Who has mega miles on a TDI

Fly_TDI

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2002
Location
Somewhere in Southern IL or MO... collecting bugs
TDI
2002 Golf GL
I've got 384,400 on my 2002 Golf GL TDI... heading for at least 500K!

Replaced the clutch, original tranny, I've got the Airbag light (drivers side seatbelt connection fault or something like that) and right now I've got the MIL (#3 glow plug intermittent...)

Just getting it broken in...
 

Chris B

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2001
Location
N. central Illinois
TDI
2002 Jetta Wagon 5 spd
I have. Its a glow plug issue. Dealer wants $750 to fix it. Code P0689 iirc.
The only way to fix the glow plug issue is to replace the harness. I screwed around with contact cleaner, silicone grease, etc. and only got temporary fixes until I broke down and replaced it. Problem solved.

A few months ago my CEL came on shortly after engine start and right away I thought "oh shiz, GP harness #2 is going bad". Turned out I really did have a bad plug....whew!

It's not a hard job to replace the harness, but it's a time consuming job to pull the battery and tray and dig into the body harness to splice in the new GP harness.

Chris
 

kraze1968

New member
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Location
Santa Claus, IN
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI 285,000 Miles
mega miler just puked!

i have a 2001 jetta that religiously gets 53 miles to the gallon with 327,000 miles on it, that just broke a timing belt that i had a mechanic do instead of myself! i hate this because i have literally never replaced anything mechanical on this car except a battery, tie rod end and a timing belt twice, the last time being 13,000 miles ago! i actually walked in the shop while the mechanic was doing the job and he said he didn't know what the problem was but he was fighting the belt for an hour already trying to get it on! so i took it and had it on in about 2 min. I know now what was happening that hour before i arrived, it was probably getting pried on with a screwdriver breaking every cord in it! so anyways, has anybody went through this first hand and what am i in for as far as bent valves and head work!
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
i have a 2001 jetta that religiously gets 53 miles to the gallon with 327,000 miles on it, that just broke a timing belt that i had a mechanic do instead of myself! i hate this because i have literally never replaced anything mechanical on this car except a battery, tie rod end and a timing belt twice, the last time being 13,000 miles ago! i actually walked in the shop while the mechanic was doing the job and he said he didn't know what the problem was but he was fighting the belt for an hour already trying to get it on! so i took it and had it on in about 2 min. I know now what was happening that hour before i arrived, it was probably getting pried on with a screwdriver breaking every cord in it! so anyways, has anybody went through this first hand and what am i in for as far as bent valves and head work!
Contact Frank Irving, username Franko6 -- he will set you up with a rebuilt cylinder head of the finest quality, at a reasonable price.
 

tjgalvin

Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Location
Asheville, NC
TDI
2000 Jetta RIP (Camshaft failed at 406k miles) 2004 Passat TDI, reluctantly sold, 2005.5 Jetta TDI 115k, 2003 Jetta TDI 315k
I have a 2000 Jetta I bought used 8 years ago. It has 340k. Things have broken through the years, but the only time I was stranded was for blown tires. Original engine, rebuilt auto tranny and rebuilt AC. After market cup holder on dash, new radio and custom mount for my XM receiver. I drive so much (700 miles a week) I don't take care of it, so no pictures. It is YOU GLEE. I use Rotella T5 and change every 7500 miles. I change the timing belt every 100k. It starts before completing a full revolution. It has the most comfortable driver seat I have ever been in, including Lexus, Mercedes and Volvo. Maybe it's just molded to me after all this time. But I can drive over 10 hours a day with zero back pain. I use it to pull a 4x8 trailer and got a stack of doors in New Orleans for our house remodel in Asheville. This thing is one tough little car.

My wife's 2004 Passat has only 170k and all is original. Same maintenance routine as the Jetta. She wants to save for a "new" car, but this one runs so well, I can't find the upside to a new one. I am putting on brake pads this week, new CV joint boots and I replaced the front light bulbs. I plan to have here auto tranny serviced this winter.

I have had to learn to fix the power windows as both cars have had issues. But I have that down now and when it breaks again, it's an easy, cheap fix.

I plan to drive the Jetta until at least 500k.
 
