Has anyone who owned a Volkswagen Jetta have problems starting it in the winter? I'm looking to buy a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (the new deisel fuel one) and I heard from someone at work that in the cold winter weather she had a difficult time starting her Jetta. I have a 1999 Jetta TDI. I'm in the habit of putting the key in and just turning it. In the winter, there's a little light on the dash, and you need to turn the key halfway, wait for the light to go out, then turn it the rest of the way to start the car. If you don't do this, it will take a few seconds to start. Another possible issue is the fuel gelling. This is fairly rare - it has to get really cold for it to happen. Different states/provinces sell different blends of fuel in the winter time (i.e. fuel sold in Michigan won't gel until it gets to a lower temperature than what would cause fuel sold in Florida to gel).
The intention there is to make it so that your fuel won't gel. For the 10 years I've owned my car, it's never gelled. I've lived in central Indiana that whole time. I park in the garage at night, though. If you don't have a garage, it's possible it might gel like one morning per year. They sell engine block heaters - you glue it onto the bottom of your engine (quick and easy, just have to jack up the car then remove a plastic cover on the Jetta to get to it). Get the car - they're excellent. I should hit 200,000 miles sometime in June. I drive normally (80mph) I get about 46mpg and when I drive like an old lady I get up to 53mpg. Even at 10 years old, it's still nice and peppy. Yeah. They are difficult in the winter. That's why I got an SUV because they are good for all of the seasons.
I live in Germany, and It gets REAL COLD in the winter. I never have a problem starting my Volkswagen. Use the winter blend fuel and don't ignore the check engine light, and you won't have much (if any) trouble. More often than not, when a hard to start TDI car comes in to the shop in the winter, the check engine light has been on for quite some time and just ignored. The fault stored: Glow plug circuit failure. I have a 1999 Jetta TDI. I'm in the habit of putting the key in and just turning it. In the winter, there's a little light on the dash, and you need to turn the key halfway, wait for the light to go out, then turn it the rest of the way to start the car. If you don't do this, it will take a few seconds to start. Another possible issue is the fuel gelling. This is fairly rare - it has to get really cold for it to happen.
Different states/provinces sell different blends of fuel in the winter time (i.e. fuel sold in Michigan won't gel until it gets to a lower temperature than what would cause fuel sold in Florida to gel). The intention there is to make it so that your fuel won't gel. For the 10 years I've owned my car, it's never gelled. I've lived in central Indiana that whole time. I park in the garage at night, though. If you don't have a garage, it's possible it might gel like one morning per year. They sell engine block heaters - you glue it onto the bottom of your engine (quick and easy, just have to jack up the car then remove a plastic cover on the Jetta to get to it). Get the car - they're excellent. I should hit 200,000 miles sometime in June. I drive normally (80mph) I get about 46mpg and when I drive like an old lady I get up to 53mpg. Even at 10 years old, it's still nice and peppy.
