In terms of maintenance, what are the major differences between a car with a gas engine and a diesel engine?
By Cars & Motorcycles on Apr 30, 2009 with Comments 5
car buyer asked: I am in the market for a new car and am picking between the Jetta TDI (diesel that will be released later this year) and a normal gasoline-using Jetta. I understand the differences in power and torque between gas and diesel engines. However, I am unsure about the amount of maintenance that goes into owning a diesel. Can someone who has owned both a gasser and a diesel for long periods of time help me out?
Filed Under: Car Maintenance
About the Author:
no spark plugs on a dieasl im a dieasl mechanic and it is cheaper to service a dieasl no plugs or wires they have glow plugs but they rarely go bad
Man spell check! Sorry it drives me nuts.
OK Diesel v. Gas. Diesel is a lubricant. It is actually very similar to Kerosene and Jet fuel. it is less refined that is why it feels slick when you have it on your hands. Mo-gas or regular gasoline has a lot of additives that is what makes the octane rating go up. A higher octane fuel does not actually make the car perform better it just requires a hotter spark to burn, (i.e. burn hotter) A diesel actually fires on its own with no spark. It is actually the compression in the cylinders that makes the combustion. A diesel is actually way more reliable, has a superb gas mileage rating. What you get into in the TDI is the turbo. The moving parts in the turbo is where you start to see the major problems. It spins at a very high rpm, requires a ton of lubrication and gets extremely hot because it runs off the exhaust gasses from the engine. In fact in a Chevy turbo diesel the exhaust can reach over 1000 degrees! Be sure that when you do decide you either get an extended warranty or you investigate the reliability of the engines. A VW is very reliable and a fun car. But also Subaru is coming out with a turbo boxer in less than a year, I am excited to see that!
Diesel’s primarily run forever if only the most half assed maintenance is performed.
All highway trucks use diesel engines and those things run for a long long time right? So a car being run like most cars are, will last you a long time.
I just hope you’re not in a cold climate because getting them to start in the winter is a little harder than gas engines.
So far people have been missing an important point. Diesels depend on very clean fuel. It’s important to change fuel filters much more often than gasoline motors.
Since sulfur is a byproduct of normal diesel combustion it winds up in the motor oil making it look black very quickly. It’s extremely important to adhere to special diesel engine oil change intervals.
A typical diesel motor will outlive a gasoline engine by a conservative 200%. Make sure you order an engine block heater if you purchase the diesel for happier winter starting.
Adding to the very good points already made.. The scheduled maintenance for a VW is not cheap.. similar to Honda’s. However, even though the oil is more expensive (must be VW certified for your specific engine) your oil change intervals are greater.. so, it evens out. Don’t even think about going somewhere like JiffyLube for oil changes.. I wouldn’t even do that with a “gasser”!
As far as cold weather starting.. just toss in a few ounces of PowerService (white bottle) anti-gel additive to each fill-up during the colder months and you will never have starting issues. Trust me, it gets to -25 degrees here!
I really recommend driving both the TDI and the gasoline Jetta… I am pretty sure which you will choose after trying them out..