Hi all.

 

I've been pondering a new motor for a while and love the Yeti.  We binned my wife's 2014 1.6tdi Fabby Scout for a 2017 1.0 tsi Fabby Monte Carlo as we were terrified that the diesel engine was going to cause us issues down the line.  I'm in an old 1.9 PD Passat so am concerned about trouble with either the 1.6 or 2.0 [109 or 147 bhp] diesels.  It's a big question, but has anyone had any bad experiences with either engines on or around the 2009 - 2012 year mark?  That's the age vehicle I'm likely to afford.  Driving 25 miles motorway twice a day.

 

Thanks in advance you wonderful people. :)

Our second Fabia was the 1.9tdi and that was a good engine, with a lot less emission control stuff to fail and was 13 years old when sold.

However we got rid due to small value and large bills looming.

We got 1k trade in from a naive salesman who did not notice that a driveshaft needed replacing, bearing going in gearbox, leaking shocks, rusty brakelines and discs wrotten exhaust etc.

 

I reckoned it needed about £2k in repairs which were not economic.

Bodywork was excellent as was interior so no doubt it went to auction and sold easily with a couple of months mot left but will have been expensive to keep on road. Still being taxed though so someone paid out!

Not quite sure I understand your terror about diesels, but if it's any help the 140 Tdi in my 2010 Yeti was 100% trouble-free for the 7½ years I owned it.  Important to note, though, that I refused the NOx emissions "fix".  It may be difficult to find one that age that hasn't had it done, especially from a VAG dealer.  I don't think the Euro6 150 Tdi - which doesn't need the "fix" - would be found in any Yeti of the age you're looking at.

Thanks fella.  I think I've just read so many horror stories and it's scared me off a little.  I've had friends with issues with 1.6 tdi caddy and other vw fixed and non fixed.  Maybe I'm just cautious..... Good to know yours is running well.  

For my penneth worth. I have a 2014 110bhp diesel that HAS had the fix. It only has 35,000 miles on it. Yes we do use my wifes petrol VW UP for very short runs, but we have had no problems. Yes we did have a faulty error code two years ago that has not happened again and the dpf light has com on once in nearly 5yrs. With your mileage I would not worry.

I would prefer another diesel but I succumbed to pressure from the boss who does not want to kill any more polar bears and have ordered a petrol Audi as a replacement to my Yeti. It goes up for sale in a couple of weeks and I will miss it.

 

Colin

I have a 2013, 2Ltr 170bhp diesel that has had the fix.

 

My advice would be to get the car the suits your driving profile. The big diesels are pullers or mile eaters, anything round the doors will murder the engine and the fix will make it happen sooner. You'll get deposition in the EGR and DPF and it will cost in the end.

 

50 mile a day, getting it hot on a motorway is about the same as me.

 

I drive mine like it should be driven, lots of miles, no short commuting and I dose with Archoil or Millers EVERY fill.

 

No fault codes, no smoke, no issues at all.

11 hours ago, eribaMotters said:

I would prefer another diesel but I succumbed to pressure from the boss who does not want to kill any more polar bears

 

You should have pointed out to your boss that what's killing polar bears is climate change, of which CO2 emissions are a primary cause, and diesels produce less CO2 than petrol engines.  That's why the fuel duty was equalised back in whenever-it-was (2008?), once the actions being taken to control diesel particulates emissions were seen to be becoming effective.  (It's worth noting that the Euro5 and Euro6 emissions limits for diesel and petrol have been the same since 2009.)

 

The panic that has been stirred up around NOx emissions are mainly focused on its role as a localised pollutant.  In that sense they barely affect polar bears, if at all.  Few folks were all that worried about NOx until VW were caught cheating the emissions tests, at which point all diesels suddenly became 'dirty' again.  That said, the Euro6 NOx emissions limit for diesels is still 33% higher than that for petrol.

47 minutes ago, WFM said:

The big diesels are pullers or mile eaters, anything round the doors will murder the engine

 

This is something of an exaggeration IMO.  My 140 did three miles to work and back every week day, with longer runs at the weekend and good long run every two to three months.  Never a murmur of complaint, despite the fact that I ran it on supermarket derv and never wasted money on additives.

