Well its not really benz related.... one of the girls at work got a new jetta TDI. I drove it today and all I can say is DANG that thing is peppy! She drove it home from the dealer (300 miles away) and got 40 mpg doing 75 - 80 the whole way. I told her to slow it down to 65 and she would see more. Last tank she drove all city stop and go and still got 30 mpg! suck on that honda and toyota!

Its very quiet and smooth too.

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Veggie powered 01 F350 CCLB SRW "Tiny"
Soon to be veggie powered 82 300SD - "Squirt" Leaks oil like crazy

Yeah, they look pretty sweet. Remains to be seen how they will hold up over time, but I'd love to take one for a drive.

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'95 E300D ("Tank") - 231,000 miles
'79 240D ("Biscuit") - 197,250 miles (Sold)
'83 240D ("Ding-Ding") - 217,000 miles (Death by deer)
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"Back off, man. I’m a scientist” ~ Peter Venkman

Our '06 has 75,000 on it. We got it mid 2007 with 34 miles on it.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

99 W210 E300 Turbo Diesel, chipped, DPF/Converter Delete. Still needs EGR Delete, 232K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Gone and still missed...1982 w123 300D, 1991 w124 300D

I have an '03 with nearly 200K on the odometer. No issues here at all still like new.

Yup, difference between common rail and what went before is pretty amazing. 21st century, now.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

I had a 2002 with 200k that ran like new. Compressions in the 500s, drove like a 20k mile car. They hold up well. Not unlike old Benzes, they do have to be tinkered with occasionally, but rarely anything major.

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1984 300D 193.5k miles
ASTM-certified B100 bio when able

I've been really wanting to go test drive one, they seem really cool. I test drove the Diesel ML and it's was pretty nice, didn't feel peppy though. Can't test drive the Diesel E-class because California hates Diesel But I've been wanting to test drive the 3 series diesel as well.

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76 MG Midget
78 Datsun 280Z
86 Peugeot 505
01 Subaru Outback

“Owning a car is like owning a dog. Every now and then, it craps on the carpet — but it’s still your dog.” - Jeremy Clarkson

Folks,

My brother purchased one of those brandy new CDi Jettas a couple of months ago for his wife....really loaded up....his wife has been driving a courtesy car for the past 3 weeks....it has some sort of computer glitch....my brother has all sorts of cars and motorcycles....he said "I think that they have seen this before...."

He was looking for a bulletproof daily driver for his University Professor wife (smart but not mechanical)......he says that WV will do their best with this problem, but now he has reservations regarding the reliability of the electronics....

He lives in Orlando, FL.....might be heat related...??

SB

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

x2 solid reliable car (with the manual transmission at least. VW automatics... not so much) We've got more than 500,000 miles total on our 3 TDI's. Need the usual diesel tweaks about every 100k like new injector return lines, clean the gunk out of the intake manifold, etc.

With diesel VW's, the annoyances are usually stupid things like power window regulators, door handles, etc. that fail. The drivetrain is rock solid and can really deliver up to 50 mpg.

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'98 E300 turbodiesel

All brands have bad examples. Good ones too.

Our '06 has needed nothing other than maintenance for 50K miles. Those Mexicans must have put it together correctly.

I recently discovered that our '06 has an electric heater in the AC system, but it is disabled by default. I'm going to enable it this winter.

How can you tell it has an electric heater? If ours has one, I would enable it as well. We have the '06 as well, but it's build date is 11/06.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

99 W210 E300 Turbo Diesel, chipped, DPF/Converter Delete. Still needs EGR Delete, 232K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Gone and still missed...1982 w123 300D, 1991 w124 300D

Remove the fuse-box cover and look for a white relay-fuse combination, about a 1" cube, that says "100" on top. That's the fuse and relay for the heater. If it is installed, you have the electric heater.

Yes, we have the fuse/relay. How do you enable the heater? Or, is that a dealer option request?

BTW our dealer in Irving, TX, has been very good to us. Peter Smith is our service advisor. One heck of a guy, and does not nickle and dime you to death. We pass by two other VW dealerships going to Irving (metro vw).

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

99 W210 E300 Turbo Diesel, chipped, DPF/Converter Delete. Still needs EGR Delete, 232K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Gone and still missed...1982 w123 300D, 1991 w124 300D

I bought a VAG-COM interface, and it can program the convenience module to turn on the heater. Of course the dealer tool can do it as well, and in either case it should take just a few minutes.

I already enabled the window control via the remote, so it works like the Benz. If you hold the lock button for two seconds, it rolls up the windows and closes the sunroof. Holding the unlock button for two seconds rolls down the windows (but the sunroof stays closed). That's another feature that was available, but disabled from the factory.

I don't know if you are on tdiclub.com; you may already know this. Should your dealer ever fail you, there are two HIGHLY-sought-after TDI mechanics in this area, one in Dallas and one in West Fort Worth. I've ridden, driven, and talked shop with both of them and they are top notch. Much cheaper than dealer and much better (though they can't give you a free car wash with your service).

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1984 300D 193.5k miles
ASTM-certified B100 bio when able