TOP SPEED 72 MPH???

[NavyTDI2000]

New (to me) 2000 VW 1.9L TDI Automatic
First time trying to drive the NB on the highway. With the pedal at the floor, on flat terrain- the car took almost 2 miles to get to the top speed of 70-72 mph (temp of 72F).
On a downhill, I got to 75 mph.

I know this is a bit of a pandora's box.

I'd love to find a place to start- or the first few steps to consider.

Thank you all in advance for any input.

Lastly- if this is addressed in another place on the forum (believe me, I've searched- but I've failed to this point)- please point me to the location and I'll delete / retire this thread.

 

[dieseldonato]

Somethings definatly wrong with it. Normal maintenance items done? Fuel filter, air filter etc. Even when my 01 was stock it would do 75+ with no issues in 5th, downshift ti 4th on hills.

 

[03Golfer]

How's the around town performance? Have you scanned for fault codes? My guess is it went into limp mode due to an overboost condition but we really need more info. I also agree check the basics.
How many miles are on the car?
Known service history?
Do you have VCDS?
How does the car sound?
Does it smoke?

 

[NavyTDI2000]

Somethings definatly wrong with it. Normal maintenance items done? Fuel filter, air filter etc. Even when my 01 was stock it would do 75+ with no issues in 5th, downshift ti 4th on hills.

Cleaned up OG post to include this is an automatic. Yes, I believe so.
I have all maintenance records and the previous owner was fastidious, with respect to maintenance. I have personally replaced air filter- and just replaced the alternator. No engine work done on it since I became owner (2 weeks ago, as of 3/29/24).

 

[NavyTDI2000]

How's the around town performance? Have you scanned for fault codes? My guess is it went into limp mode due to an overboost condition but we really need more info. I also agree check the basics.

Around town is fine in 1st gear, very slow in 2nd. Seems like more power in 3rd and 4th- but that's subjective. Nothing "impressive" outside of 1st gear; in fact I wouldn't call the other three gears even really 'respectable' from an acceleration perspective.

How many miles are on the car?

~182,050 miles

Known service history?

Yes, I have almost every service record since in-service date

Do you have VCDS?

No, but I'm buying a version shortly (recommendation for version?)

How does the car sound?

Not loud at all- sounds like a diesel- no noticeable "missing" of cylinders firing, knocking, etc...

Does it smoke?

No, no smoke to my knowledge. Definitely not "rolling coal"....

 

[Vince Waldon]

The low power Step-by-Step linked in my sig is an excellent how-to for troubleshooting your symptoms.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

The low power Step-by-Step linked in my sig is an excellent how-to for troubleshooting your symptoms.

Thanks Vince Waldon!!

 

[oilhammer]

Yeah, it could be a lot of things... injector health being one of them. You almost have to start checking things off the list. The MAF can die a slow death, with the only symptom being a gradual loss of power.

I know the 01M saps some power from the engine, and with only 90hp it certainly isn't going to win any races, but it should easily be able to pull right up into the illegal side of the speedometer and if you can stomach driving an NB that fast, right up to its 120mph speed limiter.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

My vote is clogged intake and/or nonworking turbo. I'd look at the intake first.

 

[KERMA]

I'll just add something else that may not otherwise be considered.
Recently we've seen more low power situations caused by injectors that are simply worn out.
That wasn't a "thing" back in 2007 when that "low power troubleshooting guide" post was written, but increasingly more common nowadays

 

[oilhammer]

Yep, that's why I mentioned it. More common now than you'd think, and it is a slow and silent process that doesn't suddenly show up and will really have no obvious way to check unless the injectors are physically removed and tested.

 

[KERMA]

oops must have missed that

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Didn't realize that was a common occurance. I know that the spray pattern can go bad with age, but I didn't think it cut fueling that much. Maybe those teeny automatic injectors get clogged more easily, too.

 

[KERMA]

yeah the needle play tolerance just doesn't allow pressure to build in the tip. That's why DLC is so useful. Stock don't have that

 

[oilhammer]

The PDs (at least from my experience) don't seem to be affected by it like the VEs are.

And yes, especially the VE automatics... the few that are left.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

If I were you I would get Vag-Com to what is really going on. It is too easy to throw parts at something while guessing.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

Yeah, it could be a lot of things... injector health being one of them. You almost have to start checking things off the list. The MAF can die a slow death, with the only symptom being a gradual loss of power.

I know the 01M saps some power from the engine, and with only 90hp it certainly isn't going to win any races, but it should easily be able to pull right up into the illegal side of the speedometer and if you can stomach driving an NB that fast, right up to its 120mph speed limiter.

I will look at this- thank you!

My vote is clogged intake and/or nonworking turbo. I'd look at the intake first.

I will look at this also- thank you!

I'll just add something else that may not otherwise be considered.
Recently we've seen more low power situations caused by injectors that are simply worn out.
That wasn't a "thing" back in 2007 when that "low power troubleshooting guide" post was written, but increasingly more common nowadays

Thank you for the input- I'll add this info in context with the low power guide (weighted heavily)!

