If your high pressure fuel pump has failed there is no doubt that it would be catastrophic with bits of metal distributed throughout your fuel system, from the tank through to the injectors. There are a few other threads about HPFP failure in this forum. It requires a complete cleaning out and rebuild of your fuel system, replacing anything that needs to be replaced.



One piece of advice is to not let your diesel tank run low, below 1/4 tank, as the pump has to work harder and the recirculating fuel will heat up and reduce the lubrication properties even more.


This potential problem is a worry for many of us.



The dealer/VW may deny responsibility if they can, blaming mis-fueling (using gasoline) or poor quality diesel fuel that does not have enough lubrication as a cause, not their fault.

 

Thanks for the reply! The dealer initially speculated that it "could be" bad diesel and I immediately told them to not dispose of the completely full tank I had just put in as I would need it to prove the gas station was liable. The next day they said HPFP failed but there's no reason to suspect bad diesel and it's all covered under the warranty extension as part of the diesel recall. My concern was more around whether this work truly needs to be done, it sounds like it does but not knowing the dealer well, I want to make sure everything is done properly so I don't need to continue to worry about this. I don't want to still owe a ton of money on a car that is problematic but hopefully this is a one-time occurrence.

I typically always fill the tank completely but since last year, in CA where I'm living, diesel prices went up about 30% to $4/gallon but the price is volatile so I wasn't filling up every time over the last year or roughly the last 7-8k miles. I'm still finding it hard to believe that the failure of one of the fuel pumps can be so catastrophic, seems to be a serious design flaw.

It seems like this is unavoidable but now I'm stuck trying to decide whether I want to keep this car. I really like it and the warranty extension is pretty nice but I don't want to be dealing with this kinda stuff. Even though they've verbally told me it's all covered, I'm still a bit nervous they'll try to charge me for something but the writing in the warranty seems clear. Fortunately I also have comprehensive insurance on the car since it's financed and I should be covered for bad diesel if it goes that route.

I'll dig around for the other threads, I read a bit about this but thought I would post my experience. I'm still wondering if the diesel fix some how exacerbated this issue or if it's just a coincidence...

 

When the fuel pump goes out it grenades and sends metal through the whole system. That is why they are doing all the work they are doing. It is not just a simple pump replacement. Once fixed I would not worry about it. Seems like it was more common on the newer Touaregs. I am driving mine and have owned it from new. Still works fine. I never run my tank real low and buy my diesel in high traffic areas that or more likely to have their tanks filled regularly. I have not even ever used any additives in my tank since owning it. I do use a fuel system cleaner, but that is it.

 

I had this happen on a 2010 TDI, and had to have it towed 400 miles from out of state back to my dealer. VW refused to pay for the $600 tow, but did cover the repair. Replacing most of the fuel system components and removal and cleaning of the tank is the standard repair procedure. If you don't do this, any remaining metal fragments could cause failure of the new pump.

There are many incidences of this problem documented here and in other forums. The fuel pump runs at very high pressures and any fuel contamination can lead to failure. The earlier pumps seemed to be more prone to this and there was some strong evidence that they were not designed to handle the poor quality diesel fuel that is generally available in the US. I am surprised that this happened on a 2016 though as the newer pumps are supposedly more robust.

I would let the dealer do the repair and keep the car. You might want to think about what caused the failure though. Water contamination and using fuel with low lubricity have been identified as factors in the failures. I was in the habit of running the tank down below 1/4 on my 2010, but I avoid doing that now. I also use additives to remove water, clean the fuel system, and increase lubricity. Power Service sells some excellent products for this. But since you will never know for sure what caused the failure, it's difficult to know if these preventive measures will prevent a repeat.

Wishing you good luck in getting your Touareg back on the road quickly.

 

This problem is all over the TDI sites with 2.0 engines, not nearly as frequent with the 3.0 engines. I have had and still have 3.0 Treg 2016 bgt "new" when I traded my 2012 TREG back to VW. I have used PS grey bottle for all my TDIs and never had any trouble with the pumps.I also don't let the fuel get below a 1/4 tank. I have no way to prove the PS saves my HPFPs,but I haven't had an issue with 200,000 miles on these engines. Lubricity is an issue with ULSD,so to me this is a cheap insurance policy.

