[Closed] VW 2.0ltr PD Diesel 170bhp with DSG

Turbo death mileage dependant.

Make sure the cambelt was done when recommended. We've had several VW engines and DSG variants and never had a problem.

I've got a non-DSG 2009 Golf with that engine, I like it. No idea if it's had the injectors done. Kinda thought they'd probably have either been done, or popped in the 65,000 miles before I bought it. Could regret that attitude.

60,000 mile/4 year (IIRC) interval on the cam belt, and worth doing the water pump at the same time.

Like I say, I like mine. Loads of torque. Quick enough. Reasonably efficient - I get 45-50mpg, 55 if I drive like a nun, 40 if I'm a bit heavy footed, but pretty hard to get much lower than that over any sort of distance frankly. I imagine DSG will be 5% worse or so.

It's done 105k miles, cambelt at 78k, last DSG oil change at 78k.

Turbo should be ok assuming regular oil changes??

If the injector recall has been done on the car you'll be fine (VW tried to take the cheap route <again> by switching from Bosch to Siemens injectors - the Siemens would short-out, anyway the replacements were Bosch).

The PD engines are a bit gruff/agricultural but pretty bombproof (always get the waterpump changed at the same time as the belt, as the waterpump pulleys can fail due to heavy loading on, due to the design of the belt-routing). It is essential with PD engines that the correct oil is used (any thing ending in .01 I believe) otherwise you risk long-term cam-lobe wear/mis-firing.

Personally I would stear clear of DSG at age - look up mechatronic failures (The US and Chinese consumer authorities made VW increase the warrabty periods from 3 to 10 years due to what they saw as unacpetable high failure rates).

If it's a 2.0TDI PD engine then it's a Mk5 - correct? In which case look out for any ABS/ESP lights on the dash as the Mk5 suffered with failed ABS pump control modules (which I recently learned VW will fix under warranty, even if the car doesn't have full VW service history, you just have to pay the diagnostic fee).

Just seen your last post - the 2.0 PD engines do have a reputation for chewing turbo's and at that mileage you're right in the 'bad' zone! It's not lack of oil changes that cause turbo failures on those engines - it's the fact the turbos get gunked up from diesel soot as the PD engines aren't the cleanest running engines (compared to common rail diesels).

DSG oil changes are every 40k.

At this age it'll be the six speed jobbie which is more reliable tha the seven speed one but still pricey when the go pop. Still think it's a good gearbox though (I think the older box is better than the new one too).

I think the BXE engine codes are only for 1.9diesels not the 2.0?

I wish car buying was easier! So far it looks like it ticks the boxes from a maintenance - regular and preventative - point of view.

I guess like all cars, it comes down to luck at the end of the day!

Thanks for the invaluable feedback!

" the fact the turbos get gunked up from diesel soot as the PD engines aren't the cleanest "

really.......thats a proven fact is it ?

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I guess like all cars, it comes down to luck at the end of the day!

luck and the previous owners mechanical sympathy.

Drive one. I hated the DSG box and diesel.

If it's a 2.0TDI PD engine then it's a Mk5 - correct?

No. They used PD engines up to 2008 in the Mk6. They are a bit noisy at low speed. However they have the piezo injectors which mean you don't get all the torque in one go like you used to. They have a nice flat curve.

All diesel DSGs are the 6 speed wet clutch DSG. You should never need a clutch replacement. The oil on these needs changing every 40k, and this costs a lot of money at a dealer but can be done for much less at an indy. Or it's pretty easy to do yourself if you are handy. The gearbox oil costs about £75 new or can be had cheaper on ebay, people sell boxes of the original VW stuff occasionally.

The horror stories are because if anything goes wrong with it VW's answer is to replace the entire hydraulic and electronic control unit, for about £1500. However this isn't necessary, and a unit can be reconditioned for about £450 or fixed yourself for under £100. However it's not as common as the angry internet would have you believe. Lots of happy DSG owners. I've been in Sweden for work for a few months and almost all the taxis are DSG equipped Passats.

If the box is a little jerky or does odd things like let the clutch out too early when you're trying to pull away fast (like mine used to) this can be fixed with a clutch adaptation procedure - properly equipped garage can do it for £50 or so or a friend with a VCDS can do it in about 5 mins. I thought the slow pulling awy thing was a design flaw in the box but the adaptation procedure fixed it.

If you are googling you will probably see references to oil pump failures causing engine death. This was a design fault in a specific oil pump used in a certain production run from one factory. It would fail at around 40-50k miles. There was a recall, so anything on the road now should either be not affected, recalled or repaired.

Thanks Molgrips, that's awesome feedback. It's a bit late now because I've bought it!
Any idea on the water pump on this engine? It wasn't changed at the last (first) cam belt at 88k miles.

I'm happy to spend a couple of hundred on preventative maintenance, especially as it's for my wife who's pregnant!
Thanks again

Trail_rat - Perhaps soot isn't quite the right word - oily gunk is more appropriate. On PD engines that have done 100K take apart the EGR valve, throttle body inlet manifold some of the turbo pipes on a PD (as I did on all 3 cars I had PD engines) and you'll find built up oily gunk coating everything. PD's 'breathe heavy' is the term I often heard! This in turn eventually gets in to the turbo and gums up the variable vanes. My car that replaced my last PD engine car is a common rail diesel and having taken various bits apart is far cleaner ie just a bit of soot but no oily gunk (and it's the same mileage).

Ironically many say the answer is to drive a PD hard as it leads to less gunk build-up.

This in turn eventually gets in to the turbo and gums up the variable vanes

Sticky actuator not the same as a turbo failure tho is it?

Stuck vanes (not a stuck actuator) are going to mean a new/re-con turbo for most people. You can get away with cleaning them sometimes using Innotec (or even Mr Muscle!), both of which are jobs I bet your average owner wouldn't attempt, let alone removing the turbo/splitting it and cleaning it.