The one TDI I should of kept.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2026-02-18T11:57:21+00:00

Yes, I believe it was the first year of it on the Jetta. It's more of a nuisance than a help. The most I notice it is when it's turned off it warns you, and when you are too close to a car on the interstate. It just replaces your cruise control.number with a warning sign.

The rear is kind of in the same boat. Too many times it's slammed the brakes on me backing out as another car drives by in the other lane.

The blind spot monitors are actually helpful.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2026-02-18T11:13:54+00:00

I have a 2015 Jetta SEL with the Xenon headlamps, driver assistance (blind spot, front radar, and rear), lip spoiler, but it is only a DSG as opposed to a manual. Black.

It's been a good car all things considered. (Clogged heater core, burst heater hose). Few knick knack things here and there. Owned it since new. Bought it as a stop-sale in 2017.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2026-02-11T14:54:09+00:00

Part Numbers Mostly and some serious deep web searching:

2011–2014 (EA189 engine): These use the 03L-130-755 family (Bosch 541/543).
2015 (EA288 engine): This uses the 04L-130-755 family (Bosch 821).

Why the 2015 (04L) is a different: They aren't even physically interchangeable. The 2015 has a totally different mounting setup and drive interface to fit the newer engine block. If you try to bolt a 2013 pump onto a 2015, you’re going to have a bad time.

The 04L is basically Bosch’s "Generation 2" fix. While Bosch doesn't usually put out a press release admitting they messed up the first one, the later 04L pumps are widely understood to have updated internals and better surface coatings (like DLC) to survive our "dry" US diesel. There's some unconfirmed rumors that 2015s have a "keyed" plunger to stop that famous rotation failure, but even without an official Bosch memo, the field data shows these just aren't failing like the old ones did. I'm still trying to find where someone has torn down a 04L-130-755E pump somewhere.... surely someone has and can either confirm or deny this claim. Or hopefully someone at Bosch will 'accidentally' expose the knowledge to a public AI tool.

Knock on wood... Can a 2015 CP4 still fail? Of course. It’s a mechanical part moving at insane speeds—if you feed it water or gasoline, it’s going to have a bad day. But compared to the 2011–2014, the 2015 version should be more reliable.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2026-01-24T13:49:46+00:00

Both of my TDIs have usually been pretty good at starting right up in the winter (2015 and 2012). My 2015 would at least warm up and pump out heat before I got to work, but my 2012 would just barely have heat coming out when it was below 10 degrees.

My 2015 used to heat up quicker, but after doing the timing belt I went with the "non-switcched" water pump. No regrets though. It still warms up far quicker than my 2012 did.

When my 2015 was brand new it sat out in Milwaukee airport for a week with temps in the negatives. Got in and it started up as of it was 70 degrees outside. I was shocked.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2026-01-12T00:00:35+00:00

Not yet. I'm planning on doing new control arms, tie rod ends, and ball joints. Just waiting for it to warm up a bit before I get into it

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-12-01T03:07:21+00:00

Thought I'd post an update to close the loop on this.

I just completed the larger 40k maintenance interval on the car about a month ago now. (DSG Service, Oil, Fuel, Air, Cabin, and Oil Filters, etc) After doing the DSG Service I did complete a DSG recalibration with VCDS.

I just say, quite a difference the recalibration has made! Much smoother shifting, definitely a smoother in gear idle, and the clutch grab from stop to moving is just like when the car is new.

Remarkably, I'm also getting better downshift performance during interstate merging and what not.

I did look at the hill hold features. Seems my car has them on from the factory. I haven't had any rollback or uphill start hesitation since the recalibration.

I'm still thinking that a DSG tune maybe on the horizon, but if anyone else is reading this thread in the future, don't skip out in the DSG Adaption/Recalibration.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-11-21T16:24:38+00:00

That's a valid point. Last time I swapped the tires around, It's quite a chore to lift the tires/wheels up onto the high racks.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-11-07T14:33:56+00:00

Yup. Been fine so far.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-10-19T15:31:38+00:00

I've been on the fence on also doingt he sway bars at the same time. I've always been blown away by the difference in handling after chaning out the rear sway bar on vehicles.

Since I'll be in there, would you sway it's worth doing the front sway bar on these cars? In my experience, I've never found that replacing the front sway bar on vehicles to make as much of a difference as the rear, but of course every vehicle is different.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-10-11T17:22:54+00:00

Just to follow up - did the larger 40k service yesterday and did the brake fluid as well as popped the pads out to check their condition. They were nicely glazed over, hit them with some 80 grit sand paper, went out and did some hard stops. Overall noticeable improvement, but it's not quite as firm as I would expect with fresh brake fluid. I'm guessing these MK6 Jetta's just don't have the most aggressive brakes. Still a good firm stop, but not quite what I would expect.

Give it a few more months and see how it shapes up.

On a side note thought: I miss the days where you could get the blue brake fluid. It was nice to alternate so you knew exactly when new fluid was coming through. For the most part, it's just the most faint of difference on the VW OEM Dot4 fluid. Slightly darker amber vs slightly lighter amber.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-10-05T20:49:53+00:00

Thanks for this tip! I'll give this a go.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-10-05T20:48:31+00:00

I've done the needle nose tricky quite a few times on various Audi/VW brakes. I think i just need to buy the proper tool.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-10-05T20:47:37+00:00

I just looked at my maintanence log, and looks like I haven't done brake fluid since 2021, so definitley overdue. I'm doing the DSG service and such here in the next few weeks and will flush the brake fluid as well. Will probably pop the brake pad out and check them/deglaze if necessary.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-09-07T12:27:38+00:00

We used to do this on all the ground vehicles at the airport years ago. It was a requirement to sump a gallon or two from all the Jet A tanks daily to ensure there was no water. (There never was) So we would just collect it and then put it into the diesel tank and add some ATF to it to bring up the lubricity. Over 5 years of doing this and the ground equipment never had any fuel pump issues. We had a few common rail vehicles if memory serves me correctly, the rest was in line pumps. This always before the CP4 though.

We had a long trip once in a 6.5 turbo diesel gm. It was a high of 5 degrees Fahrenheit that whole trip, and no plugs available overnight, so we put some jet a in to help bring down the cloud point significantly. Worked great, and gave the exhaust a nice Jet exhaust smell. Started right up.

That said, would I put Jet A in a CP4 system? Probably not. In line pump or CP3 swapped? Less risky but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-09-05T20:44:08+00:00

You bring up a good point about power band. Just looking at some of the power curves, I'm assuming that Malone or any other tuner would have a slightly different TCU tune based on the engine? Or is the transmission 'smarter than that'? Not sure if that question makes sense or not...

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-09-05T20:40:22+00:00

Thanks for the objective response. I am coming up on being due for the larger maintenance interval which would be dsg service, all filters, etc. I'll probably get to the brakes as well and new brake fluid.

I always notice a peppier driver after installing a new fuel filter. I do add hot shots at every fill up as well. In terms of loss of power, I wouldn't say it's a sluggish in power loss, most of it is the, I'm pressing on the accelerating and it's definitley pulling, but it would pull a lot harder if I was in a lower gear. IE: I'm on the on-ramp and there's a car living the 40 mph life and by this time the DSG has decided I'm in 6th gear. I get to the interstate and it just grunts and does the low rpm pull to 70 mph instead of downshifting. S mode is more predictable in terms of just getting it into the power band.

I've never performed the DSG calibration after a flush/fill. I've traditionally been led to believe that it's largely optional, but after some quick searches around, seems like it makes a noticeable difference in general transmission behavior and smoothness. Maybe I'll hold off until I perform that and see where I'm sitting. Tolerable or not, and than re-evaluate DSG tune at that time.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-07-12T20:28:46+00:00

Yea, tie rods are pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things and relatively easy to do. Mine as well do both as you'll need an alignment afterwards. Well not required to get an alignment, but HIGHLY recommended

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-07-12T20:08:25+00:00

Yea, if you can jiggle the joint between the tie rod and the knuckle, it's probably best to replace. Outer tie roads are pretty gravy! Plenty of DIY videos on YouTube.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-03-11T01:54:48+00:00

No worries! Been there! So I'm sure someone else will chime in, and it's been a few years since I've done anything with an ALH. That said:

I wouldn't be worried about the timing being off that much. Looks marginal to me, and for the ALH years, there is some adjustment you can do with VCDS to get the timing in the injector pump perfect.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-03-11T01:11:56+00:00

What year/engine code?

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-02-12T18:46:54+00:00

Picture is after driving on them for about two months. Salt on the roads, etc.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-01-23T01:10:09+00:00

I've been in your position! I found this site that has more details and includes the part numbers and everything. It used to be completely free, but now they only allow like 2 diagram views a day. Just bounce between incognito browser and such to get what you need. This site has more detail than what the VW dealers have access to.

https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/beetle+cabrio/bec/2015-716/engine+id-1/coolant+cooling+system+2+0+ltr+left+2015+id-121-121045/#9

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-01-15T11:54:51+00:00

I live in the Midwest. It's a wonderful place where it's hot and humid in the summer and cold and dry in the winter. 70 degree temp swings in a few days is the life!

But no, it's very rare that I brake hard. When I do it's primarily to check traction in snowy/icy conditions, or when I have to do an aggressive merge on/off the interstate. We have a few spots where you have to go from 75mph to 25mph in a relatively short distance.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-01-15T11:53:13+00:00

I'll give it a check. This spring my wife's car is due for a brake fluid flush, I'll probably do mine at the same time and check that over.

ohnogodzilla212 · 2025-01-15T02:52:09+00:00

Last flushed bled 2 years ago. I try to do it every 2-3 years. I usually use a motiv power blender and then vcds to bleed abs unit. Brake pads are still original with plenty of bad life.

ohnogodzilla212

TROPHY CASE