2006 Volkswagen Jetta: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Jul 6, 2016 · Engine · 180,000 miles · OR

While driving on the interstate july of 2015, going about 70 MPH, my 2006 vw jetta shook and lost all power. No check engine lights or any lights at that matter came on. Prior to this I would notice that taking off sometimes the turbo wouldnt kick in and I would have absolutely no power while getting up to speed. This also happened on the freeway and once off of the freeway I turned the car off and then on and was like nothing happened. After I lost all power the second incident, I took it into the shop and was told that 2 cylinders were completely destroyed. Had to spend 2400 dollars to have a new motor put in and now the thing is having problems again. Battery light keeps coming on and off within a second and there is a loud ticking noise while idling. Sounds like a loud vacuum in the engine compartment while driving it. No check engine lights or temperature gauge increases are present. While researching recalls I noticed there were some for the year of my jetta so wanted to see what is going on.

Filed Mar 17, 2014 · Engine · 123,086 miles · OH

Knocking heard from engine while driving on highway near destination, approximately 300 miles from home. Vehicle arrived at destination, but would not start. Vehicle was towed to mechanic. Camshaft wear and follower bore found to be damaged and was replaced using oem parts. Vehicle was using factory recommended oil at regular intervals. Cam wear found again on 6/8/11, 195761 miles. Cam shaft wear seen during timing belt change. Replaced cam shaft, followers, and bearings. Once again, factory recommended oil and oil change intervals were used.

Filed Mar 17, 2014 · Engine · 195,761 miles · OH

Cam wear found on 6/8/11, 195761 miles. Cam shaft wear seen during timing belt change. Replaced cam shaft, followers, and bearings. Factory recommended oil and oil change intervals were used. Cam shaft was also replaced on 11/03/09 at 123086 miles after the following incident: knocking heard from engine while driving on highway near destination, approximately 300 miles from home. Vehicle arrived at destination, but would not start. Vehicle was towed to mechanic. Camshaft wear and follower bore found to be damaged beyond repair and was replaced using oem parts. Vehicle was using factory recommended oil at regular intervals.

Filed Feb 3, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 149,000 miles · CA

My wife and I were driving home and suddenly my car started jerking and made a "knocking" sound, without any warning (I.e. Check engine light). We were close to home and decided to continue on; however, in the next couple of miles, the problems persisted, still with no check engine light or any indication of what was wrong with the vehicle. Over the next several days, while parked on a secured premise, I started the car up and it had an erratic loping sound. I proceeded to call a nearby volkswagen dealer and spoke to two certified vw mechanics, who failed to acknowledge the issue that there was no warning indication before the car started to act up and said to bring it in to swap out the engine at approx. $7500; they dismissed the problem as "normal wear and tear". I researched the problem on the internet and it lead me to believe that it was a problem with the cam, which I had confirmed by an auto-mechanic after towing the car in. He told me the entire engine was warped due to the cam going out. Other 2006 vw jetta tdi owners have commented on the same issues, which at this point leads me to believe that it is not "normal wear and tear", but a manufacture defect.

Filed Jun 24, 2012 · Engine · 101,000 miles · FL

Camshaft began knocking around 100,000 miles. Many other '06 jetta tdi have had premature camshaft failures as well. Knocking intensified just before 101,000 miles. Took it to mechanic who was very familiar with the issue, as he has seen more than his share. He said the earliest failure he has seen was at around 40,000 miles. I had to go to great expense to replace cam follower, camshaft and cam bearings. It also caused premature wear on my lifters, which I expect I'll have to do soon, as they are starting to "tick". I love my tdi, and have made sure all service was done promptly. I am frustrated that vwag has denied there is a problem. If enough people complain, then they will have to admit that poor engineering is the cause of the premature camshaft failures that are plaguing pumped use owners.

Filed Aug 14, 2009 · Transmission · AZ

Knocking sound from passenger front, brought vehicle into dealer, they said they didn't hear any knocking. Less than a month later it got extremely worse, I took it to another shop & was told it was something serious & needed to have dealership look at it. When I returned to the dealership they took 2 days to tell me what the issue was after having to remove engine, I was told it was the flywheel & clutch had to be replaced because the flywheel damaged the clutch. Very expensive repair & after being told about this website & seeing all these complaints I called vw & they refused to acknowledge this issue even with all these complaints.

Filed Jul 14, 2009 · Transmission · 52,000 miles · MO

2006 vw jetta turbodiesel with dsg transmission at 27k miles shifting unpredictably at highway speed. Repaired by dealership, mechantronic failure. Failed again at highway speed one month later, causing potential injury do to failure. Six months later, flywheel explodes knocking hole in transmission and causing the vehicle lose all power and the engine to die.