Everyone has to make their own decision as to how to handle their cars. These are good engines that will go 100,000s of miles if handled with reasonable care.

 

I use PS white in winter months and PS grey in summer....with every fill. Does it work? Who knows. As posted earlier, cheap insurance. 61k on my 2016 with no issues...fix, heater recall performed.

Good luck with the repair

 

Known issue as you now know..

VW are replacing all the parts and, from other reports on the HFPF failure, it could cost up to $16,000!

One of the tips from previous occurrences is not to let the fuel tank go under 1/4 full.

The diesel is under high pressure at the engine and thus is hot.

Unwanted hot fuel is returned to the tank.

It does go through a cooler on the return but it also seems to rely on the cooler fuel in the tank for further cooling.

 

Yeah, I hear you about the increase in diesel price in CA... CA sucks! Mr. Brown sucks... Anyway, thanks for the thread since my wife is running the tank fairly low before fueling.

 

Thanks for the information, everyone! This has been an interesting experience. Yeah it seems I don't have much choice other than to let the dealer sort through this but just wanted to get some validation from other owners. I probably never really let it run down low the first 2 years but like I said, once diesel went up, I started letting it run lower over the last year so obviously I will not be doing that in the future. I will also be looking at the PS products that you guys are using, I'm still really bummed this happened and I'm losing confidence in the car. The extended warranty is nice but I need to rely on my vehicle and I was hoping the dealer would be able to explain WHY the HPFP failed. As mentioned earlier, when it first came up they seemed to think bad diesel but they backed off that when I asked for a sample, I think I'm still gonna ask them to keep some of the diesel in case something comes up though I don't there's anything to worry about.

I'll keep this thread updated when I get more information from the dealer. Hoping for some good news next week...

Zach

 

My advice is to let sleeping dogs lie. Do not test the fuel and find that it is contaminated, so giving your dealer/VW an excuse to duck the liability. You would have the inconvenience and expense to try to nail the fuel depot.


Thank your lucky stars that they have agreed to pay.


In future take the precautions suggested and hopefully you will avoid any similar problems, just like the rest of us. There is no point being too worried about this problem because it does not happen that frequently. However, sympathy for being one of the few who have been affected. Hope they fix it properly.

 

+1, I would also make enquire with the dealer which is doing the replacement if exactly the same HPFP will be used or if an upgraded pump is going in.

TonyB

 

I also have a 2016 Lux - mine with 71,000. Suddenly stopped and I had it towed to the dealership. Same problem - high pressure fuel pump shot, sending metal throughout system. Dealer quoted $10,000 - $12,000 but VW taking care of it because of the diesel-gate issue. Hoping it doesn't happen again.

 

A couple things about these HPFP failures.... Why would you buy a $50 to 60K diesel, and then run the cheapest, crappiest fuel through the HPFP system?

Two things I have observed, in all the research in the NHTSA investigation done on Common Rail diesels.... an extremely high number of the failures occured with people that ran Shell and Valero branded diesel fuel. So I stay away from those brands. The best quality fuels I've run in CA, NV, UT, AZ, WY and ID have been Conoco, Phillips, 76 Unocal, Chevron/ Texaco, and Mobil brands of fuel. In UT, Sinclair, Conoco Phillips 66 are good brands.

Stay away from any of those food brand discount outlets that offer $0.10 to what ever off per gallon, based on whatever your food purchases were last month at food king, Krogers, Vons, whatever, also Costco branded diesel.

If you want more assurance, find a way to add a quart of B99 biodiesel to every fillup in your fuel tank. Also, top your fuel tank up every time, to prevent condensation from forming in your fuel tank over night.... fuel tanks "breathe" due to changes in temperature, moisture condenses on the sides of the fuel tank, out of the air, and runs into your diesel fuel. Nothing will kill a HPFP faster than water or condensation in your fuel... keep your fuel dry, use Diesel Kleen white bottle 4 to 6 oz with every fill up.

