Learn Me: VW Touareg TDi

I've always been a fan of the VW diesels and I've owned some sort of 4 cyl variant for the better part of the past decade. I've always liked the torqueyness for daily driving and obviously the fuel economy. I've been lucky enough to be spared any high pressure fuel pump or DPF failures. We even picked up a JSW for my wife last year with all of the cheap cars being flooded into the market.

I've always had a small truck around the house for doing home owner stuff and hauling car parts, but this summer we bought a boat. The boat and trailer probably weigh about 4000 lbs combined which is right about the max for a 2000 3.0 ranger. It also seems that the truck doesn't get used much and I find myself spending more time cleaning it than driving it. I pretty much am only using it to move the boat these days. 

So this past week the wife gets a healthy size bonus, I am bored at work, and I get reminded that my wife still wants an SUV. Mostly just for the normal "I want to sit up high" reasons. Her commute is only about 6 miles one way so mileage isn't a huge concern. 

All of that brings me to look at 2011-2013 Touareg TDi's. They seem to be in abundance for around $12k with around 100k miles. I know they are built like tanks and are quite nice inside. The best part is that they are rated to tow 7700lbs. This would allow me to get rid of the truck and JSW for what is nearly a straight trade and freeing up a parking spot.

Anyone have any experience with these things? I'm looking at one that is freshly back from VW which means all of the exhaust, injection, and turbo parts are under warranty for 4 years and 48k miles. So that alleviates most of the worries about some of the more expensive bits.

It's a nice truck.  My wife bought herself a CPO 11' Lux in September for $19k.  She loves it.  Averages 25 MPG and 550-600 miles per tank.  Great back seat room for adults, very comfortable seats on trips.

If you are going to get one with around 100k miles, get the Sport trim without a glass roof, save yourself potential headaches with a huge sunroof that won't be covered under warranty.  And if you tow, obviously find one with a hitch preinstalled.  All models have a tow module, but not necessarily a hitch and 7 pin harness.  We haven't towed with ours yet, but I imagine its effortless with 400+ pound feet of torque, and the brakes are massive, 6 piston front and 4 piston rear.

Everyone warns of the foibles of the panoramic roof. Unfortunately it get's included with all of the Lux and Executive trim cars. Both of the JSW's I've had didn't have the sunroof, but I honestly really like it. I guess I'll take the risk. 

All of the ones I've looked at have the tow hitch installed already. Like I said, I plan to tow the boat with this and getting rid of my Ranger. 

We've been eyeing ones with the dark brown interior which I really like. 

There is also the enticing possibility of putting a tune on this which should add +50whp and +80wtq  and %10 more fuel economy. Does my wife need 500 ft/lbs... No, but why not.

In reply to Nofive_0 :

Both my 12' JSW and wife's Touareg have the panoramic roof, we wanted the feel of extra headspace, and it definitely does just that.  It does make for finding roof rack cross bars that are compatible with it a pain though.

As for interiors, we looked at a brown one, and it was significantly less impressive in person then in pictures, so we opted for black.

As for tunes, Malone is the go to from my research, 60+ HP and 20+ torque.   The higher torque rated tunes advertised are for the 14' and newer models with the larger turbo.

That's a very short trip/duty cycle for a diesel. They start complaining and throwing codes if they see too many short trips.

In reply to clutchsmoke :

I thought it was a short trip but didn’t know about throwing codes.  Just not long enough to get condensation out of the oil. 

My mother used to drive 2 miles to work. The mufflers on her car would rust out in a year.  

You do realize that they sold a 5.0 liter V10 TDI in 2002 or ‘03.  That thing is a BEAST with a tune.  Or so I’ve heard.  Never driven one.  I always wanted a V10 TDI though.  They’re rare.

A 401 CJ said:

You do realize that they sold a 5.0 liter V10 TDI in 2002 or ‘03.  That thing is a BEAST with a tune.  Or so I’ve heard.  Never driven one.  I always wanted a V10 TDI though.  They’re rare.

Yes, but they are also temperamental, old, and not exactly what I would call a good "wife car" 400+ ft/lbs should be plenty, get's much better fuel economy, and are more reliable. 

We're going to Atlanta for the holidays and plan on looking at one on Sunday. The wife is sort of being on the fence now, so we will see what happens. 

If I am not mistaken, this is the platform that the Cayenne, Bentaga, and Urus are made from. That's a pretty impressive resume! Personally, I LOVE the clean lines of the VW and the premium interior. I too lust for the V10 diesel, knowing full well it would bankrupt me.

I once saw a V10 diesel power train out on the floor because of an oil leak.  It looks very much like a Borg cube.

spitfirebill said:

In reply to clutchsmoke :

I thought it was a short trip but didn’t know about throwing codes.  Just not long enough to get condensation out of the oil. 

My mother used to drive 2 miles to work. The mufflers on her car would rust out in a year.  

Yeah my wife has a 2010 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI and her previous commute was so short that she was getting a CEL that disappeared over I took it out for a longer drive and gave it the beans.

A 6 mile commute will make even gas vehicles have issues.

spitfirebill said:

In reply to clutchsmoke :

I thought it was a short trip but didn’t know about throwing codes.  Just not long enough to get condensation out of the oil. 

