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Comments
The brake light problem could just be a defective switch at the brake pedal.
"One is this symbol that looks like a car swerving. Is that related to the ESP button being off/on?" Yes and no..... the ESP light serves several purposes. It will light up if you have ESP disabled by pushing the button... but it will also light up if the ESP diagnostics fail. If it is lit when NOT disabled... then there is something wrong. (One common problem is the "Steering Wheel Angle Sensor" which is only installed on ESP vehicles.)
"what does the engine light indicator coming on really mean, besides I need to get it checked?" The CEL (Check Engine Light) means the same thing on all cars... it is federal law. If any of the emmissions controls fails diagnostics, it may light up. If the CEL is *flashing*... this means imminent damage may occour and do not drive the vehicle.
"do you know what happens when the brake lights come on and remain on nearly all night or several hours?" ..."Has anybody ever dealt with this issue?" I assume you do not mean the light on the dash and instead mean the brakeLigts on the rear of the car. This is a VERY common problem when the switch on the brake-pedal is stuck in the ON position. (I am also concerned that a VW dealership claimed to not be aware of this.... there were TWO recalls on these switches)
I fear you made some basic mistakes when purchasing a used car from dealership.
1) Always INSIST that they provide the owners-manual with the purchase
2) Always INSIST that they provide all 3 keys with the vehicle (very expensive if you have to get them made!)
All of these issues you describe need to have your car connected to computer to diagnose the problems. It is trivial for a good VW mechanic to use computer to isolate problems using computer.
It seems to me that most used cars do not have the owner's manual. I have never understood what people do with their owner's manuals. I mean, I know that most don't bother to read it, but why would it not just be left in the glove box? I must be the odd one, as every car I have bought new had an owner's manual in the glove box for as long as I owned it.
In any case, when purchasing from a 'dealership'... it is not unreasonable to ask them to replace a missing owners-manual, Federal Emmissions Warantee and anything else you want them to do AS PART OF THE DEAL. They are often eager to throw in things like free oil-chages for a year just to close a deal.
Many folks are not even aware that the Federal government forces the manufacturer to cover all emmissions-related equipment for up to 120K miles. Virtually anything that will lite up the CEL is coverd under the Federal Emmissions Warantee.
My daughter got a free Catalytic converter at around 100,000 miles on her VW Golf. The dealership wanted to SELL her a new one... but I told her to mention the Federal Emmissions Warantee.
I have to say it is not obvious to me. Not sure why anyone would have their name and address in the owners manual itself :confuse: . I could see maybe there might be other documents stored with the manual that would have that, but why not just get rid of those other documents if the previous owner failed to do so?
Another thing is many other manufacturers make free electronic versions of the manual available online. I know Ford and Mazda do this. VW does not.
"Obvious" means that the buyer cannot contact the trade in person and find out how much the dealer gave him/her as a trade in which could be used by the new buyer to bring the price down.
You can get copies of owners manuals on the web, as you've pointed out, both in electronic versions as well as print outs.
Now that the mystery of the disappearing owner's manuals has been explained, I guess I'll ask the dealer to provide me with one if I ever buy another used car. Especially if it is a VW, since they are one of the few that, obnoxiously, do not provide free electronic versions.
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/120189/article.html
Any decent dealer should do it - but - then again, if you don't do it right there and then (when signing the docs), they may just say "deal is a deal" and walk away. Normally, if you don't ask for it right away and they don't make it part of the deal, it's hard to get anything from them afterwards.
For example, I always ask for a touch up paint, before I sign the docs. Then they have to get it for you later even if it's not in stock.
The only leverage you may have is if you will be servicing your car at that dealership, they may get it for you as a good will gesture.
Good luck!
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayManualsByModelAndYearHome.action
The intent is that a potential buyer can call the previous owner and ask about the car.... they have nothing to lose so they will tell you all the "gory details" about the car.
You can find more details at:
Federal Trade Commission.
16 CFR Part 455
Trade Regulation Rule; Sale of Used Motor Vehicles
53 FR 17660
Bentley Manuals for VW
don't you know that "bad" actually means *good* now?
how many days was car unavailable/in-shop?
please give an example of a major problem if you want us to believe you?
(seems like there are lots of lying liar trolls in the forums lately who make postings similar to yours.)
"rear brakes" - what problem? was it not fixed efficiently?
remote-control not working - the key-fob you mean? did the 2nd one work? was it not fixed efficiently?
and tires?! was a tire defective? did that cause many/any shop-days?
This webpage may help you out.
DIsclaimer: I suspect that you may be "breaking the emmissions laws" by installing an engine which was not in there from the factory.
I bet you would LOVE to find something like this
Have you tried PARTSTRAIN? They are the most complete network of used parts I have ever found.
YES an early timing-belt-change requirement is a reason why I would avoid a particular new vehicle. Currently i am shopping for a used/first car for 16 year old and its a big consideration there too.
imho the timingbelt interval should be 100k minimum.
I hadn't heard of early-belt-breakage issue with the 1.8L, but I did hear of oil-sludging issues, with possibly a new requirement for synthetic oil for used 1.8L owners.
I've heard of the belts breaking when they aren't swapped in time, or if the car is parked/stored and belt dries out.
My jetta TDI wants a belt at 80K but I'm going for 90K! Living on the edge!
Dont forget that you can order up a 100K mile "kit" for your TDI and make your next change-interval 100K miles!