Being cheap and being a Touareg owner is a bad combination... they are expensive to maintain, as are all German branded cars, it's really a Porsche, and the parts are priced accordingly. You can NOT neglect recommended service on them. If you want something more reliable, get something more utilitarian and japanese or Korean for an SUV, if the operating expenses are more than you can bear between paychecks. You can always ask to see a sample of the fuel from your fuel tank in bright sunlight... swirl it around, and if in sunlight it looks like a "Glitterbomb" of very fine sparkle in your fuel sample, you'll know your HPFP grenaded and contaminated your whole fuel system, that "Glitterbomb" metal filings will be throughout your whole fuel system, and require a complete scrub and purge of everything. Those metal shavings can seize in your injectors in a common rail diesel, leave an injector stuck open, and you'll have a hole melted in the piston it's stuck open on in no time flat, and then need a whole new motor. So, VW replaces the whole fuel system, almost everything that contaminated with HPFP bits of metal touches.

 

What a bummer! I hope they get it done for you soon. Speaking of additives, look into Schaeffer's products. It's very cost-effective. You get more for your money and a gallon jug lasts a long time

 

Thanks everyone for the information. I just got the call that my Touareg is finally ready, this dealer has been a disappointment on every level, zero communication through the process and the "we're waiting for parts" excuse every time I stopped by or emailed them. So with that in mind, is there anything I can or should inspect when I pick up my car today? It's raining here in LA so it's going to be tough to do much but when I had the recall work done at a different dealer, I had a big scratch on the car that they took zero responsibility for, I buffed most of it out but still it's lame.

I'm not sure I'll be able to look at much but I've seen the usual Adblue spills and sloppy engine oil fill, from what I know these are different techs than those replacing the whole fuel system but still it's not cool.

Also, is it possible that some metallic particles still got into my engine? I tend to drive to pretty remote areas in the mountains here in SoCal regularly and don't want to get stuck out there where my phone doesn't work and an unreliable car. Or is it safe to assume if it's running now, I'm good?

Thanks again!!

Zach

 

Good point. I assumed it was the exact same part since they're not admitting it's a high failure component. If it happens again, it will still be covered but I absolutely do not want to deal with this ever again!

 

Don't put cheap, crappy fuel in your TDI. In my research on HPFP failure... several brands of fuel came up consistently.... Shell, Valero, and any cheap Supermarket branded discount fuels, like Ralphs, Kroger, etc. The brands of fuel you do want to buy that seem to cause less problems are 76 Unocal, Conoco, Sinclair, Phillips 66, Mobil, Exxon, and Texaco.

Also, always keep at least 1/4 tank of fuel in your Touareg at all times, don't run the fuel tank low. Fuel is used as a coolant in these pumping systems, running your fuel low is the same as running your fuel pumps, all of them, low on coolant.

The leading cause of HPFP, in my engineering backround estimation with failure analysis, is extreme trailing throttle cut off of fueling. This is releasing the throttle completely after full throttle applications. The fuel pressure in the common rail spikes, from high fuel flow under very high full throttle operating pressures in the fuel rail at close to 30,000 psi. There is nowhere for the fuel to go when you chop the throttle off, the HPFP has a lag time cutting back the fuel pressure and bleeding it off, back to the fuel tank.

The best thing to do is avoid abrupt throttle changes on any common rail diesel TDI. It's not a race car, it's really designed for steady state cruising on roads, highways and freeways, not city type driving, which it only tolerates.

Hope this helps you.... drive it a little less enthusiastically, use good fuel, not the cheapest crap you can find, and your touareg will let you down less often.

 

A couple things about these HPFP failures.... Why would you buy a $50 to 60K diesel, and then run the cheapest, crappiest fuel through the HPFP system?

Two things I have observed, in all the research in the NHTSA investigation done on Common Rail diesels.... an extremely high number of the failures occured with people that ran Shell and Valero branded diesel fuel. So I stay away from those brands. The best quality fuels I've run in CA, NV, UT, AZ, WY and ID have been Conoco, Phillips, 76 Unocal, Chevron/ Texaco, and Mobil brands of fuel. In UT, Sinclair, Conoco Phillips 66 are good brands.

Stay away from any of those food brand discount outlets that offer $0.10 to what ever off per gallon, based on whatever your food purchases were last month at food king, Krogers, Vons, whatever, also Costco branded diesel.

