How good are these videos? Aside from having a native Dutchman speak English far better than most native English speakers, the process of reasoning is so clear that it makes every problem sound obvious as to its cause. Yet, we know there are so many professionals out there who struggle to locate these causes. No doubt someone with these qualities could excel in many professions, but I can't help feeling that Dan is someone who found their calling.

Retired Mercedes mechanic , 38 years, just found this channel. LOVE IT

Love you methodological way to get to a conclusion. I’m amazed at how complicated modern engines are. One thing looking at fault codes, another understanding the engine systems. Your a very knowledgeable guy.

really enjoy your videos....especially your practical approach to diagnosis. I feel that so many shops today are just 'try a new part' and see what happens. Keep up the good work and keep making great videos. Thanks so much !!

Another fantastically clear and concise diagnosis....thank you Dan!

Thanks for very thorough teaching for techs Mr. Dan. I always encourage my friends, co workers to watch and learn at least 1 video a day. I want all mechanic shops around town to be able to do this so people stop thinking that we are just grease junkies wanting to rob them. I am very tired of having cars from other shops after they poke wires so many times instead of properly back probing. I have more diagnosis and repair steps when someone's already been there.

You are the man who can fix it.And the way you start the diagnose.Simpel . I get a lot of learning to watch your videos . Thanks

Great work from a Master Technician, once again from Dan we have , a precise and concise explanation of the diagnosis and repair of a typical VW engine fault, when many would have simply swapped the faulty part out for new, DD stripped down and examined the failed part for the additional knowledge of the cause, a badly designed part from VW

Hi Dan the man , I have done a lot of diagnosis over the years and enjoy looking at what other professionals have found out ,this video is well worth watching .

It is so nice to listen to someone who knows WTF he is talking about. Another great job, Dan!! I thought for sure : residual fuel pressure check valve. But, nothing of the kind. Back in my day, capturing the pulse trains generated by the crank and cam timing sensors would require a storage oscilloscope. A rare and expensive piece of gear. These tablet based analyzers are fantastic. In the right hands..like yours.

watching your videos is like doing a hands on TAFE course on latest auto technology from my IPAD while lying in bed. coming from an electrical/electronic background, i am quite interested in how these systems work. it is so valuable to see the wiring diagrams, waveforms, the physical appearance of the systems (eg VVT control unit) & where they are typically located in an engine bay. today i learnt about crank angle sensors, camshaft angle sensors, lp & hp fuel pressure sensors (and their analog OPs). i note how you remove some things to get at other things. of course, we see a sanitised version & don’t get dirty hands - nice to leave that to you! while nowadays i will mostly leave the servicing & diagnostic of my car to my local mechanic, such knowledge is good to have when dealing with a service centre or checking out the engine bay of a new vehicle I’m considering purchasing. thank you so much for this valuable info. keep up the great work! your fault finding data should help the designers of these systems upgrade & improve their reliability.

I like how this guy is very sincere an particular, I wish all professionals were like him.

Wow, you make things waay easier to understand and straight to the point. Thank you.

Great Video Dan, I live in Northern Ireland so your teaching and help is making it across the world!

Best diagnosis/repair video on KZfaq period. Iv had p034100 on my 2.0 TDI for a long time and iv spent a lot of money changing camshaft sensor / crankshaft sensor / cambelt , nothing worked iv had this verry same problem. And finally it’s fixed thank you!

My neighbour had the same fault" long time to cold start" yet good when on his 2007 VW Golf diesel, a couple of times there was a non-start ( battery discharged due to excessive cranking) garages frightened him with potential big bills for a major engine stripdown, neighbour was ready to scrap his car, after watching your video, neighbour had the similar part replaced, part cost was £80, result one fixed car, no need to replace car, ££££ saved from wastage, Thank you Dan, you are my hero and first port of call for DIY diagnostics.

I have the same car, 2014 Golf GTD and this issue drove me crazy with random slow starting, it was not as consistent as the car shown whereby it was not happening every morning. I took note of the part numbers provided at the end of the video and brought them into my local VW dealer and ordered the parts, my mechanic fitted them and thankfully have never seen the slow start occur since, going on 6 months now since fitted, brilliant diagnosis and top mechanic, very grateful

You're a Champion, Dan, fast and clean Technician !

You are one of a very few who knows how to fix a vw/audi engine keep up the good work , From Eire

Thank you legend!! I think I might have the same problem with my Audi A3 (2014). My mechanic said that that VVT might be a problem. I searched a whole internet to find what that part is and why is it a problem, and then finally came accros your video. Thank you very much

I like that you put fender covers on the car. I watch a lot of other videos doing car repairs and very few of them used fender covers, and they have belts on with buckles and rivets on the jeans.

