[Synmag]

Hello,

I am about to pull the trigger on a 2014 V6 TDI. I have a lot to learn, however I have a question which may be a show stopper. When I searched for TDI suitability I found recommendations that people who do short trips to work should not get a TDI due to the engine not getting the chance to warm up and some system gets clogged. Some say a weekly highway trip solves the issue.

Can someone elaborate on what system gets clogged and the type/cost/frequency of repair I would be looking at? I assume it has something to do with this AdBlue system I have been reading about.

Anyone here who has been doing short trips to work (3-6 miles) with anecdotal evidence?

 

[Black Grouse]

The diesel particulate filter (DPF) needs to regenerate from time to time, by running the exhaust very hot to burn off the accumulated soot in the DPF - it can't do this until fully warmed up.

20 mins monthly at highway speeds is said to be enough to clear it.

If you live in a cool/cold climate you'll find a diesel takes much longer to warm up than petrol/gasoline and uses considerably more fuel.

 

[BenTDI]

My wife and I have been doing short trips to/from work every day. I don't give it a second's thought and haven't had a single issue in almost 3 years and 35,000 miles. For me it is a non-issue.

 

[Marbles]

Which ever Touareg you choose, look at getting a comprehensive extended warranty, then enjoy driving it.
As for short trips it depends is it stop and go traffic through town or country miles at 45-60mph.

 

[Synmag]

Thanks for that, it's good to know I should be ok.

Now the news...

I went to make a deal and thoroughly looked at the cosmetics and the car is like brand new. The kicker is, wait for it...it was labeled as a lemon in June 2014 and was bought back by VW. I'm going to need help deciphering the carfax report. I asked the dealer if he can get me the service records to determine what was the problem but he said he couldn't get it. After I read that it's his responsibility to get the information from the manufacturer.

On the report Emission / Saftey and Lemon / Manufacturer buy-back are indicated with yes. I will start a new thread on this but I wonder if it was bought back due to the emission cheating but June 2014 seems too early for that.

 

[Calinada]

I do mostly city driving and DPF clogging is a non issue. I even had them check it at my 10,000 service and it was clear.
As for the lemon issue, maybe it was unresolved steering wheel shake. If you drive it again get it on the highway up to 80 or so and make sure there are no vibrations. Also try and call the servicing dealer yourself based on the car fax and see what they had done to it.

 

[philthyphil]

I would guess that it was bought back due to problems with the adblue system. It's a very well known and documented problem area with the v6 tdi. Most of the pre 2013 cars have had their systems replaced by now but they still are not 100% trouble free. My 2012 is on its third adblue pump and about to put in its third adblue heater. But then again it does have 112k on it.

 

[Synmag]

I do mostly city driving and DPF clogging is a non issue. I even had them check it at my 10,000 service and it was clear.

If it were to become an issue how much would it be to fix? Is the remedy some sort of flush or is it parts replacement?

As for the lemon issue, maybe it was unresolved steering wheel shake. If you drive it again get it on the highway up to 80 or so and make sure there are no vibrations.

I'm pretty sure I had it above 80 briefly. The reason I decided to buy this car was how impressed I was with the handling. It had lots of power and handled like it was on rails. Very smooth, I didn't detect any vibrations. If someone told me it was a brand new car I wouldn't question it.

I would guess that it was bought back due to problems with the adblue system. It's a very well known and documented problem area with the v6 tdi. Most of the pre 2013 cars have had their systems replaced by now but they still are not 100% trouble free. My 2012 is on its third adblue pump and about to put in its third adblue heater. But then again it does have 112k on it.

The last owner put on 25k miles which makes me feel better. That's six trips to the shop just for those items which would be an issue especially if they are expensive items. I would assume there are aftermarket part for reasonable cost if it's a common problem. What did you pay for them?

 

[Calinada]

If it were to become an issue how much would it be to fix? Is the remedy some sort of flush or is it parts replacement?

I've never had to manually do it but pretty sure it can be cleaned out. You could also force a regen to burn it up or go for a nice drive so it can get up to temp and do it on its own.

 

[m-fine]

The DPF is a non issue. If you truly never drive it long enough to clean itself, you will get dashboard warnings. If that happens which is extremely rare, you take on the highway for a bit and it will clean itself.

As far as taking longer to warm up, that has not been my experience with my 2015. I think they made changes to the cooling system in more recent years so it may be model year specific, but when heading to work on the coldest mornings this winter, it was warmed up about the same time as my other gas vehicles.

 

[Synmag]

The DPF is a non issue. If you truly never drive it long enough to clean itself, you will get dashboard warnings. If that happens which is extremely rare, you take on the highway for a bit and it will clean itself.

As far as taking longer to warm up, that has not been my experience with my 2015. I think they made changes to the cooling system in more recent years so it may be model year specific, but when heading to work on the coldest mornings this winter, it was warmed up about the same time as my other gas vehicles.

