Tell me about Toureg TDI's 2013+

[Spring1898]

Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems? (talk me out of or into one)

Still haven't found a clean B5.5 to drop all my old parts into, and didn't realize the Touregs continued making diesels through 2017

 

[Mozambiquer]

Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems? (talk me out of or into one)

Still haven't found a clean B5.5 to drop all my old parts into, and didn't realize the Touregs continued making diesels through 2017

They are actually rather great. The 3.0 v6 tdi is a pretty decent engine, not super cheap to maintain, but the biggest issues are coolant and oil leaks in the valley, which any v6 tdi owner will probably face at some time or another.
The older ones (pre 2013) had some issues with the timing chain tensioners, though some people I've talked to say they simply replace the upper tensioner and it works pretty good, I haven't had to do it on my q7 yet, but probably will eventually, as it rattles a little bit on startup.
Other than that, they are pretty decent vehicles.

 

[oilhammer]

...and I think they are money pits.

The vehicle itself is not that bad. But what's under the hood is very complex and has a lot of fragile and expensive parts. The front axle bearings are also a weak spot. The propeller shaft center support bearings have a high failure rate. Depending on how they are driven, and the size tires they use, they can go through tires and brakes at an alarming rate. I've had customers that like clockwork every 20k miles they need a set of tires and one axle's worth of brakes, and these are in no way inexpensive items as compared to a Jetta or something. The SCR system on the V6 TDIs has a lot of problems, and they are often sitting waiting for parts for months on end. Once the Dieselgate warranty is dried up completely on all of these, I feel that will only get worse. Really a shame, because for an SUV, they really don't drive bad... mainly because unlike a lot of other SUVs these are not sprung from a stone-age ladder frame pickup truck.. They are a purpose-designed unibody SUV, like the BMW X5, the MB GLE (which is also the basic same underpinnings as the current Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango). They are sturdy, and capable in off road situations.

If you've got some other cars to depend on, and you can deal with a $5k repair popping out of nowhere with no warning and you can deal with that, then you could certainly tolerate owning one. But if not....

I have a customer wanting to sell his really clean 2014... 160k miles, I just resealed and rechained the whole engine. It needs the front axle (and there are only four left in the whole continent). I think it was like $4k for that. He just spent $10k on it. Has new tires and a new windshield, too.

 

[TurboABA]

I own a '14. Bought it used in late '18 with about 60k on the clock. Currently sitting ~125k and out of AEM warranty. It's my only ride.
It will not compete in FE with any other TDIs, but for the pig that it is, and for how much it can pull and how capable it is in overall versatility, you can't touch it. I do my own wrenching and maintaining on it, outside in the elements, with basic tools and VCDS. Due to complexity, I wouldn't entertain even considering buying one without being able to scan it, and knowing what to look for\at.

As per above, parts & even regular maintenance stuff is more costly vs some 20 year old ALH, etc. Keep in mind that you are talking about a top of the line offering vs the other end of the spectrum, so costs and availability of certain parts can become an issue. If you rely on a dealer for work\maintenance, each visit will run you min 1k regardless of what it is.

There were no '17 TDIs. I'd suggest staying away from the '15+ as they have lots of issues with dying eyelash in the headlights, which requires a very expensive new headlight. There's also tons of failures with ACC, so steer clear of that option unless you have money to burn.

During my ownership, I've only done the following:
- pads & rotors all the way around once (will do again this summer)
- replaced one ECT sensor (PITA)
- replaced one set of tires (old ones were originals)
- changed diffs and transfer case fluids
- replaced aux belt and all pulleys\idlers
- replaced battery
- lots of oil\filter\fuel filter changes

Current issue - downpipe flex is leaking, so I'm driving around with a MIL. Have to find time to take DP off to replace the flex section as it also contains the primary cat, so a new replacement is a few $K from VW.

 

[TurboABA]

Wait... I lied.... I've also changed engine air filter, cabin filter, and had one NOx sensor replaced under the AEM warranty by VW.

 

[Spring1898]

I would really like one but the idea of thousands in parts and time spent repairing, even things outside the engine scare me. They are also getting physically older and low mileage ones are hard to find and in some sense unproven.

Think they are probably out of my reach for now until I can 'afford' one. But man they look nice and capable

 

[TurboABA]

I have a customer wanting to sell his really clean 2014... 160k miles, I just resealed and rechained the whole engine. It needs the front axle (and there are only four left in the whole continent). I think it was like $4k for that.

You can let your boi know that there is info floating around on how to rebuild\refresh the front diffs..... (if he's handy)
There is also a user on here who does it and sells them on ebay and some forums for about 1/4 of that cost.....
I feel bad for your guy after he spent that much trying to maintain his ride.

 

[oilhammer]

We're in desperate need of new techs, if you'd like to apply. I cannot keep up.

 

[Dannyboy]

Second video shows an audi engine but it's the excat same, apart from engine cover.

 

[Spring1898]

It is still on my list just not as high. If I can find a good enough deal will consider
How hard are they to wrench on?

 

[TurboABA]

Vague questions are vague.... what's your budget? What year trim are you after? In what area? What kind of mileage are you comfortable with?
All those are important starting factors.

 

[TurboABA]

These are pretty inline with the market based on most units I've seen come up for sale

 

[casioqv]

Money pits? Unreliable? Too expensive to maintain? DEF and DPF problems?

All of the above. They're also a uniquely capable vehicle for serious off-roading and heavy towing that somehow still manages to be as comfortable as a high end luxury car, and have handling that compares with many sports cars on a windy road hence building the Cayenne on the same platform. They achieve all of that with a lot of complexity, and expensive components.

You have to decide for yourself, but nothing really compares to the Touareg, it's sort-of in a class of its own as far as being a jack of all trades that does really well at all of them.