Stumbled upon this channel by chance, best channel ever! Dan rocks!!!!

Just goes to show you that no matter how new or different an engine can be, experience and patience to think the issue through can help find the problem. As soon as you showed there was a change in timing, I called it as a vvt issue. I've never worked on a VW diesel with vvt, and I don't recall ever working on a petrol car that has vvt of any sort at the moment. The reason I figured vvt was the problem was because I know from personal experience that timing belts don't get longer and shorter (repeatedly) on their own, so it couldn't have been the cause of the timing issue. I guess it's a good thing I've started watching your videos either way, because I'm inevitably going to have to be working on these newer cars soon enough.

Dan is A Titan in car world & patiently explains things to us mortals lol toptastic!!👍😊thanks dynamic dan

Thank you Dan for this great content and it is much appreciated Just a suggestion, Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) plays a big big role in the repair process. This should not be ignored when we are gathering our information and plan of attack towards a fix.....

Great video again Dan, just a thought, it might be a good idea to put a list of the diagnostic tools and software you used for each fix down in the description. I'm sure people would be interested to know. keep up the great work, thanks.

wow... wish i got this kind of expertise from my local Canadian VW dealer. Also wish i could buy a GTD with cloth seats in Canada. thanks for sharing Dan. so professional !

Reading through the comments, VVT on gas/ petrol engine is not active on idle and it mainly helps on fuel mileage. On diesel engines it is always active to control emissions. Great video Dan!

Thanks Dan I have a 2013 Golf TDI that just started doing that Your video was in great timing no pun intended

Dan, you saved me from a lot of trouble and investigating, the guys from the dealershop wanted to check everything you checked in this video, but on my money, nailed it at a local service with 400e labor included, Passat 2.0 tdi 190hp ddaa Thank you once again, virtual beer coming your way.

I wish I was Dan's apprentice.This guy can learn you so many things ..you'd need years to learn it all

My EA288 is doing this exact thing. Excellent video! Logical and very well explained! Thank you for sharing this!

Very detailed and step by step diagnoses. Great job and keep making more videos like this.

At last, someone who is worth listening to. I've been experiencing the same issues with my 2.0 tdi tiguan for the last 5 months. Took it to the dealer. They ran a scan, no fault codes = nothing faulty. The car is under maintenance plan and the agent isn't willing to fix or replace the part unless they can get a fault code. Thanks for your informative video Dan!

Great diagnoses as always Dan! Your fix taught a good lesson, I hope I remember this symptom and fix! It was good thinking.

Excellent video. Your explanations are fantastic. Truly enjoy all of them. I enjoy how you show how all the components work together to make the system work. Great troubleshooting. ❤️

clean professional work! a model to follow and learn from! thank you

Great diagnostic work! I'm not as impressed with my local VW dealer mechanics. They are part changers not technicians.

watched this video just cause I love your videos and actually turned out that my buddy has been having this problem on his GTD for some time now. We'll be replacing those parts and hopefully it fixes it!

Sir; I wish you lived in my area. Great failure investigation. Interesting that VW implemented a design corrective action without notifying owners. Thank you very much for sharing this information. All the best; JPL (Southeast Texas, USA)

Thanks a lot for this video! It helped me a lot! I just fixed this problem i my B8 passat with same engine. Works 100%. Thanks once again!

This channel is going to be huge!

so great to see a pro at work, great diagnostics, im sure your business is doing great for it, but you won a new subscriber too.

Many thanx Dan, for the super video on diagnosing the long crank on the Vw .

Somebody should be changing their oil more often... A 2014 that needs an oil flush already?! Also VW should've designed a screen for that just like everyone else. That car sounds great for a diesel! We don't get cool stuff like that in the US! Great video once again Dan! 👍

Well what do u know the Dutch do have a sense of humor, thanks for the sweet videos!

Great channel dan. I’ve been in this trade for forty years now and still there’s plenty to learn. Technology in the automotive trade is always changing so diagnostics are getting harder. In about twenty years time there probably be no more production of combustion engines they will all all be battery powered and then there’s all that technology to learn about.

I have the same problem on my 2014 Jetta sport wagon TDI. I am going to look into this. Thank you for a fantastic video of your diagnosis and fix.

Awesome diagnoses. I have to say I am surprised you didn't check PCM command to VVT solenoid to rule out PCM problem. Your channel will be huge. Keep up. Cheers👍

Brilliant fault finding Dan

First class knowledge first class equipment best iv ever seen new subscriber 👍👍👍👍👍

Wow. you are using super intelligent diagnostic techniques. I am learning a lot through your videos. If I were you, I would rather look for timing belt/chain tensioner pulley problem. lol.

