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What is the rest of the story? Have you gotten it fixed?
BTW: The 10K mile service on my DIESEL (must have synthetic oil) was about $80 US dollars out the door. ($43 of that was the parts/fluids) The tire-rotation was about $14 Labor.
More reciently, I supply my own choice of oil that I purchase at wallmart. The dealership is more than happy to use oil that I supply. (Dealer charges $33.50 for their synthetic oil)
02.5 and up (with the Premium VI radio, cassette, & CD player) are operated with the CAN-BUS.
Check around at other places because when I purchased my car the salesman said it wasn't mandatory to go to a dealership for the service - you just had to keep a record of it.
I found that Item you had mentioned, but I am not quite sure where to find if it is CAN-BUS. I know, the ad showed the v.5 as being correct for my car.
What does CAN-BUS mean?
No Pilgrim, don't get a VW!!! You'll only be sorry.
Anyway, Jetta has a known problem on cold start in SLEV sold in CA, MA and NY. VW doesn't take care any action:
As all of you who own Jetta 04 and 05 sold in California and other states, the car has unique problem not to start smoothly in the morning.
I found that a complaints filed to National Highway Transporation Safety Administration for Jetta 04:
1. Click the link below
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/c...s.cfm
2. Click "Complaints >>Search" on the upper left area.
3. Type in NHTSA ODI Number = "10079735"
4. Click "Search"
ALL BRAND NEW JETTA 05HAS THE SAME PROBLEM.
The jerk start is caused the sudden engagement of transmission when the brake lamp is turned off. Until then, there is no drive power supplied to the drive saft.
It seems the problem cars have been sold in California, New York and Massachusetts in order to satisfy more strikt environment regulations.
There may not see this problem from other states.
"CONDITIONS : PZEV rating only applies to the 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder automatic transmission. This vehicle comes standard as PZEV in CA & select NE states"
http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/e...id=91
Vehicles sold in California, New York and Massachusetts must meet more stringent emission standards established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and adopted by the other two states.
To continue to improve air quality, tighter standards are needed nationally. CARB has already established stricter standards set to begin in model year 2004. Its Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (SULEV) standard is the cleanest emission standard that a gasoline vehicle can meet.
http://www.cleancarcampaign.org/emissions.shtml
The above is the "programming" for the remote.
If you want it to star the car, then there is a different "programming" that is needed. (somtimes called the SKC code.)
Normally, the original buyer gets the SKC code with the car keys.
If you have access to a VagCom and a relationship with a VW dealer, then you need to:
1. connect the Vagcom to the car.
2. access the instrument cluster.
3. Write down the immobilizer/cluster serial number.
4. Call a dealer (that you has the relationship with) and give this number plus the VIN for the car. You will need to get back the immobilizer code, the date, the workshop code for the dealer and perhaps the importer number.
5. You can then log into the immobilizer with the code, date and other numbers and 'adapt' the keys.
You might not like or want to hear this, but from your claification/discription it sounds like it falls in the category of road hazard.
There is a REASON that tires have been 15-inch for over 30 years....the rubber PROTECTS the wheel.
Those PLUS SIZE wheels still have the same overall diameter for the tire... this means LESS RUBBER TO PROTECT THE WHEEL.
I cannot think of any good things to say about those "plus size" wheels... but a lot of negative things are obvious
*) Less rubber to protect wheel
*) MUCH more expensive to replace tires
*) MUCH more expensive to replace wheels
*) rougher ride (because you must keep the PSI high to reduce wheel damage)
*) harder to find replacement wheels in a salvage yard.
The actual tire measurement on a given vehicle is normally listed as follows:
195-60-15, for example, consists of three components:
195 - represents the tread width of the tire
60 - represents the aspect ratio (or depth) of the tire
15 - represents the rim diameter of the wheel
Focusing on the aspect ratio, the lower the number, the lower the tire's profile (and the less rubber there is between the wheel rim and the road).
