Turbo Charger replacement cost

last vw

Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
Location
Barrie, Ontario
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
My parents have a 2003 Jetta TDI. They have had the engine light coming off and on. JUST before the light comes on, there is a loss of power on straight aways and/or up hills, occurring at highway speeds. The next time they drive it, all is well again! It's a hit and miss situation. They took it in to have the code read and it's the turbo charger. We're about an hour north of Toronto, in Ontario.......approximate costs and mechanic recommends appreciated. Other than that the car appears to be in perfect order. Don't want to go back to the dealership as it's out of warranty.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
Going into "Limp Mode" isn't always an indication that the turbo needs to be replaced!!!!!! Don't jump to conclusions or let someone do that for you... For some light reading, see: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=179589 (there are other message threads related to this...)

Offhand, I don't know anyone in Barrie, but just down the road, at 400 and Finch, forum member "VDUB TECH" (Brandon Pilkey) runs DCB Auto Repairs... He's earned the trust of the local TDI-Club owners... reasonable prices and excellent work. 416-747-0400 http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=61521

All the best,

Yuri
 

Curious Chris

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 11, 2001
Location
Pineview GA
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 RIP Rockford IL
Sigh. I would invest in VCDS at www.ross-tech.com and then people here like me and YMZ will help you run test that VCDS can perform on the car.

I bet the code was MAP intermittant low or something like that. That code can be the turbocharger or it can be a vacuum line or it can be a solenoid or it can be a VNT actuator. You can see the range in repair cost go from about $5 to $1500.
 

hagar

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Location
Columbia, SC
TDI
2002 white Jetta 5sp & 2006 Mercedes CDI
I would replace the MAF long before I replace the turbo. And I'd buy seaside property in Arizona before I believe a VW dealer..;)
 

sdeck

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Location
Northern Colorado Front Range
TDI
2003 Jetta, 253K, 01M, DLC520s, VNT-17(sold); 2014 Passat SE 6M, 61,000 miles (Feb 16 buyback date)
changed the filters, cleaned the snow screen, cleaned the intake/EGR yet? do those first.
 

Super T

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Location
Alberta, Canada
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
Sound like a VNT actuator problem. The dealer doesnt sell the actuator on its own. They call the entire turbo and sell it that way. I had similar issues with my car, the actuator would stick and cause the "limp mode" of low power. Especially up hills, was a gauranted check engine light to climb hills. Turn off the car, restart; bam powers back.

You can get the actuator on its own through various vendors around here. www.idparts.com has them but there are others.
 

Tom W.

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
mash-up GettaTDI150, 1986 Jetta Delux D, 2005 Passat TDI sedan
There is absolutely no good reason to replace your turbo. If your turbo went bad, it wouldn't "reboot" and act normally when you start the car up again. When turbos go bad, they stay bad.
Read Canadiangrizzly's thread. Sometimes the fix is $3 of vacuum line and 5 minutes of your time. Sometimes it is a $110 part and an hour of your time.
If you read Canadiangrizzly's thread and still don't want to fix it yourself, find a local TDI enthusiast.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Since most VW dealers don't stock actuators (and the ones that do haven't for long, so techs and service writers don't necessarily think of it), they think of turbo replacement as a likely cure for limp mode. Actuator, N75, faulty vacuum lines, MAF--these can all be causes of limp that don't involve replacing the turbo.

We sell quite a few turbos, but if a customer calls with these symptoms and wants a turbo we try and talk them out of it, or at least get them to explore other options first. It's true that carbon can also cause this issue and turbo replacement may be the best course, but I'd rather not get a phone call where the new turbo doesn't solve the problem.
 
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