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dieselherb1

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Location
Va.
TDI
06 MK5,09 Mk5 CR,03 Mk4,96,2-97 B4s,98 A3,2000 A4,4 Caddies( 2-1.6TD,1.6,TDI) Chevys 6.2,6.5,6.5TD
All my A4s have 200,000 miles or more. 2 B4s one 495,000 other 442,000 original everything other than TB,WP and voltage regulators. Guess I should have had the injectors balanced 3-4 times (that's what several vendors tell us on here, or it will damage your engine)
 

GASDAG

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2013
Location
Columbus, OH
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS 5MT Sedan Silver, 2004 GMC Sierra i.e. no need for a wagon
399583 on my '02 Golf.
nice, post a pic of the odometer and have a party at 400K !! :D

120k miles on my new beauty, can't wait to freshen up the suspension and double those miles...
 

DieselBruce

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2013
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2001 jetta tdi
My '01 Jetta only has 142k on it (Bought it with 128k at the end of last year). I put on about 30k a year with my current job.
My '97 F350 7.3 has 265k miles and has never had a major repair. Moderately modified as well.
Dad's '96 F350 7.3 has 390k on it I believe? He bought it 3 years ago with 260k on it. No major repairs as well.
Dad's '02 Excursion 7.3 has 220k on it with no major repairs, just one rear main seal.
Dad's '03 F350 7.3 has 300k miles with no major repairs.
We have a few other diesels as well and the only one with issues was the Izuzu (with only ~200k miles)

From my experience and what I've read on hear about the vw diesels, the Big Three diesels are wayyyyyy better than the german diesels. It is routine for them to get over 500k miles and almost a shock if its below 300k, even with marginal maintenance.

Saying that though, I like my ALH. It gets crazy mileage and is pretty quiet and smooth.
 

vwjettadsl

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Location
Missouri
TDI
TDI’s
518k miles on my 99.5 Jetta TDI and still climbing, still the original motor and trans, even the injection pump is original.
 

vwjettadsl

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Location
Missouri
TDI
TDI’s
From my experience and what I've read on hear about the vw diesels, the Big Three diesels are wayyyyyy better than the german diesels. It is routine for them to get over 500k miles and almost a shock if its below 300k, even with marginal maintenance.

Saying that though, I like my ALH. It gets crazy mileage and is pretty quiet and smooth.
Reason you don't see more TDI's with high mileage like the diesel trucks is not because they are inferior or not capable, it's because people just stop doing maintenance on them. I see so many people that when they get to 200k they say their going to stop spending any money on the car, because its not "worth" it anymore, so wrong.

People who own a diesel truck don't stop maintenance just because their truck has over 200k, therefore you see more of them with higher miles.

It's a difference in mentality, a lot people who drive TDI's are cheap, lol. They hate spending money on their car, the few people that actually have high miles (300k+) on their car are the ones that are actually willing to spend money on their car.

My $.02
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
It is getting harder to find a MK4 TDI with ALH engine with less than 200k miles. That would be "low mileage."
 

DieselBruce

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2013
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2001 jetta tdi
Reason you don't see more TDI's with high mileage like the diesel trucks is not because they are inferior or not capable, it's because people just stop doing maintenance on them. I see so many people that when they get to 200k they say their going to stop spending any money on the car, because its not "worth" it anymore, so wrong.

People who own a diesel truck don't stop maintenance just because their truck has over 200k, therefore you see more of them with higher miles.

It's a difference in mentality, a lot people who drive TDI's are cheap, lol. They hate spending money on their car, the few people that actually have high miles (300k+) on their car are the ones that are actually willing to spend money on their car.

My $.02
Very valid point!
I suppose I just come from that different mindset of: If I own a vehicle, I will make it run as long as well as possible. Not to mention that in the diesel truck world they are higher displacement, lower RPM engines that usually see lots of miles due to towing or using the vehicle for work all day every day.
 

RyanBme

New member
Joined
Mar 14, 2013
Location
Illinois
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI 290K
My '01 Jetta just turned 299,000 on my way to work the other day. Original motor, clutch and turbo. Doesn't burn or leak oil and it runs like a champ.
 

durtdzl

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2011
Location
nh
TDI
99.5 tdi
309k on my 99.5 jetta. I maintain it personally and beat the bag out of it. When this motor goes south I have my low mileage (110k) alh waiting for installation. On the other hand my 01 superduty 7.3 with 155k is torn in pieces in my garage. Paid 1000 for the vw paid 35k for the truck. Maybe I will put the alh in my truck....lol
 

tbeiler

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Location
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
419562 as of today. Many more to come. I drive harder now than ever before, since it has a new turbo actuator this car goes like stink. Burns a little oil, so what.
 