A 14 inch wheel with a lower tread width and a higher aspect ratio will provide more protection against bumps, potholes, etc., than a 15 inch wheel with a wider tread width and a lower aspect ratio.
Bottom line, the rim diameter of the wheel is not as significant of a factor as the aspect ratio (profile) of a tire when it comes to pothole protection.
BTW - The BBS rim/wheel I had to replace on my Wolfsburg Jetta was 205-55-16 (not exactly a common size)...:-(
Also, one can factor in the role of lowering springs and struts/shocks that can go in tandem with it. So when you lower a car by X ins, what you are really doing is DECREASING the suspension travel by X amount, The normal amount of suspension travel that would have aided in energy redirection/displacement, what ever you wish to call it no longer is there. Proper design would also call for more "progressive" springs (higher # spring rates coming on at lower inch displacements). Lowering shocks may or may not be different in physical size, but their operating parameters might be less than a identical non lowering version. Compression and/or rebound rates are "STIFFER" at lower rates of strut and shock displacements to compensate for the lowering. This combined with the lower aspect ratio etc can/does conspire to give you a bone jaring ride. The nexus is greater chances of component failure due to higher and less displaced energy loads!
I for one think that some drivers might get away with the "slammed" look in warmer climates, but in regions of the USA with 4 seasons, the lowered look turns the car into a submarine during floods and heavy snow..
Anyone that knows what a FROST HEAVE is knows that they can open up 1-foot deep trenches in the road...or create 1-foot high bumps. Many cars have smashed oil-pans due to FROST HEAVES.
A "slammed" car would not be able to travet more than a few miles in Vermont during the spring when the frost is leaving the ground. (worst time for FROST HEAVES)
In my own twisted experiment, I've found that parking the car uphill somehow prevented the water from coming in. Go figure, but it works for now.
As much as I love how the Jetta drives, I will probably get rid of this car soon. The maintenance has been a pain in the butt for me.
This did not feel good so I took it to the dealership I leased it from yesterday and they gave me a loaner with no gas in it and said they will check it out. The service consultant I was working with said that when a part is red ordered it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months to arrive. They have kept the car overnight and have yet to determine what the problem is.
I now have a lease payment for a car that I have owned for 5 days and have driven 1.5. If the dealership comes back with needing to red order the part, which might be an indeterminate arrival date, can I ask them to unwind the contract and put me in another Jetta?
I do not want to pay for a leased vehicle collecting interest while it sits in their service department and I drive a used loaner car.
Is it safe to drive, will there be other problems later?
Thank you Charlie
(if you are hearing a high pitched whine from the engine when you accelerate), Or one (or more) of the hydraulic valve tappet adjusters is faulty (if you are hearing a tapping sound from the engine). If those two items are the case (and it shouldn't be on a brand new engine), then the items mentioned are readily available, and any dealer that has to order the part normally receives it within 1-3 days - a week max.
A camshaft adjustment valve would make sense if the engine has variable valve timing, which the 2.0 liter does not have.
Methinks the dealer might be selling you a bill of goods...
I took it back to the dealer. They said it needed to be 'reset' and the transmission was now working 'within spec'.
Transmission performance significantly improved. However, under some conditions, transmission still races ~1000 RPM when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. This is unacceptable performance. Curiously, the transmission works great when I really push it hard. The worst slipping occurs during slightly harder than average acceleration. Generally when the shift from 2nd to 3rd occurs at approx. 35-40 mph.
Two questions:
1) what do you suppose the dealer did to improve the transmission?
2) I think my transmission is shot? Am I right? How should I proceed to get the transmission fixed?
thanks
mike
If you "break" that sequence by turning off the engine before it comes up to temparture, then the computer can get confused. (It may attempt a cold-start sequence on a partially-warmed engine)
You may want to have your IQ checked (Injection Quality). It has been said that having it set to the higher end of the spec may help with starting issues.
Another simple check is to verify that all the GPs are working (Glow Plugs). On manual-tranny TDIs there are a couple electric engine-heaters that should be checked.
