buying a 2004 golf tdi any common problems

[anilkumar]

hi im lokking to buy a mk5 golf tdi 1.9 is there any comon problems that i should look for are threre any engine problems lokking to get one with arond 80-100000 miles on the clock.

[smiffy86]

Hi!

Selling mine if you're interested/local.

Had the cambelt, water pump, clutch and flywheel changed and has done 86k.

Let me know if you're interested.

[peteo]

I am no expert but, if you search the various threads on this site, you will find a lot of info about the "Police Siren" noise from the Turbo.

Best to avoid any car making this noise. It's noticeable at lower revs, accelerating or decelerating. It has also been compared to a hooting owl but the police siren following you is the most accurate description.

MIne has been doing this for some time but most expert advice seems to indicate that the turbo is shot indicating a £1500 plus repair.

When test driving - keep your ears out for this noise.

[taurus_tem]

Peteo, you beat me to it lol. Golf turbo sucks big time, i would avoid the car! in the near future, turbos will fail, costs roughty £1000 to fix by VW.

[peteo]

Peteo, you beat me to it lol. Golf turbo sucks big time, i would avoid the car! in the near future, turbos will fail, costs roughty £1000 to fix by VW.

They don't all make this noise. My old Bora 1.9TDI had done over 100k and the turbo was completely quiet which makes the noise mine makes all the more worrying.

My local dealer replaces 6 to 8 Turbos a year and, considering dealers tend to service mainly newish cars, this seems an unacceptably high failure rate.

Needs emphasising that this is not just a VW issue - many other makes have this problem.

[HiTorque]

hi im lokking to buy a mk5 golf tdi 1.9 is there any comon problems that i should look for are threre any engine problems lokking to get one with arond 80-100000 miles on the clock.

Common problems are: stuffed ERG valve/flap motor and damaged electrical harnesses, the same problems were reported by owners in UK, US, Australia.
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f15/if-driver-door-controls-not-working-46214.html

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f15/emissions-garage-43490.html

Ours in Australia were made in South Africa, but I think US have them made in Mexico so it's a global...

[skard]

Peteo, you beat me to it lol. Golf turbo sucks big time, i would avoid the car! in the near future, turbos will fail, costs roughty £1000 to fix by VW.

£1865 my local dealer quoted for a new turbo fitted. my tdi is making the siren noise so i'm taking no chances.

i'm having a brand new garret turbo fitted by a local VAG specialist for about 60% of the cost of VW.

[peteo]

£1865 my local dealer quoted for a new turbo fitted. my tdi is making the siren noise so i'm taking no chances.

i'm having a brand new garret turbo fitted by a local VAG specialist for about 60% of the cost of VW.

When I sent Crasher a pm about my issue, he told me that the 105ps engine as fitted to the 1.9TDI is "extremely" prone to failure.

These things blow up all the time and the conseqences are absolutely dire especially if it happens at speed. Worst case, it could wreck your engine as well.

Personally I would avoid all turbo charged diesels in future. There is an unacceptably high risk of failure. It wouldn't matter if it was a cheap fix but it isn't.

That wouyld apply to any make of car - some beemers are even worse.

[peter cresswell]

How about immobiliser
Turbo and I quote my local expert that there are so many complaints about the 20 Turbo engine tubo problems that he cant keep up he recons 20-490 a month.
Tracking has yo be done to 4 wheels @ £120
drinks oil at £10 per litre
apparently the starter is a common fault and gives the appearance of poor starting - just done mineeasy but £150 for the part
Becauase of the power / auto box it also eats brakes for breakfast.... and lunch... and tea... and dinner, ditto tyres which incidentally wear oddly and need constant rotation to avoid vibration and noise

I love the car but it is definately no more reliable than my Citroens and Renaults were and a lot less reliable than a string of company Vauxhalls and Fords that were punished mercilessly.
I have a faulty fuel pump (lift pump) at £300 form the part and I am sick of replacing headlight bulbs. Note if one blows the other is subject to a surge and will blow very soon after so change them 2 at a time.

The tubo is now suspect and this is a common problem. Personally I have driven over 1000000 miles in TDi's and have never had a turbo problem and I think someone is talking tosh, but how to sort out an elctrnically governed turbo my self is daunting. The gasket set is £40.

I was warned that on the DSG models the electronic control unit will fail at around 60000 miles by a garage owner who would not take the car in PX against a manual.

Oh an dby the way if you break the wing mirror prepare to take out a second mortgage

Other than that the car seems fine.......

I wish I did not like driving it so much

My heart felt advice is buy somehting else.

Peter




I am no expert but, if you search the various threads on this site, you will find a lot of info about the "Police Siren" noise from the Turbo.

Best to avoid any car making this noise. It's noticeable at lower revs, accelerating or decelerating. It has also been compared to a hooting owl but the police siren following you is the most accurate description.

MIne has been doing this for some time but most expert advice seems to indicate that the turbo is shot indicating a £1500 plus repair.

When test driving - keep your ears out for this noise.

