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Here's the story. We just got a standard oil change on Saturday at a non-dealership garage. On Sunday the car began to overheat. We parked it at home, and checked the coolant. The coolant level seemed okay. We checked again maybe an hour later, and the coolant was definitely leaking. The level dropped substantially and we could see the coolant dripping down to the garage floor from the front bumper.
We have an appointment to bring the Jetta (a 2000 GLS with about 80k) back into the garage. However, to even drive it there, we need to refill the coolant.
The manual says: "Never use any coolant other than G 12 A8D additive... This coolant is available at your VW dealer... under no circumstance may G12 A8D be mixed with other coolant additives (for example G 11)."
My main question is: what the heck does "G 12 A8D" mean? We stopped by the auto shop to pick up some coolant. None of the coolant bottles had any markings even remotely resembling that code. We bought a bottle of Prestone DEX-COOL, which I think is orange-colored stuff. The coolant that had been leaking out of the car was orange too.
Can anyone offer any advice on whether or not the coolant we bought is fine for a jetta? Is it absolutely imperative to use "G12 A8D" or is this just VW trying to milk us for more cash?
Thanks a ton.
Since the manual says "Never use any coolant other than G 12 A8D additive"...why did you use DEX-COOL?
I have a 2000 Jetta. Whenever I open and close the driver's door the trunk unlatches. Repair shop has been unable to figure it out so far.
Thanks!
I have a 2000 Jetta. The trunk unlatches whenever I get in the car. Have looked at the sensors in the trunk and drivers door but have been unable to find the problem.
Help!
Actually, you will be "milked for cash" if you DO NOT use G12.... you have been warned. G12 coolant is available at any diecent forigen autoparts store.
If it is leaking "orange" coolant... the system is already compromized and needs to be totally flushed with distilled water.
For now - It is OK to add DISTILLED WATER to the cooling system for the short trip to the shop.
Also make CERTAIN that they use only G12 antifreeze when they are done fixing the leak. Using any other antifreeze can lead to problems down the road.
If it is not floricent pink when they return the car to you... it has the wrong coolant in it.
Here are several links to photos of the G12-approved antifreeze. It is produced by several companies.
http://www.tdiparts.com/catalog/images/parts/g12plus15.jpg
http://www.germanautoparts.com/displayimage.php?file=060523170808G1
http://www.pap-parts.com/images/g001200.jpg
http://www.mobil.com/UK-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENANCMOMobil_Antifreeze_Advanced.a- sp
Before I decide to have the car looked at and fixed I was wondering if there is a sensor in the radiator which might cause the engine not to start if the coolant is not at a certain level. If anyone might have a clue if there is a sensor or maybe another idea why the car won't start, you expertise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
If that doesn't work you may need new injectors.
It could also be as simple as a clogged -never replaced? air filter.
One thing you can try is to pull the connector off of the MAF and leave disconnected... .then start the engine and go for a drive. (The CEL may come on... ignore it) If you now have your power back... the MAF is bad and needs to be replaced.
At any rate, the Goodyear we took the car to was apparently clueless. They claimed they could fix the problem by replacing the thermostat and flushing the system. After an entire day, they finally admitted they had no idea.
So the car has been sitting idle in our garage for several days. Ironically, when I went to drive my fiance to work in my own car (a Toyota), it got a flat on the highway.
Why did we use Dex-Cool when the manual said not to? As I mentioned, we looked at an auto-store and saw nothing remotely resembling G12 A8D. Besides, many car manuals say something like: "always use x-brand replacement parts only in your x-car," which is often rubbish.
This is one reason we probably won't be getting another VW in the future. The car design is nice, reliability has been almost average, but maintennace is such a pain. It seems like you almost HAVE to rely on a dealership to get service, and they charge a LOT (ie $50-60) for routine oil changes. Outside of dealerships, only a few specialty shops are competent to work on VWs, and there's really no way to tell which are in fact competent.
On that note, if anyone can recommend a reputable and competent VW shop in the DC area, please let me know. For some reason, I see tons of MB specialty shops around here, but hardly any VW. We already have an appointment with a dealership, but I assume and expect that they will charge a monstrous sum for all the work.
Thanks.
Since you seem to be aware that most places do not know how to work on VWs, why take it to Goodyear in the first place. Since you say the color was wrong before you added anything, could it be that goodyear topped you off with the wrong coolant?
Makes me wonder how much of VWs bad reputation for "reliability" is due to misguided attempts to save a few bucks on maintenance.
http://1.8t.org/dealers/
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044
Thank You
I recently just bought a 2007 VW Jetta 2.5, and there is a noise from the rear of the car, sounds like a very noisy fuel pump, like a pulsating noise, sometimes loud and sometimes soft, but you can hear very well when stopped. I returned it to the dealer and they listened to the noise and said it was the fuel pump, so they replaced the fuel pump and the noise is STILL there. Has anybody heard this noise, the car only has 300 miles on it.
Thanks,
Jim :confuse:
Open the driver's door. There's a little door in the side of the dashboard. Open the door in the dash and there are all of your fuses with a diagram as to which fuse goes to what part of the car.
Check the fuse for the heated seats.
Good luck!
Thanks,
Jim
I am very new at driving (~3 months), so please forgive my ignorance/naivete with cars and car problems. I would greatly appreciate it if someone can help me and guide me with useful advice.
I recently purchased a brand-new 2006 Value Edition Jetta and have been driving it for just over 4000 miles now. When I test-drove the car, I noticed some white smoke coming out of the exhaust when I started the car (it soon went away). The salesperson said that it is normal(?) for a brand new car and that it'll go away eventually. I still occasionally see the white smoke coming out (I only notice it sometimes when I am waiting for the lights to change, and it goes away
after a while).
