New tdi owner

[irisheye]

Hi and thank you for this forum!

I just purchased my first diesel vehicle (2012 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI) and I am so excited!

I am looking for any helpful hints or tips on upkeep, operation, etc. I am a total novice and know very little about diesel engines. What I do know is I LOVE THE TORQUE AND MILEAGE! Not to mention the longevity!

I do surveillance for a living and occasionally must sit with the car idling for hours at a time...I was told this is actually GOOD for a diesel engine. Is this true??? If so, BONUS!

Thanks again for this great forum.

[chittychittybangbang]

Unfortunately, idling for long periods is bad for ANY car. Lower oil pressure. On a TDI, it won't stay as warm and will cool down a little. This is bad for engine and bad for emissions filters. I would install a separate deep cycle battery for heavy electrical use, not sure why else you'd need to leave the car on.

Also check out the sportwagen buying guide, moving this to mk6 section since there may be some more opinion there too

[irisheye]

Thanks chittychittybangbang. I knew that was too good to be true...

I keep the vehicle running mostly for AC/Heat and use 4 deep cycle batteries for electronics. The TDI is my family vehicle, not be my every day surveillance vehicle, just wanted to use it on occasion.

Had it been true, my next surveillance vehicle would have been TDI for sure.