Very nice video! On the older tdi engines it was often the coolant temperature sensor that caused hot starting problems. Now the camshaft adjustment is the problem. Maybe fully electric actuator had be a better choice. Can you make a video about high pressure fuel pump problems when you have a car in?

After seeing this, I’m starting to realize defeat is not an option for Diagnostic Dan.

Who would have thought of a VVT problem without any Fault code at this Point Dan?? Well I must First acknowledge VW for the Replied E-Mail that came in with the Fault code!.. I'm glad they noticed and Corrected the VVT Mistakes with an updated pàrts!.. kudos for Oil flush to get rid of all the particles that could Get stuck debris in the VVT Solenoid!.. thank @diagnoseDan and Junior! DIAGNOSEDAN FIXED IT AGAIN!🎉

Dit soort storingzoeken en uitleg hebben we tenminste wat aan. Zeer goede uitleg met gebruik van de juiste apparatuur!

Hi Dan, I’m experiencing this problem on occasion but very intermittent. I also seem to have changeable performance, (car pulls harder sometimes and feels slightly under powered at other times). My fuel economy can sometimes be excellent and other times poor. I’ve also noticed that when the dpf is in a regen cycle raising the idle to 1000rpm a pulsing can be felt through the car. This doesn’t happen everytime it regen’s but on occasion. Could a sticking VVT mechanism cause all of these issues? I have VCDS but there are no codes and don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Thank You in advance of your response!

Looks like the VVT is doing just fine... its variable every time you start it😅

You Sir are a Top 1% Expert. It is a pleasure to watch you perform. I pity the poor people who repeatedly suffer the expense, aggrevation and waste of time to take such a problem as this . . . back to the low skilled dealership tech's. Car MFGs have really failed customers . . . in a big way . . . and it has been this way for more than a century. They have hid their responsibility behind dealerships long enough. It is my firm belief that dealerships should not be allowed to do mechanical repair work. Diagnostic & Repair should be a MFGRs ONLY Responsibility . . . Conducted in a MFGRs ONLY Facility . . . Staffed with MFGRs Specific Brand . . . Experts. The MFGRs created that monster, they are the only ones who readily have the expertise and necessary parts at their finger tips. Dealerships will quite often use inferior aftermarket or used parts. THINGS NEED TO CHANGE . PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABUSED LONG ENOUGH

Now we all know that Junior is the real Mastermind behind all that expertise!haha great vids man,respect!!!

The reason it took longer this time is because you have added an extended hose pipe for your fuel gauge which will take longer to reach the injectors

You are a beast my friend! I have subscribed to your chanel.

Great Video again Dr Dan…..The Blooper’s at the end are Hilarious…..Education is Power you keep Teaching Us…..🤟🏻🇬🇧🇺🇸

Dan that's amazing you found that one out as usual. Great video my friend

Having replaced one of the VVT solenoids on a gasoline GM 2.2 L recently, I was advised to change oil more frequently because dirty oil will clog up these components and cause them to fail. I will assume this to be true also in the VW 2.0L TDI. So while saying all this, why would I follow VW's recommended 10,000 mile oil change interval? Would it not be in my best interest to change the oil in my 2015 2.0L TDI Jetta more frequently to avoid this type of potential problem? A 5,000 mile interval oil change seems to be more re-assuring to me. Thanks

Great video, thanks! Junior needs to wear his seat belt correctly though...

Excellent video!!! I'm currently buying a 2016 VW Golf sportwagon TDI. I'm looking forward to your next TDI videos!

Great repair by a great technician. I am hugely impressed sir.

Can some explain how to secure the camshaft using that pinhole at minute 16:02? Most probably this is the issue in my car also. I went twice in car repair shop for this but without any luck. Thanks Dan for the great video!

I could have told you what was wrong your steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car hahaha another great video mate

Thank you Dan! You teach me to diagnose the cars with oscilloscope and use the diagnostic tool just to erase the errors.

Thank you so much. Same errors and problems with a Skoda Octavia 3 2.0 TDI. I think this will be my rescue

High quality labor. Thank you diagnosedan👍🏻

Hii Have same problem with a similiar car/engine… the only diffrence is that its a 2.0tdi CR with 150ps/ motorcode CRBC.. and the big diffrence is that it has as I see no VVT or a timing change with solenoid.. theres just a plasik cover instead.. with really be happy with some input from you… I know you dont have a glass kugel to see it xD I check mainly with vcds.. im getting a a ozziloskop soon i hope.. what do you use?? fuel system is good heat plugs good aswell.. timingbelt was done somewhere.. going to chek that.. have the special equipment especially the one for the crankshaft thats tottaly diffrent to the old pd ectra any input would be really nice thank you greetings

We do things different down on the farm. Now we all know that Junior is the real Mastermind. thank u.......