Is it normal that I see white smoke coming out of the exhaust occasionally? Just today I checked the exhaust (first time looking carefully at the rearend of the car... I know, I need to take care of my car better) and saw some black stains that indicate that something has leaked from the exhaust (never looked at the exhaust of any other car before, so maybe this is normal too)...
About a month and a half ago, I also had a problem not being able to start my car. This happened when my car was at around 2000 miles. I'll try to describe this in more detail. I left my car parked with headlights ON w/o knowing and shopped at a store for about an hour. I came back, noticed my car lights were on, unlocked my car, turned off the headlights, and used the key to start the car. First off, I couldn't step onto the BREAK to start the car. The car key wouldn't turn at all, so I couldn't start the engine either.
I ended up calling Roadside Assistance to get help, and they said that it wasn't the BATTERY problem, but maybe that my car is "locked" in parking or something REALLY bad mechanically with the car. So they called a towing truck to tow my car. When the towing guy came, he took my keys to try and see if the car would start, and it STARTED!!!
Since the car started fine and didn't seem to have any other problem, I just took my car home without going to get it serviced. Since then, I haven't had any problems starting the car.
I am worried if I am missing all the "hints" pointing to bad car problems in the future because I am not at all knowlegeable about cars. Should I try to get it fixed/do something about it while I still have the 12k/1yr warranty that's more comprehensible than the 48k/4yrs warranty?
My engine sounds(?) fine, I have no other significant problems with my car, and my mileage/fuel economy seems okay too (~350 when the bar is near E).
I apologized for sounding very incompetent(?). I am an engineer after all, so I should know better. Thank you very much for reading, and I'll appreciate any help I can get.
This is the 2nd time this has happened:
-when I start the car all the gears are lit on my display - P R N D S - and even if I put it in D they are all lit. Usually the display shows 6 5 4 3 2 1 when it is in D.
-the car drive drives in manual mode? even though I am at D? I notice the D light on the actual gear selector doesn't light?
-I put the car back in P and turn off the car BUT I CANNOT REMOVE THE KEY!!!, and again all the gears are lit on my display - P R N D S!
What is happening?
1st time I was able to get the key out by turning the car on & off and by chance it came out. This time the key is stuck in the car and won't come out.
Please help!!!
THANKS!!
It happened in a parking garage on the way to work. As I memember I had push the gear shift lever forward (in park) and hold it there applying forward pressure, that did the trick (it's by accident that I discovered this). It only happened that once though.
MY Jetta broke down without any warning. I was able to restart the engine and drove it to a nearby lot (10 ft away) . The engine ran for about 10 minutes and when I stepped on the gas, the engine died again.
I was able to restart the engine a few times. However, whenever I started to put my foot on the gas, the engine died.
Eventually, the engine ran erratically and I could see sparks coming out of the coil (where there is a plug attach to one end and the other end goes to the distribution cap). It just stopped on itself.
FYI, my Jetta is prone to moisture. Whenever it rains, I have a hard time starting the engine. Usually, I've to wait for a few hours and let it (wires, maybe) dry.
Is this fuel supply problem (i.e. failed fuel pump) or electrical problem? Thanks for your help.
Check the coil for cracks (common for the 1993-1998 model year VWs with the 2.0L 4-cylinder). If a crack is visible, replace the coil.
I purchased a new coil for my 1997 and installed it. Problem solved.
Is this an expensive repair? How much was the part (coil)? Is it possible to DIY? Or I have to have my Jetta towed to a garage and have it replaced? Thanks.
I would consider it a DYI installation. No special tools are needed and it is pretty easy to get at.
Dont forget, depending on your engine code, your 1996 Jetta may also have DISRTIBUTER and ROTOR. I would suggest those may be more likely a problem before spending money on coil. (worldimpex has these parts too)
In any case, you are now kind of "under the gun" because you have allowed the problem to get so bad.
May I suggest -in the future- If you do not want to get stranded it is a VERY good idea to correct issues when they are minor instead of waiting. It ALWAYS costs less (in time and money) if you fix a problem on YOUR schedule.... Yes, I had to lean this the hard way myself 8-)
I am 6 months past my extended warranty (not sure this would've been included anyway) so I am out of luck. I appealing to VW Canada and will escalate it as far as needed.
Has anyone managed to get VW to pick up the tab on this manufacturer's defect?
You could have cleaned the plugged hose yourself but chose to pay somone to do it for you. As the saying goes "you pay for convenience"
How can you even consider blaming VW for this? They have 100,000s of sunroofs installed in VW and AUDI vehicles all over the world and none of them see this as a "design flaw" or "manufacturer's defect". In fact, many people see the VW/AUDI sunroof design as an example of great German engineering.
In the future, watch where you park and be cognizant of
debris getting into the drain. Your owners manual even WARNS of this happening and suggests an inspection of the sunroof components as one of the maintenance items.
I parked under a streetlamp once... there was bird poop all over my car when I got out of work that day. Did I consider suing the City for putting the streetlamp there? NO!... but I have never parked under a streetlamp ever again either.
My daughter left her Golf sunroof (and all windows) open when a severe thunderstorm hit... Her poor Golf had water pouring out of it when she opened the door... perhaps she should have blamed VW for a design flaw because the drains in the floorboards were not big enough... LOL
Lately, I feel like when I press down on the gas, Im not getting the full power like I used to. Instead, I am only getting about 90 percent power from the engine. The car drive greats but should I be worried? Is this a transmission problem. Is it time for this car to go, or does it still have alot of life left in it.