Winter TDI

[imsos04]

Out of curiosity, how do the TDIs heat the car's interior in the winter? Just thought I'd ask before we get one because I heard they don't do very well.

[The Cheat]

3 words.

Get.
Heated.
Seats.

:O)

[vee_dubya_diesel]

TDI's seem slow to warm, but you can cook in them once you're on the road.

Sitting and idling to warm the engine seems to do nothing--same deal with my '96 Passat TDI.

You take it on the road, get the fluids running around, and she warms right up. Direct the warm air toward your feet, and the heat rises nicely.

Just one opinion...

[Bonedaddy]

The CWP (cold weather package) is a must-have.

A block heater (tdiheater, zerostart, etc.) is a popular add-on for those in northern climates.

[CoriBug]

Hi there.

I don't know where you heard that TDIs don't warm the interior well, because Daisy has performed wonderful the last couple days. The temp lately has been COLD!!! Low -15, high 8. Yes, she has not wanted to start as quickly(glow plugs take a little longer to warm up), but she can go from a garage in -10 weather to toasty warm in 5 or 6 minutes. Oh yeah, heated seats definitely help too. It's tempting to start it while you scrape the windows, but it does abosutely nothing, except waste fuel.

I highly recommend a TDI!!

Cori

[scooperhsd]

While the heated seats are nice (I would've never considered adding them myself), the TDIs WILL warm up if they are driven. If you're looking for it to warm up while idling (especially where it gets COLD) - it will never happen - it will stop sounding like a truck in a minute or two, but no heat in the passanger compartment until you are DRIVING.

The 4 speed automatics (and probably the DSGs as well) cool the tranny with engine coolant, and the manuals have some "coolant plugs" that put a load on the engine to help warm them up.

A coolant heater like the TDIHeater is not a bad idea if you want instant heat. but again, your car will cool off idling.

There are some good threads on www.tdiclub.com on how to best warm up your TDIs interior. DON'T put the fan on 4, etc.

[DR.billZ]

HOW do they or how WELL do they?
How? By the usual means.
How well? S L O W L Y. The PDs are much faster. Our Passat generates heat much faster than our Beetle(1.9L) does. After they are warmed up it is no different than any other car. MAKE SURE you get heated seats!

[TommyK8]

I have never had a car that blows out as much warm heat as my TDI. If you have the heat control all the way to the right and the fan on the first setting, you will be forced to turn it down because it gets so hot.

That said, what I've described above is once you drive for about 10 minutes. The car takes some time and several miles to get warmed up in the winter. After that, it's like a sauna.

[imsos04]

It doesn't get too cold here (low 20F). But, I was worried about driving and having a nice warm car and then, TRAFIC!! Will the engine cool down and start blowing luke-warm air?

P.S. We're looking into the PD engine if we like how it drives and if it doesn't smoke too much(we haven't driven one b/c they'r sooo hard to find).

[TommyK8]

Originally Posted by imsos04

It doesn't get too cold here (low 20F). But, I was worried about driving and having a nice warm car and then, TRAFIC!! Will the engine cool down and start blowing luke-warm air?

P.S. We're looking into the PD engine if we like how it drives and if it doesn't smoke too much(we haven't driven one b/c they'r sooo hard to find).

Once the car is warm, it doesn't cool back down in traffic. But initially, it won't warm up very fast if you get stuck in traffic immediately.

The engine does not smoke much at all. The smoke associated with diesels is a stereotype from diesels in the 70's and 80's. The PD is a beautiful engine and you will love it, and I think a NB sounds great with a diesel engine.

[imsos04]

So, my average commute (5 days-a-week) is 40 miles on the highway with three tolls (60-70mph) and I spend my free time driving through the suburbs with an average speed of 45-60mph. What kind of diesel mileage should I expect? I'd like to be in the upper 40mpg's, but i really don't want to get less than 40mpg. Is that realistic?

P.S. The Beetle would have a manual transmission and I generaly shift at 2500-3000rpm in a gas engine, so i would probably do the same in a diesel.

[TommyK8]

Originally Posted by imsos04

So, my average commute (5 days-a-week) is 40 miles on the highway with three tolls (60-70mph) and I spend my free time driving through the suburbs with an average speed of 45-60mph. What kind of diesel mileage should I expect? I'd like to be in the upper 40mpg's, but i really don't want to get less than 40mpg. Is that realistic?

P.S. The Beetle would have a manual transmission and I generaly shift at 2500-3000rpm in a gas engine, so i would probably do the same in a diesel.

In my opinion, you will get in the mid 40's consistently once the engine is broken in.

[DR.billZ]

If you drive easy you might hit hit 40's or 50. I almost always get 42 mpg and I drive much more "city" than you do.

[imsos04]

Well, yesterday we drove both the PD and non-PD engine and my mom and I LOVED the PD!!!!! She is set on getting one now. Now, we just have to find one and find someone who will give her a good amount for her car, which may just set us back a few months!!

Even though it will be her car, we definately agreed that I would have it the most. She said she doesn't mind driving the Civic!! I am soooooo excited!!

[vee_dubya_diesel]

I wouldn't put ANYBODY I know in a Japanese car.

VW's rule.

[imsos04]

There is NOTHING wrong with our Civic (or Japanese cars in general!) . As a matter of fact, she said she wants to drive it b/c I know way more about the TDI and I care more about what car I drive. She just wants to get where she has to go which, by the way, is only a 5-mile commute (as opposed to my 40-mile) so a diesel wouldn't help her. I must say I am not too pleased about the Japanese car statement!

[vee_dubya_diesel]

Originally Posted by vee_dubya_diesel

VW's rule.

Ok. Perhaps I'm out of line. My apologies to all those who choose to drive a japanese car. Have a great day.

I choose to drive VW's with a TDI engine, and I'm probably the biggest "unpaid TDI salesman" around.

John

[Whitacre]

Oh for god's sakes dont be so uptight imsos04. It was a simple voiced opinion about japanese cars and not a direct insult to you, therefore you have no real reason to get *so offended* over a simple statement like that...especially on a VW site.

[jpdeuce]

Originally Posted by imsos04

So, my average commute (5 days-a-week) is 40 miles on the highway with three tolls (60-70mph) and I spend my free time driving through the suburbs with an average speed of 45-60mph. What kind of diesel mileage should I expect? I'd like to be in the upper 40mpg's, but i really don't want to get less than 40mpg. Is that realistic?

P.S. The Beetle would have a manual transmission and I generaly shift at 2500-3000rpm in a gas engine, so i would probably do the same in a diesel.

I agree that you should expect in the 40s pretty easily. I drive more city than you do as well and 3 of my last 4 tanks have been 47 and some change. I am averaging over the last 13K miles about 45.

I'd recommend a couple things though.

1 - get a manual for sure
2 - shifting 2500 to 3000 is fine when accelerating...try cruising at about 1900 RPMs though (pick the right gear for the speed)
3 - set your cruise on the freeway at 65 or lower if you can stand it

These 3 will help you maximize the efficiency out of your TDI. However...if you are buying one BRAND NEW then please follow the break in procedure on tdiclub.com for the best performance long term. TDIs can take up to 50K miles to really break in...so you will see improved mileage as that happens.

Oh...and relax a little bit yo...this is a VW site and you are talking about TDIs and the biggest competition with those are foreign gassers...they are going to get some jabs from us every now and then. No worries...nothing personal.

[Luigi]

The 2006 Beetle (Package 1 and 2 come with heated seats. There are no more GLS titles, only package 1 and 2 models.