Comments: 1-15, 16-19
The Jetta TDI just does not give all that good a gas mileage as one would expect for the significantly greater price we paid for it.
I am not particularly happy with this car, although my wife loves it. We are now at 14,000 miles and have been extremely careful with the break-in process. The dealer gave us the following advice “drive it like you stole it” which was not particularly useful, but we found an excellent set of recommendations on a VW forum on what and how to do the breaking. The car appears to be operating properly, but we still only get roughly 40 mpg in a 5 speed manual. This is the best we get, generally we get in the mid to high 30’s roughly the same as the Saturn SL2 it replaced.
The dealer we purchased from lost the VW franchise less than a month after we purchased the car, we took it to another dealer and were told that we were “short tripping” the car and that it should not be driven on trips of less than 20 miles. That the engine was probably getting clogged with soot (the car generally drives 15 miles or less at around 70MPH). That cleaning the soot is the primary solution which should return the mileage to roughly 50 mpg. The cost of this is roughly $1000 in this area so it seems fairly steep and there is no guarantee that the whole thing will not have to be repeated in a few months (mind we have had the car for only 8 months). We have followed the seconds dealers recommendations of taking the car are long drives (300 miles at 70+ MPG) just to clean the soot. We have gone on several of these, which is a waste of fuel and time since they are not destination drives, we could get the same results by putting the car up on blocks and letting it run.
We like the car for the most part EXCEPT the fuel economy. I am trying to find out whether there might be a problem with the car somehow.
I also have a 2006 TDI Jetta. On the window sticker, it said 42 mpg highway. So did yours. You knew that before you bought it, so you cannot blame the car. Had you bought a Prius Hybrid, with the same bells and whistles, less room and less power, it would have cost you roughly same for the good mileage. These are "specialty' cars, not economy cars. It doesn't make financial sense to buy one, any more than buying a Lexus. You want economy, buy another old Saturn SL2! I went diesel because I love driving my Jetta and frankly, I love being seen in it. It's unique, and it puts the screws, in some small way, to the creeps who sell us oil.
If you are dissatisfied with your Jetta, take a vacation to San Diego and sell it for more than you bought it, but don't blame the car for it getting what the sticker told you it was going to get. In fact, most cars, unlike VW's, do not do as well as the sticker.
BTW, I used to sell Saturns and I NEVER heard of an SL2 getting 40 MPG.
Diesels come into their own on long commutes, especially highway driving, not so much around town.
My uncle has a Benz diesel, it too gets poor mileage on short trips. But take it on a road trip and you drive around forever before the next fill up.
70 MPG is fantastic!
The problem isn't so much the car, you simply bought the wrong car for your needs.
Diesels are for people who do lots and lots of driving.
For your needs, You would have been better off with a Chevy Cobalt or a Ford Fusion.
Is this review for real? Excess soot on a modern diesel? 1000.00 to "clean it out"? Don't listen to dealers too much. 40 MPG in daily use sounds real good to me. Also, a short trip of 15 miles?
I'm kind of shocked that someone would complain about getting 40 mpg. Seems really excellent to me. Also, we don't know what your driving style is like and where you are. If you are in Los Angeles traffic every time you go out, then yeah the mileage will be bad. If after taking a 2 hour trip on a freeway traveling at a steady speed (not speeding) in flat terrain, you're still only getting 40mpg, then something could be wrong. Otherwise, you should enjoy your car!
I would not complain about 40 mpg either. A 15 mile trip barely warms the machine, unless it is a congested roadway. I have a friend who has a TDI with over 200k on it and he gets over 50 mpg. I have a 2006 GLI with the 200 hp turbo. It gets 31 mpg highway fully loaded. We are happy with that.
I own a 2006 Jetta TDI and I travel 80 miles return trip, Monday to Friday. When I first bought the car I got 44 miles to the gallon and now a year later I get 47 miles to the gallon. It is exactly what I expected out of this car.
The more you drive it the better gas mileage will get. By far the most reliable and long lasting car you will ever own.
It is just awesome.
From a Canuck.
I am the guy with the first reply in this thread. I just got back from my first long trip in my 2006 Jetta TDI. I was doing 75 to 80 MPH and got 44 MPG. That's better than advertised at a much faster speed.
I own an'03 TDI and I love it. It gets 45 mpg in town and 55+ on the highway. and I've kept records to prove it. It is just about to turn 40K on the odoometer. I also use Stanadyne Performance fuel additive and it really seems to help. My last long trip went 58.8 mpg from Greensboro NC to Niagara Falls NY. I paid 20K for my car and people were fighting to get them. It is how you drive them that makes all the difference. You can't drive it like a gasoline car. Follow the owners manual and drive it like it is supposed to and you will see what I mean... and I don't get the "drive it like you stole it" idea... sounds like this guy needs to go back to mechanics school...he's crazy... does he drive his car like that..???..maybe he stole his.!!!
Thinking of buying an 06 Jetta TDI, 5spd. Getting the car for it's renowned fuel economy, great performance, and stylish looks. I do a ton of highway driving (800 + km a week) and just wanna be sure there are no issues with oil consumption or anything else. Looks like there are also issues with warranty coverage and dealing with the dealerships. Any advice before the purchase is appreciated with common problems or recalls and the warranty. Also, how much are people paying for oil changes?
I have a 2003 Jetta Wagon, standard transmission. No problem getting 45-50 mpg, often on B100.
My daughter has a 2000 Jetta, also standard transmission. She gets 40+ mpg on much shorter trips than me (50 mile commuter v. 5 mile commute).
We are both very happy with our mileage.
Also happy with our 2006 New Bug with AT--42+ mpg.
I've got a '06 jetta tdi, 28000 miles on it now. I started out getting 44 mpg, now it's down to 33! I usually go about 80mph, and I use the ac. I have started to try different stations for fuel. Does anyone have any experience on this?
The mileage you're getting is great for this car. I don't expect much. As for the creep remark, I think it is not acceptable. Oil is just a fuel; it is the creeps who build cars with cars mileage and market them in the US that are creeps. The comment just shows how we focus on the wrong source and cause.
Keep in mind that diesel fuel changes based on season, and that winter mix will not get as good mileage as during the summer.
We own a 2006 TDI with just over 30K miles on it. It has been nothing short of an awesome vehicle. 40+ mpg is far better than any car of its size/weight, and if you are going to complain about it, do what someone else said, and sell it to someone who can appreciate it in a state where they were not available new (CA, NY, MA, CT etc). As for oil consumption, I have never seen it drop below the full mark between oil changes (every 10,000 miles). It has not even been in the shop for anything other than regular oil changes. I would highly recommend the vehicle.
40 MPG is quite good, especially for a vehicle this size, like the previous commenter said. Don't listen to the dealer about "cleaning" the engine. You should accelerate briskly at least once a week to keep build-ups cleaned out. Let the engine rev on up, just a couple of times will not affect your mileage appreciably. Be happy that this is the only "problem" you are having with this car! I really hope that these new Jettas prove themselves to be reliable, as the last one was very disappointing.