Ok, so my car is in the shop getting some major repairs (hit a nasty pothole that cracked the oil pan = blown engine etc…) everything is being covered by insurance. Yesterday, my service advisor calls to notify me that the clutch on my 2003 GTI with 21,000km’s is 90% worn out. He recommends that it be replaced now since they have the engine and tranny out of the car, they would charge $900! Let me be the first to say that I baby this car and never abuse the tranny. I told him to forget it and put the old clutch back in. My question is, could the clutch seriously be worn at 21k’s or is this bs so they can make a little extra coin seeing as they have car the car all apart? Is their any chance of getting this fixed under warrenty?

Hi again. I talked to vw customer care. They told me that adding one quart of oil every 1000 miles to a 2003 passat glx wagon v-6 met industry standards. I’ve been doing this for about a year and 3/4. I have 24,000 miles on the car. They fixed a cam tensioner but it still loses oil. VW would not give me a copy of this “standard” as they said it was internal information. Help. I’m thinking of asking for a new car with a trade in on this one. It will be interesting to see what they say.

Weeks after purchasing my 2000 Passat, the Emissions light came on. The secondary air and fuel too rich codes came on. I Took it in and had a relay wsitch replaced. Light went off again. Three times more.

I Recently took in because what prompted the relay needing to be replaced was a loud motor that ran continually. Turns out that it’s now the secondary air pump. Each time that I’ve taken it in, the same two codes have come up.

VW will pay for the air poump, as it’s warrantied, but here’s my question: could a faulty air pump that’s not clicking on/suctioning cause the relay switch to wear our prematurely?

I’m trying to get VW to foot this bill as well; it just seems a little coincidental that the secondary air code kept coming up.

Any thoughts would be great.

Bought 2002 1.8L Turbo 4cyl., front wheel/drive used last October at approx. 18,000 miles from CarSense. When car hit 35,000 after a little over 1 year of ownership, we encountered severe engine problems. Trouble starting and after warming up, engine warning lights would come on and stay on. We took it to our local VW dealer and found out about an apparent “”oil sludge”" recall issue we were not made aware of due to second hand ownership.

The problem was that the 1.8L turbo engine runs so hot, it breaks down the motor oil faster than normal, leaving clumps of oil residue in the engine, clogging the filters, wearing out the pump and seals, etc. VW told us that these engines require higher maintenence and require the use of synthetic oil only, and MUST be changed at least every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever is first. VW apparently issued a notice of the issue to owners and offered an extended warranty to cover associated costs.

Anyway, in order to be covered under the extended warranty, they want you to provide receipts showing oil changes every 5,000 miles. Luckily, we were able to provide these receipts, however, since we were not the original owners, and CarSense could not provide us with the car’s history from the previous owner, VW would only pay 2/3 of the cost of the repairs (better than nothing).

The remedy for the sludge problem was to flush the engine, change the oil, replace the filters, seals and fuel pump - total of $1,600 altogether; $500 of which we are responsible for.

Moral of the story: change your oil often and keep your receipts! After some research, we found that this is a widespread issue with other owners and has in some cases fallen under state Lemon Laws. Our local dealer has told us they have actually replaced engines entirely in some cases, costing $8,000!

Personally, I feel this is a case of VW recognizing a problem, but not admiting any wrong-doing. The problem was apparently there regardless whether the previous owner changed the oil or not, and since we had anyway, why should we have to pay anything? This was the first and LAST VW I will ever own. I’ve owned many vehicles, and never had issues like this before. After speaking with several garage owners, they have all told me similar stories and in their opinion, VW quality has tanked since 2000. I don’t know what happened over there, since I’ve seen 20 year old VW’s running quite well all over, but something is definitely up.

Bought 2002 1.8L Turbo 4cyl., front wheel/drive used last October at approx. 18,000 miles from CarSense. When car hit 35,000 after a little over 1 year of ownership, we encountered severe engine problems. Trouble starting and after warming up, engine warning lights would come on and stay on. We took it to our local VW dealer and found out about an apparent “”oil sludge”" recall issue we were not made aware of due to second hand ownership.