The more data point the better. So far everyone says it's a non-issue. Now I just need to find out what the lemon issue was. I wonder If someone on here has access to repair history if I provide a VIN#. It's a California car. Still gotta do the separate post.

 

[Calinada]

The more data point the better. So far everyone says it's a non-issue. Now I just need to find out what the lemon issue was. I wonder If someone on here has access to repair history if I provide a VIN#. It's a California car. Still gotta do the separate post.

Before we just bought a new Sportwagen we were looking at used A4 Avants. I called a bunch of dealers listed in the car fax to see what was done and everybody was very helpful.

 

[Synmag]

Before we just bought a new Sportwagen we were looking at used A4 Avants. I called a bunch of dealers listed in the car fax to see what was done and everybody was very helpful.

I'm actually in Canada and the car was imported from the US in 2014. We have carproof here which doesn't list dealerships. I never got around posting it elsewhere so here is the findings section in chronological order. Does anyone know if the title/title entries are ownership changes and what the registration event/renewal means? Initially, they were in pairs but then there are two additional title/title entries. Is it possible it changed hands so many times and then it was leased?

Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to piece together the ownership history. At auction it is listed as a lease/fleet so what are the odds it was a fleet vehicle? The four years would suggest to me a lease as they typically are for four years.

I was thinking of calling Volkswagen dealers in San Diego to see if the car was serviced there and if they are willing to send me the service record. I assume it was a San Diego dealer that serviced it and arranged the buy back.

I have had my mechanic check it out and I finalized the deal. I will be picking it up on Wednesday or Thursday. Once I'm the registered owner, is there any reason the dealer would not send me the records if I can find it?

I have a nice weekend trip planned and I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[agravadr]

also, if doing a lot of short trips, consider changing the oil at more frequent intervals, like every 5K

 

[Marbles]

What year Touareg did you finally choose? Since it shows a lemon buy back, try and call your local dealer first and if they can't tell you why see if they can tell you which dealer it was shipped to and call them to see if they can get you a history. Some will and some won't saying the records would show the previous owners info. You could also try running a carfax on it since it was in the US original any might get more information.

 

[Synmag]

What year Touareg did you finally choose? Since it shows a lemon buy back, try and call your local dealer first and if they can't tell you why see if they can tell you which dealer it was shipped to and call them to see if they can get you a history. Some will and some won't saying the records would show the previous owners info. You could also try running a carfax on it since it was in the US original any might get more information.

I still have a deposit on this one however I'm waiting for the previous owner's lien to clear before I pay for it. I can still back out at this point all though I'm in an interesting situation in that I asked the dealer for the used car package because it contains lien information (sellers must provide this in Canada to buyers) but he said because I'm buying from a dealer he doesn't need to provide it.

That made me go and get my own and sure enough it came up with a lien. While I did the search he went and licensed/registered the car in my name. So, thechnically I own it

In the mean time my sister is in Texas and I asked her to call all the San Diego dealers to see if she could either get the service records or get them to tell her based on the records why it was bought back. I called one Canadian dealer but he said Canadian dealers don't share information with each other never mind with the US.

I was also thinking of searching forums for June 2014 as most likely the owner would have seeked advice with a problem serious enough to prompt a buy back. With that said, if you are reading this and you happened to return a Touareg to VW in San Diego in June 2016 please pm me. I know this is a long shot but stranger things have happened.

Based on my research my bet is it had to do with the addblue system which I assume would have been fixed during the import process with possible long term issue being poor fuel consumption. That would be an issue for me considering good fuel consumption is the main reason for going TDI. Stay tuned...

 

[Synmag]

.. You could also try running a carfax on it since it was in the US original any might get more information.

If I get a carfax online how long does it take to get the report? Our used car package takes 5 days when done online while you can get it instantly at any Service Ontario location. I would need it quickly.

 

[Synmag]

What year Touareg did you finally choose?

I just noticed that I put 2014 in my initial post and I keep saying 2014 but it's a 2010. I must have 2014 stuck in my head as that's what I'm focusing on as it was the import date. Sorry about the confusion.

It looks like the forum only allows edits for a limited time after posting as there is an edit option for my last few posts but not on the original one.

 

[VWBob]

If this is a 2010 vehicle it wasn't repurchased by VW until June 2014, most buy back vehicles I have come across are only a few years old max so that is interesting to me at least that the manufacturer was pushed to buy back a vehicle that could have been out of original warranty?

I am friends with an independent dealer in my area that purchases buy backs from BMW, he has the full story why the car was bought back by BMW and what they did to fix the problem and discloses that to the new buyer.

Since Touareg is being transferred to you from person who bought the buy back Touareg it may be difficult to get the story as to why it was repurchased by VW June 2014, that is two years ago now.

Do a CarFax report online, should get all history reported before before buyback and may give more detailed history to now.

Good Luck!

 

[Marbles]

Carfax is usually immediate once payment is made. The lemon on the report varies from state to state alittle but in my experience with one requires three failures of the manufacture or dealer to fix the same problem. So I would want to know why it was bought back.