If you want more assurance, find a way to add a quart of B99 biodiesel to every fillup in your fuel tank. Also, top your fuel tank up every time, to prevent condensation from forming in your fuel tank over night.... fuel tanks "breathe" due to changes in temperature, moisture condenses on the sides of the fuel tank, out of the air, and runs into your diesel fuel. Nothing will kill a HPFP faster than water or condensation in your fuel... keep your fuel dry, use Diesel Kleen white bottle 4 to 6 oz with every fill up.

Being cheap and being a Touareg owner is a bad combination... they are expensive to maintain, as are all German branded cars, it's really a Porsche, and the parts are priced accordingly. You can NOT neglect recommended service on them. If you want something more reliable, get something more utilitarian and japanese or Korean for an SUV, if the operating expenses are more than you can bear between paychecks. You can always ask to see a sample of the fuel from your fuel tank in bright sunlight... swirl it around, and if in sunlight it looks like a "Glitterbomb" of very fine sparkle in your fuel sample, you'll know your HPFP grenaded and contaminated your whole fuel system, that "Glitterbomb" metal filings will be throughout your whole fuel system, and require a complete scrub and purge of everything. Those metal shavings can seize in your injectors in a common rail diesel, leave an injector stuck open, and you'll have a hole melted in the piston it's stuck open on in no time flat, and then need a whole new motor. So, VW replaces the whole fuel system, almost everything that contaminate ind with HPFP bits of metal touches.

Thank you for that insight!

A couple things about these HPFP failures.... Why would you buy a $50 to 60K diesel, and then run the cheapest, crappiest fuel through the HPFP system?

Two things I have observed, in all the research in the NHTSA investigation done on Common Rail diesels.... an extremely high number of the failures occured with people that ran Shell and Valero branded diesel fuel. So I stay away from those brands. The best quality fuels I've run in CA, NV, UT, AZ, WY and ID have been Conoco, Phillips, 76 Unocal, Chevron/ Texaco, and Mobil brands of fuel. In UT, Sinclair, Conoco Phillips 66 are good brands.

Stay away from any of those food brand discount outlets that offer $0.10 to what ever off per gallon, based on whatever your food purchases were last month at food king, Krogers, Vons, whatever, also Costco branded diesel.

If you want more assurance, find a way to add a quart of B99 biodiesel to every fillup in your fuel tank. Also, top your fuel tank up every time, to prevent condensation from forming in your fuel tank over night.... fuel tanks "breathe" due to changes in temperature, moisture condenses on the sides of the fuel tank, out of the air, and runs into your diesel fuel. Nothing will kill a HPFP faster than water or condensation in your fuel... keep your fuel dry, use Diesel Kleen white bottle 4 to 6 oz with every fill up.

Being cheap and being a Touareg owner is a bad combination... they are expensive to maintain, as are all German branded cars, it's really a Porsche, and the parts are priced accordingly. You can NOT neglect recommended service on them. If you want something more reliable, get something more utilitarian and japanese or Korean for an SUV, if the operating expenses are more than you can bear between paychecks. You can always ask to see a sample of the fuel from your fuel tank in bright sunlight... swirl it around, and if in sunlight it looks like a "Glitterbomb" of very fine sparkle in your fuel sample, you'll know your HPFP grenaded and contaminated your whole fuel system, that "Glitterbomb" metal filings will be throughout your whole fuel system, and require a complete scrub and purge of everything. Those metal shavings can seize in your injectors in a common rail diesel, leave an injector stuck open, and you'll have a hole melted in the piston it's stuck open on in no time flat, and then need a whole new motor. So, VW replaces the whole fuel system, almost everything that contaminated with HPFP bits of metal touches.

Thank you for that insight!

 

Thanks TurdBurgler! Any thoughts on those additional diesel additives that have been mentioned? I can't recall the brand but some have said they add it to every tank and want to make sure this is something I should be doing to keep everything in working order?

