Maintenance

[BrShootr]

Originally Posted by wimpog

Thanks Yuri & Dave for these documents.
Looks like the oil needs to be changed less frequently on a TDI vehicle.
Is there any TDI-specific maintenance that doesn't apply to a gasoline vehicles?

Also, just a general opinion, what will you do when your maintenance ends - do it yourself from then on, or extend it?

My VW Touareg was a gas V8 engine, it had oil replaced every 10k miles as per VW recommendation. Every VW sold recently only requires maintenance at every 10k miles. My new Golf TDI is the same, every 10k miles. I've heard some say (in other forums) that the european version of the same car (what I mean by that is, the SAME Golf, sold in europe) has a requirement at every 30k miles. So, in the end, to each his own.

I agree w/ others, Dave's attachment says to change oil every 10k miles, it says "service every 5k miles," but only has oil scheduled at every 10k miles.

wimpog, newer TDIs don't require AdBlue like the older cars do. Another thing to keep in mind. Ok, maybe SOME TDIs do, but if you're looking at a Golf/Jetta, they don't.

[jbkendrick]

Not sure what vehicle you have, but my manual tells me every 10k as Yuri has said. Dealer admits the same, though he recommends every 5k due to environment. I would like to stick with 10k, easy to remember and a good reason to buy a diesel vs gas.

[golfTDI1]

"whiplash willy": Glowplugs are replaced on an as needed basis. When they fail, or if they are losing effectiveness then its time to replace. Having not owned a diesel previous to my '10 golf, I cannot speak to glow plug replacement times from personal experience. It seems from others' experience though that they should last a considerable amount of time, probably in the 100,000mile+ range. Over time their effectiveness may weaken and it may be necessary to extend the amount of time (seconds) that they operate before a cold start. This is done with VCDS and can allow you to get additional life out of the plugs. There will come a point where one or a few will fail completely, or become so weak that starts become difficult or impossible, and then its time to replace. It seems they are easy to replace, similar to a spark plug, just disconnect and unscrew.