 

To the OP: Any mention of the DPF light in the context of your question is a bit of a red herring.  It's not a fault, it's meant to do that, so long as it goes out when the action documented in the owner's manual (basically: go for a bit of a longer drive) is followed.

47 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

 

This is something of an exaggeration IMO.  My 140 did three miles to work and back every week day, with longer runs at the weekend and good long run every two to three months.  Never a murmur of complaint, despite the fact that I ran it on supermarket derv and never wasted money on additives.

 

To the OP: Any mention of the DPF light in the context of your question is a bit of a red herring.  It's not a fault, it's meant to do that, so long as it goes out when the action documented in the owner's manual (basically: go for a bit of a longer drive) is followed.

 

Not an exaggeration at all, it's a fact, big diesel engines were originally designed and operated for longevity and torque way before they were put into cars. There will always be an exception to the rule and diesel engines are infinitely more refined than they were but, it is an irrefutable fact that a big diesel, doing short miles will produce more deposits.

 

If you don't believe me, use VAG DPF app to map the engine conditions for both types of use and you will see an increase in soot deposit, oil ash deposition, a shortening of the distance and time between regens and a decrease in mpg on the one that is doing short hops, again an irrefutable fact.

 

To address your statement about usage, the longer runs and the good long runs you did are probably what helped your engine to remain in a decent working condition, if you had only done the 3 mile commutes you would likely have seen a different picture.

4 hours ago, WFM said:

To address your statement about usage, the longer runs and the good long runs you did are probably what helped your engine to remain in a decent working condition, if you had only done the 3 mile commutes you would likely have seen a different picture.

 

You previously said "anything round the doors will murder the engine", not "if you only ever go round the doors...".  Your original statement may have poorly expressed but one has to take it face value, and as such it is an exaggeration.

22 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

 

You previously said "anything round the doors will murder the engine", not "if you only ever go round the doors...".  Your original statement may have poorly expressed but one has to take it face value, and as such it is an exaggeration.

 

I shall try not to use colloquialisms and endeavour to better express my thoughts next time but I'm sure you knew what I meant. In any case we are both the wiser for the debate. Have a good weekend.

@WFM and @ejstubbs - thanks for the input guys - I have to admit to not knowing what 'around the doors' was!  I think I get it now - short trips basically!  :D

 

I have no intention of towing, and I'm hoping that the 50 motorway miles I do 5 days a week should be fine to get the engine hot enough to allow the DPF to do it's job.  I'm not adverse to a 2.0 but don't know a great deal about the difference between a 147 [?] bhp and the 109 [?] bhp - are they the EURO 5 and 6 variants?  I think the 1.6 Greenline might be a better option possibly - I like the engine having had that in the Fabia Scout.  

 

In terms of the fix [if the car I find has had it] - re-mapping seems to be a way of ensuring that it's mapped out and is no longer a potential issue?  But I also appreciate that there are plenty of motors out there with the fix and no issues, like yours WFM.  I have a 6K limit for an outright purchase or could look at PCP to get me higher up the years for newer.  Thoughts on the above?

The 150ps are all euro 6, but their is also a 110ps euro 6, and this was also available in euro 5 up to 2015.

 

Prior to the euro 6 there was the 1.6tdi 105ps Greenline, the 110, 140 and 170ps all euro 5 and will probably have had the emissions fix by now

42 minutes ago, Raker said:

@WFM and @ejstubbs - thanks for the input guys - I have to admit to not knowing what 'around the doors' was!  I think I get it now - short trips basically! 

 

I have no intention of towing, and I'm hoping that the 50 motorway miles I do 5 days a week should be fine to get the engine hot enough to allow the DPF to do it's job.  I'm not adverse to a 2.0 but don't know a great deal about the difference between a 147 [?] bhp and the 109 [?] bhp - are they the EURO 5 and 6 variants?  I think the 1.6 Greenline might be a better option possibly - I like the engine having had that in the Fabia Scout.  

 

In terms of the fix [if the car I find has had it] - re-mapping seems to be a way of ensuring that it's mapped out and is no longer a potential issue?  But I also appreciate that there are plenty of motors out there with the fix and no issues, like yours WFM.  I have a 6K limit for an outright purchase or could look at PCP to get me higher up the years for newer.  Thoughts on the above?