Zach

 

​

I run Power Service white bottle, most every other fuel up, 5 to 7 oz added, depending on how much fuel I bought for the fillup. I also usually try to fill up with 18 to 21 gallons, every fillup, and I buy 12 gallons of B99 biodiesel at Dal Soglio's in Salt Lake City, every 12 to 18 months, and add 32 oz every fillup, from an Arizona Ice Tea 40 oz, plastic bottle. I believe that the lubricity of current diesei fuel in CA is inadequate, it's not low enough. So 1 to 2% or somewhere in between is what I blend at, every fillup. Add a qt of B99, then top the tank with 18 to 21 gallons of D2.

Power Service White keeps your fuel dry, biodiesel adds lubricity.

That, and drive it nice and gentle, easy going on the throttle and easy getting off the throttle.

Diesel engines are best run in a steady state RPM and load. Think of Boats, Trains, tugs, heavy equipment for mining, heavy equipment for farming. If it runs diesel fuel, try to keep the rpms and throttle positions near constant, with out making changes.

I realize there are a lot of driving enthusiasts here, that drive TDI's. TDI's work great if you drive like a big rig truck driver, lots of miles between warm ups and shut downs, on freeways and interstate, steady state. TDI's don't work so well if you are on and off the throttle a lot, drive enthusiastically, or come from American V8 cars, or little japanese 4 bangers that you rev to 7 or 8000 rpm with their overhead cams, before they start making any horsepower.

Moderation.... lot's of moderation, and will power, makes a VW TDI diesel last a long, long time. Driving hard, burning up brakes, burning up rotors, getting low MPG's compared to others in the same vehicle, those are your signs the Touareg is being driven hard and used hard.

 

Glad that you are back in business.


Disclaimer, I have no personal experience with this nor any specific detailed knowledge, but have general knowledge as an engineer. I would expect that no significant metal particles would have passed the tiny injector nozzles to contaminate the engine when you first had the problem. If it is running normally now, I would assume that it has been fixed. If any metal particles were remaining, then the nozzles would jam up and the engine would not run properly.


To keep it running I buy fuel from a good brand busy depot, so the fuel is relatively fresh. Avoid purchasing when you see a tanker replenishing the fuel depot because that may stir up the residue that is sitting at the bottom of the tanks. Keep the fuel above 1/4 tank in the car.


There is no definitive evidence that fuel additives help, but it is a small cost to use these. Personally, I add a small dose of lubrication additive every second fuel refill.

 

deadlock, A gallon of Power service additive cost less than 20 bucks. You use 6 ounces per fill up. How does anyone not use it when people have said they put 10s of thousands of miles on their TDIs with very little issues like the HPFP blow ups. I have had 5 tdi's with no HPFP issues. 2 of them were the 2.0s that had the most trouble. As my grade school teacher use to say " a word to the wise is sufficient".

 

Yep, agreed this is well worth it. I just wanted to make sure as there's also lots of junk additives sold out there and wouldn't want to risk some warranty issue since I now have the super long extended warranty as part of the recall settlement.

Do you recommend silver or white bottle for SoCal?

 

Also, it's pouring rain today... check your air filter once this rain spell is over, for water damage, make sure the drain inside the filter box at the bottom is draining properly.... this is a 2015 -2016 issue. This is especially important if you go off road. One other thing, if you go offroad with others, in a group, stay back from the vehicle in front of you, don't eat their dust. Let your air filters for the engine and cab breath dust free, air, don't clog them up unnecessarily. Back off, be patient, go easy on the filters, don't load them up unnecessarily.

One last item.... don't EVER run a K&N filter in a german car... Period! Just don't! They are sieves, not air filters, they let dust and dirt into your MAF, intake and engine, causing a quicky bore job. Use factory paper filter elements, Mann, Mahle, Hengst, etc.

 

Hmm I will check this out, I'm not sure if the air filter is included in any the regular service checks. I know they replaced the cabin/pollen filter but I'd have to check the manual to see if they should have replaced the engine air filter, then confirm if they actually did when this rain lets up. Thanks!

 

According to this post - there is no difference in diesel fuel at differently branded stations.


