Bought a TDI

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Eric Johnson

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Nov 18, 2005
5,871
Central NYS
I didn't think they were available in NY (and they weren't until about a year ago), so when I went shopping for a new Jetta, I was really stoked at the prospect of owning one. Early indications are that I'll get better than 50 mpg on average, since the vast majority of my driving is on the highway.

There are lots of different ways to look at the situation, but the one on my mind mostly is that now instead of having to gas up once a week, I'll be fueling up once every two weeks, more or less. Think about that. That's about an extra $30 a week for beer......
 
Well, I'm breaking it in, Craig, but (according to the meter on the dash), it averaged 49 on my 60-mile commute to work last Monday, which is mostly uphill, and 53 mpg on the way home. So, like I said, early indications, etc. This afternoon I took it out for a 30-mile hilly backroad run, and averaged 39 even. A big part of the break-in process for diesels involves varying engine speed, so that takes its toll on the mileage, as does just the friction present in a new engine. Based on all the available evidence, I should see something north of 50 mpg, considering that a good 85 percent of my driving is on the highway, but now I probably won't be happy unless I can squeeze 60 out of it.

All that said, it's a relatively big car (bigger than my gas 2006 Jetta) with an amazing amount of power. Looks just like any other lozenge car, but that little TDI plate kind of sets it apart from the rest of the pack, I think.
 
I test drove one a few winters ago. Those heated seats were nice! So was the 6 speed behind the diesel. I'd love to have one. Maybe someday. Right now I need a truck too often to downsize. I'm close though. A few more years and I might be in the right place. Oh, to get back to a standard transmission!

Matt
 
Calculate the fuel mileage by hand just to make sure that the computer is somewhat accurate.... I wonder if it hasn't had a chance to "calibrate" being it's a new car?

I don't mean to sound like a debbie downer, but I'd be very surprised if it's getting that good of fuel mileage. Most people average high 30s-low 40s with the newer models.

I have a 2005 Mk4 Jetta, and it has averaged about 43mpg over the 4 years I've had it. ( I keep track of every fillup) BEST tank I ever got was 48mpg and worst was 37mpg. Mine is the pump doushe (hehe) BEW motor, not as good as fuel mileage as the older mechanical pump mk4s.



Matt... a truck is WAY too handy to not have one! I just use the Jetta as the "beater" for commuting. Also have a diesel truck, but at ~15mpg I'd go broke driving it 500 miles a week to work and back.
 
Congrats!
I have a 99.5 jetta. Its a beast, 173,000 miles on it, about 53mpg. I am down a bit since I had to get 4 new tires, about 47-48. The break in will take a while. Winter months will also negatively effect the gas mileage a little bit. Check your tire pressure, that may be way off (I run about 37psi).

I strongly suggest checking out the TDI forum, its wonderful, lots of good information there: http://forums.tdiclub.com/
 
I know that well. I drive 80mi a day. I don't have room for another vehicle in the driveway. I'm working toward it, I just have to get a few more things in line.

Matt
 
Congrats!
I have a 99.5 jetta. Its a beast, 173,000 miles on it, about 53mpg. I am down a bit since I had to get 4 new tires, about 47-48. The break in will take a while. Winter months will also negatively effect the gas mileage a little bit. Check your tire pressure, that may be way off (I run about 37psi).

I strongly suggest checking out the TDI forum, its wonderful, lots of good information there: http://forums.tdiclub.com/

now my next car I hope to be something a bit different... rear wheel drive..... and a few more horsepower....
 
Selling our 1998 TDI beetle, 163K, amsoil for 130k of it's life. Wife likes her Subaru and I like my Dodge Diesel truck. So there the Beetle sat, except for an occasional drive. All around driving it get's an honest 42 MPG. I did hear the new TDI's don't get the MPG that the earlier models got. I also heard that there were some camshaft wear issues with some newer TDI's. Also you have to use VW's oil. I know that motor is packed in tight compared to the Rabbit days.
 
Hi Eric, what is the speed you are driving when you are averaging 51 mpg? I've thought about a VW TDI for a future purchase, but the 10-15% premium for diesel vs. gas kind of negates the better mileage compared to some of the newer gasoline cars...my math would change a bit if you were doing 65-70 and I could get better going slower speeds.
 
