The day my divorce was final in July I bought a new car, a 2011 VW Jetta TDI. I drive about 70 miles round trip to work and I wanted a car that would get good mileage. The TDI is highway rated at 42 mpg but I’ve gotten up to 52 mpg at times. I went from filling up twice a week to once every 10 days or so.
Saturday I’m driving home on the interstate going about 65-70 when a warning light pops up and I lose all acceleration. I was lucky enough to get to the shoulder where I pulled out the manual to see what the light was. Engine Control Malfunction. Well, that was about useless because the inability to move forward kind of gave that away. I managed to limp home. It was too late to call the service department so I figured I’d call them first thing Monday morning.
In the meantime I began doing some research and found an issue with the high pressure fuel pump in some VW made diesel engines. Apparently when it goes bad it sends metal shards all throughout the fuel system. Instead of simply replacing the HPFP the entire fuel system needs to be replaced. I wasn’t sure if this was the same issue I was having because drivers were reporting that their cars stalled after losing power. Mine didn’t stall.
On a whim I went out to the car today to see if it would start. I turn the key and the engine seized then…nothing. Awesome! Now I get to call the service department first thing Monday morning, arrange for a tow and hope I can get a loaner car. The car is still under warranty so at least I have that going for me.
What pisses me off is that the car only has 10,000 miles on it. I took it in for regular service last Monday and then this happens. I need a car that can go more that 10,000 miles without having a major system replaced. Getting stranded on a rural stretch of interstate is not something that I want to experience.
I think I’m going to get rid of it. The mileage is great but I’ll give up the mpg for a car that won’t crap out after 10,000 miles. I had a Daimler era Dodge before this car that was a beast. I know Dodges from that time don’t have the best reputation but that thing never gave me any issues. Maybe it’s time I stopped and took another look at what they have available.
Dude, I could have told you not to buy a VW - they can’t seem to get their reviews over “barely adequate.” Dodge is no better - you’d do a lot better with Toyota or Hyundai if you want mileage and reliability. In my opinion, of course. (I’m driving a 2005 Toyota Corolla that I’ve had for six years now - no complaints at all.)
Same thing happened to my mother and her Jetta TDI. It took Volkswagen’s mechanics a month to diagnose and fix the problem. Then, when they returned the car, the “check engine” light was still illuminated. She took it back, and they said, “Oh yeah, we can’t figure out how to get that to turn off. You’ll just have to live with it. Forever.”
She traded it in for a Subaru Outback before its first birthday.
Bought a VW Quantum many years ago. During the first year I had so many problems with it that the dealer’s repair shop knew me better than my family! After that experience I swore to never buy another VW! Since then it’s been only Toyotas for me and it’s been smooth sailing since. I can’t even remember if I ever had to take any of my Toyotas in for a repair job. Only service has been the regular maintenance.
I had the car towed in this morning. It was pushed into a service bay and sat for about an hour until someone could look at it. Of course it then started right up. They were able to get some fault codes off it and it’s not as bad as I thought. Apparently there’s something wrong with the turbo. They’re going to keep it for a few days to see if they can get the problem to happen again. In the meantime they arranged for a loaner.
That is no fun. I know this doesn’t help in the meantime, but next time you are thinking about a purchase, this site might help avoid something like this.
Well, they figured out the issue. Moisture is getting into the forced air cooler and freezing in cold temps. It’s covered under warranty but the kit to fix it is on back order and may take from 1 week to 1 month to get. At least they’re covering the cost of a loaner.
I used to have a ‘91 Volvo 240. It was a freakin’ tank, and I wish I’d held onto it as I’ve been through a few cars since selling it that have crapped out and I’m certain that little black 240 is still running, somewhere.
it’s only within the last generation of products where Hyundai seems to have finally discovered reliability; prior to that their charts in Consumer Reports are peppered with black. Kia was miserably worse.
My mom had a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta TDI station wagon. We had plenty of issues with it, on-and-off repeatedly. However, we had a 1998 TDI Jetta sedan before that that worked fine.
We got a 2009 Jetta TDI station wagon again in December 2008, trading in the 2002. Besides my dad’s accident (his fault, not looking at a stop sign) and the subsequent repairs, no problems at all with it.
As of today (New Year’s Eve) my car is still not repaired. On Dec 29 I was notified by the dealership that the part would not be in for 2 more weeks. According to Illinois’ lemon law if the car is out of service for 30 days the manufacturer must replace it or buy it back from me. If my calculations are correct the two week period they gave me falls precariously to the 30 day limit. Should the car not be repaired by the 30 day limit set forth by Illinois law I’m going back to Dodge.
If you really want to get rid of this thing, I suggest you keep quite and not remind the dealer of this. Be patient and calm, and they will keep putting you off. Then, on day 31, spring into action!
I really wish people would stop saying things like this. there is way more to a car’s reliability than the engine. I mean, I don’t give a rip how nicely the engine runs if the suspension is falling apart.
Having owned two Dodge vehicles in my lifetime, I don’t think I’d go that route - my 1982 Omni, and 1996 Caravan, were both subprime vehicles. But the Jetta does sound like more trouble than it’s worth. Here’s hoping they go over that 30 day limit and you can get rid of it!!
Having also owned a Fiat, don’t go there. Unless they’ve made a HELL of an improvement. My Fiat was worse than my two Dodges.
If I wanted to buy American, I’d look at a Ford (I think, need to look at their reliability). If foreign, it’d be Japanese or Korean. Not German (our family had a Mercedes and a VW at different times, both were bad).
Understood and I agree - similarly my opinion of Fiats based on two our family owned in the 1978-1982 timeframe. However, in both cases, we were burned badly enough that I’d never consider owning that brand.
In the case of the later Dodge, it had repeated air conditioning problems which cost me well over 3,000 dollars over several years. A known issue with Dodges of that era, so well known that they offered one of those “hidden warranties” - on every model EXCEPT the Caravan.
(I’m driving a 2005 Toyota Corolla that I’ve had for six years now - no complaints at all.)