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I just purchased 99 Passat 1.8 Turbo, automatic. I have no maintenance records from previous owners. What all do I need to check first? What maintenance do you suggest I go ahead and do? Problems found so far: (1) ABS/Brake light on. Already found a company in FL that would rebuild the ABS module for around $200 with 3 yr warranty. Even gives instructions on how to remove module. (2) Slight oil leak, found problem with one hose. (3) Coolant leak somewhere. Just know it keeps going down slowly. (4) Turbo makes very loud whirly noise. (louder than it should).
Okay so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Replies to this message:
It may be the HAZARD switch relay acting up - I have the same problem and another website suggested that replacing the relay is the answer. This relay is linked to the turn signals. The HAZARD switch needs to be removed to get to the relay. Haven't done it yet, so I can't elaborate on the "How To" just yet - sorry. Will post the result as and when I get to it...
There are some specific Passat forums that may be able to give you more help on this. It's never happened to me, so I can't tell you anything from firsthand experience.
It's possible that the TCM, which lives under the front footwell carpets, is wet. But that's just a guess. Water intrusion into the passenger compartment of Passats is not an unheard of event....
Puzzled?!@#$% Never stalls when running. Currently at the VW dealer trying to fix problem and of course they are saying their diagnostics show nothing. Therefore unless they can reproduce the problem, they are ready to return the car to me. WHAT!!! How's this for service. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
What oil are you using?
Krzys
The Passat now has 69k, and has been problem free for the last 20k or so.
I believe that the door card must be removed to rep[lace the switch....
Now, I have a whole new problem. A few months ago I noticed a fast-paced rattle, almost like a vibration, as I cold-start my car. The sound went away within seconds, almost after the fuel injection system did its job. Lately, I've noticed the sound takes longer to go away, and usually after I rev the engine a few times up to about 2,000 RPM's to get rid of the sound.
I had my mechanic (who works for a VW dealer but does work for me on the side ) about it and he diagnosed it to be the cam shaft tensioner. I think it's a little weird that my car has only 113k miles and now I have to sink another $500 into it (which I still think is one hell of a deal) to get that fixed. Last year I had the front brakes replaced ($255), timing belt/tensioner pulley and thermostat ($450) and new tires ($450). Looks like I'll be putting a lot of money into it this year as well.
Has anyone else had to replace their cam shaft tensioner this soon? I've never had to replace one in any of my previous 8 vehicles (only one of which was a 1990 Passat that succomed to a snapped timing belt). Any help would be appreciated.
Come to find out that the common sludge problem with the Passat was affecting my car. I ended up pulling the oil pan to find that sludge had completely filled the oil pickup screen for the oil pump. Which explaines why oil wasn't getting to the engine correctly. After replacing the oil pump the car is running better than ever.
However, this process did involve a lot of work. For the oil pan to be removed the engine needs to be hoited on the half frame about 6 to 12 inched, but not totally removed. This is very dooable with the tools and a hoist. I might still have instructions on how to do it.
If you have any questions or want the instructions or pics I took e-mail me at danpemberton@comcast.net.
Good luck...
Has oil consumption increased at all? Sometimes valve guides can fail without lubrication, as can the the bearing surfaces and piston rings can wear. It pays to be very aware of what is going on with your vehicle, it sounds like you might have caught it when it was just an oil pump vs a new motor.
And welcome!
I got the car back from the mechanic this evening and he also had to replace the timing belt again because the timing tensioner hydraulic :confuse: leaked all the hydraulic fluid out which caused my timing belt to become loose. Thankfully we caught it before it jumped. Back to the cam shaft tensioner and the rattle: I asked him about the sludge and he assured me that my car is sludge free and that's due to my religious Mobil 1 oil changes that I give it as well as the 2-3 minute idle rule after "spirited" driving. I'm still mystified that all this is going on at only 113k miles, but all I can figure is that this is the consequence of my former mechanic not replacing the timing tensioner pulley when he replaced the timing belt and water pump. Thankfully my new mechanic is certified by VW (he is a tech at a dealer ) so he knows my VW better than my former mechanic. I should be good to go now. The whole job cost just under $1k. Add that to the cooling system failure I experienced in February, that's already $1,500 this year alone in repairs. Hopefully it will be the last of them. :sick:
My question is this: At what mileage is typical to warrant a turbo charger rebuild? I've heard the K3/K4 is capable of being rebuilt but I am unsure of the mileage. Also, if estimated cost could be included, I'd appreciate that information as well.
Thanks.
You might also want to cross shop the price of a new/rebuilt motor/head from an independent VW place.
wipers
If you have aero wipers then you need to buy set
http://jobs.boschusa.com/AutoParts/PartFinder/partfinder.asp
Krzys
No hadn't yet been changed. A few K miles over the recommended change date...figures.
Dealer indicates $2000 to $4500 to fix depending on level of damage, which they can't tell till they remove the head. But likely towards upper end. Used engines going for $$$ these days as well. And if I trade I've likely lost $4 to 5K in trade value. Ugly.
One more thing--if there isn't a multifunctional shark fin available that I'm looking for, will the 06 Passat antenna fit on mine?
Anyway, has anyone changed one of these? If so, would you let me know what's involved in replacing it? Does the mast just attach to the base? It doesn't look like it should be too hard to do, but with VW's you never know. It looks like you can get the part for around $15 online. I'm sure the VW dealer would charge at least $100 for the part and installation so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I just had the timing belt service done on my wife's 2003 Passat GLS 1.8T at 66,000 miles. I decided to have this done early based on the fact that when I had the timing belt service done on my 2003 Wolfsburg Jetta at 73,000 miles, the plastic impeller on the waterpump was on the verge of disintegrating when it was removed. The same thing happened when they removed the waterpump from my wife's Passat.
