VW Ignition Coil Problems?
mikedhmsu
Member Posts: 2
I recently purchased a 2002 VW Passat 1.8T in April 2002, and have 11,500 miles on it. This past Friday, I started the car to go to Home Depot, and the car was shaking from side to side, with the MIL light blinking. I tried to back out and go down the street, but was unable to go over 25 MPH. The dealer tells me its a bad ignition coil, and that there is a current back order nationwide on this item. Has anyone else experienced this problem? This is the ifrst trouble I've had, and really like this car. Any help would be great, thanks!
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Dad bought a Ford when he finally got mustered out after WWII, a hard trick to accomplish as everybody who could was replacing their pre-war beaters, and it drove him to distraction after a few years when it started intermittently running like trash. dealer couldn't get it figured out, so he traded it in on something else down the street. ran into an old farmer a few months later who had bought the car, said it was the best he ever had. "but what about the engine trouble?" "ach, those Fords, everybody knew they had a bad coil. I went to Coast-to-Coast, got a coil, no trouble since."
moral: if another plant makes those coils, bet they are not screwing up whatever VW's supplier did.
This problem also exists for Audi A4 1.8T owners as well.
Many folks on vwvortex.com and clubb5.com are reporting the exact same problem - car shakes, MIL flashing, coil pack dead.
VW used to replace all 4 when this happens, since the other 3 coils are being "over worked". They've changed their stance and are replacing only the bad coil pack due to short supplies.
This was also mentioned in AutoWeek.
-Craig
Do I get to have a say about which manufatcurer to use, seeing as VW's new supplier for the coils aren't reliable? I'm guessing probably not, unless I go to a private or third-party shop.
It only took 2+ years for them to realize their mistake.
-Craig
With some cars, you have gremlins waiting for you. Luckily, that is not the case with VWs. And Grelim's faulty coil packs are replaced under warranty.
- D
Squeaks and rattles are one thing. Even an MFA that doesn't work all the time. But a coil pack? This is a KNOWN issue by VW (they admitted to it in AutoWeek). There is a 3-5 week backorder on these things in certain areas of the country. This is also a safety issue: on the highway with an 18 wheeler closely following, and bang. Coil pack dead. What happens next I dare not say.
This should be a recall. Plain and simple. VW had a good coil pack design from 98 through 01. Then they went with a different supplier to save a few bucks. Now 1.8Ts are blowing coil packs left and right. VW saw this, and went back to the original (or yet another) supplier.
-Craig
It took Chrysler over TEN years to even admit their tranny problems in their minivans!
Did the supplier of the bad coil packs supply VW with most of their Jetta parts as well?
thanks a lot!
You can also check the packs themselves. Those ending with "H" are bad. Those ending with "J" are the new ones.
To check, remove the cover of the engine (3 screws). The part number of the packs is on the "back" side (facing the windshield).
My 2002 was build in March 2002, so I'm just waiting for the packs to go.
-Craig
They made the change some time in 2001. I'm guessing that the 2001.5's have the "H" packs, but I'm not certain.
But don't you have a Mexican Jetta? I'm not sure if VW shipped these packs there.
-Craig
The question I have is, how did VW let this problem work its way down to production vehicles? For a auto giant as large as VW, they must have some rigorous quality control testing on outsourced components. When they do a deal with suppliers you would think they would get at least 6-months lead time to test the first batch of components before putting them on production vehicles, or am I naive about the way car companies use JIT parts sourcing to keep inventories and production costs low.
How on earth any VW exec thinks that anyone will shell out $50k+ on a Phaeton when the current high-end model (ie. Passat) has a problem like this is beyond me.
No sticker on the door jam? That's odd.
The part number is on the coil itself (actually, all 4 of them). It's not a sticker (I don't think). It's imprinted on the part itself. The section of the part that has the part number is the "back side" - the side that faces the windshield.
-Craig
OK. I found a number 088 D. Is that it?
anything wrong in the entire process that nicks a wire, scratches insulation, or puts kinks in the windings, you are set up for part failure in a HV impulse coil.
and that's what happens. you have to be in production and testing on the buyers to find these issues.
The dealer has been very good about it. they towed my car in and gave me a rental car, however they will not replace all 4 coils because of the demand for the part. I don't like driving the car knowing that the other 3 coils could go out at any time. Hopefully when they get caught up on production, they'll have a recall and replace all of the faulty coils
I'm still very impressed with the car but I hope this is not an indication of things to come. If VW had not extended the warantee to 4 years, I probably would not have bought a Passat.
I'd drive it through the dealer's front window, but it's been sitting on their backlot, waiting for another bum coil for two weeks now. I get the great pleasure of paying to drive German engineering, but the loaner is an Intrepid. I am hot as lava about this junker. I hope that anyone who is considering buying a Passat reads this and decides to buy a Honda or a Toyota like we should have. I really hope that Consumer Reports reconsiders naming Passat a "recommended buy". And worse yet "top rated family sedan." I really will wonder how fast I can get rid of this car, as soon as the dealer can get this faulty part to replace the old faulty part.
Thanks for letting me vent. All of you who have had this problem surely understand.