Yup. With diesel running about 0.50/gal more than gas, it's close to a wash. 35mpg in a gas car, 40mpg in the jetta equals about .11/mile with today's fuel costs.

My fuel mileage is normal driving, about 90% highway. If I drove like an 80 year old lady I'm sure I could get better, but I'd get ran off the road!

Hi Eric, what is the speed you are driving when you are averaging 51 mpg? I've thought about a VW TDI for a future purchase, but the 10-15% premium for diesel vs. gas kind of negates the better mileage compared to some of the newer gasoline cars...my math would change a bit if you were doing 65-70 and I could get better going slower speeds.
 
I have to admit I've been eyeing the Jetta wagon a bit. Nice looking car.

How are diesel prices in your area Eric? Out here they are pretty high. Still running over $4/gal.
 
Yeah, I almost went for a Jetta wagon the other day when I saw it at a car show-sweet car.
I had my 2000 TDI Beetle for 225,000 miles, and then, when I thought it was time for a change, some fellow in New Mexico bought it and sent a car carrier for it.
Diesel, I figure, is about .50 more than regular here.
 
The reason TDI's went back on the market in all 50 states was they added urea injection for NOx control. I think you have a canister or a bottle that needs to be refilled/replaced every so often. If you dont, they have the computer go into "limp home" mode to force you to replace it. By going with Urea injection they can make the engine run better as previously they had to tune it for low NOX.

Just remember, diesel still gells when it gets cold. The dealers try to blend it to keep up with the temps but a forecast for a real sharp cold spell should be a hint to add some anti gelling additive.
 
The reason TDI's went back on the market in all 50 states was they added urea injection for NOx control. I think you have a canister or a bottle that needs to be refilled/replaced every so often. If you dont, they have the computer go into "limp home" mode to force you to replace it. By going with Urea injection they can make the engine run better as previously they had to tune it for low NOX.

Just remember, diesel still gells when it gets cold. The dealers try to blend it to keep up with the temps but a forecast for a real sharp cold spell should be a hint to add some anti gelling additive.
I've always simply ran Seafoam, Startron, Stanadyne, or Amsoil diesel fuel additives all having a pump lubricant for low sulfur fuel. That has been used in my diesel vehicles for the last 25 years. I have never once had any fuel gelling problems. Fuel gelling happens to people who are to unconcerned to take matters into their own hands and depend on the suppliers. I wanted my pumps to last in all my diesels so I used a fuel additive year round in every tank full.....zero problems including no injector problems too.
 
I looked for a TDI but couldn't afford even a fixer upper. Seems to me the upkeep plus additives and higher prices for diesel knock the crap out of mileage advantages. I'd like to get a Jetta wagon though for a xcountry trip. I dumped my pickup (15+-) for a '99 Ford escort wagon (35+) and use a trailer when I need to haul something. I'll never go back.

Ehouse
 
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I looked for a TDI but couldn't afford even a fixer upper. Seems to me the upkeep plus additives and higher prices for diesel knock the crap out of mileage advantages. I'd like to get a Jetta wagon though for a xcountry trip. I dumped my pickup (15+-) for a '99 Ford escort wagon (35+) and use a trailer when I need to haul something. I'll never go back.

Ehouse
Heck I'm letting my 1998 TDI go for 3000. Runs great. Just getting it inspected, have about 4 people who want it. 101_7184.JPG
 
I've thought about the wagon thing, but worry about tongue weight, especially when towing a boat or something.

Matt
 
Thanks for all your replies and insights. I'll certainly check the mileage "for real" when I fuel it up for the first time, but that's going to take awhile at this rate. I drive about 55-60 mph generally--10 mph faster on the interstate. Keeps the traffic tickets to a minimum. I'm driving faster than that now, however, since I'm trying to keep the RPMs up (and variable) during breakin (i.e., over 2K) Can't even get out of fourth gear at that speed on most of these country highways. They say the onboard meter is pretty accurate, since it measure fuel flow through the injectors and compares it to the mileage being covered. All I really know is that it has over 200 miles on the clock and the tank (filled by the dealer, so you know they didn't top it off) just bumped down to 3/4. Hills appear to have a much greater effect on mileage than speed. As a bicyclist in a hilly part of the country, I'm well aware of that phenomenon.