[phil miller]

alturnator pulleys sieze for a past time its a £32 part and takes 10mins to fit, as for turbos imho if you change the oil and filter they do last, and a re con turbo from someone like A&R turbos is £400, its a 3 hr job tops, as for drinking oil mine has used less than half a litre in 6,000 miles, as for tyres the main problem is rear tyres going out of shape but once the 4wheel allignment is done this wont be a problem

[peteo]

alturnator pulleys sieze for a past time its a £32 part and takes 10mins to fit, as for turbos imho if you change the oil and filter they do last, and a re con turbo from someone like A&R turbos is £400, its a 3 hr job tops, as for drinking oil mine has used less than half a litre in 6,000 miles, as for tyres the main problem is rear tyres going out of shape but once the 4wheel allignment is done this wont be a problem

Well no, they don't. My oil and filters have been replaced on time by me and the previous owner. As I said in an earlier post, my local dealer replaces 6 to 8 turbos a year and this is on relatively new full service history cars.

Turbo Diesels are inherently unreliable compared to their petrol equivalents.

[phil miller]

Well no, they don't. My oil and filters have been replaced on time by me and the previous owner. As I said in an earlier post, my local dealer replaces 6 to 8 turbos a year and this is on relatively new full service history cars.

Turbo Diesels are inherently unreliable compared to their petrol equivalents.

ok i dont have a clue what im talking about, i think ive just wasted the last 17yrs of my life being a fully trained motor mechanic (not tech, as they are called now) modern diesel engines are stronger, will do far more miles than any petrol engine, thats FACT 6 to 8 turbos a year is nothing if you consider they prob have a dozen TDI's in the workshop every week so its a drop in the ocean really, a turbo can fail for a number of reasons, its just my opinion but given the knowledge about cars and engines i have collected over the last 20 yrs thro work i will not be going back to petrol engines again and thats not to do with MPG, the PD engine is highly regarded as a good engine yes they have there faults but every car has something, vauxhalls inlet manifold coke up £800 for a new manifold, ford tdci eat starters and dmf for a pastime, peugeots kill turbos because the oil way in the block goes porus new block, the list goes on so i dont think the VW turbo issue is any better or worse but one things for sure the hold there money better than any other mainstream car

[peteo]

ok i dont have a clue what im talking about, i think ive just wasted the last 17yrs of my life being a fully trained motor mechanic (not tech, as they are called now) modern diesel engines are stronger, will do far more miles than any petrol engine, thats FACT 6 to 8 turbos a year is nothing if you consider they prob have a dozen TDI's in the workshop every week so its a drop in the ocean really, a turbo can fail for a number of reasons, its just my opinion but given the knowledge about cars and engines i have collected over the last 20 yrs thro work i will not be going back to petrol engines again and thats not to do with MPG, the PD engine is highly regarded as a good engine yes they have there faults but every car has something, vauxhalls inlet manifold coke up £800 for a new manifold, ford tdci eat starters and dmf for a pastime, peugeots kill turbos because the oil way in the block goes porus new block, the list goes on so i dont think the VW turbo issue is any better or worse but one things for sure the hold there money better than any other mainstream car

Woah - wait a minute - I am not casting aspersions on your knowledge as a mechanic - I am not one so I have to accept you know more than me.

But there are other mechanics and experts who disagree with you and say that, and I quote, the turbo on the 105 ps engine is "extremely prone to failure."

Now I don't know what the failure rate is but all the evidence i have seen and heard indicates that it is a common failure regardless of how well the vehicle is maintained. My car has been well maintained - the cars our local dealership looks after will, by definition, have been well maintained and, probably, still under warranty. Check out the internet and you will see a whole raft of turbo charged diesels with this failure including Renaults, Ford and Beemers. Warranty Direct have produced figures showing the average repair bill on a turbo diesel is significantly higher than on a normally aspirated vehicle.

Now it may be that there is something like a one in one hundred chance of this happening - in my book that counts as very poor odds given the huge cost of repair and the potential for serious damage.

Put is this way, my dealership tells me that they see almost no examples of cambelts snapping before 80,000 miles but they see 6 to 8 turbo failures a year.

You take a risk when you buy any car but a bigger risk when you buy a turbo diesel.

[peteo]

I've posted the results of a recent test of my car on another thread but the service manager of my local VW dealer came out with me in the car yesterday. He opined that many turbo diesels have the "police siren" or "owl" noise - especially Passats. He said the noise was something to worry about when it became present all the time - cruising and even when accelerating hard. Given that the car is well out of the VW Approved Warranty and a new turbo would represent good business, he has no incentive to lie to me.

My car has been doing this noise for two years at least but it doesn't do it under hard acceleration nor is it present when the car is cruising.

Other equally well qualified VW specialists opine that the turbo is shot when you hear this noise. My dealer says carry on driving and forget it!

Maybe the crucial point is whether it is present under all conditions - there are several You Tube clips showing the siren noise at high speeds and not just accelerating.