Here is one example
Another example
yet another
And my favorite place to get TDI parts
Whatever you do.... do not try to save a few dollars by NOT replacing one of the supplied items in the "kit". Your existing components WILL NOT survive for another 100K miles if you leave them in there. For example, if you chose to not replace an idler-rollers, when it fails, it will take out your new belt and the engine with it. Another example, if you try to reuse one of the "must replace" stretch-bolts... it will not properly tension and your engine may fall out from under the car.
How was this determined? Some folks decided to order-up an older kit and the 100K kit from the factory and inspect the components. (Such as DieselGeek link above) Then they proceded to hand-select even better components to include in their "kit".
Also, The factory 100K parts use a PLASTIC waterpump. The hand-selected "kits" contain a BRASS waterpump. For this reason, the "kits" which are not from VW are actually BETTER than the 100K factory components.
my 06 TDI has 87k now and runs like a top, but indeed I'll be scheduling the "80k" new-timing-belt/new-waterpump real soon... if the engine gets destroyed in the meantime i will report back here for sure.
1999 jetta replace seats cup holder and glove box
JCF
I believe 40K is spark plugs, air filter, cabin filter, tire rotation and an oil change. There are also a bunch of inspect/check items. You may also be due for changing brake fluid. There is also a scan of the computer listed, but I don't know that there is much point to that as any problems should presumably turn on a warning light? Ours had CEL on just before the 40K/4 year point and I asked the service rep if the scan they do for that is the same as the one included in their package and he said it was. So I did not bother paying for that a few months later.
I would think you could find a dealer (or an independent shop that knows what they are doing) to to do that stuff for less than $500.
Now that there is no warranty to worry about, I planning to stretch my brake fluid changes to every 3 years, instead of 2. I think that will be often enough in my climate. I also will stretch out the cabin filter replacement interval to at least 3 years.
Question - Should I bite the bullet and pay new or continue my search for a used part? Can the valve be rebuilt at a lower cost?
Autozone has a new one for $209 and other internet sites have prices from $198 to $250. I've had one quote for a used part for about $100...
I'm disabled and on a budget so because of the cost, I tried getting another one from a junkyard but the engine started revving on it's own after a few minutes of idle time so I took it back and can't find anymore used ones locally.
I was told that any 1990 to 1992 part from a Jetta or Golf would work but still can't find any of those parts locally either. I tried an internet part search and wound up getting quotes for mass air flow meters instead but two quotes came in at about $100... better anyway...
I'm also a bit confused by some internet sites stating that my Jetta (a Vin G) is made in Mexico and thus requires a more expensive part but I think they are confusing that with the Mass Air Flow Meter???
Thanks...
You can search nationwide for just the part you need.
1. My daughter has an '02 Jetta with the 2.0 engine and manual transmission, with 60,000 miles. When should the timing belt be changed? I believe the Owners Manual specifies at 105,000 miles. She currently drives about 5,000 miles per year.
2. The coolant has never been changed. If I'm interpreting the Owners Manual correctly, it never needs to be changed, but never is a long time. What do you suggest regarding the coolant?
Finally, I'm considering purchasing a new Jetta 2.5. Does this engine have a timing belt or chain? Is this a durable engine, or is it problematic.
and on vw.com's schedule, all I see is a check every 40K mi, but not sure how much "checking" can be really done without doing most of the labor that would be required for a replacement anyway:
http://www.vw.com/myvw/yourcar/maintenance/findschedules/en/us/
I'm not sure what I'll do with the coolant in our 2.5 as that also does not specify any changes. My Mazda specifies 10 years, 120K mi, so I'll probably go at least that long with the VW.
The 2.5 has a timing chain. It has been a reliable car according to CR, they give it "average" rating for expected reliability. I can not say that about our particular early build 2005...at least everything has been covered under warranty or recall's for us, so far.
From your experience, how does your Jetta 2.5 compare with your Mazda, in terms of quality, maintenance and reliability? In other words, which is the better car?
problem took multiple visits for dealer to diagnose/repair properly but they did figure it out after removing all the rugs and going through a carwash. the issue was a plastic-barrier was misplaced - inside the door, i think it was.
Seriously, though...the Jetta is definitely quieter but has had more issues. I think my mazda6 is a bit sportier. I don't really know how the current Mazda6 compares as that is a completely new design and, anyway, is not really close to the Jetta size anymore. I also don't have any experience with the current mazda3, while the former version I'd say the same thing...it was sportier and the VW was quieter. (I had a Mazda3 for a week and 1400 miles on a vacation).
I really think a large part of that difference in the number and significance of problems is that our Jetta was the first year of the new one, while the 2007 Mazda6 was near the end of that version. I think CR has them pretty close in relative reliability.
On maintenance, VW only needs an oil change once per year due to the synthetic being required. Mazda wants me to change every 4 months, but I plan to go with 6 months after warranty ends. I have spent about $260 on maintenance for the Mazda6 in 3 years/24,000 miles. The Jetta was about $500 in first three years. But, Jetta's now come with the first three years of maintenance are free.
Probably about $100-120 of that difference in maintenance cost was because I made the mistake of ordering "20,000 mile maintenance" on the Jetta, rather than specifying exactly what the owners manual calls for. That was the only time I ever did that. The rest of the maintenance schedules are fairly similar, mazda wants the air filter changed a little more frequently and VW wants the plugs changed a little sooner. VW also specifies brake fluid changes every two years, while Mazda does not (I plan to stretch the VW to 3 years and do the same interval with the Mazda, even though it is not in the schedule).