Have you heard this about the Jetta 2006?

[Mike akaRedsfan]

As some of you know my wife and I have purchased a new Volkswagen 2006 2.5 Jetta. We got a solid deal, and are enjoying the car very much so far. I have read some great reviews about the new Jetta, and not so good about model year 2001. Volkswagen freely admits to the oil leak problem of that year, and vow that has vastly improved.



My question is if you have heard about new emissions that will require cars to start somewhat rough for about the first 20 seconds it is started after sitting for a while. Her Jetta is doing this, and when she contacted the dealer she was told that Volkswagen is the first manufacturer who has designed their new cars to meet this new industry standard (not sure if this is kin to Canada only). Apparently all Volks are designed for somewhat rough starts in order to prevent poor emissions on typical cold starts. After 20 seconds the car drives perfectly well. And note, it does not always have this rough start, it depends on the conditions.



Comments welcome.

 

[Frank Marano]

i dont understand how a rough start is helping emissions but then again I dont design engines, lol

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

I have to find out the exact wording she was given, but apparently they welcomed us to start any car on the lot they have. They probably gave it a better explanation that I did, so I should look into it more.

 

[David Haselden 2]

We just bought a New Beetle with 2.5 and ours doesn't start rough. It is smooth from the start. I would be suspicious of the service advisor that told you this. Call another dealership and see what they say. We have had a total of 5 New Beetles, (1) 2001 VR6 Jetta and a 2004 Touareg and have excellent luck with them.

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

Good advice Dave, I will try that. I first have to get the exact details of their conversation. One thing the dealer did for us upon delivery is replace the battery. After sitting outside since May, the old battery was run down. They replaced this for us. I wonder if this may still be a problem, or am I fishing?

 

[Dre L]

Sounds like bunk. define rough... cold start high rpms rough, old 4 cylinder rough, or shaking the tires off rough?

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

As the wifey explained it, almost sounds like a truck starting, loud start up. No shakes, just a bit of a loud start.

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

Okay here is more deatil on my question. I spoke to the guy at Volkswagen and he gave me info that I don't really understand but doesn't appear to be b.s.:



Starting in 2007, there will be new emmission laws in regards to the burning of Raw Fuel. What Volkswagen has done now is add a Secondary Air Pump Injector to their fleet of cars to meet the new standards beginning next year. Basically this injector recirculates air out of the exhaust and uses it as intake air. What she is hearing is the downpipe from the intake manifold going to the catalytic converter as it heats up at start up. This is all being done so no raw fuel is released into the atmosphere. This problem will not surface in the summer of course,because of warmer outside temps. Hope I explained it somewhat intelligibly for you car geeks

 

[Andy G]

A few manufacturers have been messing with this for a couple of years.



It sounds like Volkswagen has gone a step further than those that I am aware of. The most common way to reduce emmissions on cold start is to retard timing and even "multispark" for a few seconds after start up. It is barely noticeable. It sounds like the 2007 law is more strict.



My 2000 VW Jetta 2.0 uses the "multispark" method on startups when the temp is low enough. I have talked with several mechanics who know nothing about it, and a few that know all about it. So it can be hard to get a straight scoop.



As far as the oil problem with older Jettas........I have heard the explanation of what happened, and it doesn't make much sense. It has to do with an oil control ring on the #2 cylinder, but I would think that every affected VW would go through oil like mad, and mine does not. The problem seems to be somewhat hit-and-miss.



My Jetta should fall into the range when the problem existed, and I consume about 1/2 a quart between changes. It isn't a leak either, it is burning it. But at 170,000 miles, I can't complain much. I haven't had 1 problem with the car; other than it has always burnt a little oil.



Good luck with the new car!

 

[James B 2]

My 2003 Jetta did the same thing. I was always told that it had something to do with the way the turbo charger runs when cold.

 

[Mike akaRedsfan]

Well, here is an update.



Apparently the dealership spoke to the engineers at VW, and this problem seems to be in the first run of 2006 Jetta's. The problem is as I outlined, but serves as doing no harm to your car at all. The annoyance is the noise, as it souns like an old klunker for 15-20 secs. It does go away, but in my opinion should not happen. A flash was installed on the second run of Jetta's and they do not have this problem. VW is apparently working on a second flash for the first runs, and this is expected to be done within a month and a half or so. This is all due to emission standards, yadda yadda. I want to believe what VW says, but the iffy past has me a bit concerned. They claim they want the flash 100% before offering it to the Jetta owners. My wife started up 3 Jettas in the lot, and each one did the same thing...