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I've had to have my car towed 4 times in the past month to the dealership because my car keeps dying on me. and every time the dealership cant "duplicate the problem" so they send me on my way after keeping my car for 2-3 days, and like clockwork, my car will die again a week later and i'll have it towed back in.
What's been happening is that i will be coming off of the interstate and will come to a light. after about 2 lights my car will feel like it cant kick into the 2nd or 3rd gear. and by the third stoplight my car will just lock up and die. a battery light will flash for a few seconds but that's all that happends on the dash. i can normally start my car back up and drive it into a gas station. but it will continue to shut off, flash the battery light. I will have it towed in to the dealership, and when they look at the car they cant find anything wrong. they drive it 40+ miles, called the vw techs, run tests..etc..and nothing. they replaced the battery thinking it may help. but nope. car died again. i have no idea what could be wrong. the vw dealership is at a loss too because they cant figure out what is wrong. i do not feel safe in this car, but i feel stuck with it. HELP!!!
Good luck.
That is not a "battery" light... but a "charge indicator light". If the alternator is not charging the battery, then the lite comes on. When your engine is spinning sssoooo sssllooowwwlllyyy that the alternator is not putting out enough power, the light will begin to illuminate.
In other words, that light has very little to do with your battery at all besides tellin you when it is not being charged.
So - the real question is how does one troubleshoot such an elusive stalling problem?
ANSWER - Use laptop computer to monitor critical engine sensors while driving. The computer will take a 'snapshot' of all sensor conditions every second or so.The next time the stall occurs, the computer will have "captured" all the data leading up to when the problem happened.
The computer can graph all the data on the screen for human consumption.
Any reasonably intelligent tech should be able to troubleshoot the problem using this technique.
Any thoughts?
Personally, I never pay for those silly warantees and "self warantee". Hence, I would pull out my DVM (Digital Volt Meter) and troubleshoot/diagnose the problem and fix it.
Anyone with electronics skills should be able to isolate the problem in about 10 minutes.... fixing it might take another 20 minutes.
Most likely - you have a poor connection somewhere. Start at the PDC (Power Distribution Center) located on top of the battery. Those connections are known to get grungy and even burn up.
(To practice, turn off engine while in a 'safe' area...1st with vehicle stationary... then while moving slowly.)
*) By law, your brakes will work well for about 2 times DO NOT PUMP the pedal or you will lose all the reserve-vacuum and braking will become very difficult. (again, you can practice this while stationary)
*) I believe the 2011 VW has ELECTRIC STEERING... since I have little experience with this technology, I will not guess about how it behaves when engine stalls.
*) It is always safe to put automatic xmission into NEUTRAL and try to restart the engine. (NEVER in Park...lest you may damage the parking- pawls)
*) Most VWs force you to turn the key OFF before attempting to restart. Beware that if you leave the key in OFF position, the steering-lock may prevent steering... hence DO NOT LEAVE KEY IN OFF POSITION FOR MORE THAN A MOMENT WHEN RESTARTING ENGINE.
Personally, I see this as a serious SAFETY issue... not just a squeek or a leaky sunroof kind of problem. Hence, I would speak to a high-level person at dealership and make it clear that they will be liable if someone gets injured. Just to prove the point, I would even have something written-up and ask them to sign it so they know you are serious about it.
(I have done this with new tires that kept going flat.... when I asked if I had to have the the family in the car get hurt before they did anything about it... they quickly installed 4 new tires of a different brand)
Good Luck!
:shades:
Thanks
Bel Air Car Guy
( LUBRICATING THE IGNITION CYLINDER BY SERVICE PERSONNEL) LASTED TWO WEEKS. THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. ANYONE ELSE HAVING THIS SITUATION? I AM TO SAY THE LEAST, FRUSTRATED!!!!
In any case, neither symptom was present immediately following purchase but are now a regular yet unpredictable characteristics of my new vehicle during all driving conditions.
The dealership agreed to have me ride with a tech who said he thought he experienced the symptom during our test drive. He drove the vehicle to and from his own home for several days with diagnosis equipment hooked up to the car. The CS person verbally admitted that the tech had experienced thy symptom and denied that I was "crazy". The tech placed calls to VW repeatedly and finally, about a month ago, replaced the computer of the car (I'm forgetting the technical name for the component).
I didn't notice the symptom for a bit and then it came back. I brought the vehicle back to them and today over the phone the CS person told me that nothing was wrong that this is a symptom of the diesel engine.
I intend to keep pressing the issue because it didn't always drive like this. I am beginning to become a bit skeptical in VW's ability to solve the issue - it appears they are as confused as I. I'm wondering if this is approaching limits of the lemon law and I think I might, as well, be in touch with the BBB and safecar.gov very soon if they cannot solve this symptom. If anyone has any information out there, please let me know.