The problem was that the 1.8L turbo engine runs so hot, it breaks down the motor oil faster than normal, leaving clumps of oil residue in the engine, clogging the filters, wearing out the pump and seals, etc. VW told us that these engines require higher maintenence and require the use of synthetic oil only, and MUST be changed at least every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever is first. VW apparently issued a notice of the issue to owners and offered an extended warranty to cover associated costs.

Anyway, in order to be covered under the extended warranty, they want you to provide receipts showing oil changes every 5,000 miles. Luckily, we were able to provide these receipts, however, since we were not the original owners, and CarSense could not provide us with the car’s history from the previous owner, VW would only pay 2/3 of the cost of the repairs (better than nothing).

The remedy for the sludge problem was to flush the engine, change the oil, replace the filters, seals and fuel pump - total of $1,600 altogether; $500 of which we are responsible for.

Moral of the story: change your oil often and keep your receipts! After some research, we found that this is a widespread issue with other owners and has in some cases fallen under state Lemon Laws. Our local dealer has told us they have actually replaced engines entirely in some cases, costing $8,000!

Personally, I feel this is a case of VW recognizing a problem, but not admiting any wrong-doing. The problem was apparently there regardless whether the previous owner changed the oil or not, and since we had anyway, why should we have to pay anything? This was the first and LAST VW I will ever own. I’ve owned many vehicles, and never had issues like this before. After speaking with several garage owners, they have all told me similar stories and in their opinion, VW quality has tanked since 2000. I don’t know what happened over there, since I’ve seen 20 year old VW’s running quite well all over, but something is definitely up.

Does some body know how check for engine leaks (false air) in a Jetta AEG 2.0L. I have VAG-COM, Bently’s manual and it says the I have to use a special spray, but somebody knows where can I get it or what else tool or spray can I use and that be easy to get in regular market.

Just wanted to say the web site is looking good and i like what you have done here! Good work Rick! Happy New Years!!

Help.

I don’t know how to find out what is normal and what is not. I have been using about a quart every 1,000 miles…doing tests with service. I’m at 24000 miles. They replaced a cracked camshaft tensioner ? a month ago…that took 1 and 1/2 years to find. It still requires oil. It is a v-6. The local “”service rep”" says it is normal. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I just wanted to get some opinions on this one. Just bought a beautiful 2002 GTI 1.8t with 20K on the odometer. It’s a VW Certified Pre-owned car. Looking at the checklist, the clutch is on there. I can understand how this could be overlooked as you would have to put it on a dyno to test. Have had the car 1 week and while on a trip this weekend the clutch started smelling and slipping in 3rd on a hill. Had to buy another car after a burned to the ground 03 1.8t Jetta. Had no problems with the Jetta clutch. Finally talked with the service manager today and he says clutch smell and slippage is normal but is willing to look at the car. I know clutch smell and slippage isn’t normal. How would you suggest dealing with this? Clutch was probably trashed by the previous owner.

Hello everyone. I hope everyone had a happy holiday. I have a 2001 Jetta GLX VR6 76000 miles. I had the check engine light come on a few times in the past 6 months. The first time it happened it was raining really really bad and my car was parked in a large puddle. After taking it to the dealer they said I needed a new coil , the tech brought me into the bay and took a hose and sprayed a jet of water under the intake area and the engine seemed like it was going to stall but the CEL did not come on. I had a bad experience before with this dealer so I did not replace it and the car ran fine for 4 months. Then the light came on again when driving down the highway the car was running fine this time my buddy from a Honda dealer scanned it (to save 80 dollars). The code was (p1152 accell pos cirt. Low input) I reset it and the light came on a couple weeks later and this time took it to a different dealer and 680.00 dollars later replaced the coil after they advised me to. When I picked the car up the car seemed like it was running funny. Around 3000 rpms in 2nd or 3rd gear the car felt like a flutter, the more I drove it got better. The service tech told me that it most likely it was the cold or the gas, it was like 10 degrees. I know that Jettas run really bad in the cold (this is my 2nd Jetta) I dropped a can of dry gas in and its been running ok since knock on wood. My question is the light was on a total of four times. Does the code(P1152 accell pos cirt. Low imput) have anything to do with a coil problem. Because the light was already on with that code stored and then when it started to flash on another rainy day I new it was missing firing but when they scanned it would they see two codes for two problems or did that first code clear when the car misfired a 2nd time.