Questions on Jetta maintenance

gregk24

gregk24

Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Messages
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Location
FL, USA
I am currently reading through the maintenance schedule in the owners manual of our 2020 VW Jetta. The goal is to type out clear instructions on when to service it. I found a few seemingly odd service intervals and also have some questions, I'm hoping some of you can help me.

First, the replacement interval for the engine air filter is every 6 years / 60,000 miles. That seems like a long interval, no?

Second, with previous Jetta 1.4 models I thought I remembered reading that the TIMING belt was to be initially inspected at 150,000 miles, then every 20,000 miles thereafter and only replacing the belt if the inspection deemed replacement appropriate. Today I see no mention of the timing belt at all, other than "40,000 miles OR 1 year after last service, whichever comes first: RIBBED BELT: check condition. Is the "ribbed belt" the timing belt or the "serpentine" belt? If the ribbed belt is in fact the timing belt, I wonder why the moved inspection from 150K down to 40K / 1 year since last inspection.

Third, I noticed the transmission fluid and filter service interval was moved to 80,000 miles / no time limit. It used to be 50K miles for our previous 2014 Jetta with the 6 speed Tiptronic Aisin automatic. I thought I also read of a 50,000 transmission service interval in our last 2020 Jetta, maybe someone can correct me on that.

Also of note, I couldn't find any mention of replacing the coolant.

I have heard that VW has some trouble getting the correct information in their owners manuals, I just want to make sure I know the correct recommended maintenance for our car. Thank you in advance for any helpful information.
 
Changed the timing belt on a 1.4 with just over 150K a few years ago. Looked like new. Wouldn't have changed it if I didn't know the miles. No way it's 40K.
 
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I go through this mental exercise every time I get new John Deere equipment at my workplace. I find numerous mistakes/changes similar to yours. At least twice I talked to a trusted service manager to help adjust my thoughts. A couple other times I contacted John Deere for clarification and in most instances they admitted that the owners manual was incorrect.

All you can do is continue your quest until satisfied with a plan that suits YOUR wants and needs. The owners manual is not a bible fixed in stone. You can adjust the maintenance intervals shorter or longer to fit your needs, being careful not to affect the warranty (too long).

- your air filter interval does seem too long. Nothing wrong shortening it. What I don't like to do is over-service the air filter - checking too frequently is more opportunity for dirt to get inside.
- timing belt vs. serpentine seems to require more clarification from VW. Maybe join a VW forum, ask the dealer service dept. for info, etc., watching for red flags suggesting over-maintenance.
- I would lower the tranny fluid change interval a bit, based on the consensus here at BITOG.
- No coolant is lifetime, so you will have to find out what that is all about and follow the ideas presented here at BITOG. IMO, with today's great coolants, I believe that radiator drain and fills work on new, well maintained vehicles - at less than maximum intervals.

Sorry I cannot offer specific VW info. Good luck!
 
gregk24 said:
First, the replacement interval for the engine air filter is every 6 years / 60,000 miles. That seems like a long interval, no?

Second, with previous Jetta 1.4 models I thought I remembered reading that the TIMING belt was to be initially inspected at 150,000 miles, then every 20,000 miles thereafter and only replacing the belt if the inspection deemed replacement appropriate. Today I see no mention of the timing belt at all, other than "40,000 miles OR 1 year after last service, whichever comes first: RIBBED BELT: check condition. Is the "ribbed belt" the timing belt or the "serpentine" belt? If the ribbed belt is in fact the timing belt, I wonder why the moved inspection from 150K down to 40K / 1 year since last inspection.

Third, I noticed the transmission fluid and filter service interval was moved to 80,000 miles / no time limit. It used to be 50K miles for our previous 2014 Jetta with the 6 speed Tiptronic Aisin automatic. I thought I also read of a 50,000 transmission service interval in our last 2020 Jetta, maybe someone can correct me on that.

Also of note, I couldn't find any mention of replacing the coolant.

