VW Owners

bhysjulien · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:00 am

I'm not implying that all VW owners are this way so please don't flame me.

I'm tired of talking to VW owners while standing at the diesel pumps. So far, except for the ones on this forum, they all like to point out that the Liberty should get better fuel mileage and like to tell me how great their mileage is. Good for them, I'm glad they get great mileage. Does their vehicle weigh almost 5000 pounds? Can their vehicle tow 5000 pounds? Is their Jetta or Beetle a 4x4 with the aerodynamics of a brick? They don't have an answer for any of this. Just because the Liberty isn't as big as an Excursion doesn't mean it's a cute ute.

danoid · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:50 am

I had a guy last winter ask about my mileage. I told him 24 in the summer, 20 in the winter. He replied, sitting in his Scion Xb with 12 inch wheels, that 'that wasn't very good.'

I pointed to the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R hanging on the tailgate and replied (smiling) that, "I didn't get stuck last week, and I tow a 27' travel trailer.'

He rolled up his window and drove off without saying a word.

naturist · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:19 pm

"Smug" is a disease not limited to Prius owners, sadly.

I own both a VW Jetta (diesel, of course) as well as a Libby CRD. The Jetta is a great car, and almost impossible to beat for 50 mpg. But you are quite right: it won't tow 5,000 lbs, nor wade through a foot of mud. I live on a farm. I have a use for a vehicle like the Libby, that's why I have one of them TOO.

What I don't have a use for is anybody practicing holier-than-thou. And I confess that's me, too, on occasion. So I'll shut up and leave it at that.

TDI4BY · **Joined:** Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:56 pm **Posts:** 644

I got 49 on my last fill up in the TDI

Lucky for me I have 2 diesel Jetta's and the CRD

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:25 pm

Our listed weight is only 1000 pounds more then my last 99.5 jetta TDI. Yes our jeeps are bricks driving down the highway. But so was my 99 XJ with that fantastic 4.0L six and I got within 2 mpgs of the CRD with the XJ :cry:

Granted some CRD owners get a reported 30 MPG highway at 70 mph but a lot of us don't :oops:

I actually got the same highway mileage on a V8 powered F-150 with a 8 foot bed.

Now intown between the XJ and CRD is night and day

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:14 pm

The next time a TDI owner gives you grief for mileage ask him how many window regulators he has had to replace. :twisted:

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:05 pm

I had my Jetta TDI for 145,000 miles of it's 150k miles with me (It's still on the road with the new owner who loves it) and never replaced a single window regulator. The idiots at the dealer replaced lots of stuff that probably didn't need to be replaced (Replaced the entire brake system b/c the PEDAL sensor was installed badly) But reliability-wise, the car was very solid.

The alternator was the only large component to fail in 150k miles of driving. I changed the timing belt twice, and the injection pump had an internal seal fail (at the 150k mile period) that was probably due to the ULSD changeover as much as anything else. But the engine was still producing 500 psi in each cylinder, just like when it was brand new.

cerich · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:20 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

The next time a TDI owner gives you grief for mileage ask him how many window regulators he has had to replace. :twisted:

ask some crd owners the same....

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Our CRD's should get better mileage than they do.

Next time, just answer that our CRD's get better mileage than another other vehicle in its class, and unfortunately, there are no other vehicles in its class here in America. That's why I bought mine.

dgeist · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:05 pm

naturist wrote:

"Smug" is a disease not limited to Prius owners, sadly.

I own both a VW Jetta (diesel, of course) as well as a Libby CRD. The Jetta is a great car, and almost impossible to beat for 50 mpg. But you are quite right: it won't tow 5,000 lbs, nor wade through a foot of mud. I live on a farm. I have a use for a vehicle like the Libby, that's why I have one of them TOO.

What I don't have a use for is anybody practicing holier-than-thou. And I confess that's me, too, on occasion. So I'll shut up and leave it at that.

reminds me of SouthPark:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smug_Alert!

Awesome episode....

bugnout · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:51 pm

Yes, excellent episode featuring the Pious.

