VW Diesel Lasts 562,000 Miles, Still Going
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 08.27.07
Syl Schmid has been driving his VW Jetta for 21 years, and has managed to put 562,000 miles on the clock. That's a rather high average of 26,762 miles a year, but Schmid says he reguarly got over 50 mpg. Keeping a car in good condition like this, and getting this sort of usage is probably the greenest sort of motoring you can do. The energy cost of producing the car has been spread over so many miles that it represents a very low footprint per mile.
The car is all the more impressive when you consider that the drivetrain and muffler are both original, so it's not a mountain of spare parts that has kept this car going - it's just been well made and well looked after. However, VW have ruined this good story by offering him a Touareg V10 TDI to drive for six-months - Schmid's days of green motoring are over. Over for six months that is, which seems a little tight of VW. Perhaps a more appropriate gift would have been a complete restoration and overhaul of the VW, ensuring that it can get a few hundred thousand more miles - it would be even better PR for the company if it can reach a million miles. ::Auto Blog Green
How is this big news?My 6.2 diesel blazer( mil spec ) has about 650,000 miles on it.
Diesels are built different than gas engines.The four strokes are the same.Suck-squeeze-bang-blow.Also known as intake-compression-ignition-exhaust.The difference is the heads and block.Gas engines use spark plugs and low compression usually about 8.5 to one.Diesels without turbos like mine usually closer to 15 to one or higher.Turbo diesels will often see closer to 30 to one.
Basically the more you load the diesel the happier it is.They love to work.
So let's see. Some guy drives 25,000+ miles per year in a soot-belching machine and makes inflated claims about his fuel economy and somehow this should be celebrated?
How about an article about someone who spent the last 21 years going car-free?
How much cleaner is the V10 TDI compared to the 21 year old diesel in his old VW. Thats what I want to know.
-J
I had a Jetta of the same vintage and color and, while it was a gasoline engine, it lasted and lasted.
I put almost 175,000 miles on it through high school and college, putting it up over 220,000 with minor repairs and a few spare parts from a junkyard, even though I learned to drive stick on it. It regularly got over 30 mpg on my trips between State College and Scranton to visit my then-girlfriend, now-wife, even hauling four other students and their luggage.
It wasn't very safe (no airbags, thin frame), but the engine and transmission were built like tanks. I sold it after graduation and my dad gave me $5,000 to buy a car. I found out later that my coworker had bought my car and that it had almost 300,000 miles on it and was still reliable enough to be a daily driver.
Fantastic cars, those vee dubs.
That is nothing. Volvo has P1800's that have crested 1million or more miles! a Diesel can do it easy, the volvo is gas. There are semis out there that go 1 million miles between overhauls!
not impressed
VW's a garbage.
This isn't news. A Saab from the northern midwest just went over a million miles, and Saab gave him a brand new car. To keep. The million mile car is now in a museum.
You do realize that there are plenty of old Mercedes 300D's in the Million Mile Club, right? 500k is nothing for a diesel.
My Honda CRX Si currently has 328,000+ miles on it.
My mechanic says it's not the CRX with the most miles. Apparently another customer of his has one with about 380k on it.
I have an 88 cherokee 4.0 with over 450,000 miles on the original unrebuilt engine the muffler was replaced but only because someone rear ended me jamming the tail pipe through the muffler.
The only reason this engine is not going to go another half million miles is because I sucked up some mud into the engine while 4 wheeling. It still runs though :-) still gets 24mpg too.
my 300D from 1976 has over 230,000 miles on it no problems yet.
half a million miles is NOT that big a deal for any car really if its taken care of reasonably.
My prediction is that it will reach one million mile with or without VW's help just the fact that they built it is enough, I read somewhere that they test new engines for 3 weeks at maxium revs before passing it for production, most car engines fail through negelect...
that is nothign. had a 85 dodge cargo ram mini-van with nearly a million. finnally died around 50k short.
also most semi trucks go for about 3-4 million killometre's on them before they retire.
How is 26k+ miles per year green? How many of those miles were traveled alone? 11k+ gallons of diesel in 21 years is nothing to celebrate.
My 12-year-old car only gets 14 mpg, but I drive it 4 miles roundtrip to the subway station for work. I put less than 2000 miles on it last year. In 21 years I would use almost a quarter the fuel. That's assuming he actually averaged 50mpg which is doubtful.
Jack,
I read your post and I'm afraid that a high compression ratio will only caused increase wear in the engine. A high ratio, say 15:1 will compress ambient air (15 psi) 15 times for a pressure of about 225 psi. Higher pressure = higher forces. Higher forces = increased wear.
The reason Deseil cycle engines last longer is simple. Desiel fuel is a lubricant (ever heard the term "oil burner") and assists the oil circulating through the sump, block and heads.
Gasoline, however, breaks down oil. Any piston seal blow-by (there will always be some) or valve seal leakage will cause the oil to break down and leave critical metal components to rub against each other.
Lucas
BRAVO
Bring back simple-few moving parts-reliable diesels to America. Can the common rail diesel run this reliable?
Common rail diesel are junk.I will keep my older diesel.Non turbo and all.
Chris
Before you blame me for all 650,000.I bought it from my local military base.It was a former security vehicle.I have owned it for 55,000 of the 650,000.When i got it i overhauled and rebuilt everything in it.Then did a waste vegetable oil system.It replaced the diesel tank.I was referring to longevity.Also i know the true mileage because i have a friend on base.The military keeps detailed records.
Lucas
I get what you are saying.But my diesel tech friend verified the compression figures.Check out how many head bolts a diesel has.Then look at a gas engine.I simply forget to mention the lube factor.
Zac
I had a common rail diesel 2002 dodge ram.I sold it for a reason.The common rail was a nightmare.My older blazer is a dream in comparison.
Jack-
I wasn't referring to your post, just the article celebrating a person that drives 500+ miles per week. Where does he go that he needs to travel that far? How about moving closer?
I live in Atlanta, where the average commute is >30 miles one way! It is ridiculous that people keep moving further from their workplace just so they can have a huge house. They spend 16 hours a week in a car, driving alone to and from work. That's a whole day (if you get 8 hours of sleep). No wonder people get road rage and drive like maniacs.
My diesel gets 50+ mpg city driving which is way better than the 24mpg on our hybrid. Got rid of the hybrid after less than 13 weeks...Just not as efficient as the diesel (plus A/C doesn't work when in electric mode which was killer is this heat)
My diesel gets 50+ mpg city driving which is way better than the 24mpg on our hybrid. Got rid of the hybrid after less than 13 weeks..
You're such a liar.
why would I lie about my gas mileage?
I have just complete a run from Glasgow,Scotland to Yorkshire in England.
I did it in one of the European small diesels that you are talkling about.
The car is a new GM Vauxhall 1.3ltr turbocharged,
multi injection,common rail diesel engine made by Fiat . It does 100mph and 0-60 in 13secs and gives you 63mpg and 45mpg in the town. As fuel is very expensive over here, about £1 or 2$ a uk gallon. this type of car makes a lot of sence. On that last trip 400mls I returned 61mpg at motorway speeds of 70mph.The car can carry 4 people in comfort.
This type of car over the States would cut the green house gas a lot quicker. 20 odd mpg against 70mpg over that area of the States. ''How many cars have you got out there''. Or do the people in power prefer to make more dollars by burning more fuel ?. All the best from Ken in Glasgow