In reply to Toyman! :
Mine also started this a couple weeks ago. Darkside helped me with more reliable parts, however the tune revealed some further issues with my fuel pressure regulating valve not maintaining low pressure and delivering too much pressure at throttle tip in. I flashed back to stage 1 to stop rolling coal until the replacement valve arrives.
In reply to Toyman! :
I had a DPF code with mine a year ago. At the time I had done a lot of idling and short drives. I fixed it with Liqui-moly DPF cleaner sprayed into the filter with a wand in the engine compartment where the DEF is injected. No problems since then. I don't leave it idling and make sure to get it out for a longer drive every couple weeks.
I'd love to get rid of some parts but they're on the visual inspection for emissions here. So far both the Touareg and my wifes Cayenne (which she drives like a great grandma) have been ok. If something happens to either I might have to look into my options...
In reply to docwyte :
I'll let you know in September how they feel about my visual inspection. I usually go to L&N Diesel for my testing every year.
In reply to Parker with too many Projects :
I've been going to Branch Automotive because they're right around the corner from my neighborhood. They told me they don't check to see if the parts work, just that they're there. That makes it hard for me to remove the SCR, DPF and DEF tho...
In reply to docwyte :
Malone doesn't remove the DEF parts, it just turns them off in the ECU. I would think the DPF could be as simple as gutting it. I bought the parts and the tune the week I bought the car because I didn't want to need the parts and have them be unavailable.
In reply to Toyman! :
So the DPF just has a matrix like a cat? I've never seen the inside of one so wasn't sure if gutting it was possible.
In reply to docwyte :
The pictures I have seen look similar to a cat. I have no clue what it is made of though. Could be titanium for what they charge for them.
In reply to docwyte :
The real problem is if you turn everything off (EGR/DPF Regen/DEF additive) the SCR and DPF will eventually become clogged with soot and cause dangerous backpressure levels. It's a shame, but the only real long term solution is to remove the SCR & DPF if the function of the components is disabled.
In reply to nlzmo400r :
I wouldn't disable them without doing something to remove them. However I need to pass a visual inspection, so likely won't ever remove/disable them.
Check engine light came on yesterday while leaving work. Got home, hooked up vag com, which showed a MAF code. Hmm. Popped the hood with the thought of taking the MAF out to clean it and noticed that the MAF was unplugged. Either happened when I went to check the air filter some time ago and didn't plug it back in, or I knocked the plug loose while doing the oil change the other night.
Cleared the code, plugged the MAF back in, seems fine...
Did some Vag Com mods yesterday. Got the windows/sunroof open/close working with the key remote, activated the transmission gear display in the instrument cluster and did the non Dynaudio radio mod. Sadly there isn't the normal list of Vag Com mods out there, at least I haven't found it. Club touareg has them for the generation before mine and after mine but very little on my generation.
Went through the stack of service records and created a maintenance log in Word. Had to read the receipt twice, but the dealer did the diff fluid for front/rear diff but not the transfer case. Got a quart of transfer case fluid from my local dealer, for less money than FCP Euro (!!) and knocked that out yesterday on the lift. First time under the car, was shocked to see that all the bellypan hardware was there! Everything looked good, I probably should change the cabin air filter since it has about 30k miles on it, but otherwise everything is totally caught up.
Got around to washing it this past Saturday. Wiped the dog's nose prints off the rear windows, vacuumed the interior. Being silver it hides a lot of dirt, which is kinda nice. I do need to detail it, I've got all the gear plus Adam's ceramic. Just need to find the time, probably the better part of two days. I have the first week of July off, so depending on what I do with my son, I might do it then...
I did figure out that it does have the diesel gate transmission tune on it, so not sure why it's more responsive compared to my wife's cayenne.
In reply to docwyte :
I find, in general, that FCP is about 20% overpriced on everything. However, they've always provided me with pretty great service, and with their 'lifetime warranty' they offer which make my service costs effectively zero - I don't mind at all paying a little too much to have them keep selling me parts.
I replaced a leaky intercooler hose a few years ago - this one started splitting again (I think the oil vapors in the hose don't help) - and they sent me another one and credited me for sending back the original. Cost me only shipping back to them of the original. Can't complain about that.
In reply to nlzmo400r :
Yeah, they warrantied the front brakes on our cayenne, so that was nice. Price wise FCP Euro is about the same as all the other online places like RM Euro, Pelican, ECS Tuning, etc. I get a pretty good discount at my local dealer, but even then they're still usually quite a bit more than the online places. This was a shock that they were less. I also wanted to grab it immediately, so that worked out well.
Ever since I flashed the Malone Stage 2 tune, I've seen a -20% impact on mpg. This puzzled me as many people on line and on Club Touareg report either no change in mpg, or a small tick UP in mpg with the tune. I have receipts showing a fuel filter change at 100k miles and I'm at 107k now. Figured I've got the fuel filter sitting around, might as well swap it out and see what happens.