My mother used to drive 2 miles to work. The mufflers on her car would rust out in a year.  

Frequent, short trips don't usually work well with the emissions systems on modern diesels because they don't get up to operating temps or have enough time to complete a regen when one is triggered. It wouldn't surprise me to see lots of soot buildup in a duty cycle like that, and if it's constantly stuck in regen mode, fuel economy will be sub par.

A 401 CJ said:

You do realize that they sold a 5.0 liter V10 TDI in 2002 or ‘03.  That thing is a BEAST with a tune.  Or so I’ve heard.  Never driven one.  I always wanted a V10 TDI though.  They’re rare.

I put some miles on one earlier this year. It was impressive, especially for it's age. Highway cruising was pretty effortless, and it's got a unique sound to it. They weigh pretty much the same as a suburban from that era, but they're almost 3 ft shorter in length and around 9" shorter in height than the Burb. It feels very solid and dense. It handled better than I expected for a bank vault. I'd be terrified to own one, but it's fun to experience somebody else's for a few days.

Long trips don't work well on these either.  We're taking our Cayenne diesel back to the dealer in a few days to address more emissions codes/issues.

The only problems we've had with it are related to all the emissions stuff.  I want to keep this long term but it's obvious to me that once the warranty is expired I'll have to contact Malone Tuning and delete all the emissions stuff for the truck to be reliable.

Hmmm. I blame you all. Yesterday I got the text "My check light is on". Maybe all of those short trips aren't being nice to the current TDI. 

I wouldn't be opposed to a gas model Touareg. The running cost is probably about equal all things considered. They are cheaper to but too, but finding one doesn't seem to be as easy. 

I now have a 2011 JSW TDI for sale if anyone is interested.

Picked up an '11 Touareg yesterday. 104k miles, 1 owner, fresh back from VW a few weeks ago. Lux package with the brown leather interior. I really struggled to find any flaws with it. It drives like a bank vault with 20k miles in it. It's really hard to describe but the car just seems solid. Ive never ridden in an Uber luxury car like an s class or similar but I assume the feeling is the same. 

I bought it from a small dealer in Alpharetta GA, but it's originally from ~30 miles away from my house in NC. After the holidays I will see if I can get into contact with the previous owner and dealer and see if I can get some details on service history.

I've always thought the V10 would make an interesting swap, into the back of a Jetta sportwagon. 

In reply to Nofive_0 :

That looks identical to my daughters, it’s a nice truck. Here are a few things no one tells you that will come in handy. The power lift gate opens AND closes from the button in the driver door and key fob as well as the back. There is a small flap or the rear of the center console, there’s an electrical outlet there. You can add the factory rear view camera from a 2013-2018 for @$400 if you care to have one. 

That's a very good looking truck! I just bought a 2012 X5 diesel and am loving it too. Like you said, it's amazing how solid it feels!

Congrats!! I'm poring over 2g Cayenne Hybrids (on the same platform) after being really happy with the 1g Cayenne we've had for 1.5 years, which put me in the odd position of liking it so much I want to upgrade to a 'better' one way before I've actually lost interest in the one i have. 

Nofive_0 said:

It drives like a bank vault with 20k miles in it. It's really hard to describe but the car just seems solid. Ive never ridden in an Uber luxury car like an s class or similar but I assume the feeling is the same. 

I stumbled across the IIHS crash test ratings a few months after my wife bought hers.   Turns out the 11' Touareg was the highest rated large SUV at the time.  I don't know if that has much to do with the solid feel they have, but it was a nice surprise after the fact.

After finding lots of post-dieselgate deals on these I set out today and drove a 2012 TDI Touareg and a 2014 VR6 Touareg back to back.  Maybe the 2012 was a bad example, but the VR6 felt much faster.  It jumped off the line like a frog in a lightning pond (sic).  It was amazing!  The TDI is supposed to have 400 fp of torque, but it didn't feel like it.  Maybe the changes after scandal the have tuned things down?  I'll see if i can drive another tomorrow and see what's up.  These cars drove and felt amazing.  I'll probably trade my 4runner in for one.

Also from what I can gather the 4 year 48,000 mile warranty starts when the car was refurbished.  The one I drove had the work done in September of 2019, so lot of warranty on the engine and emission parts - not so much on the rest of the vehicle though.

 the VR6 felt much faster.  It jumped off the line like a frog in a lightning pond (sic).  It was amazing!

You might want to drive one of the other 3 faster engine setups. And/or a Cayenne in one of its 3 faster engine trims, assuming you are going for a sporting drive in your next SUV. 

In reply to Vigo :

Thanks, I'll take a look.  In my area the Cayenne's look to be about double the price of the Touareg.  After doing more research I can see why the TDI felt slower.  The 2012 makes 225 HP and got a bump to 240 in 2013.  Also the VR6 is about 200 pounds lighter.  There's only 1 TDI nearby made after 2013 - anything much newer makes the price jump up and after years of reading this forum I've become too damn cheap! :)

No, not a 4/48.  The standard diesel warranty extension is 2/24 on top of whatever factory warranty there is.  So on our '15, that means CPO coverage until summer of '21.  Emissions/powertrain warranty for 10/120k I think.

Since the VR6 isn't a diesel, the standard CPO for VW's is 2/24 extension of the factory bumper to bumper warranty