2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLS review from North America

I own a 2003 VW Jetta TDI GLS which I bought new from Park Place Motors in Rochester MN. I picked it up on October 1, 2002 and now have just shy of 110,000 miles on it.

At ~50,000 miles I had the EGR cleaned due to carbon buildup which was restricting air flow through the EGR and the air intake. This problem is no fault of car, it is due to the poor quality, high sulfur fuel that was sold in America. The repair cost me 180 dollars.

Since then most diesel pumps have been changed to dispense ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) which should eliminate any carbon deposits for those of you who have had the same problem.

I have made by own biodiesel for the last two years and purchased 100% bioldiesel from a local coop the year before and have found that the EGR has remained almost completely free of any carbon buildup. I produce my biodiesel from waste cooking oil for about 90 cents a gallon and find the car to perform better on the biodeisel.

At 86,000 miles I had a glow plug go out which resulted in the check engine light coming on. Since then I've replaced all four glow plugs, but I have replaced them myself. Anybody can do this, all you need is a voltage tester and a 10 mm deep well socket.

So for me, in the last 5 years, and 110,000 miles this is all I have had to do to my car. I do use Mobile 1 fully synthetic motor oil which costs around 5 dollars a quart, but I find it superior to others that may be cheaper.

Enjoy the 50+ miles to the gallon,

Mike.