In preparation for the timing belt service (which was done at a private VW mechanic), I ordered the complete timing belt change kit from germanautoparts.com - which includes the timing belt, two sepentine belts, aftermarket water pump (with the metal impeller), tensioners, and thermostat.
My mechanic recommended timing belt changes every 65,000 miles with the plastic waterpump (due to its tendency to disintegrate and possibly jam the pump - which may result in timing belt damage). With the metal waterpump, they recommend changing the belt at 90,000 miles.
This next section is for 1998-early 2003 1.8T Passat owners (prior to VW's 2004 Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) concerning sludge)
If conventional oil has been used in your engine for any length of time and your timing belt hasn't failed as of yet - I would highly recommend taking the car to your mechanic and have him check two items:
1) Remove the engine's oil pan, and check the screen inside the oil pump pickup for any signs of sludge.
2) Check the camshaft chain guide in the cylinder head for excessive wear. The chain guide is usually made of high-temp plastic and will usually last as long as it is properly lubricated.
My mechanic has rebuilt many engines with damage caused by the oil pump pickup screen being clogged with sludge - thus starving the oil pump and the rest of the engine - and leading to a chain-reaction of events leading to excessive wear of the plastic camshaft chain guide in the cylinder head, which results in the camshaft seizing, and ultimately causing the timing belt to break.
By the time the timing belt breaks, nine times out of ten the damage has already been done prior to the timing belt breaking.
After the oil pickup screen and the cylinder head camshaft chain guide have been checked and/or cleaned/replaced, I would make sure that VW 502.00 spec synthetic oil is used and changed every 3500 (city driving) or 5000 miles. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR beyond the 5000 mile interval between oil changes - NO EXCEPTIONS.
HTH...
There is one sentence that I might be inclined to change. Instead of saying, "...I would make sure that VW 502.00 spec synthetic oil is used and changed every 3500 (city driving) or 5000 miles."
I would instead say, "...I would make sure that you use an oil that is certified to meet the VW 502.00 synthetic oil spec (or better -- i.e. 503.01) and changed every 3500 (city driving) or 5000 miles."
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thanks for the assist, Shipo - I knew there was an update to the 502.00 spec, the actual number escaped me at the time I posted... :shades:
Best Regards,
Shipo
Should I replace the O2 sensors or give the mass airflow sensor a shot first?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
I've been having problems with water in the front passenger footwell. Sunroof drains are clear, battery box drains are clear. It only happens when the a/c is used. I took out the glove box to track down the source and here's what I found- If you look at the ductwork on top of the "hump", I see one white and one red lever, both less than 2" long. The water is coming thru the center of the red lever. Does anyone have any information on how to dissemble this so I can find out what's going on inside? It sounds to me to be a blocked evap drain but I see a trickle of water under the car after running the a/c. Just to be sure it isn't the evap drain- can anyone tell me how to clear them?
Thanks
http://www.ehow.com/how_110_replace-spark-plugs.html
And I can buy four plugs for my car at Germanautoparts for about $11 a piece.
Anything wrong with this picture? Anything that's harder than I think, or that I should be especially careful of? Should I let the mechanic do this? Or should I go for it? (I admit, it looks like fun.)
PS While I'm at it, I'd think replacing the air filter would be easy. One question, though: what kind of filter, and where to buy it? For ordinary highway driving, not performance-minded.
PPS If all this works, I might try the pollen filter. More on that later, though.
Thanks.
If you have a few simple tools like a rachet wrench, sparkplug socket and inexpensive torque wrench, doing some of the simple maintenance on your Passat can save you some money and be rewarding. For my 40K service, I bought OEM NGK replacement spark plugs, an air filter, cabin filter, fuel filter, and new Bosch wipers for the front and back of my wagon. I paid $120 at getcoolparts.com (buy more than $50, get free shipping).
I had my dealer inspect the timing belt, change out the oil and filter (their filter, my 0w-40 Mobil 1 oil, to keep my sludge warranty in place), and chase down a engine code problem for another $116. I did all other checks, except those covered by my state inspection (brakes, suspension, exhaust).
I have seen people quote over $400 for the 40K service - I figure doing the maintenance and service checks myself saved me about $150.
There's a Passat specific forum on the web that has an information-base loaded with DIY advice, many include pictures. Worth the search, IMHO.
BTW, the cabin filter is a snap to replace; the air filter, not so much. Like every VW I've owned over the last 25 years, you can expect to suffer some scrapes and cuts to your hands getting that filter changed out. If you have the 1.8T, you need to remove a heat shield (4 screws) and undo 4 clips to gain access to the air filter, but it's still a tight fit.
I'd stick with OEM or similar - not a K&N filter. I think I used a Mann filter (made in Germany) last time.
I bought it used at 33K miles and I've not had much trouble with it till now. However I have three concerns for which I seek advice/opinions:
1: The last couple of months I have noticed a jingling noise coming from the front suspension. It sounds like a bunch of coins and increases when I drive over speedbumps or rough pavement. Took it to a Meineke shop which said I needed new shocks and struts (Approx $600 for Front only) . I then took it to a VW dealer. They said they could not find anything wrong with the car and advised against changing the shocks/struts. The noise is still there...any thoughts?
2: I have read and heard that the Passat needs to have its timing-belt and related mechanisms changed around the 75K mark. IS this true?. My car is not showing any signs of needing this repair. what should I lookout for?
3: On one rare occasion that I had an oil-change done outside the VW dealership ( at Lube Express), the mechanic warned me that my car has some sludge accumulated and recommended a 100$ "clean-up". When I checked with the VW dealership during my next oil change, they mentioned that VW does not recommend any clean-up and if the car was not giving me any trouble I should leave the sludge alone. Any thoughts??