I have received conflicting info from 2 dealers regarding the 30k service. One quotes a price of $1200+ which includes the plug change they say is required at 30k. Another dealer quoted $500
for the 30k service which excludes the plug change. Their position is that the plugs should be done at 40k.

I will be selling the car prior to 40k so I really don't want to spend unnecessary $ on a plug change if it is not required at this time. I would appreciate feedback with regards to when the plugs should be changed and the prices quoted. thanks

 

What year turbo?

'01 turbo - change plugs at 30k because of a TSB for heat ranges
'02 and higher turbo - change plugs at 60k

With that said, a plug change is around $500-700 depending on the dealer. It's about $60 for parts and $500-600 for labor. You can change them yourself if you have some mechanical knowledge. It is more of a pain to change them than difficulty in understanding how to do it.

 

sorry should have stated '03 turbo

 

Yeah no. You already have the correct heat plugs. 30 or 40k miles for a plug change, while helpful, doesn't really need to be done; especially if you are running the stock ECU. I mean, you CAN change them, but it won't really help unless you are getting some "bucking" and hesitation while driving (there are many cause for this, but spark plugs are sometimes the issue). It's more of a preventative maintenance issue than anything. If you are about to sell the car, there is no need to change them if your car is running fine already.

 

I will change your plugs for 500.00 and a case of becks dark!!!
On modded cars, you should change them at 15,000, non modded dont last much longer, 5000 to 10,000 miles.

 

So if I have a 2001 tt and the plugs were changed at 30K then when is the next change? 60K or 90K?

 

Technically 90k, but I would do them again at 60k. I need to look at the scheduled service sheet, but I seem to recall there being a note on the 60k that said, "Plug change for all turbos except the '01 model year turbos...", but don't quote me on it. I will change my '01's plugs at 60k when the time comes just to stay ahead of the performance decrease that might happen if you wait another 30k miles.

 

Modified cars I do every 10-12K miles. I agree, the heat has a tendency to break them down sooner than later. I still have a hard time figuring out where they come up with 1200.00. Good lord that terrible. Even if I have one cup of coffee in one hand and doing the plugs in another is only takes 4 hours. The rest of the job is maybe an hour or two tops. Belt takes 15 minutes, filters a whomping 30 minutes (maybe).

Of course I can do the plugs in just about 2 hours when slow

 

I have an 03 turbo and get this "bucking" you guys were talking about before I modded and still there after. Is this a case of bad plugs? The car pulls hard and no CEL issues.

 

Heya Jay, how many miles on your plugs? Sounds like plugs to me...

 

Could be his MAF as well, Alex. Either or on the two would be my first guess. "Bucking" with a contaminated MAF won't alway throw a CEL. I didn't get a MAF related CEL until my Short Term Fuel Trims hit over -25% under idle give or take. It ONLY happened under idle, though. He might have the "bucking" but might only see -17 to -22% on the STFTs at this point. Bad enough to notice, but not bad enough to throw a CEL. A datalog might also show an o2 that is going bad, but not bad enough to throw a CEL...yet. The fuel trims say a lot about your car.

Then again, the plugs can easily cause issues as you have stated as well. It is typically one of the two. The MAF is a much easier clean job than the plugs (30 minutes vs 2.5-3hrs). My advice would be to datalog the fuel trims and clean the MAF. Compare the fuel trims (under idle and heavy throttle) to the previous values while the MAF was suspected to be dirty. If they haven't changed and the car continues to "buck" then your obvious solution would be to change the plugs. I try to rule out everything before changing the plugs as they seem to take the longest to change.

 

I've got 25k miles

 

I just want to define "bucking" I can be in just about any gear and any spead and with minimal to no throttle input the car will lunge forward (not much but enough to annoy) and it happens kinda randomly. Is that a good description?

 

You said that it was before your mods. At what mileage did you first notice the bucking? A contaminated MAF will really shine through as "bucking" under low-speed (5-20mph), low throttle conditions; especially after the car has just started and hasn't yet even warmed up. Mine "bucked" as I drove through parking lots... Those are the conditions where the air measurement into the car is very important and is closely measured (the exact function of a MAF). At least, those were the symptoms in my case. Perhaps yours are the same, perhaps they aren't...

Now, plugs will cause hesitation at different RPMs, but can especially cause a "skip" under WOT at higher RPMs when the spark is really needed. Almost like a hiccup. Fouled plugs will not spark as well as new plugs and that will affect your high RPM runs under heavy throttle.

 

Now that you mention it, it's more at low speeds. Parking lot type and stop and go traffic speeds. I got the car with 13k miles and has been there since day one. I just did the ECU about 2 months ago at 23k miles. No difference in the "bucking phenomenon"