Thanks for the clarification.  I really worry about rubber timing belts on
these "interference" engines.  I had one break at 38,000 miles on a 1992
Passat with a 16V engine (replaced under engine warranty--amazingly no valve
damage).  My ex had a belt failure on 1996 Jetta at 51,000 miles resulting in
extensive valve train damage (4 cylinder-8 valve engine).  The scheduled
service interval on the belt in the Jetta is 105,000 miles!

Seeing as VW has such a "cooperative" reputation on parts failures.  VWoA
doesn't even consider this recent coil pack failure as a "safety" issue (tell
that to someone with a stalled Passat on the fast lane of the 405 in LA!  My
Passat was made two months too late to be eligible for the recent ignition
switch recall--the switch that allows the car to keep operating, even though
you've just been surprised at night because your headlights, wiper, defroster
and other key safety accesories fail).

The TDI seems like a really great idea.  But I'd like to see VW pay a bit more
attention to their parts suppliers before I jump on that bandwagon.

Donald Baxter
'85 Vanagon GL(dear old pushrods) (And '96 Passat GLX VR6 with a CHAIN)
Iowa City, IA
> A quote from a current 2002 Jetta TDI owner:
>
> At 100,000 km (62,000 miles) VW requires the operator to replace the
> timing drive which includes the idler ($175Cdn.) for a total service
> cost of this operation of ~$900Cdn. In a word...Ouch! But since it is a
> 'zero clearance' engine having any sort of timing problem will create a
> much more expensive repair.
>
> Philip Chidlaw
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
> Of Donald Baxter
> Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 11:00 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: OT - soliciting Jetta TDI reviews
>
>
> I've heard that the timing belt in the 1.9 TDI required replacement at
> 20,000 mile intervals...