 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / April 2006Need info on '99 TDI with low power!
I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or freeway. I can get to 70 mph on the freeway, but it definitely is not accelerating right. Nothing else seems wrong when driving, just the acceleration. I suppose it could be related to the injectors, or the turbo, or maybe just a fuel filter that the gal never changed. Does anyone have any suggestions on what a likely explanation of this problem would be? thanks > Does anyone have any > suggestions on what a likely explanation of this problem would be? You'll probably get more answers by posting this on rec.autos.tech instead. >I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles > on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or > freeway. I can get to 70 mph on the freeway, but it definitely is not > accelerating right. Nothing else seems wrong when driving, just the > acceleration. Diesels have piss-poor acceleration. That is like their only problem. Certain car manufacturers try to compensate somewhat by turbo-charging. But I suspect your Jetta is working just fine, if you've never driven a diesel before. -Dave Diesels have piss-poor acceleration. That is like their only problem. ----------------------- I thought the TDI had plenty of torque. That would translate in strong acceleration. And besides, a well-functioning TDI should definitely be able to exceed 70 mph. > I thought the TDI had plenty of torque. That would translate in > strong acceleration. And besides, a well-functioning TDI should > definitely be able to exceed 70 mph. Torque can definitely help acceleration. The problem is, VW Jettas are terribly under-powered to begin with, so the extra torque just brings them up to a level that is SLIGHTLY under-powered. The way I read the OP, the vehicle probably wouldn't stop accelerating at 70MPH. I read it as, the OP usually drives 70, and the car will hit that OK. I'd have to test-drive it to see for myself, but I'd probably find that the OP's Jetta is behaving exactly as I would expect it to behave. It is not exactly a sports car. The 5-speed I drove (brand new) was so lacking in acceleration that I didn't drive it for very long, as I thought it was dangerously under-powered. I've driven cars with smaller engines that would blow the doors right off of a Jetta. -Dave > >I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles > > on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I suspect your Jetta is working just fine, if you've never driven a diesel > before. -Dave definitely not. A TDI is a badass little car, not a whole lot of HP but it should have hand-of-God torque. Everyone I know that's driven a TDI has raved about it. There's something wrong with the OP's car. nate >> Diesels have piss-poor acceleration. That is like their only problem. >> Certain car manufacturers try to compensate somewhat by turbo-charging. But [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >but it should have hand-of-God torque. Everyone I know that's driven a >TDI has raved about it. There's something wrong with the OP's car. We won't know that until the OP performs the acceleration tests. Is the car within manufacturer's specs or isn't it? Just because he has unrealistic expectations doesn't mean there's anything wrong with his car.  SignatureWhat the heck, I'll play too. - Dave >I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles >on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or >freeway. Does anyone have any >suggestions on what a likely explanation of this problem would be? What makes you think there's a problem? What is the manufacturer's specification for 0-60 acceleration time? What is the actual time you observe? The Jetta is not a muscle car. Maybe you're just expecting too much from it. SignatureWhat the heck, I'll play too. - Dave Well, yeah, if you race kids in Camaros for pink slips your only hope is that they can't see you in their mirrors anymore by the time they're ready to collect. But if it can't make 70 on the highway, something's wrong. There could be a number of causes, including * Slipping automatic transmission or clutch (regarding acceleration in manual-transmission models, note that everybody says these things ought to be upshifted earlier than you'd expect from experience with small gassers) * Engine controls * Injection pump or other fuel-system components * Being just flat wore out. Not my bet, given the robust little engine, but there are people whose driving and maintenance habits could wear out the crust of the earth and expose the outer mantle in eight years and 90,000 miles. Time to consult the factory repair manual and/or refer it to a mechanic who knows these cars. BTW, it's a bit late to hear it now, but you may find out why you got it for "a very good price" -- it could be some little thing or some semi-big thing (though it'd have to be as big as a semi to rival the depreciation, insurance, etc., let alone the whole price, on a new car). This is also why one is well advised to consult a trusted mechanic with no vested interest in the deal before buying a car. You're paying not only for expertise but for objectivity, since by that stage you more or less by definition want the car. Best of luck, --Joe > I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles > on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > just a fuel filter that the gal never changed. Does anyone have any > suggestions on what a likely explanation of this problem would be? Malfunctioning MAF. Take it to an independent shop that specializes in German vehicles (do NOT take it to the stealership.) The car should accelerate fairly smartly at low RPM until you get to about 2500-3000, and then not accelerate well after that. You should be able to do 100+mph with no problem. A faulty MAF means that the turbo wastegate is dumping boost and that you're only getting normally-aspirated kinds of HP and torque. And a 1.9L diesel is gonna make about 50 HP, normally-aspirated. Good luck, E.P. > I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles > on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > thanks You should get reasonable acceleration from a TDI, but it is not a tire burner. And the response is going to feel sluggish compared to a gasoline engine car. That said if you are getting poor acceleration you might suspect a bad turbocharger. If the previous owner was not meticiulous about having frequent oil changes then the turbo bearings may be shot and the turbo is barely running if at all. Funny, I find one can burn rubber just fine in a stock TDI. The the original posters, your MAF is malfunctioning or intake is clogged. Check out tdiclub.com for more info. > > I just bougt a '99 Jetta TDI for a very good price, only has 87k miles > > on it. BUT, it is very underpowered on acceleration, street or [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > You should get reasonable acceleration from a TDI, but it is not a tire > burner. Sure it is. In stock form, it can spin the tires in the dry. > And the response is going to feel sluggish compared to a > gasoline engine car. Obviously you've never driven one. In a 0-35 (like in town), it gets up and moves out. Up above that, it runs out of RPM. > That said if you are getting poor acceleration > you might suspect a bad turbocharger. Errr, the turbos on VW/Audi cars are pretty tough. You have to work pretty hard to blow them up. > If the previous owner was not > meticiulous about having frequent oil changes then the turbo bearings > may be shot and the turbo is barely running if at all. Heh. I'm not sure where you get your info, but it's not based in reality. E.P. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.