I don't get the mileage I once did. My modification have affected that, but the one thing I have noticed is that no matter how hard I drive it, tow with it, put my lead foot down, I always seem to get no worse than 20 mpg. Now even if that Dodge Cummins is getting 20 mpg unloaded, he's certainly not getting that when towing.

I once got 30+ mpg over two tanks coming east from Colorado to Illinois doing 65 mph with a tail wind going mostly downhill.

TDI4BY · **Joined:** Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:56 pm **Posts:** 644

"although smog rates are down, people who drive hybrids create a toxic gas in the air called "smug". South Park now has the second-highest levels in the country, after San Francisco."

Hilarious

panda-52 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:18 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

The next time a TDI owner gives you grief for mileage ask him how many window regulators he has had to replace. :twisted:

Like several others here I own both a VW TDI and a CRD. I really like the CRD and it's great for it's intended purpose as far as it goes. But it has not been as reliable as I'd hoped. The Jeep was in the shop more the first month than the VW has been in 6 years and 210,000 miles. I'm keeping the Jeep for the long haul but I have my doubts it will go a far as the VW. In my experience it's hard to knock the TDI especially when I consistently get between 52 and 54 mpg.

And yes I too have had both window regulators replaced, free of charge.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:18 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

The next time a TDI owner gives you grief for mileage ask him how many window regulators he has had to replace. :twisted:

My Wife's New Beetle ate two, one on each side and then I aligned the window track. The first took the whole thing, the second I installed the kit consing of rollers and cables. Of course, I did ask the Dealer if they were going to install a vending machine for the window regulators and power window switches before VW upped the quality.

BTW her TDI can't power it's self up steep hills that the CRD just laughs at and it needs a lift kit more than my stock CRD.

dkenny · **Posted:** Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:42 pm

what are those for???

I wife hasn't stopped at one in a month despite needing 2 fullups...

maybe BD is a good thing?

I know I like it in my bus that gets 7mpg..I wish I could get 20 like the lousy crd liberty

-dkenny

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:12 am

I blame the F37. I was getting consistently 22-23mpg in DC traffic. Post F37 I'm usually around 19, MAYBE 20. I will say though, 20mpg towing ~4500lbs can't be beat in this little turd. And as someone else said, there isn't anything really comparable, unless you want that MB Diesel.

chrispitude · **Posted:** Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:13 am

Threeweight wrote:

Our CRD's should get better mileage than they do.

Next time, just answer that our CRD's get better mileage than another other vehicle in its class, and unfortunately, there are no other vehicles in its class here in America. That's why I bought mine.

That is exactly what I've said to folks at the pumps. I think it should do better, but all things considered I can't find anything better for what we use it for.

- Chris

ac5501 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:24 pm

When anyone asks me about my fuel economy, I tell them what I am averaging "around 33 mpg". Its not the 47-50 that I was getting with my 06 TDI which I traded in for the Jeep, but I wanted the 4x4, the towing capacity, the SUV utility, and to ride higher up on the road. Let me tell you 33mpg is pretty darn good for that vehicle ( I still think I can get the avg up to 35)

I wish I still had my TDI, but I can't afford both, and I get more use out of the CRD

An interesting side note. In the 2 years I owned my TDI, I never ever saw another one at a fuel pump either when I was fueling or just driving by. The very first time I pulled the Jeep up to a pump, I ran into a guy fueling his 06 TDI. He seemed rather impressed with the jeep but at that time I could not give him any figures as i just had gotten the CRD

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

I'm hoping that with $$ for fuel where it is, we'll see some SUV's and small pickups that pay more attention to aerodynamics and weight. Those are the two big killers for the Liberty CRD's mileage, and neither of them are necessary for the vehicle to fulfill it's intended function.

My dream rig would be something the size of the previous generation Tacoma's, with a diesel in the 2.5-3 liter range, hitting 25 mpg city, 35 mpg highway.

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:34 pm

ac5501 wrote:

I tell them what I am averaging "around 33 mpg".

How?

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