The VW mechanic said just press the accelerator to resolve issue.
Thanks for replying. So I believe that it was the ECM (Electronic Control Module) that was replaced a couple months back that has reduced the severity of the symptoms we're both experiencing. I'm bummed that it still happens because it seems like it should be so simple for them to fix.
I have a 2010, I noticed that yours is a 2011. The only reason I mention this is because I noted in the service records after the ECM was replaced the old ECM had a level of 3 or 4 and the new ECM had a level of 7.
I really don't know what this means but I'm convinced that it has something to do with cars software. I believe this because the symptoms started right after a computer update occurred during the 20K maintenance.
I was lucky enough to run into a VW head tech who now runs is own shop in the area. After describing the symptoms and having him review the service notes he too believes that it is a software issue that VW has not yet solved. He was nice enough to email some of his colleagues in VW at the regional and national level, but unfortunately I have not heard anything back from him.
I keep you posted if I hear anything more.
It's difficult because I can't get the vehicle to display the symptom upon demand so when I try to display the symptom to VW it doesn't necessarily happen.
I guess that VW needs to admit the problem and attempt to fix it three separate times prior to any lemon law action.
In any case, the advice to simply press on the accelerator to resolve the issue hardly carries any merit.
Thanks,
I have not really experienced the hesitation at highway speeds (never beyond 50 mph), and I've never had a problem at stop signs or initial take-off. Some of those problems almost sound like automatic transmission issues that I've heard described elsewhere about VW automatic transmissions. Some people may be experiencing two different problems with this car.
In any event, VW has a problem with this engine or transmission. I don't know which it is, but they have to know about it. I intend to take your post back to VW and say "look, I'm not the only one". Please keep pushing on your end and let us know if you achieve satisfaction. Thanks again for getting the issue posted.
I don't experience our issue at stop signs or lights either - I hope that you catch this chris arm. Chris arm, does it happen when you are stopping or when you are starting again?
I'm both relieved to read there's another vehicle of the same vintage demonstrating identical symptoms, but bummed that you too are suffering the issue.
You bring up a a good point that the engine/transmission is under light load when it happens at slower speeds. Recently, I've noticed it in 4th gear too, but mostly in 3rd at about 35. I've tried to isolate the issue to the engine temperature. It seems to happen more when cold, but also happens after having warmed up.
I'll keep you posted to any action taken by VW. I hope to take a ride with the CS manager at my local dealership soon. Let me know your dealerships reaction after you bring in my posting. Maybe we should have our dealerships talk, but then again, if they really are stuck then that wouldn't help us out at all.
The service manager said that it is a "characteristic" of the DSG engine. This is my first VW (I just got out of a lease on an Infiniti G37S Coupe). I've driven the VW for a week. If the symptoms I've experienced this past week are a known "characterstic" of the car, I'll be trading out of it before the year's up and not purchasing another VW product again.
I have been "inside" engines several times and I am not sure how oil can "get onto" sparkplug whilst it is not running. (virtually impossible)
It is possible for ANTIFREEZE to leak into combustion-chamber when hot engine is turned off and there is a leak in the head-gasket. The pressure in the cooling-system can push the antifreeze into the combustion-chamber.
This would make engine hard to start after it sits for awhile because the water in the combustion-chamber makes the engine "work harder" to keep itself running.
To check for this type of problem, check the exhaust-pipe when you initially start the engine, it will be blowing white smoke (steam) for a minute or so until the water is blown from the system.
As for your oil-consumption issue, the VW 2.0L engines are KNOWN to consume some oil (for 2000 - 2002 model-years) This is not damaging in any way as long as you keep some oil in the trunk so you can top it up when you get gasoline. That is FAR cheaper than paying to get it fixed.
Also, it would be wise to clean your snowscreen annually. On the MKIV VWs, it gets pretty plugged up after 12 months of driving.
You may also wish to clean your MAF (Mas AirFlow) sensor.
My 2001 VW Jetta is doing the same exact thing. It will run fine for a week or a could days then all the lights will flash on dash and the car will eventually lose all power and shut off. I had my car towed to my dad's house and he looked at it first assuming it was the alternator but he had my car running and then unplugged the battery and car stayed running. He re-routed some of the wires in the little black box on top of my battery, but we still haven't figured anything out.
I doubt that your mileage is still within that extended coverage... but my point is that the MAF was KNOWN to be failure-prone and VW tried to make things right for many folks who had problem with it.
Be VERY careful when cleaning the MAF... the guts are EXTREMELY delicate. Harsh chemicals or physical abraision can destroy it. Basiclly - spray some MAF-safe carb-cleaner on it and let it dry.
Good luck!