I own a 2001 VW Jetta with the 1.9L tdi diesel engine. This vehicle is maintained by my local VW dealership. During cold weather conditions below 30 degrees F my vehicle would stop running stranding me at night in locations with little road traffic or cell phone service. This occurred approximately 6 times requiring the vehicle to be towed to a dealership. Each time that the vehicle was thawed in their shop and was diagnosed with "improperly treated diesel fuel". I meticulously put in the recommended amount of VW anti-gel additive to all tank fulls of fuel. I also consistently purchase my diesel fuel from the same high volume supplier who has numerous fleet accounts. I had begun to triple dose the diesel fuel additive in attempts to avoid this situation. After numerous times of being stranded in single digit conditions and having the same situation occur I checked a tdi owners website tdiclu.com it seems that the problem lies in the fuel tank pick up which has a restriction that only surfaces when the fuel thickens during the winter months. The fuel pickup/sending unit comes in a C, D, and an H model. My vehicle had the C model. Apparently VW of Canada is aware of this situation and without question or charge would replace their customers cars with the H model. I purchased the H model pickup/sender and replaced it myself and the problem has disappeared. To date I have incurred more than one thousand dollars in towing and repair charges for this problem that is clearly a VW design flaw and one that is acknowledged by VW of Canada.

- Oakdale, NY, USA