[low4x4]

Hey peeps I have a 2000 tdi beetle. Just did a tune up. New fuel filter, oil and filter, air filter, new brakes and brake fluid, etc.

Now the engine light is on lol, another story but ill have to get it Checked today. I let the beetle warm up for 15 minutes before I left, and drove 25 miles to work and it never really got hot. Luke warm is the best I can describe. Air flow was good. There is no damn temp gauge so I can't tell if the engine is even reaching op temp.

I can say that the blue little temperature light was off by the time I got in the car this morning.

Thermostat? What do you think?

 

[Smileybug]

First, don't let a TDI idle. They won't warm up that way. Just start the car and drive it (just don't drive it hard before its up to temp). That will help get the car heated up faster. Like I said in your other thread, diesels are different from gassers in a lot of ways, and this is one of them. Though, honestly, I never even let my GTI warm up before I drive it. Even during the winter, it gets up to temp in just a few miles.

Now, get that CEL checked and report back. My guess would be thermostat, but it also depends on the type of driving you were doing.

 

[low4x4]

I didn't let the car idle for the engine to warm up, my main goal was to let the interior warm up. It was 37 degrees this morning. As for type of driving, after it sat for 20 minutes idling, I drove it 50 mph for 7 miles, then 80 for 25 miles. The vents never blew as hot as they should have. Just kind of warm. Kind of. I'm going to get the codes checked after work.

 

[janitz]

If the engine isn't warm, the interior won't be warm either. At idle it will take a very long time to get the engine warm enough to start feeling warm air in the interior. I'm not certain but I think it doesn't begin to pass the air over the engine coolant until the coolant itself reaches a certain temperature. So if your CEL is due to the coolant sensor, you will not have true heat in the car.

Also, 37? ha ha ha, t-shirt weather bro.

 

[Smileybug]

I didn't let the car idle for the engine to warm up, my main goal was to let the interior warm up. It was 37 degrees this morning. As for type of driving, after it sat for 20 minutes idling, I drove it 50 mph for 7 miles, then 80 for 25 miles. The vents never blew as hot as they should have. Just kind of warm. Kind of. I'm going to get the codes checked after work.

As stated already, you won't get any heat without the engine being warmed up. And a TDI doesn't warm up well by idling. A gasser can, but a diesel won't. At least not all that fast. Its just a waste. Diesels warm up much quicker by being driven.

Could also be your blend door foam is gone causing your heat to be poor. Which would mean tearing into your dash to replace.

 

[low4x4]

Ok, we've established the fact that a diesel is different from a "gasser". Awesome. We've also established that I won't get any heat from a cold engine. But after 20 minutes of idling, the cold blue dummy light going off, and then driving 80 for 30 minutes and it still isn't hot? Sounds like more than just a "diesel is different from a gasser" problem.

Why are you all so scared to work on these cars?

 

[janitz]

I do know that my bug doesn't get as warm as my gas powered Kia in the same time. In the Kia during the winter here it will be blowing hot within 10 minutes of leaving the house, the Beetle will be warm by the time I get to the office 45 minutes later. Thank god for heated seats.

Could be the blend door, likely the coolant sensor since you've got a CEL on, although CEL could be just about anything under the hood.

This was your grandmother's car? So you'd be able to ask her if she ever had bits of foam coming out of the air vents. That would be the seal on the blend door which once gone would prevent the bug from mixing properly unheated (or uncooled) air with the air it brings in from the outside.

 

[Smileybug]

Why are you all so scared to work on these cars?

Who said we are scared to work on them or don't work on them? We actually did an entire transmission swap and timing belt job on my husband's TDI ourselves in our garage earlier this year. We also did a full engine rebuild on our old IDI turbo diesel 2 years ago. All ourselves. We are far from scared from working on them. But we make sure we know what we are doing and know that there are differences in those cars than say my GTI (which we also do work on). We have the Bentley service manuals for each car and we also have access to VAG-COM.

We have given you things to consider, but its hard for us to fully diagnose over the web. You really seem to be getting upset that we are suggesting that you take things carefully and research, especially since you don't know diesels. We are offering advice so that this car can serve you well for a long time.

So, to recap, could be your thermostat, coolant temp sensor, or blend doors. Can't really suggest much else until we find out about the codes.

 

[mmgtl]

Hello
I also have the same issue of luke warm air, I recently replace the timing belt, water pump, thermostat and idler last fall. My wife complained all last winter that the heater would not get hot, i promised to fix it during the summer. Well its starting to get cold and know I'm working on it, I drove it the other day up and down the road 100mph literally, then got and checked the coolant housing on the head with a inferred heat gun 145 deg, 140 at the inlet of the heater core and 130 at the outlet. The radiator core was 60 deg same as ambient temp, so I know the thermostat is closed. I think these little diesels are so efficient they just don’t produce much heat with out a constant load. What do you think?

 

[05yellowbeetle]

my tdi was nice & warm after a few miles this afternoon (3 miles 45-55 mph, 10 miles 70 mph, 2 miles 55 mph), the weather was 47 & rainy (cold!!). It seems to take a couple miles more than my 2.0, but it gets warm.

 

[Dee-Bug]

I can drive ours 5-10 miles and usually have really good heat.20 miles and I have to crank it back..It could be a partly open thermostat..

 

[low4x4]

Well stopped by Oreillys, got called gay by my buddy for driving a beetle, anyways the code reader said "no codes available".

I may take it by another auto parts store to see what their machine says.

Ill see how it acts in the morning but I'm telling you, it took the entire 45 minutes it was running to heat the cab up, and that was only after two grown men sat in it and the combo of body temps and the lukewarm air finally had it somewhat toasty.

 

[Smileybug]

We believe you. But there are a few different things it could be so knowing what codes you have would help. If you are going to get the timing belt done (which you really should) i'd do the thermostat at the same time.

Sent from my SCH-I405 using AutoGuide.Com Free App

 

[CoriBug]

What about using a VAG COM? Sometimes the generic readers don't pick up all the codes.

 

[rugb]

Reading the threads and having the same problem on a customers 02 Beetle Diesel, I don't want to hijack the thread, but was wondering a few things. Reading about the weatherstrip on the blend door, fill me in on that. This one has a new thermostat, blend door moves all the way both ways (did it manually and kinda clangs at the end of the travel like no weatherstrip.. Back flushed the heater core. Full of coolant and circulates. Lower hose from thermosat never gets warm and same with the radiator, even after driving 15 + miles. 195 degree thermostat. Just wondering about the weatherstrip on the door, we only get 65-70 degree air out of the heater and +10 outside air. Thanks