Hi, I've got a 2013 140bhp with 66k miles on it. Living on the Isle of Wight I don't do any long distances & I've never had any issues with the DPF. Mine hasn't had the fix done either.

I have a 2012 Yeti Elegance 2.0 TDI 107 bhp.

We are delighted with it as it ticks all the boxes for our needs, and having owned a Golf for 14 years I know the quality of VAG cars.

There  is only one niggle that I’m experiencing - it labours a bit at low speeds sometimes and I have to drop a gear.

The 100 bhp Golf did not present such a problem at low speeds.

I’m considering having my Yeti mapped to 138 bhp and a higher torque range which I believe was the original spec before it was detuned, fitted with a five-speed box for the market.

I know of one specialist who can map it up to 183 bhp.

Will this improvement to both bhp and torque correct my problem?

Any advice will be welcomed.

Thank you.

I have the same, albeit the Euro 6 version. I also have the problem of it labouring if you let the revs drop too low and as I've said a number of times it would have been better if it had been fitted with the 6 speed box to close the ratios up. Sometimes I get caught between two gears for example going round an island when 2nd can be too low and third too high. Others don't have a problem with it though and it's fine if you rev it more but I'm not a fan of revving diesel engines. Trouble is diesels aren't the torque monsters they used to be at low revs and have to be driven more like a petrol.

 

Having said that I love the car and am glad that I went for a diesel.

I moved from a 2004 100bhp diesel VW Touran to a 2014 110bhp  diesel Yeti. With the VW power was available from low revs in any gear. The engine was very flexible.

The Skoda is totally different beast, revving more like a petrol. It has a narrower power band than the earlier VW diesel, and needs more revs to get going.

If you go for a Stage 1 remap [tuning] then you can increase both bhp and torque, but be warned about going much over 140bhp as the 5 speed box will not cope well with the increased torque that will also come.

 

Colin

Thanks Colin, that’s a good point about the five gears.

I will check this out with the company I will use.

 

On 12/01/2019 at 15:19, Raker said:

@WFM and @ejstubbs - thanks for the input guys - I have to admit to not knowing what 'around the doors' was!  I think I get it now - short trips basically! 

 

I have no intention of towing, and I'm hoping that the 50 motorway miles I do 5 days a week should be fine to get the engine hot enough to allow the DPF to do it's job.  I'm not adverse to a 2.0 but don't know a great deal about the difference between a 147 [?] bhp and the 109 [?] bhp - are they the EURO 5 and 6 variants?  I think the 1.6 Greenline might be a better option possibly - I like the engine having had that in the Fabia Scout.  

 

In terms of the fix [if the car I find has had it] - re-mapping seems to be a way of ensuring that it's mapped out and is no longer a potential issue?  But I also appreciate that there are plenty of motors out there with the fix and no issues, like yours WFM.  I have a 6K limit for an outright purchase or could look at PCP to get me higher up the years for newer.  Thoughts on the above?

 

The 2 litre fix is only an alteration to the timing for inlet, firing and exhaust, nothing mechanical so the engine doesn't really suffer. Any other engine that has had the fix I think I would avoid because you have no way of knowing what issues you will be buying. A friend of mine has a newer, Euro 6, 150ps and he loves it. To be honest, putting AdBlue in once every crab season shouldn't be such an issue.

 

As for PCP and the like, you have to weigh all the options and decide what is best for your situation. A cheaper deal that gets you a better car might be great but at the end, are you going to be in negative equity?

 

Your decision but, good luck. The Yeti is a fabulous car and will give you loads of smiles to the mile.

A stage 1 re-map was the solution to my post EA189 "fix" related issues - now on 80k miles and DPF currently stands at 46% full (according to VAG DPF). Hopefully plenty of life remaining

 

The stage 1 map lead to a marked improvement throughout the rev range and it is noticeable how the car tolerates lower revs now. 

 

The only additional costs have related to yearly insurance premiums, but happily MPG seems to be unaffected (or even slightly better than immediately post fix).