelerate, you'd get just about nothing out of it for a good 5 seconds. Trans would want to lug and hold it under the turbo. Very annoying. Also, highway passing wasn't great either.

On top of that, I'd read here about the horrors involved with time and mileage. I also would drive it in places that were hundreds of miles from your local crooked VW dealer. It also occurred to me that a SUV is a bit of a waste of a vehicle for me. I ended up with just a work truck that does everything for me. A stock diesel F250 that, the one time in the 25k miles I've owned it, when I floored it the thing it squealed the tires at 40 mph.

Edited to add: My '16 also had a pretty significant timing chain rattle on every cold start. It annoyed the hell out of me.
 
Last edited:

hutchman

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Virginia
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5 Spd. / 2002 Jetta GLS TDI / 2013 Jetta CR 2.0 DSG / 2012 Touareg Executive Series TDI


Second video shows an audi engine but it's the excat same, apart from engine cover.
Obviously this guy is not in the US. He talks about the "simpler" timing chain setup so does that mean he's talking about the CNRB and not the CATA? Does CATA have all these same plastic bits he's talking about???
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The CNRB is less complicated than the CATA.... but still more complicated than most anything else, LOL...

1715356846383.png
 

hutchman

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Virginia
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5 Spd. / 2002 Jetta GLS TDI / 2013 Jetta CR 2.0 DSG / 2012 Touareg Executive Series TDI
I guess what I'm getting at is ... is CNRB 2nd gen and CATA 1st gen? I re-watched the video above and in the beginning he puts up a chart of engine codes and his has CN... I found and watched his 1st gen video and he puts up a similar chart with code CA...

I'm looking at a 2011 and 2012 so those would be CATA or 1st gen correct? If so then I think I've answered my question ... CATA doesn't have all these leak-o-matic plastic parts. Some but not as many.
 

Dannyboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
Mb
TDI
2014
CATA engines are 4 chain vs 2 for CNRB.

I have a 2013 treg. Oil cooler seals, alternator and new set of injectors. Been fine since. Apart from the stage 2 malone tuning fiasco
 

hutchman

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Virginia
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5 Spd. / 2002 Jetta GLS TDI / 2013 Jetta CR 2.0 DSG / 2012 Touareg Executive Series TDI
CATA engines are 4 chain vs 2 for CNRB.

I have a 2013 treg. Oil cooler seals, alternator and new set of injectors. Been fine since. Apart from the stage 2 malone tuning fiasco
Can you elaborate on the tune issue? You can PM if you want.
 

hutchman

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Virginia
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 5 Spd. / 2002 Jetta GLS TDI / 2013 Jetta CR 2.0 DSG / 2012 Touareg Executive Series TDI
Yes , T2 which is updated body with gen 1 engine with 8 speed Aisin.
Thanks! I think I'm getting all these "versions" sorted out now.
 

Dannyboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
Mb
TDI
2014
Can you elaborate on the tune issue? You can PM if you want.
Took quite a few revisions with all sorts of issues like a bouncing idle when warmed up which I though was the injectors which actually turned out to they messed up the tune. Perfectly honest I don't think it was a malone issue, more of a tunezilla issue. It's sorted now but it was annoying
 

Dannyboy

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Location
Mb
TDI
2014
Thanks! I think I'm getting all these "versions" sorted out now.
T1 versions in 2009 and 2010 had the gen1 CATA mated to the 6 speed but still had the low range box. T2 versions got rid of the low range box
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
Thanks! I think I'm getting all these "versions" sorted out now.
 

amb287

New member
Joined
May 19, 2024
Location
Greenville SC
TDI
Touareg
I own a '14. Bought it used in late '18 with about 60k on the clock. Currently sitting ~125k and out of AEM warranty. It's my only ride.
It will not compete in FE with any other TDIs, but for the pig that it is, and for how much it can pull and how capable it is in overall versatility, you can't touch it. I do my own wrenching and maintaining on it, outside in the elements, with basic tools and VCDS. Due to complexity, I wouldn't entertain even considering buying one without being able to scan it, and knowing what to look for\at.

As per above, parts & even regular maintenance stuff is more costly vs some 20 year old ALH, etc. Keep in mind that you are talking about a top of the line offering vs the other end of the spectrum, so costs and availability of certain parts can become an issue. If you rely on a dealer for work\maintenance, each visit will run you min 1k regardless of what it is.

There were no '17 TDIs. I'd suggest staying away from the '15+ as they have lots of issues with dying eyelash in the headlights, which requires a very expensive new headlight. There's also tons of failures with ACC, so steer clear of that option unless you have money to burn.

During my ownership, I've only done the following:
- pads & rotors all the way around once (will do again this summer)
- replaced one ECT sensor (PITA)
- replaced one set of tires (old ones were originals)
- changed diffs and transfer case fluids
- replaced aux belt and all pulleys\idlers
- replaced battery
- lots of oil\filter\fuel filter changes

Current issue - downpipe flex is leaking, so I'm driving around with a MIL. Have to find time to take DP off to replace the flex section as it also contains the primary cat, so a new replacement is a few $K from VW.
I’m about to purchase a 2014 Touareg TDI. Which scanner would you recommend purchasing? I am a DIY YouTube Tech (lol) and have worked on all my difficult German cars. Thanks! Excited to join the club.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I’m about to purchase a 2014 Touareg TDI. Which scanner would you recommend purchasing? I am a DIY YouTube Tech (lol) and have worked on all my difficult German cars. Thanks! Excited to join the club.
Vcds and vcds alone.
Get it from cascade german and its free shipping and no tax.
 

PRY4SNO

Veteran Member
Joined
May 15, 2016
Location
Edmonton, AB
TDI
2013 Touareg Execline
The obd2 reader you buy depends on how in depth you want to go.

OBDeleven will cover 95% of your daily needs, and cost less, with the downside being subscription cost and smaller community and available support (it's there, just building to what VCDS already has in place).

VCDS is the no compromise solution, other than the number of available VINs and potentially needing a laptop (as opposed to your phone via Bluetooth).

I have both and recommend both. But it's up to the individual to decide which tool better suits their individual needs.
 

MrCypherr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Ontario
TDI
Mk6 Wagon
I feel like ODBEleven is alot more handy especially cause it can read off your phone. Unless you dont mind just keeping the laptop in your car the whole time.
 

TurboABA

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 24, 2010
Location
Kitchener, ON
TDI
RIP-2010 Jetta 6spd 2014 Touareg Execline '14 A6 Technik S-line
I’m about to purchase a 2014 Touareg TDI. Which scanner would you recommend purchasing? I am a DIY YouTube Tech (lol) and have worked on all my difficult German cars. Thanks! Excited to join the club.
I'm a VCDS fanboi and that's all I use
 
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