If I were you I would get Vag-Com to what is really going on. It is too easy to throw parts at something while guessing.

I will buy this- I'm just trying to narrow which version to get... Is this sufficient? (VCDS with HEX-V2 Enthusiast)?

 

[Nevada_TDI]

The VCDS HEX-V2 will be the correct one for you, unless you want to test more than 3 vehicles.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

The VCDS HEX-V2 will be the correct one for you, unless you want to test more than 3 vehicles.

Ordered- thanks!

 

[Rob Mayercik]

I know the 01M saps some power from the engine, and with only 90hp it certainly isn't going to win any races, but it should easily be able to pull right up into the illegal side of the speedometer and if you can stomach driving an NB that fast, right up to its 120mph speed limiter.

I can vouch for that - some time in the past year, I gave my '02 automatic an "extended" Italian tune-up, and it pulled strongly all the way up past 80 on the dial. I backed off at that point, but it felt like it had plenty more to give.

Navy, do you happen to remember what RPM the engine was at when you got it up to 72? My car is turning 2600 RPM at 72mph "indicated" (as read on speedo; "actual" speed is about 68 at that point, based on the GPS in my phone, due to the way the speedo's calibrated).

 

[NavyTDI2000]

Rob,
I don't recall, specifically, but I'll check tonight and report back.

 

[jjblbi]

My guess are the clogged snow screen, clogged intake, or stuck vnt in that order. We purchased a 2000 auto NB new in Dec 1999 from Chris Farnham (RIP my friend) for my wife. I didn't drive it much but when I did and it ran like a dog it would be one these.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

So, tonight, at 72 mph, in the last gear, I had about 2600 rpm. When I buried the pedal to keep speed on a hill, the car downshifted and went to about 3500 rpm, then as I backed off the accelerator, it upshifted again to the last gear and was turning about 2600-2750 rpm.

 

[jjblbi]

If you haven't cleaned your intake or don't know it has been done Google 'tdi alh clogged intake pic' and 'tdi snow screen'. There should also be some diy cleaning threads on here.

 

[oilhammer]

The NB's snow screen is not at all like the G/J one, FYI.

The intake, however, is identical.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

The NB's snow screen is not at all like the G/J one, FYI.

The intake, however, is identical.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Rob Mayercik]

So, tonight, at 72 mph, in the last gear, I had about 2600 rpm. When I buried the pedal to keep speed on a hill, the car downshifted and went to about 3500 rpm, then as I backed off the accelerator, it upshifted again to the last gear and was turning about 2600-2750 rpm.

Well, that sounds to me like things in the transmission are working OK. Definitely check the snowscreen for clogging as suggested above, it's certainly one of the easier things to check while you're waiting for the VCDS to come in.

Another easy thing to try is to unplug the MAF (it's that sensor on the tube from the airbox to the engine) and go for a drive - does that get you any more power, or does it drive the same? This is an old way of doing a basic "health check" on the MAF.

Did you get any smoke when you floored it? If so, how much and what color (black, grey, white, blue)?

When do the maintenance records indicate the fuel filter was last changed? I wonder if perhaps it could be clogged due to dirty fuel...

Had another thought - check for unusual warmth on any of the wheels (particularly the rear ones) after driving. I'd expect that if one or more calipers is binding up to cause this, you'd be seeing smoke from the wheels (or the brake grease would catch fire like happened to me a few years ago), though, but again it's an easy check to do...

 

[jjblbi]

Forgot about a clogging fuel filter, good call.

 

[NavyTDI2000]

Well, that sounds to me like things in the transmission are working OK. Definitely check the snowscreen for clogging as suggested above, it's certainly one of the easier things to check while you're waiting for the VCDS to come in.

Another easy thing to try is to unplug the MAF (it's that sensor on the tube from the airbox to the engine) and go for a drive - does that get you any more power, or does it drive the same? This is an old way of doing a basic "health check" on the MAF.

Did you get any smoke when you floored it? If so, how much and what color (black, grey, white, blue)?

When do the maintenance records indicate the fuel filter was last changed? I wonder if perhaps it could be clogged due to dirty fuel...

Had another thought - check for unusual warmth on any of the wheels (particularly the rear ones) after driving. I'd expect that if one or more calipers is binding up to cause this, you'd be seeing smoke from the wheels (or the brake grease would catch fire like happened to me a few years ago), though, but again it's an easy check to do...

Ok, thanks. I was going to try the MAF- and inspect the snow screen, then move on with the rest. Laptop for VCDS should be here on 4/4, so then I can begin to use hard data to get answers! Thanks so much!

 

[NavyTDI2000]

Two pics of the MAF assembly. Is this the snow screen you guys have mentioned?

I've just cleaned the MAF sensor in alcohol and the assembly, separately. Both are drying out now.

https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?media/inside-screen-on-maf-jpg.158397/
https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?media/outside-screen-on-maf-jpg.158396/