The Volkswagen Jetta TDI is a type of car that uses diesel fuel instead of gasoline. It has a special engine that helps it use less fuel and go farther on a tank of gas.
Glow plugs are like small heaters inside diesel engines that help the engine start when it's cold outside. They warm up the engine so it can run smoothly.
The combustion chamber is the part inside the engine where fuel burns to make the car go. Sometimes, dirty stuff called carbon can stick there and cause problems.
The diesel emissions scandal was when Volkswagen cheated on pollution tests for their diesel cars. This made the cars seem cleaner than they really were, which caused a big problem.
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Hi, it's Mark.
I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Vancouver's best auto service repair and customer service.
How you doing, Bernie?
Doing very well.
So today we're talking about a 2012 VW Jetta TDI.
I had one of these.
How was this vehicle?
What was going on with this one?
Yeah, so this vehicle came to our shop with a very specific problem.
The owners had been to another shop to have the glow plugs replaced and glow plug number
two had broken off.
For some reason, the other shop couldn't remove the glow plug.
They didn't have the equipment to extract a broken glow plug.
They phoned us.
We have the equipment and so brought it in and we proceeded to do the work.
So was the vehicle towed over or was it still running?
Oh, it's still running.
Yeah, still running.
So the glow plug is just for starting.
It's not necessarily for running once the engine's worn.
No.
Yeah, it's mostly for starting and just early warm up situation.
Glow plugs will sometimes cycle on just to get the engine warmed up quickly.
All right.
So let's go to some pictures here.
Go to some pictures.
So what are we looking at here?
So we are looking at the broken glow plug that was removed from the vehicle and that
arrow points to the actual spot where the brake was.
It's a big long collar that goes down from the threaded part on the left side all the
way down and that crack, that line you see there is not supposed to be there.
That was actually the piece that broke off.
So usually it's the tip, the piece on the very right side that's got black soot.
That piece or something a little further to the left will break off because it'll get
stuck inside the combustion chamber from carbon deposits.
Anyways, not the case this time.
It was just this collar and sleeves.
As far as extracting it actually wasn't too bad because some of these can be a nightmare.
But we have special tools.
They're guided drill bits and you really got to follow what you're doing because if
you drill the wrong way it'll ruin the cylinder head.
So you got to be very careful.
Proper tools makes a difference.
There's the engine.
So we removed the intake manifold to get access so that green tape there's actually covering
the intake ports.
We make sure that you don't want anything falling in there.
The last thing you want is a bolt or a piece of hard metal to fall in and jam up the valves
or hit the top of the pistons.
So anyways, the red arrow points to number two cylinder.
That's what the glow plug removed is say the intake and fuel rail are off.
The fuel injectors are sitting in the middle of the engine a little further back.
That's with some of the intake off with the glow plugs installed.
So don't have a photo of the actual assembly back together but there's a lot more in there.
The glow plugs are visible and you can unbolt them if everything comes out well without
taking the intake off.
But in this case for the extraction processes we needed room.
So all good and back together and works great.
So 2012 Jetta TDI.
This is the diesel rather infamous like how are these vehicles for reliability?
They're great.
It's pretty hard on Volkswagen.
Their own doing of course for lying on emission tests and as we found out a lot of other manufacturers
did the same thing and they do that.
But it's an excellent engine.
Works really good.
I think you said over 200,000 kilometers.
Yeah, this one's got about 220,000 K's I believe and it works perfectly.
They go for a long time.
They're good reliable engines.
I'd recommend them.
If you don't mind putting out a little more pollutants than you're supposed to.
If you're looking for service for your diesel, VW, any maker model or VW repairs, the experts
to see are at Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver.
You can reach them online at pawlikautomotive.com or you can call them at 604-327-7112.
You have to book your appointment ahead.
They're always busy.
Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Thanks so much for watching and listening.
Thanks Bernie.
Thank you Mark and thanks for watching.
We really appreciate it.
About this episode
A 2012 VW Jetta TDI came in with a broken glow plug that another shop couldn't remove. Pawlik Automotive used specialized tools to safely extract the broken part without damaging the cylinder head. The discussion covers the role of glow plugs in diesel engines, the repair process involving intake manifold removal, and the reliability of the VW TDI engine despite its emissions controversy. The engine in question had over 220,000 kilometers and was still running well, highlighting the durability of these diesels.
