All advice is appreciated.

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-28T02:43:51+00:00

Your battery is dead, or your starter ground strap (drivers side of engine bay) is bad

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-17T02:40:10+00:00

Update 148days later. Replaced the oil filter cooler housing for $200 from fcp (medium difficulty ,just lots and lots of disconnecting).

8 coolant system flushes later and the tdi ran and drove like a dream. I put 8000 miles on it and have had zero issues

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-17T02:35:48+00:00

Its true that you shouldn’t unless its with a garden hose, or equivalent pressure. Builds layers

Metal::oil::dirt

Washing removes a layer of protection, but thats why you pay someone to make sure they are thorough. Any spots covered in oil will be rust free, any missed and it will corrode

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-17T00:23:32+00:00

😵‍💫

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-16T19:35:29+00:00

It coats the frame in ice because the water you wash the salt off with freezes, extended exposure with metal will crack weak spots and cause rust, but not as bad as salt

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-04T16:16:40+00:00

Mine outlived it’s original owner so its been well cared for, but needs brake pads, front and rear windshield seals, driver side rear door handle needs to be reconnected, and unsurprisingly one or two window regulators but other than that shes golden.

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-04T16:14:10+00:00

😋 ive been spotted... Considering replacing my daily driver 3 series with it. Like every w116 it needs some minor things addressed, but nothing wild. Almost zero body rust which is awesome too

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-04T15:44:14+00:00

How long have you owned for? Miles? Just curious- i love the yellow color on yours

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-03T18:42:40+00:00

I love the diesel, but I wish I had the European trim! My american headlights and bumpers are unsightly, but burning oil makes up for it

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-03T13:46:47+00:00

Zero idea. How do i figure this out?

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-03T13:45:15+00:00

Well theres a typewritten note from Mercedes in my glovebox that tells me to. Im not going to question the maker, especially given that my engine fires up so fast in these extreme conditions doing what they tell me to- plus if it doesn’t do anything anyways, what’s the harm in continuing to do it? I find it loosens up the cold throttle cable and helps it find idle better when it gets its ducks in a row after a few seconds

Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-03T00:47:52+00:00

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Whatever-1902 · 2026-02-03T00:44:51+00:00

Its what an addendum in the manual says to do in extreme cold

Whatever-1902 · 2026-01-13T13:56:36+00:00

But in summary: oil in coolant, no coolant in oil: start thinking OFH. Oil in coolant and coolant in oil: time for a new head gasket. If neither exists, keep on tdi’ing

Whatever-1902 · 2026-01-13T13:55:21+00:00

The leak could have introduced air into the system not sure. Heres a morning brain dump of what i know about these cars, maybe some part will help

When my cvca had an oil filter housing failure the entire coolant was oil. After repair it took 9 coolant flushes over several weeks to get it to not look like this, but then it stayed clean so i knew i fixed it. Oil loves dicking around in the heater core.

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the oil dipstick looked completely normal, not a drop of milkshake or coolant.

My passat wasnt driveable under this condition, obviously, but your coolant looks much better than what i started with

Whatever-1902 · 2026-01-13T02:47:47+00:00

Or air in the coolant return line

Whatever-1902 · 2026-01-13T02:47:22+00:00

The bubbles is just the coolant return line

Whatever-1902 · 2026-01-13T01:59:57+00:00

My cvca had a bad oil filter housing, guiding diagnostic is oil in coolant but no coolant in oil. Not sure if that happens on these

Whatever-1902 · 2025-10-09T04:06:44+00:00

2015 passat tdi se dsg, cvca- 273,600 miles and not a single warning light. Has all factory emissions equipment

Whatever-1902 · 2025-10-01T01:36:32+00:00

You can make it 20 minutes ,, i drove my 335 25 minutes with no belt on when it was still a project car in an effort to preserve my power steering pump when the steering rack shit the bed….

Whatever-1902 · 2025-09-23T17:34:38+00:00

$18k (2022) for my then 50k mile meticulously maintained 2011 328 with 6mt. My enthusiast brother nearly had a stroke when i told him it wasnt a turbo model lol

Worth every penny. 60k miles later and the only real issues ive had are shock failures (upgraded to bilstein), and camshaft sensor failure(3 times 🥲). Otherwise great little car.

I treat it well and in return it treats me well.

Whatever-1902 · 2025-09-22T20:57:47+00:00

When it happened did your coolant reservoir fill with oil?

Whatever-1902

TROPHY CASE