From post #27:
https://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f49/who-makes-the-best-diesel-fuel-183978-3.html
Author - 40acres

"The best diesel fuel is fuel that is purchased from clean, well maintained stations with modern fiberglass storage tanks and high sales volume. I currently haul fuel for a living to retail stations. Diesel fuel branding by manufacture is irrelevant in most parts of the Country (USA). Manufacturers (refiners) usually transport their products through common pipeline systems and the product ends up in common storage tanks at tank farm facilities until it is loaded on a truck to it's retail point. Diesel fuel branding in most areas is non-existent. Gasoline shares this same transport/storage scenario however when gasoline is loaded in the delivery truck the branding companies additive is injected into the gasoline common stock as it loads making the "branded" product. Since the gasoline stock is common and the EPA requires additive in all gasoline sold to control engine deposits branding is largely marketing with probably very little difference in the product. Diesel fuel usually doesn't have this branding additive injection and when you see a station branded it usually pertains to the gasoline only. There is a difference between regular gas/diesel stocks and premium gas/diesel stocks but again they are stored in common storage tanks respectively regardless of brand."
From post #27:
https://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f49/who-makes-the-best-diesel-fuel-183978-3.html

 

I've always thought this was the case but obviously after this incident, i'm rethinking my assumptions. Also, even if the gas/diesel is the same, is it possible storge tanks are not properly maintained or the actual filling pumps could be jacked up? I assume the Dept. of Weights and Measures requires some sort of inspection but I really know nothing about this... Fortunately diesel prices have come down quite a bit and there's no need to shop around for the best diesel prices. Plus I made sure they returned the car to me with a full tank since I took it in with a full tank.

 

Run your new HPFP with light throttle application the first 3 to 5 tanks of, fuel.... You literally are breaking in a brand new HPFP, and it should be done gently. No hard or deep throttle applications that will cause the roller and cam to have to be subjected to extreme loads, until the parts have a few thousand miles to burnish in and mate wear patterns together. There's a place down in Corona, Downs Energy, that sells B99, fill up a 5 gallon jug and add a Quart ASAP to your fuel tank, during break in.

Here in the Western USA, especially CA, we don't use pipelines for fuel or raw petroleum oil for delivery. This doesn't apply to us. This is more for oil refined around the Houston area and then pipelined to the NE USA

 

Thanks again, TB! Well this is LA so running completely light on the throttle isn't always an option but I am going as easy as possible, despite the dirty looks I'm getting from other drivers.

Corona is a bit of a hike but I will try and get down there. Are you using an online tool to find the B99 retailers? Wondering if something is closer to me in the SFV...

B99 is definitely safe and not going to impact any warranty stuff? I've read that initially it has a solvent effect and can clog fuel filters which makes me a little hesitant. Also, stupid question but since there's no separate trunk in the Toureg, do you have a good container setup you to transport this stuff and to measure and pour it? I'm living in my Airstream so I don't have a garage or too much space but obviously want to do right by my car. I'm curious to hear if you've used any specific brand of Jerry Can or what?

Keep me posted, I don't typically drive a ton but was thinking of driving into the mountains today to get a run in the snow, hopefully this thing is reliable now...

Zach

 

1. Always keep your fuel tank full. Otherwise the tank breathes in moisture at night into the early morning.

2. IMHO, for driving in western states with mountains, your trailer is too heavy for the displacement of your motor. German TUV standards of 7700 # towing are misleading to North American towing needs. This is because the [CHASSIS, by TUV (our DOT standards) is rated for 7700 pound... All over EU a 4.2 L Audi / VW motor that is a V8 is shoehorned into the front end of a Touareg, putting out 345 to 375 HP and up to 627 ft lbs of torque. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Volkswagen_Group_diesel_engines

3. As a result of this, and it's a marketing gimmick here in the USA, the 7700 lbs of trailer should probably (IMHO) be a lot closer to 2/3 of the rated 7700 lb's allowed based on weight of trailer to number of ft /lbs torque the motor can produce. That would be about 5100 lbs of trailer, maximum. iMHO, your trailer is overweight, based on engine displacement size alone. You really need a bigger diesel motor for your 25 ft Airstream, or a smaller, lighter Airstream TT.

4. Your driving patterns, driving around in a city, for the majority of miles, are not conducive to owning a TDI Touareg.

