VW Golf PD130 TDI Owner Review

I wrote this blog post several years ago when I owned my PD130 Golf. I kept the car for another couple of years adding 15,000 more miles to it when I sold it at 191,000 for £1700. I've also done a video review of the VW Golf Mk4 here

In my view and it seems many others, the PD 130 is the pick of the MK4 Golfs. It has the perfect balance of economy, reliability and performance and doesn't suffer from some of the turbo lag and reliability issues that can trouble the PD150 engine with its front mounted intercooler.

My love affair with the VW Golf TDI 130PD Mark 4 diesel continues. We've just had our third MOT since owning the car and again the Golf has sailed through without any issues at a current mileage of 176,000.

The car is in daily use for long journeys and on the most recent fill up with diesel recorded 54mpg. Even brand new cars struggle to reach that consumption and at a much higher annual cost. The car cost £3500 when bought 3 years ago and on worst case giving it a zero valuation that still works out at less than £100 per month. More realistically based on current valuations for a similar mark 4 Golf Tdi PD 130 on Autotrader it would seem reasonable to assume a value of £2500. A total depreciation of £1000 over 3 years is incredibly low and shows the popularity that the VW Golf mark 4 still maintains.


Photo of VW Golf TDI 130PD Diesel Mark 4 

The best points about the VW Golf TDI PD 130 diesel are:

• Fuel economy and VED rates
• Performance and ease of acceleration
• Driving position and seat comfort. The seats are extremely supportive and make long journeys a breeze
• Steering and handling. The steering has great feel and has the perfect weighting
• Instruments are positioned for good visibility and controls are all well placed
• Holds value very well with exceptionally low depreciation
• Handles high mileage amazingly well with little obvious sign of wear

And the negatives about the Golf Diesel TDI130?

The main one is that the front valance below the bumper is quite low and invariably catches on kerbs. On this Golf TDI 130 it has been torn off a couple of times and the same happened on the Golf TDI90 estate that I had previously.
Rear space isn't fantastic but is sufficient for children up to late teens

Removing Tar from Car Paintwork using AutoGlym

Video of my VW Golf Mk4 showing how to remove spots of tar from your car's paintwork without damaging it. Tar can be flicked onto the car bodywork in many ways and this shows how to remove hardened tar from your car. My Golf was covered in tar deposits around the wheel arches and the rear of the car including the rear window.

How to fit Thule roof bars to VW Golf Mk4 Hatchback

How to fit Thule roof bars to VW Golf Mk4 Hatchback. This shows the 5 door hatch but the principle should be the same for the 3 door Golf too. The Thule roof bars fit into tabs on the roof hidden under the door rubbers.

Video of Fitting VW Passat B6 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement (2005-2010 model Passat)

The front wheel bearing on my 2007 model VW Passat B6 had started to become noisy so I decided to replace and fit a new bearing to it. The wheel bearing for the VW Passat is a sealed unit so the hub gets replaced as well as the central bearing too.

I purchased a new bearing unit from the local car spares shop which came to £95. The tricky part was fitting it to the car! The bearing requires the brake disc to be removed and for the old bearing to be removed from the lower arm. Both of these are locations that seem to suffer from significant corrosion making removal rather hard but unsurprising given the road debris and moisture that they are subject to.

Tools you will need for the job:

17mm socket for wheel bolts
27mm socket for central bolt to driveshaft
21mm socket to remove brake caliper
16mm socket to remove lower arm bolts
M18 Spline socket to remove 4 bearing unit bolts
Torx T30

Rubber mallet
Hammer & chisel

Fitting VW Passat B6 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement (2005-2010 model Passat)

VW Passat B6 Front Wheel Bearing Replacement (2005-2010 model Passat) - new bearing assembly

You may possibly require 24mm socket to fit the new hub bolt - the replacement came with 24mm bolt to replace the original 27mm driveshaft bolt. To remove the brake pads from the caliper requires a 7mm allen key.

The step by step procedure for removing the front wheel bearing on the VW Passat is as follows:

Jack and remove wheel from car
Place axle stand under car for safety
Remove sensor from caliper, separate plug socket
Remove caliper and secure to coil spring to prevent damage to brake pipe
Remove central driveshaft bolt
Remove 16mm lower arm bolts x3 to give access to the 4 bolts to rear of bearing unit
Drop lower arm out of way of hub unit
Remove bearing bolts x 4
Remove brake disc torx screw x1
Remove brake disc
Remove hub unit

Removing the brake disc and hub unit may require force using the mallet for brake disc and the hammer/chisel for the hub unit. Some WD40 may help to loosen the joints.

Refitting Passat wheel bearing is the opposite and a much easier task!

How long does it take to fit Front Wheel Bearing Replacement for VW Passat B6?

The job in total took us around 2 hours. Out of that time around 1.5 hours was spent on removing the original and only 30 minutes to fit the replacement bearing to the car.

VW Golf Central Convenience Module Replacement - How to remove CCM in VW Golf MK4

How to replace CCM Central Convenience Module on VW Golf Mk4?

Tools you'll need:

T20 Torx screwdriver

The CCM is located underneath the steering column so you need to remove the plastic trim housing under the steering wheel to access it. There are 3 x T20 Torx screws that need to be removed and the plastic trim will then unclip - it may need a pull to remove it and it comes out in 2 sections.

Beneath this trim is another plastic cover held on by another 5 x Torx T20 screws. Remove this and you can now access the CCM module which is to the right of the steering column.

The CCM module is held on with 2 bolts either side which also need removing and the CCM can then be removed from the harness plug.

What is the highest mileage on a VW Golf TDI?

What is the highest mileage on a VW Golf TDI?

My car, a 2002 model VW Golf MK4 TDI PD150 has now passed 243,000 miles and still going strong. Have you got a VW Golf with higher mileage on? Even my MK2 Golf has less miles than my MK4!



What is the highest mileage on a VW Golf TDI?