Diesel goes for about 40 cents per gallon more than regular gas around here. Right now it's about $4.20. Compared to my gas Jetta, which got ("gets" since I gave it to my daughter) 32 mpg, it's pretty much a wash at these prices and assuming 40 mpg, which is what I figured when crunching the pre-purchase numbers. Anything over 40 mpg and it turns into beer.

I checked out the TDI forum. Yep, lots of good information. Yep, typical Internet message board lack of consensus on the important issues, and plenty of passion about said same lack of consensus. What I've been able to gather, more or less, is: 1.) break in takes about 5K miles. 2.) It's good to keep the revs up in general and variable, like what you'd see with city driving when breaking it in. 3.) Don't use the cruise during breakin. 4.) I don't think I'll be getting into 6th gear for the next 5K miles, at least.

I'm honest about important things like MPG, cords of firewood cut and burned, etc.
 
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Yup, air is the only thing that doesn't work. Had amsoil synthetic it's whole life,stainless steel techtronics performance exhaust, brand new Nokians, 95% tread, new rear calipers , pads and rotors,,, from sitting. New timing belt kit, with less then 3000 miles. Great second car or everyday driver, never in an accident, yes some wear and tear but for 14 years old it has no issues. Block heater too. 5 spd standard. 2000rpm at 65 mph. Motor never does any work. That's why people get 100's of thousand miles out of these engines. No big upkeep like quoted, at least not for me. Fuel additive, big deal, if that lets you run an injectors and pump for 300,000 plus miles, it's more then paid for itself. Your are talking ounces of additive to 12 gallons on a fill up a fuel additive. If you owned one you would know.
 
Thanks for all your replies and insights. I'll certainly check the mileage "for real" when I fuel it up for the first time, but that's going to take awhile at this rate. I drive about 55-60 mph generally--10 mph faster on the interstate. Keeps the traffic tickets to a minimum. I'm driving faster than that now, however, since I'm trying to keep the RPMs up (and variable) during breakin (i.e., over 2K) Can't even get out of fourth gear at that speed on most of these country highways. They say the onboard meter is pretty accurate, since it measure fuel flow through the injectors and compares it to the mileage being covered. All I really know is that it has over 200 miles on the clock and the tank (filled by the dealer, so you know they didn't top it off) just bumped down to 3/4. Hills appear to have a much greater effect on mileage than speed. As a bicyclist in a hilly part of the country, I'm well aware of that phenomenon.

Diesel goes for about 40 cents per gallon more than regular gas around here. Right now it's about $4.20. Compared to my gas Jetta, which got ("gets" since I gave it to my daughter) 32 mpg, it's pretty much a wash at these prices and assuming 40 mpg, which is what I figured when crunching the pre-purchase numbers. Anything over 40 mpg and it turns into beer.

I checked out the TDI forum. Yep, lots of good information. Yep, typical Internet message board lack of consensus on the important issues, and plenty of passion about said same lack of consensus. What I've been able to gather, more or less, is: 1.) break in takes about 5K miles. 2.) It's good to keep the revs up in general and variable, like what you'd see with city driving when breaking it in. 3.) Don't use the cruise during breakin. 4.) I don't think I'll be getting into 6th gear for the next 5K miles, at least.

I'm honest about important things like MPG, cords of firewood cut and burned, etc.
Don't you love you have all those gears and the motor has to really never see any hard work? One thing I always did with my Beetle TDI and my Dodge diesel truck, let them idle for a few minutes before shutting them down, allows the turbo to cool. Saves the bearings. Your going to love that car! I remember when we first got the beetle, we'd fill it up and drive around thinking the fuel gauge was hanging up;lol. I can remember driving around town going here and there for the day and the needle had just moved off full! Great cars, enjoy!
 
Another nice thing, is only going to the gas station about every 2 weeks, and only putting in 12 gallons. I loved it!
 
My sister had a 96 and now has a newer one. Said she got way better MPG with the 96. Must be the new emissions laws. loves it anyway.
 
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