Originally Posted By: FowVay
Three thousand more for the engine alone? Are you sure you're apples to apples?
Changing a particulate filter every 40,000 miles? Is that written someplace?
Only a dealership can change the fluid in a direct shift gearbox? Wow!
The TDI is so misunderstood...
So true.
My manual says to INSPECT the particulate filter at 120k miles. The system uses pressure differential sensors to monitor the particulate filter and to perform regen cycles as it accumulates stored particles. Even if a DPF is toast (clogged) and doesn't respond to regen cycles they can be refurbished (baked out in an oven). Over the road diesel truck DPF's get refurbished all the time successfully.
An automatic transmission in a TDI? Ugh. No way.
You don't need to service it at a dealer, though.
My tires (Conti) say 51 psi max on the sidewalls. I experiment with 45 psi because it gives an instant boost to mpg. You have to be careful to monitor the center of the tread for wear, though and you also have to be careful about reduced traction due to reduced contact area. VW recommends 38 psi or so. This is to give a balance of fuel economy, ride quality and tire wear.
Relying on a VW dealer to do routine maintenance and then paying a dealer to do maintenance is a worst case scenario to me. I'm a gearhead with German car experience. I'm an ASE master technician with LS1 certification although I'm not in the auto repair business anymore. I also own a VCDS scanner/software along with all of my own tools so I feel that I'm pretty well equipped to maintain this TDI myself. I've also owned VW Diesels before which is a big plus.
Three thousand more for the engine alone? Are you sure you're apples to apples?
Changing a particulate filter every 40,000 miles? Is that written someplace?
Only a dealership can change the fluid in a direct shift gearbox? Wow!
The TDI is so misunderstood...
So true.
My manual says to INSPECT the particulate filter at 120k miles. The system uses pressure differential sensors to monitor the particulate filter and to perform regen cycles as it accumulates stored particles. Even if a DPF is toast (clogged) and doesn't respond to regen cycles they can be refurbished (baked out in an oven). Over the road diesel truck DPF's get refurbished all the time successfully.
An automatic transmission in a TDI? Ugh. No way.
You don't need to service it at a dealer, though.
My tires (Conti) say 51 psi max on the sidewalls. I experiment with 45 psi because it gives an instant boost to mpg. You have to be careful to monitor the center of the tread for wear, though and you also have to be careful about reduced traction due to reduced contact area. VW recommends 38 psi or so. This is to give a balance of fuel economy, ride quality and tire wear.
Relying on a VW dealer to do routine maintenance and then paying a dealer to do maintenance is a worst case scenario to me. I'm a gearhead with German car experience. I'm an ASE master technician with LS1 certification although I'm not in the auto repair business anymore. I also own a VCDS scanner/software along with all of my own tools so I feel that I'm pretty well equipped to maintain this TDI myself. I've also owned VW Diesels before which is a big plus.
Last edited: