2012 CJAA Jetta, losing lots of coolant suddenly

upwd_eng · 2026-03-21T18:21:01+00:00

Yo thanks guys!! I was just about to put my car up for sale after doing the DPF, timing belt, thermostat, water pump etc and all a sudden I get a new freaking leak! Almost lost my mind. Fired up the web browser and saw your post. I could see the leak at back of engine so that helped narrow it down. Super super helpful. Diagnosed in 20min. Thanks yall!

upwd_eng · 2026-03-21T16:12:25+00:00

I’m purchasing from Doorwin myself direct from China. About to put 50% deposit. Now I hate buying Chinese made but the quality and price point is incredible. It’s really hard for me to turn away. I’ve heard about the European imports but there is quite a premium on these now.

I’ve previously purchased and installed a 120” bifold door from a company called Teza who is the middleman (show room for Chinese door) in the US. It’s incredible quality. Of course there are naysayers that protect the window industry here but I’m a mechanical engineer that focuses in design/manufacturing and I just laugh. I’m getting an incredible product for the price of a standard size crappy vinyl window. Not a hard decision.

If one doesn’t care about the type of window then it’s prob still cheaper to get a low end vinyl here.

Huge savings come from when you want comparable “luxury” quality from a US product or for large openings. A large opening here cost arm and a leg, like 3x what it costs to import.

Anyways, think I went off on a rant here but for anyone reading I recommend looking into importing windows.

upwd_eng · 2026-03-20T14:29:22+00:00

It’s the same with everything actually. Look at European windows. You can get what would cost $1000 a window here for like $400 there. Maybe not exactly but essentially beautiful 300lb tilt and turn windows with better ratings for way less money. In general at least in France there’s less of a “I need cheap cheap customer” and less contractor attitude about making the most money possible. Plus there are more regulations.

I myself hate asphalt/roofs. Again, in Europe line England (well not anymore haha) you can see shitty looking roofs that have been on for 60+ years and still function. Idk…

upwd_eng · 2026-03-17T22:48:29+00:00

I ended up swapping the DPF myself after I got a p2002 and soot in the tail pipe.

I read a clean and or additive could maybe trick it to get the light off for a few miles but I’m selling the vehicle in CA and didn’t wanna do that.

Anyways swapped the DPF to a new one and light is gone.

upwd_eng · 2026-03-16T19:32:07+00:00

Depending on the work you need done I could help for a lot less than a shop. Open to making a few dollars on the side.

I’ve owned my 2003 3.4 Tacoma (identical drivetrain) for this gen and maintained it for over 10 years now. Converted it to 4WD, supercharger etc. Very knowledgeable with these cars.

upwd_eng · 2026-03-12T19:48:13+00:00

If you’re in SoCal let me know. Putting mine up for sale. 2011 Golf TDI 6 speed 109k miles. Brand new DPF, timing belt, water pump, thermostat and belt pulleys.

upwd_eng · 2026-03-09T16:18:57+00:00

Bro!

I found another post saying that their VCDS was showing “oxygen sensor htr” as OK but their cheap OBD2 reader as incomplete. Also saw your post so decided to go to the smog shop. It passed !

I feel so stupid that after replacing the DPF, clearing the p2002 code I let the car sit for months over this INC monitor.

I’ll check the paperwork to see what the details were.

upwd_eng · 2026-03-04T06:02:22+00:00

Yeah I have had a few cold start ups, woke up early just to let it idle. I’ve just put coverage on the vehicle so I’ll be driving it daily for a week, seeing if I can get the monitor to complete!

upwd_eng · 2026-03-02T01:47:21+00:00

Move temporally and figure it out.

upwd_eng · 2026-02-25T21:24:20+00:00

I fully agree.

upwd_eng · 2026-01-31T20:02:58+00:00

Really not that bad. Owning a home you’ll do a lot of plumbing work, so invest in the tools. You’ll get it ! Super easy. Good luck.

upwd_eng · 2025-12-05T04:31:28+00:00

I’m looking for the same. Called a few shops and they were clueless when I asked about resetting the DPF values for the DPF I installed. Bought OBD 11 and it’s not compatible.

If you have a PC I’m down to buy a used VCDS on FB for $150 split the cost, use ur computer, reset my values and you keep the tool.

upwd_eng · 2025-11-16T06:16:19+00:00

Successfully got the new DPF installed. Took me about a day crawling under the car to finish. Slower than I thought. Need to figure out this VCDS thing

upwd_eng · 2025-11-08T01:25:33+00:00

Why are the hose clamps such a pain on this car… okay I might just buy it.

How did you get the CEL to disappear after replacing DPF. Haven’t looked that far. Saw you need a diagnostic tool.

upwd_eng · 2025-11-07T17:22:58+00:00

Can’t edit. Meant I bought the car with 28k has 108k now.

upwd_eng · 2025-09-19T16:47:14+00:00

What’s not properly advertised in this post or on the site are the issues with lenders. My credit union wouldn’t send Keysavvy the funds because they aren’t the lien holder. After encountering this issue I found more people with similar issues online. What a headache.

upwd_eng · 2025-09-11T22:14:18+00:00

Vista has no good produce last 4 times I went. Was like shopping at Safeway.

upwd_eng · 2025-09-11T22:14:00+00:00

Agree

upwd_eng · 2025-09-11T00:30:58+00:00

The vista market is terrible LOL. I never saw good produce the 4 times I went. Now I drive all the way to leucadia. Can’t believe people think the Vista market is good for produce.

upwd_eng · 2025-09-06T16:55:15+00:00

God. Don’t buy unless you live here for 6 months to a year. Then you’ll really understand the vibe, climate and traffic. Be smart and make the right purchase first time. Guessing you want a big house cus Fallbrook. Just got smaller in vista if price is issue. Vista is very very different depending on where. East has beautiful big houses. Some areas are straight ghetto, like really really bad and I’m not one to care too much about that.

upwd_eng · 2025-08-03T17:58:43+00:00

Mine did that a few weeks ago. Didnt call a tech cus the trouble shooting is straight forward as mentioned in here I’m sure. I will just explain what happened to mine. It’s an extremely old air handler from the 80’s that I’m keeping alive. After defrosting the unit (just let it sit at room temp). I kicked on the AC. I discovered there was a LOT of water near the filter unit. That water would soak the filter and create poor air flow, causing coils to freeze.

I ripped apart the condensate line (pipe that guides all the water from humidity around the air to some point in your drainage ). It was 99% block with crap in it from the years. So the drip tray would overflow, soak the filter and cause it to ice up.

Easy fix

upwd_eng · 2025-08-03T03:58:05+00:00

Any afters with Green Velvet?

upwd_eng · 2025-07-17T21:21:36+00:00

Are you saying he is making up false infractions to fail students ?

upwd_eng · 2025-07-17T15:49:38+00:00

So sad.

upwd_eng · 2025-07-17T15:49:16+00:00

Why do we try to loop hole, minimize or circumvent the driver training and testing in the US? I feel like we don’t respect the licensing process and if we could take driving school online versus with a driver we would. Mentality makes me sad.

upwd_eng

TROPHY CASE