If being forgetful is a chronic issue for you, perhaps you should think about a quick-release keychain that allows the ignition key to stay in the ignition while you take the rest of the keys with you.
The engine knock with low octane (87 fuel) is most liely caused by two things:
1. Faulty EGR valve with perforated diaphragm, which stays permatently closed
2. Heavy carbon buildup on the tops of pistons and valves, cuasing preignition when it glows red.
My hunch is you have a bad EGR valve.
$10 to $20 per lifter (you'll need eight), and approximately 1.5 hours for the labor (labor charges vary by area)...
The timing belt does not have to be completely removed from the engine. The procedure for this is making sure the piston for cylinder #1 is at top-dead-center (TDC), and the timing marks on the camshaft sprocket, distributor, and transmission bellhousing are all aligned. Once that is done then the timing belt tensioner pulley can be loosened, and the top section of the timing belt can be removed from the camshaft sprocket. After that, the removal of the camshaft and lifters is fairly straightforward for the professional or do-it-yourself mechanic (especially if you have a Bentley or Chilton's manual to reference).
The engine had that charactoristic valve clatter when started that you describe. Since I have been working on cars for many years, I knew that the noise was not damaging in any way. (although it SOUNDED pretty bad.)
I would suggest to you that you need to ascertain how much this vehicle means to you. (How much longer do you want to keep it around?)
If you just want to quiet it down a bit, consider adding a viscosity improver such as "STP oil treatment" or "Motor Honey" to the oil. I found that adding "STP oil treatment" to the above-mentioned golf really helped quiet it down.
I would suggest that you consider NOT using the Castrol Syntec 5W50. The "5W" means that this oil quite thin at startup (especially being a quasi-synthetic oil) The "50" means that it may be too thick to properly lubricate some parts of the engine properly. (look at the oil-specs for this engine!)
If you have no forseeable endpoint to your ownership of this fine vehicle, then by all means consider the cost of replcing the hydrolic valve actuators. A more complete job would be a "head rebuild" wheras the valves are also tended to.
Personally, I feel that is too much $$ just because of some valvetrain noise at startup. Have you done a simple compression test?
Also, VWs of that vintage have a tendancy for the oil-pump to get whimpy and not deliver enough pressure. Low oil-pressure will be immediately heard causing a noisy valvetrain.
====
The knocking or 'preignition' you mention is a completely different issue. There are several variables that can cause this. Unlike the valve noise at startup, preignition is DAMAGING to the engine.
Some of the causes of preignition are
1) too-low octaine fuel
2) carbon buildup in the combustion chamber
3) Incorrect heat-range sparkplugs (USE ONLY THE RECOMMENDED BOSCH BRAND SPARKPLUGS in a VW)...Bosh invented the sparkplug!!
4) Ignition timing incorrect.
5) Air-Fuel ratio is too lean.
#5 Above has several varibles that affect it including:
*) Exhaust Gas Oxygen Sensor is fulty
*) Injectors Dirty
*) MAF (Mass AirFlow) meter is faulty
*) fuel pressure too low
The above is just the basics, I cannot be expected to explain over 30 years of experience here ;-)
The engines during those years (like most VW engines) were designed to run on the hot side (they were equipped with 190-degree thermostats and fan switches). If you use an oil that has a viscosity that's too thin, the oil in those engines will easily flow like water - resulting in very low oil pressure.
A good rule of thumb would be as follows:
Fall/Winter (Below 50 degrees F.)- unless you live in an extremely cold climate (Alaska, Maine, Minnesota, etc), 10w30 or 10w40 weight oil should suffice.
Spring/Summer - (above 80 degrees F.) - Do not use any oil lighter than a 15-weight. Use either 15w40 or 20w50. To use anything lighter (10-weight or below) during this time of year is asking for trouble (low oil pressure being among them).
These guidelines have worked for me fairly well.
Of course, the engines of today are built to much closer tolerances, thus the manufacturers recommendation of 5w30 or 5w40 year round.
any suggestions would be great. thank you
Sam