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New Passat TDI [2012+]


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  1. joboston says

    I just got a TDI SE about a month ago. 10 days into it the rear window wouldn’t go up – seems there is already a service advisory on it. The windows froze shut on the first frost. The airflow over the driver foot area is minimal and it’s very drafty. I live in New England and I am already thinking my feet are going to cold. I’ve cranked the heat up to 75 with the seat warmers on already, and it’s barely been 40 degrees in the morning. The car is quiet at high speeds, gurgly at lower speeds, it talks at a standstill and when just turned off, and it klunks in the rear. First month of city driving only I got 31 mpg. I do notice some jerking when the transmission shifts between gears. Takes a bit of getting used to.

  2. David says

    Does anyone know how many quarts of oil are in my 2012 Passat TDI? I am stil waiting for my owners manual from the dealer. I am also struggling with this whole 10k oil change deal…just doesn’t seem right. I’ve been told by some on the TDI forums that I will actually do more damage to my engine by changing the oil at 5k intervals. How can that be?

    • Corey@IDParts says

      You’ll need about 4.5 quarts.

      IDParts carries a 2012 Passat TDI Oil Change Kit

      • Steve S says

        Does anyone have an idea on how to add a Magnet to the 2012 Passat TDI Oil Filter? I know the FilterMag won’t work, but was wondering about some of the other Oil Filter Magnets. I have contacted some of the manufacturers, and they suggested using epoxy to attach a magnet to the downdraft side of the filter element ( so that the >20 micron particles are grabbed by the filter).

  3. John says

    We’ve had out 2012 Passat TDI SE for a week. We ran one full tank of gas through it and got 38 MPG, mostly city (Pittsburgh, PA) driving. My wife absolutely loves the car. The torque from the TDI is impressive on the hilly terrain we live in.

    We had been thinking of getting a Ford Fusion, which was about the same price, but everything about the Passat, even the bluetooth phone capability, was better. I, too, struggled with the 10,000 mile oil change interval but our mechanic told us that was plenty frequent enough for a synthetic oil in a diesel, and this is the same guy who insists on 3K oil change intervals for my jeep.

    • Corey@IDParts says

      10,000 miles, stick to that and use the right VW 507.00 oil and you’ll be fine.

  4. John says

    We just hit 4,000 miles on our new Passat and we’ve only had it a little over a month (the reason we chose the diesel). So far the average fuel economy has been 41.8 mpg. This is a combination of highway (about 60 percent) and hilly urban driving (around Pittsburgh). The best we did was 48.5 mpg on a round trip to Erie (about 250 miles). We’ve had no issues with the car so far. With the spread between diesel fule and gas prices narrowing, not only is the fuel economy paying the car payment (we traded in a Jeep Commander – 13.5 mpg on a good day!) but its putting a few extra bucks in our pocket.

  5. Craig says

    I have just a little over 14,000 miles on mine so far. The only issue is VW still has no mud guards for them yet and the dealer where I bought mine does not seem know their head from a hole in the ground.
    I got 53.6 miles per gallon with cruise set at 62 mph.

  6. Corey@IDParts says

    Thanks for all the MPG numbers! I am impressed at how well a lot of 2012 Passat TDI drivers are doing – like John & Craig approaching 50 mpg. Thats fantastic for a large sedan whose engine is still not broken in to top efficiency.

  7. KenR says

    Just turned 8000 miles on my 2012 SE TDI with DSG. Mostly country/highway driving; not uncommon to hit over 50 MPG for a 100 mile commute. Even on combined city/highway trips, we almost always get at least 42 MPG. My results were so much higher than the EPA 40 MPG highway rating that I did the calculation myself, and found the trip computer to be right on. I’m hoping that the long term reliability is as impressive as the fuel economy. Really fun to drive, as well.

    • John says

      Hi Ken,
      I did the same thing, I doubted the accuracy of the trip computer, so I calculated 3 tank fulls and compared it to the trip computer. It was always within a tenth of a mile. My mileage is about the same as yours, with a recent 200 mile trip getting 51.3 mpg. The impressive thing about that trip was that it was a round trip, cancelling out any wind factor.



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