Thank you Dan. Replacing parts helped to solve starting problem on my Passat B8. Now engine cranking time is very stable and predictable. In my case chance to have long cranking was somehow related to ambient temperature. In 9 out of 10 cases long cranking occur if car stayed for 5-8 hours on the hot day. And perhaps 2 out of 10 cases when ambient temperatures 10 deg C or less. Anyway I think it must be related to leakage inside that VVT valve.

Very surprised, I didn`t know that 2.0 TDI CR have VVT

Go Dan Go - Great Job and a joy to watch your Videos, a limp mode Video on a Golf 4 ATD would be great

Fantastic diagnostics, Dan! Great video.

Outstanding work! As an owner of 2014 VW Golf TDI with the same engine here in the States Dan I appreciate your detailed diagnosis and explanation on this issue.

Have a great analysis and thanks diagnosedan. i hope to come to you to learn diagnostic and I am a fan of yours

Top job, what i like is how u did find it with the oscillocope, thats the most important bit, i did get both car the golf rite, thats with experiences and brain working knew what would cause late start both petrol and diesel Version. i have to master the oscilloscope bit. got one but will need to get use and start playing with it. Respect my friend.

excellent video colleague, explained in detail, greeting from Serbia

Good job Dan,may God add to your knowledge and mine. I always enjoyed your explanation keep it up!

outstanding work Dan, impressive diagnostic work.

Good job MR DANNY , we are expecting more TDI diagnostc videos from your side.

Absolutely love your videos dude. Please keep them coming.

Excellent detective work. I love your invite: "lets diagnose it together"...

Great video and diagnosis Dan! Thanks for sharing!

Great video. Straight to the point. Thank you for the free educational video👌

Thank you very much Daignose Dan I’m really learning a lot from you

Hi Dan and thank you for the awesome content! I just stumbled on your channel, loved it, subscribed and left a big thumbs up! By the way, I have an issue with my 2013 Golf 2. TDI: I have just changed my timing belt- checked the timing (Blocking tools at crankshaft, camshaft and HPFP) and cranked the engine manually and rechecked again and again. Once satisfied, I mounted everything back. Before I installed the belt, I cleaned the air filter and maybe touched the MAF sensor with parts cleaner and/or pressure air blower (a code P0101 for MAF was triggered later). When, I finished putting the serpentine belt and everything back, the car did not start immediately, but after the fifth crank. Then, it ran perfectly, the RPM needle was dead steady at 900 RPM/minute...After a run around the block, I shut the engine and got home. The day after, it did not start at first crank, but started at the second crank and run perfect. Once at the garage where I wanted to put on new tires, I shut it, but it refused to restart....only after 10-15 cranks...then it run perfectly for an hour....The day after it completely refused to start and after I cleaned the MAF with MAF sensor cleaner, NO start at all...I towed it to the dealer and today they told me the car threw a P0016 code (crank-Cam correlation issue): when it was running the day before, it only threw at me an O2 sensor and a MAF codes...they said it might have something to do with the timing which is misaligned: I told them I did it by myself and they maybe try to put everything on me to charge me to the max! The sensors and DPF are under warranty, but the timing belt components are not: they said they suspect the crank and cam positions sensors for being faulty because there seem to be no fuel injected, no spark and no long crank...it's like if the car chokes and refuses to start...Any advice what might it be: MAF, cam-crank position sensors, a bad timing alignment (even thought I checked it 5 times and perfected the tension on belt: the tensioner's tooth was positioned exactly between the 2 arrows...), or a bad flow of the fuel...? Thanks in advance!

I had this problem back in 2009 with my polo tdi and it drove me mad. I tried everything spending thousands, and eventually I sold it, and the next guy replaced all injectors trying to find the problem. It was never solved... Thanks!

Dan your the man Enjoyed your video and very clearly explained.

The best car service channel on YT.

Good job in diagnosing the problem. A lot lot LOT more professional and thorough than my local dealer .. or ANY dealer in my country would be. Congrats... i have the identical car with identical problem and the VVT system on my car looks identical to the one on the car. I am hoping that vw can give the part for free but i'm not really expecting them to actually do that ! But anyway, i really enjoyed your video and it did help me a lot as i am the kind of person that is pissed if something doesn't work as it should. Congrats.

Fantastic video! Hope this helps the same issue I am having. This was seriously well done!

Wow, thanks for that, I have the 1.6tdi and didn’t know the 2.0 had a VVT system..

Very nice diagnostic strategy! All the Variable Valve Timing engines in all brand vehicles are quite sensitive to dirty oil!

What a dramatic change in parts. Great stuff