Anybody.tow a Jetta TDI?

Mex-Busnut · March 25, 2013, 12:03:51 PM

Dear Friends:

In the next few days, it looks likd I will be blessed with a 2007 Jetta TDI. This is a 5-speed standard tranny, 1.9-liter turbo diesel. Anybody.have experience towing a Jetta TDI behind their bus?

Thanks in advance!

Oonrahnjay · March 25, 2013, 03:12:30 PM

Quote from: Mex-Busnut on March 25, 2013, 12:03:51 PMDear Friends:
In the next few days, it looks likd I will be blessed with a 2007 Jetta TDI. This is a 5-speed standard tranny, 1.9-liter turbo diesel. Anybody.have experience towing a Jetta TDI behind their bus?

Only a little experience, but here goes. Mine is a 2003 Jetta wagon (diesel, too). VW says that it should not be towed because the transmission is lubricated by "splash feed" that comes from gears in the input side (from the clutch). When a VW is towed (VW says ...), the gears are turned and they (plus bearings, synchronizers, etc.) need oiling that they don't get that because the gears in the oil sump don't turn (because the engine, clutch, and transmission input shafts etc. aren't turning.
Some people have the theory that you can satisfy this lubrication need by stopping occasionally and starting the engine in the car. That turns those input gears and shafts and throws oil up into the upper parts of the transmission, as it was designed to do. Other people have asked "how much is needed"; some people have guessed 3-4-5 minutes every hour, some think 3-4-5 minutes every half hour; others have theorized that it needs to be continuous and the car should be in neutral with the engine idling as it's being towed behind the bus.
On the other hand, still other people have taken the tack that there is a lot of splash lubrication from gears when the car is being towed even if the input shaft isn't turning, there is no real load on the transmission then anyway. Thus, the lubrication needs of a transmission in a car being towed are met well enough to prevent any damage being done. These people just put the transmission in neutral, unlock and steering and tow for thousands of miles. I've never heard anyone admit to seeing any damage that appeared to be caused by doing so.
I haven't used my towing system much but I think that I'll go with the latter theory above -- hook it up, tow it, and don't worry about it.
I suppose that it could be possible to put a remote oiling pump on the transmission that would pull oil from the pan and squirt it into the top of the transmission when the car is being towed, but it just seems to me that that is a complicated fix to a problem that may not really exist in reality.

Sorry this doesn't help much, I don't think that there's a real, dependable, certain answer. BH NC USA

Charles in SC · March 25, 2013, 07:10:56 PM

Mine is a 2011 TDI automatic. I have towed it on a dolly with the front wheels off the ground. It towed fine like this.

AndyG · March 25, 2013, 08:08:18 PM

Ask Volkswagon and follow their advice. A new transmission could easily cost more than the entire car.

markdonc · March 26, 2013, 04:44:03 AM

Not without a dolly, the owners manual tells you so.

zimmysurprise · March 26, 2013, 04:51:27 AM

Not 4 wheels down. My wife likes VWs but das Germans don't lieber mogen my GMC and my GMC don't lieber mogen tongue weight.

Mex-Busnut · March 26, 2013, 05:51:38 AM

Thanks for your input, everyone!

muldoonman · March 26, 2013, 06:00:57 AM

Don't know about towing, but had a 06 TDI and that puppy got 45 mpg running 75 mph. Sorry I sold it.

OneLapper · March 26, 2013, 06:31:17 AM

My 2000 Jetta TDI averages 44 mpg in the winter, 48 when it's warmer out. It has 410k miles on it. I just replaced the original starter. It's on it's second battery. It still has the original exhaust. My best recorded fuel mileage was 57 mpg on a 500 one way trip averaging 60. Amazing engine!

BTW, brand new tranny for a 2000-04 with a 5 speed is $960 from the local dealer. I was curious so I called!

Oonrahnjay · March 26, 2013, 07:13:43 AM

Quote from: OneLapper on March 26, 2013, 06:31:17 AMMy 2000 Jetta TDI averages 44 mpg in the winter, 48 when it's warmer out. It has 410k miles on it. (snip)

I'm about to turn over 300K on my '03. It has averaged ~ 55 MPG over that 300K; best tank ever 1021 miles (approx .8 of a gallon still in it), 62 MPG for that tank. I let the people at Michelin talk me into "Primacy" tires instead of "Energie" tires; took a 2-3 MPG hit, about the same with ULSD fuel. We're about to go over to "summer" fuel in NC - can't happen quick enough for me.

OneLapper · March 26, 2013, 07:54:14 AM

Quote from: Oonrahnjay on March 26, 2013, 07:13:43 AM
I'm about to turn over 300K on my '03. It has averaged ~ 55 MPG over that 300K; best tank ever 1021 miles (approx .8 of a gallon still in it), 62 MPG for that tank. I let the people at Michelin talk me into "Primacy" tires instead of "Energie" tires; took a 2-3 MPG hit, about the same with ULSD fuel. We're about to go over to "summer" fuel in NC - can't happen quick enough for me.

Wow! I don't hypermile and I normally drive at 75 plus. The commute in the CT Hartford area is usually 80mph easy most days. The other days its snowing and traffic is going 20 because another Jeep (or any other SUV) is stuck in a guardrail!

55 mpg is amazing. I dont think I have the patience to slow down that much!

Sorry for the thread drift....... Can't go wrong with a TDI Dr. Steve!

belfert · March 26, 2013, 10:09:01 AM

I had a 2003 Golf TDI and the best MPG I ever got was 44 MPG with the A/C running. I was able to drive from Minneapolis to past Toledo, Ohio on one tank. It was an automatic so that didn't help the MPG. I did see the MPGs drop as the car aged, but part of that was due to ULSD (Yes, I changed the fuel filter.). A TDI owner I know said he lost 10 MPG when ULSD came out.

Bill B /bus · March 26, 2013, 10:39:54 AM

2002 Jetta TDI has been towed about 40,000 miles without any problems. I do use the Blue Ox air cylinder brake assist.

Bill

Scott & Heather · March 26, 2013, 12:48:19 PM

it's a 5speed manual...so it should be ok...but I think after 2004 they changed the manual tranny on that car...not sure the details on that...

Oonrahnjay · March 26, 2013, 02:27:22 PM

Quote from: Scott Bennett on March 26, 2013, 12:48:19 PMit's a 5speed manual...so it should be ok...but I think after 2004 they changed the manual tranny on that car...not sure the details on that...

Scott, the "A4" body model came out in N America in the middle of the 1999 Model Year and that was about when I came out in the rest of the world. After the first couple of years, they changed the transmission code but the only real change between the 99.5--> 01 and 02v--04 was the shift input and if you swapped the "shift tower" from the transmission in your car, you could use either. The '04 went to the ill-fated PD injector engine and a variation in the 5-speed. In mid-2005, VW came out with the "A5" body platform; this is the version that has the hideous (in my opinion) "Nissan-looking" chromed grille and I think that they changed the transmission code again. Dr. Steve's car is an 07 model but they carried that model on further in Mexico as an A4 body. Anyway, it it makes any difference (and as I stated above, I don't think it does) Dr. Steve's car is likely to have a different engine/transmission setup than we'd find in English-speaking America. But he needs to ask VW do Mexico, SA to clarify.