Old vs new. It's not filthy, but it's more dirty than I'd expect after only 7k miles.
I also emptied all the fuel out of the fuel filter canister. I'll take a look at it today to see how much water separated out.
Since VCDS works perfectly on this (vs the Cayenne) I used it to activate the fuel pump and fill the fuel filter canister before I started the car. Starts and runs fine, but I need to drive it and see. I opened a ticket with Malone and will see what they say. I posted to a Touareg FB group and got the predictable dumb responses, but did hear from another big diesel tuner who commented that I shouldn't be seeing such a large drop in mpg. He recommended doing a boost leak check and logging the fpr.
Heard back from Malone Tuning and they echo'ed the other tuner, that mpg shouldn't drop as much as it has for me. That most of their customers see the same mpg, or even a small increase. So I'm going to send them some vcds logs tonight and check out the car tomorrow for boost/vacuum leaks.
Hope you find a smoking gun. Mine is tuned by Oakes, and while the drivability has vastly improved, my fuel economy has similarly dropped and I'll be rolling coal on kickdown or flooring it. VCDS doesn't indicate much variation between commanded boost and delivered, so I'm going to pull the intake manifold and clean all the EGR goop that's surely built up in there and hope that gives an improvement.
In reply to Parker with too many Projects :
Both Oakes and Malone told me the same thing, that mpg with their tunes should stay the same, or even increase a little bit. Oakes told me to look for vacuum or boost leaks and I asked Malone about sending them log files. I hope I find something obvious too, otherwise my next step is to flash the stock tune back on and see if the mpg's go back to where they used to be...
Found out Malone is offering the pre diesel gate transmission tune for free. Figured might as well try it out, even though I like the way the transmission shifts. Flashed it and it is a bit better, noticeably better from a dead stop on throttle response. Sometimes takes longer to kick down a gear though. I want to try it on the cayenne, as that transmission shift logic is dog poo.
Went back and forth with Malone about the 20-25% drop in mpg with their tune, sent them logs etc. They said everything is fine with the tune and my car is running well, said to flash it back to stock to see if I immediately pick the mpg back up and if I don't want to keep the tune they'll refund me. I'm probably going to flash it back to stock tomorrow, as I need to fill it up and I've got a freeway drive to the base. That way I can see mpg right away.
If I jump back up 5-6mpg on the freeway I'll have to think hard about keeping the tune or not. This isn't a sports car and it has plenty of power stock...
Hi Doc, any update on the flash back to stock? I've just received the boost leak testers from Oakes but haven't had a chance to use them. Getting tired of my reduced fuel economy and the back and forth about why my truck is rolling coal when it shouldn't be.
In reply to Parker with too many Projects :
I flashed back to stock last Thursday, then filled it up. Drove it around a bunch last weekend, including a hour long freeway cruise. So far the fuel economy doesn't seem to be a whole lot better than with the Malone tune. That surprises me as it did get much better mpg before the tune, I'm wondering if the ECU needs to relearn everything since it got flashed.
It's also possible that since it got flashed it's just using all my driving habits as data, whereas when I bought the car it had based its mapping off the previous owner? I'm going to run this tank through and if I get about the same range on the tank, I'll flash the tune back on. The difference in power is very noticeable...
So it's the little things, right? When I went to go look at the SUV, I checked to make sure if there was a cargo cover, as they're expensive and frequently go missing on used cars. It was there and looked correct, so I was happy and didn't look at it again. Some time later, after I'd bought the Touareg and had it at home I realized the cargo cover wasn't black like it should be, but dark brown. Ugh, I can't un-see that. It's been bugging me ever since!
I've been cruising eBay and FB marketplace for a black one and thankfully one popped up on FB market place last week. Met up with the guy Saturday morning and grabbed it and a brand new set of OEM carpet floor mats. I usually just run the rubber mats like the car already has, but brand new summer mats are good to have too.
So. Much. Better!
Almost done sorting the interior, I've got to replace the hvac control head, the little screen somehow got a crack in it. They're ~$60 shipped off eBay, I've been waiting until I decide to buy an Apple CarPlay unit as I'd have to R&R the hvac head to install the CarPlay part.
In other news, I'm just about done with a complete tank of fuel. It looks like my range is a bit better stock vs tuned, but nowhere near as much as I'd thought. I usually get around 515 miles on a tank, looks like maybe I'll hit 550 miles on this tank. For that small difference in fuel economy I think the extra HP/torque from the tune is well worth it, so will likely flash the tune back on this weekend.
I'm going to return to stock and ask Oakes about a refund on his tune, then contact Darkside for a custom tune for their DPF delete. My number one priority is being able to use all of the map and when it smokes out an entire highway on downshift that's fundamentally a broken tune. I just don't get the disparity of people getting (claiming?) 700+ miles on a tank vs your and my ~500 miles.
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