Monday morning
there was a Jetta on fire on the way to work. It was in the eastbound lanes while I was in the west, so it didn’t affect me, but I did get to see it, huffing and puffing smoke and belching fire from under the hood. It was a diesel, I could smell the kerosene burn.
I have been thinking about a Jetta diesel as a work car eventually, but there have been several issues; they aren’t AWD and I like AWD. I want a stick but the idea of rowing a clutch 110 miles in Chicago traffic every day doesn’t appeal too much.And now this.
I realize a diesel is much less likely to toast itself than a gas engine, but I always wonder, is it lack of maintenance that ense up with a flaming car by the road, or what? I have known people who will NOT check their car until the engine siezes, or the brakes fail, but other than normal deterioration from age and sitting (Like the brakes on Ed’s FireArrow) don’t you NOTICE that the brakes are going to shit? I guess not everyone drives enough that they can feel the squealer hit the rotor with their foot.
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We just got a jetta sport wagon TDI. Very happy with it. Good engineering. Lots of quality features, thoughtfully laid out.
In answer to your question, yes there are lots of people who notice something isn’t right, but then they don’t do anything about it until total failure happens. They hear the squeel of the brakes. They feel the odd shifting in the trans. They hear the rumble of grinding parts where smooth-rolling bearings used to be. They figure they will take care of it next weekend, when they get a chance. Just like some people won’t go see a dentist when they have a little tooth ache and wait for it to turn into root canal abscese pain.
My mom had a Firearrow when I was about 9, that was the fastest little 4 banger on the road at the time!!
My brother had a cat (D8 Allis) catch fire one time. Burned the cat, two trucks and part of the home is was parked near.
Insurance invesigator thought the fuel regulator which was under the floor boards developed a pin hole leak and was making a diesel mist, which could catch fire.
When diesel cathes fire it is harder to put out.
If you smell diesel check it out.
I think VW just had a safety recall on its 2009 diesels. They can develop leaks and might catch fire.
Most people don’t know anything about the machines they drive. You put gas in that hole and the key in the other hole, and you go.
So they don’t know that when the machine is making THIS noise it needs a belt, or THAT noise means it’s time to replace the brake pads. They take it to a mechanic and say, “It’s making a noise!” and the mechanic fixes it, and charges them a lot of money.
“Car repairs are EXPENSIVE!” …so when the car begins to make another weird noise, they put off fixing it, because after all last time the car made a noise it was just FINE for three weeks….
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/10/07/vw-recalling-168000-diesel-cars-to-fix-fire-hazard/
Yep, they have recalled some 169 k of them
My boss got a new VW a couple of months ago and she’s driven it to the east coast a few times. No complaints. She IS a city gal, though.
If your state pollution-control laws permit it, look for, restore it if necessary, a Gen One diesel. No D-DEC, just a plain oil-burner as Herr Doktor Rudolf meant them to be. The classic commuter car was the Diesel Chevy Chevette, which had an Izuzu engine in it, and got 55 mpg. The early VW Rabbit Diesels were decent, but had a weak body structure.
I just saw an 05 Jeep Patriot for sale here in Stumptown, asking $15,000 firm, with the Benz V-6 diesel in it. Some D-DEC there, but not enough to suit the EPA, so they quit importing that engine, which has a very good rep in Europe. That Patriot would give you a decent 4X4 rig, and still get 30mpg.
An old buddy has a Rabbit PU he put an Isuzu diesel from a genset in about fifteen years ago. That PU now has an additional 250K on it, it runs like a watch, a noisy, clattering watch. One of the most comforting sounds on Earth when you’re fifty miles from the end of the road and the sun’s going down. All he does is fill the tank and change the lube oil and ALL the filters every 4500-5000 miles. The guy’s a genius, has his daughter make up a lube chart with all the part #’s of the filters on it on the ‘puter, then he had it laminated in plastic. He hands that to the counterman at the Jiffy Lube when he gets the oil and filters changed.
Daughter doesn’t like to work on the things herself, but she has picked up- and is very good at- telling when something isn’t right; and that it needs to be checked on.
It’s nice when you find that they did listen to you.