TDITALIAN

Active member
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Location
Los Angeles, CA
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon, Slv, 5 spd 1999.5 Silver Jetta Sedan 5spd
200,000 miles

Just turned 200,000 miles on my 99.5 jetta sedan 5 sp. Everything is still original. Just timely maintenance and an alternator at 110k. Always get 730 per fillup. This has been my favorite car to drive. Puts a smile on my face every time. I'm looking into a 6spd manual passat to add to the fleet.
 

noxneon

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Location
washougal, wa
TDI
2000 silver Jetta TDi
243,474 miles, 42k of those in one year, bone as all getup stock. gets 700 mile tanks cause i know exactly how much fuel the car holds...
 

zukikat

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Location
Greater New Orleans area
TDI
2001 Jetta GLS, 2003 Jetta GLS Wagon
Slightly off topic...

My brother-in-law has the same early 90's F250 Diesel he bought used in the mid 1990's and uses as his primary vehicle while my sister drives her 22 year old and very unhappy single owner geo prism that she bought new and still loves for its' small size, 4 doors, and "great economy" (low 30's at most???).
His truck has been through at least one transmission, a couple years ago the truck left him stranded so he bought some big-dog transmission that cost more than I paid for my TDI sedan for a 20 year old truck, almost every electronic feature in the truck has been broken for years and last time they drove it the 600 miles down here from Dallas it ate the water pump but yet he looks down his nose at my VW TDI's...

In my current Mk4 TDI Wagon that has at least 100k more miles on it than his truck has now (>300k on my wagon) and is still all original, and my Mk4 TDI sedan that definitely has more miles on it than my sister's Geo and probably about as many miles as his truck, I can drive the 550 miles to his house while speeding on the interstate, getting mid to upper 40's or better with working a/c and working cruise control with no problems, and still have plenty of fuel left in either TDI's much smaller tank for a few days of driving around Dallas/Ft. Worth before stopping for fuel to head back home again...
He can't do any of that.
Granted my TDI's probably wouldn't like towing his boat but my TDI wagon does have a hitch and that boat hasn't seen water in years...

Plus I know my Mk4 TDI's are a decade newer than his pickup truck, but more miles driven is still more miles driven and my TDI actually saves me money each month, especially compared to his truck...
and on those rare occasions when I want to haul stuff that my TDI's can't really handle, that's what my 'ol behemoth 5.7L K1500 (4WD) Suburban (a.k.a. the driveway ornament) is for with its' 40 gallon tank and stellar 10mpg fuel economy for a whopping 400 mile driving range if I'm lucky, woo hoo!
 

gforce1108

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Location
Newburgh, NY
TDI
04 Jetta GLS BEW, 14 Audi A7 V6 TDI, 13 Porsche Cayenne V6 TDI
199Kmi and climbing! Bought used in 06 with about 36k on it. Daily driver ever since. Highly modified :) Gave it a break for a couple months last year when it was due for it's second timing belt and bought the Passat. Drove that from June through December when I finally did the timing belt and put the Jetta back on active duty. Fortunately, I work 4 10hr days and carpool somewhat. Drops a 30k+ year down to about 20k.

Other than routine maintenance, it needed a lift pump (dead when I got it), CTS, radiator fans, both front wheel bearings, one tie rod end, and a rear speaker (not counting brakes/suspension parts). The tandem pump has been dripping for a couple years and the dealer botched the EGR recall so the flex lines broke.

Some engineer better be ready soon for those rainbows to shoot out his butt...
 

Tom Servo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Location
LA (Lower Alabama)
TDI
2005 Gol TDI, blue and falling apart
There are some real impressive numbers cropping up in this thread. I just turned 320k miles yesterday, but mine's not quite original. The clutch was replaced around 250k and the camshaft bit the dust at around 315k.

I really think that part of the longevity of these cars depends not just on maintenance, but who is maintaining it. I'm a putz with a wrench and there are no gurus within a day's drive for me, so I'm dependent on a decent (but not wonderful) dealer an hour away. I feel like every time they touch the car it's taking miles off the grand total, versus work I've had done at specialist shops or through a guru from this site, that leave the car in better condition than how they found it.
 
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