I have heard that VW has some trouble getting the correct information in their owners manuals, I just want to make sure I know the correct recommended maintenance for our car. Thank you in advance for any helpful information.
Click to expand...

Here's a decent chart - you could just highlight the ones applicable to your 1.4T: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164263-0001.pdf

The air filter service is fine - VW uses quality filters with many deep pleats = tons of room for dirt loading. Changing sooner is only needed if you drive in dusty environments - think desert SW, dirt roads, wildfires, etc.

I'd say 10yr on coolant, I guess? Weird that it's not spec'd. Revisit in 10 years.
Congrats on 150k timing belts - I hated having to change or pay for the 90k intervals of 90's cars. Gets expensive when you put on miles.

Follow the recommended maintenance. VW knows what they're doing. I run 10k OCIs without worry on mine. I 'spike' it with LC20 in the oil and RLI in the fuel, just because people used to be worried about turbo GDI and VW carbon deposits. Hasn't been reported to be widespread on Golf VII and newer models.
 
Ribbed belt is VW speak for a serpentine belt. As far as timing belt, I dont see a service interval in the service manual. I would go with 120k personally, timing belts are cheaper than valve jobs
 
Timmastertech said:
Ribbed belt is VW speak for a serpentine belt. As far as timing belt, I dont see a service interval in the service manual. I would go with 120k personally, timing belts are cheaper than valve jobs
Click to expand...
What I find odd is that previous manuals for the 1.4 mentioned inspecting the timing belt, now that recommendation is gone. At least I can't find it.
 
Oildudeny said:
Why dont you just enjoy the car with only 300 miles on it. You're already salivating at the mouth how you're going to get your mits under the hood.
Click to expand...
We are enjoying it, nothing like that new car smell! You know what keeps cars feeling like new longer? Maintenance.
 
Does anybody know if these radiators have a rad cap and a petcock valve at the bottom for easy drain and refills? I looked in the engine bay but didn't see a fill cap.
 
I would assume anything that isn't listed out of the normal realm of maintenance is a "lifetime part" if it was previously listed and now no longer is, I would say that the revision is due to some factor that made it unnecessary, be it a design change or simply experience that the inspection was unnecessary.

Point of order: IIRC there is no mention of maintenance in the owners manual on our 19, it is in a separate booklet.

P.O.O. 2 (thats an unfortunate abbreviation) IRRC there is also no mention of an interval for tire rotation though the dealer stressed 5000 miles (presumably so they could get their greasy mits on it and upsell) - though admittedly for most of the motoring public having a look at it on occasion might not be a bad thing.

P.O.O. 3 The tire rotation pattern VW recommends (at whatever interval one decides to do it I presume) is straight front to back which is not the way I do it.

Anyway, it is not due for anything for 10,000 miles by the book, so you've got some time to figure it out.
 
gregk24 said:
Does anybody know if these radiators have a rad cap and a petcock valve at the bottom for easy drain and refills? I looked in the engine bay but didn't see a fill cap.
Click to expand...
I would highly recommend vacuum filling these systems.
 
Here's my schedule for perfectly maintaining ANY VW.

5k rotations
7.5k oil & filter
15k diesel fuel filter
15k cabin filter
30k transmission spill & fill
30k air filter
30k haldex service
60k spark plugs
60k transmission filter
60k coolant spill & fill
60k t-case/differentials
 
ryster said:
Online videos for the 1.4L show siphoning the coolant out of the overflow tank from the top, then draining the remaining coolant from the system by pulling the radiator hose at the bottom of the radiator.
Click to expand...
I can't find any videos. May you share?
 
gregk24 said:
Curious, why is that? Should I just take to the dealer?
Click to expand...
Most of the newer vehicles are very difficult (or impossible) to bleed in a timely manner. Service manual usually recommends refilling with a vacuum filler because the tool with evacuate most of the air pockets before introducing coolant. Just make sure you buy a vacuum fill tool that uses actual screw-on adapters and not the universal one.
 
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