Our 02 Jetta GLS TDI has been pretty good when it comes to maintenance... the radio has crapped out a couple of times but otherwise, everything that's gone wrong has been something caused by us. The car has 116,000 total miles and
20k miles on a new engine & turbo (don't ask, trust me, you do not want to know).However, last week the check engine light came on and the next day I noticed the Temp indicator wasn't reading (my wife is the primary driver). The heat still worked, but if the fan was turned up high, the air temp got cooler. I checked under the engine cover and couldn't find anything loose or disconnected, so it was off to the dealer.... in the mean time, the temp indicator started working again and the air temp is back to normal, even with the fan on high. The Check engine light is off at start up but comes on as soon as we start to drive the car and remains on.
The dealer says the thermostate is sticking occasionally and that the "two section coolant" sending unit has failed (has different readings). They are estimating a couple of hours of work for a total of $369.00 (on top of the $89 they charged us to look at it).
I wouldn't have clue where to start to fix this problem on my own so we're pretty much at the mercy of a dealer (don't anyone shoot me for using "mercy" and "dealer" in the same sentence!).
The question is, does their fix sound right and does it seem in the right price range? If not, I can go looking for another dealer. These guys are the only ones in this area but I'd be willing to travel a ways if I'm getting ripped off.
Thanks, jc