Why is my 2005 Jetta TDI turning over but not firing?

Question 1
Why is my 2005 Jetta TDI turning over but not firing?...  This happened a couple days ago while I was driving to a store.
Drove fine, worked perfect, then all of a sudden my car just died. No warning, jerking, noises, grumbling, nothing. Felt almost as if I just turned it off with the key.
Tried to restart, but all that would happen is the engine would turn over from the starter, but it wont fire. My uncle got it fired once, but then auto shut off happened from low oil pressure. Fixed that, and now the oil pressure isn't a problem.
I ran on E for about 20 miles from my uncles house then filled up to half a tank (the day before the car died). I am thinking it might be a clogged filter, since it is a diesel.
However, is there any more ideas beyond just the filter?
I can guarantee I did not put gas instead of diesel, I have never made that mistake. Besides, the Chevron that I went to has separate pumps for diesel and gas, so it isn't easy to mix them up.

Also, I had no choice but to run it on E. I just had the knuckle and bearing fixed, and had to drive it home late at night from one city to the next, about 20 miles. It apparently just hit E when I dropped it off a couple days before, so it wasn't like it ran on E for a long time, but I'm sure long enough to screw something up.

I bought a new fuel filter, going to try that today. As well as a couple other of those things. I'll report back on my findings.

Answers
1)   There's water floating on the fuel, and you got some of that in the fuel system upstream from the tank, maybe corroded injectors or temporarily put deposits on glow plugs. Shouldn't run anything on empty for too long. - Van Bo

2)   Clogged filter is the mostly likely answer. other possibility albeit unlikely, is that your fuel rail is no good, but not totally out of the question. - drevrandfan

3)   Its more than likely air in your injectors.
open the nut on the end of each injector,
one at a time then turn the engine to bleed the system.

Should sort your problem - Pj Griffin

4)   Check the fuel cut off solenoid(which is on the fuel injection pump) I believe it is a black wire that is nutted down on the top of the pump. That wire comes from the ignition switch. With you in the car and uncle listening under the hood turn the key until the dash lights come on- then turn it off. And do it again. You do not want to engage the starter so you are not turning the key "that far".
Uncle should hear a faint click coming from where the black(I believe that is the color) wire connects to the fuel injecton pump roughly about the center of the engine or when facing engine compartment on the right hand side of the pump.
The only way to stop a diesel engine is to cut off the fuel supply. If this thing does not click, either it is at fault, or the wiring at fault or a problem with the key switch.
Even though it is black, it is a power wire; so if uncle is mechanically minded he could run a wire directly from the battery to this solenoid screw nut that is insulated from the rest of the grounded pump and then while he is touching the wire there on the solenoid, you crank over the engine. If it starts, it works. If uncle takes his contact wire away and the engine shuts off, then it is an electrical problem to the solenoid.
In my case it was a worn out ignition switch(but my car was 25 years older than yours and it is the "first ignition switch" I have ever had to replace.
If in doubt, have it towed to the dealership shop and let them fix you up. - Doing the Math

5)   Strange how the car died after the fuel refill. My guess is you put gasoline in the car instead of diesel fuel. This is occurring all the time in UK . You should be able to smell it if you open the fuel filler and get close.It will need draining off and refilling with the correct fuel. - L G

6)   Lesson learned... never run a diesel down to empty. Never never do it. - Louis G


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Question 2
Are jettas reliable ? ?...  I want to buy a used jetta years 2000 - 2003 but are volkswagon jetta reliable still with over 100,000 miles on it ? Or will it have problems and more sooner then later be just another car with issues ?

Answers
1)   My sister has a Jetta and Yes, they have a lot of problems right now hers is kind of broken. So now im warning you DON'T buy it, it will just waist your money.... - Jacqueline Salazar

2)   They are pretty tough vehicles, But they are like any other car is they are abused, If youre gonna buy a used jetta just get it inspected from a good mechanic, Also see if could get a history of preventive maintaince done like oil changes fuel filter and air filter replacements. Or any other work that has been done. Just like any used car things could be issues.

Good Luck. - e40

3)   No car is perfect or made to last for ever. I'd trust a car more with 100k on the odometer if I could see the maintenance records (and I'm not talking about a carfax). I mean the actual records and receipts for the maintenance. Has the timing belt along with water pump and tensioner been changed on it at 60k like it was supposed to be? If not, I wouldn't buy it. I had an '04 Jetta (which I believe is actually a generation up from what you are looking at). It was a very dependable car and ran extremely well. - Paulster2

4)   YES, jetta's are realiable because one they have DIESEL engine and with that alone the engine can run one million miles alone if kept well maintence - NX

5)   Stay away from the 1.8t motor if you insist on getting a Jetta in that range of years.