5. There are a lot of enthusiasts here, that state their Touareg "tows like there's nothing back there at all". I don't know what their problem is, but the statement is patently false. All you need to do is look in the side view mirrors and rear view mirrors and watch your MPG's drop in half or more, towing 55 mph here in CA, and feel how deep your foot is into the accelerator, going up even the slightest of grades, or how the shifting pattern of your vehicle changes when towing, to know this is the big lie, trying to make their Touareg into something it is really not. It is not a heavy duty diesel motor, it is built, engineered and designed as a light diesel motor, fine for pushing around Audi 6, 7 and 8 model sedans, marginal in a 5000 # Touareg, and really marginal in a close to #6000 pound Audi Q7. You just can't do that much work with such a limited displacement motor, and expect things to last.


Honestly... for your driving habits, you'd probably be a lot better off with driving a gas model SUV like a Honda CRV around the city, and buy a real truck for your towing needs. This is all just IMHO.... The Touareg TDi will do you no favors with how you are using it. You will, IMHO, have more trouble and problems than it's worth, with your driving style. I won't even begin to go into how you are not completing DPF regenerations with your driving style, or what that does to the turbo charger when you shut down during one of those going on.


Sell it, your Touareg, and buy something else, before you end up whining about how much time your Touareg spends in the shop getting fixed.

 

Thanks for the comments. I'm not selling it any time soon, it's just not practical. With the extended warranty and all the coverage I have, it's worth dealing with any problems for right now but it certainly might not be the vehicle I drive until the bitter end like initially thought.

Your suggestion to sell it is not a practical one for many reasons and my comments on here have been far from "whining" but actually seeking out information to help with the first problem I had with this car in 3 years. Also, it seems based on the fact that I do some regular towing here in the Southwest which I do not do, it's just not fun to tow in CA as the 55mph limit creates a huge gap between the rest of the traffic and IMO makes it even more dangerous than other places. On top of that, generally it's difficult to get reservations at places I like to go without advance planning, something I generally do not do. I do however camp quite a bit and the TREG has been fine for that.

Also, ultimately I think you missed the point of my frustrations with the VW dealer that was handling the repair, it was more around how long it took them to get parts and missing numerous deadline after deadline and not communicating once during the whole time. I had to go there in person to get any updates which is just bad business, set the proper expectation and customers will not get nearly as upset.

I will say that after having the VW Jetta rental they put me in, I've considered picking up a beater since it was fun to not worry about anything and get better mileage but probably not going to happen.

IIRC correctly, the DPF is also covered under the extended warranty up to 120k/10years so come on, why would I sell? I still owe money on this car and I'm open to the discussion but the way I see it, this car is a keeper until maybe like 70-80k miles or another few years then I can reconsider. But that said, some of those S-line Q5s look pretty nice, if I could work out a good trade, it might be worth it.

This probably doesn't matter but my vehicles are all registered in SD, no inspection, no emissions check so if things get really bad, the AdBlue/DPF delete looks pretty appealing but I've not researched this in much detail.

Again, appreciate your thoughts, I'm certainly not rejecting any of your comments but just letting you know where i'm coming from. If there's something that's not under warranty or other stuff to watch out for then let me know, I think I'm probably good for a bit with this ride but who knowss...

Zach

 

You will forever deal with VW's and their dealerships smugness, arrogance, leaving you in the dark, and flat out lying to you on when it will be ready. It's part and parcel of Teutonic Heritage. Goes back clear to Audi 5000 sudden acceleration lawsuit in the 1980's, and blaming it on the owners, when it was their throttle and brake tree design putting the brake pedal too close together. Audi called it "operator error" and blamed the owner, while silently keeping the same part number and changing a C to a D ending on the same part, with more offset, in the Audi 100 model.

I had a 2013 that had a very simple electric switch in the shifter column fail, making my removal of the keyfob impossible on my 2013 Sport. It was a supposed $1800 fix, 7 hours and a $900 part that had now become completely "integrated" and a very, very expensive fix, compared to my 2012 model.