But, given the confusion, I would still advise anybody to steer clear of any TDI making the police siren and/or owl noise.

[sufc38]

Check out the fun I'm having with my immobiliser!!
I've also had to have a new steering rack, and two new rear wheel bearings along with the old EGR fault.
Great car though when it works.

[dap1977]

I have a tdi, and purchased a vw after owning loads of different makes and models of cars.

I brought into the vw brand as i wanted trouble free motoring and bomb proof build quality. And to this end I have been bitterly disapointed.

Although it has never let me down, the interior is rattling itself apart and mechanically it is costing me a fourtune. Justspent a grand having all clutch and hydraulics replaced and the six different garages have been unable to bleed the clutch correctly(vw wont touch it as they didnt do the work!)

I would suggest looking around at alternitives as you could get more value for money from other brands.

[peteo]

I have a tdi, and purchased a vw after owning loads of different makes and models of cars.

I brought into the vw brand as i wanted trouble free motoring and bomb proof build quality. And to this end I have been bitterly disapointed.

Although it has never let me down, the interior is rattling itself apart and mechanically it is costing me a fourtune. Justspent a grand having all clutch and hydraulics replaced and the six different garages have been unable to bleed the clutch correctly(vw wont touch it as they didnt do the work!)

I would suggest looking around at alternitives as you could get more value for money from other brands.

Must admit, until this car (Mk5 1.9TDI SE), I had had a pretty good experiences with VW on the whole. My Bora - also a TDI - was a good car and had covered a lot of miles. 3 Polos, at various times in my car owning career, were pretty bullet proof on the whole.

The only duffer out of the VAG stable was an Audi 80 I owned in the early 1980s - a real pig reliability wise.

[radox]

Just to add a bit of balance, I've had my Mk V 1.9 TDI SE from new (in June 2004) and this is definitely the best car I've ever had. Yes it's not perfect but it's still a great car to drive and own with the last few years needing nothing apart from servicing.

See for yourself: http://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/vwgolfmk5

Stuart

[peteo]

Just to add a bit of balance, I've had my Mk V 1.9 TDI SE from new (in June 2004) and this is definitely the best car I've ever had. Yes it's not perfect but it's still a great car to drive and own with the last few years needing nothing apart from servicing.

See for yourself: http://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/vwgolfmk5

Stuart

I guess you only need to buy one bad car from any particular stable and you do get prejudiced - even paranoid! It can be worse if your previous experiences, like mine, had all been positive.

I think to inject a bit of balance is fair and it is true that on an internet forum you will only find the bad experiences. I wouldn't have even thought of turbo failure until my car made the "siren" noise - then you find it is not unusual although the odds against premature failure are that it is more likely to last than to fail. Same with the ABS pump issue.

[anilkumar]

thanks for the info

[nc7503]

turbo failure!!! im on my second and ive only done 40k miles,if it stars sounding like a police siren at low revs walk away! i no early o6 models suffered with chronic clutch and dmf failure aswell. although thats just my car:zx11: im sure on here people will have the same car your after and would not have had any problems at all

[peteo]

turbo failure!!! im on my second and ive only done 40k miles,if it stars sounding like a police siren at low revs walk away! i no early o6 models suffered with chronic clutch and dmf failure aswell. although thats just my car:zx11: im sure on here people will have the same car your after and would not have had any problems at all

Did your turbo actually conk out or did the garage say it was on its way out? The reason I ask is that my garage tells me there is nothing to worry about with my siren noise and it has been doing this for two years now.

Certainly there is a big difference of opinion on this issue.

[nc7503]

Did your turbo actually conk out or did the garage say it was on its way out? The reason I ask is that my garage tells me there is nothing to worry about with my siren noise and it has been doing this for two years now.

Certainly there is a big difference of opinion on this issue.

it took vw 6months to agree to replace my turbo,it never failed just got more and more vocal (siren noise) i asked the dealer what was causing the turbo to make the noise there reply.......does it matter sir its had a new unit fitted f.o.c dont you just love vw's customer service:zx11:

[peteo]

I wonder if that's the key nc7503? Yours started making the noise and then it got steadily worse.

In my case, the noise is at the same level it was two years ago. It only does it at low revs and doesn't do it when the engine is gunned or at high speed cruising. For example if you accelerate hard through the gears coming on to a motorway, you can't hear any siren noise at all. When you listen to some of the various You Tube clips, you can hear the noise really loudly at all speeds.

My dealership tell me that they replace 6 to 8 Turbos a year so I assume they must know when a turbo is about to fail. They have told me categorically that mine is "normal." The car is way way out of warranty so I can't see they have any incentive to minimise the problem.

Crasher, who is always very helpful if you pm him on various issues, has said the siren noise is usually a precursor to failure and he is a VAG specialist. Saying that, he hasn't heard the noise mine makes.

I do find it surprising that there is no agreement amongst guys who deal with these issues every day. I tend to believe that the noise must mean something but, as mine has always done it and it is not getting worse, perhaps I just have a noisy one:confused: