TURBO: 2012-2014 Passat turbo failures [discussion thread]

[VeeDubTDI]

Damn I hit that nail on the head, eh?

 

[mattfrayage]

Sure, here is the first page with the most pertinent details.


Jason

PS: please note that they are NOT starting the mailing of letters to customers until January 15 (is noted in the above screen shot). So don't go running down to the dealer asking to have it done yet. They won't show it as available and won't be able to do anything for you. This only came up because it is in dealer inventory. Probably want us to be the guinee pigs in case there are bugs in the software??

Sent from my iPhone

Thanks for the documentation!

 

[Softrockrenegade]

Damn I hit that nail on the head, eh?

Looks like the engineers at VW are spending some time on the forums....

 

[EfinTDI]

Except Kalifornia... Guess it's OK for ours to grenade.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

TURBO: 2012+ Passat turbo failures [discussion thread]

California/CARB probably didn't approve the update.

 

[Deezil_n_Dachs]

Damn I hit that nail on the head, eh?

I was just thinking the very same thing! Makes me feel even better about the warm strategy we've adopted too.

 

[jrm]

You can 100% bet VWOA read this thread! We were talking about that exact thing 6 months ago, where the powerstrokes ran de-tuned until warm and that VW should do the same. Wow! amazing! Big thank you to all who have uploaded videos of torque and such to document this.
I keep my Passat in a heated garage as the wife stomps it to the floor cold due to always running late to work- If I could de-tune it to 40HP I would

 

[VeeDubTDI]

You can 100% bet VWOA read this thread! We were talking about that exact thing 6 months ago, where the powerstrokes ran de-tuned until warm and that VW should do the same. Wow! amazing! Big thank you to all who have uploaded videos of torque and such to document this.
I keep my Passat in a heated garage as the wife stomps it to the floor cold due to always running late to work- If I could de-tune it to 40HP I would

Wait for the letter and get it flashed. I'm curious to see how much they reduce boost, and at what temperatures. I suspect that they won't go far enough because they don't want people to think it's "slow" when it's cold.

It's also interesting that some heavy equipment (Caterpillar, John Deere, etc.) locks out the operator until the engine has warmed to a predetermined point at idle speed. It would be absurd for a car to do that, but it's telling nonetheless.

 

[EfinTDI]

California/CARB probably didn't approve the update.

With 2 of these, I warm mine for several minutes year round and my wife's is always in the garage, mine too when I clean up the overflow. But in SoCal we only hit 30deg for maybe a week or two during the coldest winters, so I'm not overly concerned with Kalifornia being off the list.
I also have a 7.3 Powerstroke, so warm up is ingrained in me.

 

[Bobmws]

This makes me feel a lot better about keeping this car than the extended warranty did.

 

[Busydiver]

software updated

Brought my 13 in for an oil change on Dec. 16 and the software was updated to 23N5.

 

[jhinsc]

I'm confused about the dates. It first states Dec 14, 2014, then states the letter will be mailed in January 2014. Is that a typo and they meant Jan 2015? I have my first 10k service schedule tomorrow morning. I wonder if they'll do the update then too.

Seems to make sense to me overall about the turbo problems. I don't let my TDI warm-up much while idling. When I start it, I then put on my glasses, buckle in, etc., basically about 30 sec or so, then back out of the garage, turn and barely more than idle down to the street, then it's an easy drive with very little throttle to the gate before I get on road and make my way up to 45 mph for 2 miles.

 

[atc98002]

Yeah, I think that's a typo, and meant the mailings would start in 2015.

 

[EfinTDI]

My wife's will be due for her 14's 10k pretty soon, I'll ask about this then, as we're Kalifornia, they will probably admit to knowing nothing...

 

[VeeDubTDI]

I updated the first post in the thread with the service action information.

 

[psd1]

Good news, and yes it appears that VW does listen, regardless of what others may have said over the last two years of the NMS turbo failure fiasco.

 

[tdireader]

It will be interesting to see if the re-tuning introduces excessive turbo lag in cold weather. Could make merging dangerous.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

It will be interesting to see if the re-tuning introduces excessive turbo lag in cold weather. Could make merging dangerous.

If that does turn out to be the case, then the solution would be to let it warm up, which you should probably be doing anyway if it's necessary to do a haul-ass merge on a cold engine.

Given the choice, I'd take a little lag over a blown turbo any day.

 

[zaphod99]

I received an email today from the service rep at my dealer:
"There is a new software update for the engine control module that has just recently been released to help improve the efficiency of the turbocharger. This update takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and is no cost to you. Please let me know when you would like to get your vehicle booked in so we can get that taken care of for you."
I normally monitor exhaust temps via Torque, so I'll be interested to see the difference after the update.

 

[psd1]

I normally monitor exhaust temps via Torque, so I'll be interested to see the difference after the update.

This will be very telling. I hope that others that can monitor will do the same and report on this thread.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

Yes, please report your findings!

 

[PassatSE4me]

45 minutes for a re-flash? What is this the space shuttle?

 

[ribbittingcat]

Took my car in on Tuesday for the 30k service and they put in the software update. My wife noticed the car warming up differently the next morning and thought something was wrong.

 

[psd1]

45 minutes for a re-flash? What is this the space shuttle?

20 minutes to get the car moved to the back, 20 minutes to get a tech on it, 3 minutes to flash and two minutes to bring the car back up to the front?

Took my car in on Tuesday for the 30k service and they put in the software update. My wife noticed the car warming up differently the next morning and thought something was wrong.

Could you be a little more vague please...

 

[ribbittingcat]

20 minutes to get the car moved to the back, 20 minutes to get a tech on it, 3 minutes to flash and two minutes to bring the car back up to the front?



Could you be a little more vague please...

She noticed the temp needle moving faster and she thought the car was going to overheat. I didn't mention to her that anything had been changed so it was surprising to hear that from her. I haven't had a chance to experience a cold start since the service. When I do, I'll be less vague.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

There is a ton of data that needs to be transferred over a slow network. Flashing a commonrail takes time.

 

[unixb0y]

She noticed the temp needle moving faster and she thought the car was going to overheat.

Interesting. I looked online and portland has been above freezing for the last couple of days.

 

[jrm]

it still does the same warm-up at 45F as it does at 0F, I back out of my heated garage with the thing reading 60F and as soon as it meets the cold air in 3rd gear I get 1100F EGT

 

[Bobmws]

I recall that when this strategy was theorized earlier, it was mentioned that it would invalidate the current emissions ratings/requirements/certification. I wonder if VW has paid to get it re-certified?
Either way, I guess we'll know in a few months if this strategy is successful.

 

[Softrockrenegade]

it still does the same warm-up at 45F as it does at 0F, I back out of my heated garage with the thing reading 60F and as soon as it meets the cold air in 3rd gear I get 1100F EGT

My 2013 doesn't start the warmup untill coolant reaches 120*f.