Get a Jetta with the 2.0l, the motor is damn near bulletproof and very easy to work on.

I parted out my last Jetta after the transmission gave up at 192k. I was my first car, I learned to drive a manual in it and I put 30k miles on it in the 2 years I had it. It had a 2.0 and even at 192k I was still getting 34-36mpg. It was a 1996 though. - Nick

6)   I have a 96 Jetta and other than a few things, it is pretty reliable. My rear view mirror is down right now and I need new brakes but it goes pretty fast and doesnt have any strange sounds. They are pretty good and a bit expensive to fix when you have problems. - Blue Eyes


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Question 3
Jetta 1.8t vs Audi 1.8t?...  I wanna know which is a better buy, [more reliable, faster, better mpg...ect]

Answers
1)   Jetta - Mr Natural

2)   they are virtually identical the audi usually has a better level of trim - Harley Drive

3)   id choose the jetta unless you want to "ACT" like you have money and end up paying a lot more for an identical car that only has different emblems on it seriously they are almost the same - ....

4)   The engine is the same. Straight line performance will be very close to the same. Audi will use better suspension and interior components. - Louis G

5)   You will get slightly better mpg and acceleration from the jetta, the reliability will be about the same. But the transmission on the manuals lasts a lot longer than the automatics. The audi does have nicer components on the inside, althoug the jettas did come with bose speakers, and fairly good suspension. Mine still rides smooth with 110k miles on it, I'm happy with it.

Last time I looked at an A4 1.8t I picked the jetta over it because the audi had cheap leather...or pleather in it that was falling apart. - Wookie


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Question 4
do i want a volkswagen golf?...  I'm 20 years old and looking for a smaller car thats good on gas, and goes fast I think I want to get a volkswagen, but I keep hearing they break down a lot and are expensive to fix. I kind of like the VW golfs, although not many people will agree. How are VW golfs and if I should get one what type and year?

Answers
1)   American golfs are all crap. European VW's are miles miles better. The 1.6 petrol mk4 golf gets pretty good mileage for a petrol, around 40 combines. - i eat monkeys

2)   Main thing to find out is if you can afford toinsure it.
In Europe golfs don't get the best reliability dative but I have one and it just keeps going. Not maintenance free but it does not let me down Now 140000 and 10 years old. The PD "GT"diesels give outstanding economy and good performance. - Tim S

3)   The Golf is the hatchback version of the popular US Jetta. Everything is the same apart from the lights and the rear of the body. With the Golf in particular you should be able to find a German built car in the States and that means reliability. I hear all the scare stories about reliability league tables. The Golf is made in millions rather than a few hundred thousand that the super reliable Lexus and Honda number. It follows therefore that the Golf will have at least 10 times the number of problems that a car has if only a 100,000 are made. The expression, lies, damned lies and statistics comes very much into play ! - L G

4)   Volkswagens are fairly good for reliability, certainly nowhere near the worst. I would choose a Golf over a French made car (Citroen, Peugeot, Renault) any day. - RichB

5)   I am looking at the volkswagen golf tdi.. and though its diesel, it gets around 30 mph and 40 mph on the highway. If you drive it properly, you could even get 50 mph :)

I sat in one the other day at the vw dealership and it was quite nice inside. Almost luxury. The tdi had a nice touchscreen interface with ipod connection as well, standard! - Sam Smith


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Question 5
i have a brand new WV Golf GTI, but at the moment its not good in snow! and buttons to make it good in it.?...  i have a brand new WV Golf GTI, but at the moment its not good in snow! and buttons to make it good in it.

any buttons or anything in the snow!! please help snowing hRD IN ENGLAND AT THE MOMENT!

Answers
1)   The car is fine in the snow, it's the driver that needs to learn. - One Anti

2)   You can invest in a pair of snow socks. These cost about £50 and are worth it if you must travel in snow. Apart from four wheel drive (4motion) VWs all will struggle in the snow. This amount of snow in the UK is very unusual and we have to accept there are no magic bullets, or buttons in your case. - Bazza

3)   You need a 4x4 to avoid struggling. NO car apart from 4x4's can struggle! Not the car, its the snow! - Benjystick

4)   Get a set of winter tyres. 16" steel rims with 205/55/16 tyres will do. The car isn't the problem, it's your lack of winter preparation. - vavavoom

5)   Ok

You need to get snow socks or winter tyres. Winter tyres have a snowflake symbol or an m+s marking on the sidewall. The tread is very blocky and the individual tread blocks have thin cuts in them.

When driving in snow/ice with or without any of the above you need to use very little accelerator and when pulling away from stationary use 2nd gear not first.
when coming to a stop use the engine to slow the car not your brakes. So plan ahead and lift off the accelerator gently when you wish to come to a stop only using the brakes near the end. - Sean R


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