My 2014 Passat TDI experience so far

I like hearing about the 700 miles between fill ups. But I got tired of the high price of diesel fuel. My wife and I had two VW Beetle diesels (1999 & 2006) continuous from 1999 until April of this year. I'm getting away from cars that use diesel and premium gas. It was refreshing going to a 2012 Prius and paying regular gas prices that are always prominently displayed, but those using premium or diesel get sticker shock. Diesels do have pluses.

 

As to the fuel pump, a possibility is sub par US fuel. The process to remove sulfur also removes lubricating compounds. In Europe, those lubricants are replaced, but that doesn't seem to be the case in the US. Adding an additional lubricant to the tank, or using a biodiesel blend, could avert fuel pump problems.

Do some research on possible lubricants. Not having a diesel, I haven't, but I wouldn't be surprised if a little cooking oil would do.

 

Are there a bunch of failures on other diesels in the USA due to the fuel?

 

The Bosch CP 4.2 (related to the CP 4.1 that the 2.0 TDI used) in the Ford Powerstroke hasn't been doing so well either.

 

I grabbed a pic for you. This is after 4 years and 40k miles, looks like the day it was made other than the rust spots.

 

My 2006 6.0 Powerstroke is at 96k and (knock on wood) is doing solid.

 

Owners of older diesels claim problems, but I haven't look into it, or if the lubricants are added back in some brands.

If there is, it would seem to be European brands or part suppliers might be unaware of US diesel specifics.

 

Even with lubricity additives in my '09, it was still collecting metal in the fuel filter.

 

Thanks for that. I bet they won't believe this picture isn't doctored in some way. I was amazed when I saw how clean the modern diesels are.

Anyone fancy running their finger round the inside of their (cold) Prius exhaust pipe? It won't be as clean as that after 4 months, let alone 4 years.

I wonder if this will be ignored or commented on.

 

Here's a comment; if the next ICE in the Prius is direct injection, its tailpipe will be just as clean once a exhaust filter is required, with the the downsides of such.

 

Emphasis on the word IF.

In the mean time the exhaust is sooty and dirty, presumable pumping this soot into the air. Even a 2014 Prius will do this and a 2010 diesel doesn't.

Still not a fan of diesels but credit where it's due.

 

I believe the next engine is actually DI. That is how many cars have made MPG improvements in the past few years. Though engine designers are looking at hybrid port/direct injection to reduce PM numbers and avoid the upcoming filter requirements in Europe. That is just a delay of the inevitable I think, some port injected cars produce particles over the diesel limits.

 

I have to admit to Grumpie, that is one clean exhaust pipe and def my Prius and TCH exhaust are not nearly that clean.

 

PFI has been shown to produce very high PM emissions in some "off-cycle" conditions. Here is a graphic from a study of black carbon (BC) PM emissions in a specific "off-cycle" condition (emissions at very cold ambient conditions of -18 C/0 F during phase 1 (cold start phase) of FTP test duty cycle)...




Source: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie


EPA says the percentage of BC of total PM is about 40% in cold-start phase, regardless of ambient temp. Thus the total PM in those conditions would exceed 400 mg/mile in the worst-case PFI test.

For reference, the Tier 2 PM limit is 10 mg/mile (0.01 g/mile).

 

I love the link description for your source. OMG, that is too funny.