I have been brand loyal to VW forever. It still took 30 days with my car down, for VW to get the part and fix it, including a "week delay" because supposedly Antelope Valley VW was so "backed up" with repair work, that when the part finally got in, after being on backorder 3 weeks from Germany, bec, (thoause VW didn't keep the parts in inventory in stock here in the USA at any of their 5 major part warehouses, (the one closest to us in in Ontario, California)

I really have nothing much good to say about VW and how they run their US side business. It's like every dealership fights for money from VWoA to get paid for warranty work, and VWoA fights for money from VW De to get reimbursed also. They are absolute stinkers about it all. As a result, the dealership would just rather screw you, the customer, and have you pay full pop for work that should be covered under warranty work, than have to deal with USA corporate and Deutschland corporate. The tech makes a lot more money, the Service Writer makes a lot more money, and the dealership makes a lot more money. You, on the other hand, get screwed. Been there, done that, owned VW diesel product my whole life since I bought a Jetta coupe 2 door diesel brand new back in 1981.

VW's are reliable if you baby them. They are not reliable if you abuse them. IMHO, your Airstream and higher speeds constitutes abuse. That's OK, you don't have to believe me... you can think I'm a nut job. Or, sooner or later, you might come to the conclusion that I was right. I had to cancel my trip and reservations with travel trailer to West Yellowstone in July of 2018. My Touareg was out of commission for a month. Somehow, all the people at VW saying they were terribly sorry about my circumstances, ruining my vacation, while they shipped the part slow boat, VW overnight air shipping the part, didn't cut it. YMMV, VW's are not reliable. There's a lot of plastic parts, switches and components that fail, that VW doesn't keep in stock here in inventory in the USA, they keep it all in Germany.

Sorry, Just the Facts here.

I've never, ever owed a cent on any of my Touareg TDi's. Owned a 2012, and 2013 outright, since new, and now a used 2014 Lux, only because I wanted leather seats, the sunroof sucks. Otherwise, they'd all be Sport Models.

 

Your insight has been interesting and HAD been appreciated, however operating my Touareg within the manufacturer's guidelines (which is why I bought the TREG in the first place) is NOT abuse, if you really want to be factual.

Your experiences and problems with VW diesels may or may not impact me but you lose lots of credibility when you claim I'm whining and abusing my car (I'm not even sure about what the speed comment you're referring to but I don't care). I never called you a nut job or made any negative remarks, always said I appreciated your insight but I'm good, bruh...

 

Zach, I had the same thing happen to my TDI the Friday before the holidays and had the same experiance with the dealer as you, poor comunication. With the holidays the parts were not being delivered in a timely manner and then the mechanic broke a sensor and had to order that delaying the completion even more. When I picked up the car I looked under the hood and at the undercarage. There were some small parts missing like a cap on one of the AC lines and a clip on the air cleaner. No big deal I told the sevice writer and she called the mechanic. He came out and replaced the missing parts. While talking to him he said he cleaned out the fuel tank as best he could but couldn't reach every corner of the tank. He suggested that after this tank of fuel was gone to change out the fuel filter. I did it yesterday and there was some remaining particals like dust in the fuel I extacted and at the bottom of the bowl. I'm going to do it again after this tank of fuel too. Hopefully that will do it. For six years I've gotten most of my diesel at the same station. It wasn't until I had the fix done and the dealer filled the tank that my HPFP went out, one week later. Coincidence???

 

Ugh, sorry to hear you've had the same issues, The Right Kind. The communication thing goes a long way, especially when the repair takes weeks. I didn't mind driving the rental car, I just hated not knowing what was up and I knew after a while that I was likely only going to get a call when it was done and would have to rush over to pick it up.

What dealership did you go to? Everyone I know in SB is so chill and nice, I would almost assume better customer service up there. I went to Galpin VW on Roscoe here in Van Nuys and they've always been worse than any other dealer I've gone to in terms of communication but I have no reason to suspect the work is not good. It's been raining here non-stop but now I'm extra concerned about looking under the hood and making sure nothing was damaged, ugh!

Also this makes me extra concerned about getting some additive in my tank to lubricate things, I'll have to grab some of that Power Service silver bottle. I asked about checking the filters or anything else, the service writer told me they got everything and it went flawlessly but that's just lipservice.

How difficult was the fuel filter swap? I'm thinking it might be worth while doing just to be safe but I haven't touched this car really since it's been under warranty.

Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear you had the same issue!

Zach