Maybe I don't understand the exact nature of the fault in these bad coils...but I'm under the impression that the insulation in the coil burns through, shorting the coil and causing it to no longer deliver spark to its spark plug. Is this not correct? If it is, then this has every telltale of a manufacturing error. The coil itself is not exposed within the combustion chamber, it's sitting on top of the spark plug.
My "BS" detector just went off! And don't get me wrong, I'm not referring to you, I'm referring to what you have been told by VW. Without a much better explanation, I'm not buying it. Why don't the G models fail? You're in the business, how long has VW been using Coil Packs on their US exports? Specifically, what additive are we talking about?
BTW, I got a '03 with the 1.8T with a June, '02 build date and have not had a failure yet, but I've got very low miles.
http://members.cox.net/~bergs/passat/coil_pack.jpg
However, there is another telltale. Pull the engine shroud. While standing in front of the car, look at the coil pack from the rear or windshield side. Then compare it to the first photo in this thread on Clubb5:
http://clubb5.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=33587&page=1
If yours looks like the one on the left (H), you have the style that seems to be failing at an abnormally high rate. If you have the one on the right, you have the new style (J). The styling is slightly different on the ribbing near the top. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info. I'll check in the morning, I'm home with a cold and don't feel like doing it. I should add that my Passat is a 2001.5 built in April of that year. I have 18,000 trouble-free miles so far.
you can put steam in the cylinders instead of gas and it ain't gonna stress the coil packs. the computer tells 'em when to fire. if the spark plug sparks and sinks the current, which depends on the ignition wire set and the plugs being in good shape, the job is done. you can crank a dead engine until the starter melts down and it isn't going to hurt the coil packs that there is no explosion in the cylinders.
I repeat, under the present laws of physics on the third planet from the sun, there is nothing in a fuel/air mix that is going to affect the ignition coil. the argument has the gestalt of science only if you look at it with your glasses off and through a hangover.
He told me with certainty that the parts put into production cars all last year are the same as in mine (purchased in July '02), Until VW finally went to different part as of--get this--January 1, 2003. So, all of us who are driving a 1.8T have these defective parts. I asked if any of the cars with the new Ignition coils would have reached the US market yet, and he said there would be no way that they are here yet. So, my ignition coils that were replaced in October and November(twice!), that we were told were the new coils, were in fact not the new coils, because those did not come available until 1/1/03. So, until he told me this yesterday, I thought I was done with the coils problem, since 4 would have been replaced by now. Four have in fact been replaced, but three were replaced with faulty coils. UNBELIEVABLE.
But, I guess it explains why my car had to sit for two weeks at the dealer to get the part. I t only took them about 17 seconds to install the damn thing, but they couldn't get thier hands on it for TWO weeks.
Can't wait to see what the attorney specializing in lemon law has to say about it. And if not, I'd like to see what Carmax has to offer....Do I hear any offers?
be nice of VW to run a recall when they are sorta sure these coils have insulation on them.
No Thanks!
I have got to believe that the aftermarket supply houses... parts plus, CSK, napa... have got a supplier that knows about the VW debacle and got another company to make knockoffs that work.
since VWoA and dealers can't get enough coils to keep the customers on the road, don't know why there isn't a permission letter to put in something else and extend warranty over it as well, just to get on top of the situation before it eats them alive.
even if they do have good coils coming off the line now, it's going to take years to get all the dreck out of the sold vehicles... and in that time, everybody will be learning to spit and moan when anybody asks about VW. I would think there's a lot of pressure out there, and they just ought to certify some other sources and turn 'em loose on the problem.
got a guy in the office who took two Passats to the dealer over the weekend for coil failure... one was his daughter's and they treated her like something foul on the rug, one was his wife's and they've had eight cars from this dealer with a good rep in the area... and because of the daughter's car, the wife has been reviling the dealer over the phone all day, whenever she gets another idea and some breath back.
this can't be good.
The dealer is in a "bookend" here and you have to work with them, while very persistently keeping track of progress.
Currently my 2002 Passat is on its second visit to the dealer for another ignition coils. My dealer service dept. told me there are 35 Passats ahead of mine with coil problems on his lot, he has no idea when he will have new coils and last week got two coils to fix one car that had been there over two weeks. He told me another dealer he knows has over 50 Passats on their lot with fried ignition coils. I did make several requests that VW replace all the coils at once so I would not have to keep having my car towed in and being stuck in rather frigid temperatures of Chicago for two or more hours, waiting for a tow. On both occassions, VW could not supply me with a rental or loaner car until monday, which meant I had two weekends without any car at all. VW Customer Care suggested they might be willing to replace the remaining coils, but only from those who request it, so my suggestion to you is that you at least try and request that they replace the coils. Unfortunately, they would not give this to me in writing, stating legal concerns. Unless of course you don't mind not having a car from time to time. They have had a coil shortage for greater than a month and have not corrected the problem. Dealer stated they have 35 Passats on their lot with the problem and other dealers have 50. Customer care said they "understand" the problem. That said,by not replacing all the coils at once, they are doing little to find a long term solution to fix the problem. At minimum, I suggest you file a complaint with: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ and your better business bureau.
if you look at a 2000 passat (have assumed a 4-popper in these searches,) there is a match... wells C1318, one per cylinder required, $86.99 each. they are special order.
that's an option, assuming these special orders are being filled. if somehow these coils are reboxed for Wells by VW... well... back to square one.
good luck.