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Passat problems, again.

Once again my 02 1.8T Passat has given me a headache. Has anyone else had cooling problems on new Passats ?

On the return leg of a 2 1/2 hour trip the check coolant light came on at the base of a large bridge(Key) on the Baltimore Beltway, I-695 at

5pm.

I stopped almost immediately, with Mother and two young sons in the car. The coolant level was fine, the belts looked fine and there were no visible leaks. Given that it was a bad place to stop and that the gauge actually went back to normal, I decided to proceed carefully. Halfway up the tall bridge the temp gauge redlined so I slowed down and shutdown the engine to coast once I reached the crest. Once at the bottom I pulled over and called the VW roadside assistance 800#.

Finally the car was towed to Antwerpen VW south of Baltimore. The checked it out the following day and could not find any problems. They pronounced the car a good to drive. Well, just 6 miles from the dealer the temp gauge starts to rise and redlines again. I called the dealer and found Fitzgeralds in Annapolis. Hopefully these guys can find the problem. My problem is the expenses incurred because of the breakdown. VW sez that they have trip interuption coverage if the breakdown occurs farther than 100 miles away. I was about 65 miles away. The rental was $70/day for a Pontiac Vibe because the only rental places open were at the BWI airport. Talk about location fees and taxes, about 30% extra. Honda again, hmmm.

Are you reading this VWoA ? Dealers that do not extend help during an emergency, poor service from a junior mechanic (gee, can't find a problem) probably will not happen again attitude. No real help in getting a loaner or rental. "Did you buy the car from us ?" ... Hoda again, less personality, but realiable.

Steve

Reply to
Steven Gee
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Same symptoms like when the waterpump went on my 2000 Passat. Except that the loss of coolant in relatively short time made it clear even to the worst mechanic it had to be the waterpump.

- D.

Reply to
TransFixed

I haven't seen the issue on the Passats yet but on NB/Jetta/Golf 1.8t engines the water pump impeller can crack and start slipping on the shaft. When this happens the pump no longer circulates coolant. I would suggest they replace the water pump and see what happens.

Reply to
Woodchuck

It can easily be your coolant sensor. It is a very common failure on Passats.

The sensor has 2 channels. One channel goes to ECU and another one goes to the instrument cluster. If the one going to ECU fails you get a CEL. If the one going to the cluster fails you get weird temperature readings. It is easy to replace in 15 min (can do it yourself). The part cost is under $20. You may need to top-off your coolant after replacing the sensor since some coolant will leak out. The location of the sensor is between the firewall and the engine on the coolant hose.

Good luck.

Reply to
Alex

I disagree, when the sensor fails the ECU sets a fault for the one channel and the other your dash temp gauge drops to cold. I have never seen a sensor cause the gauge to peak at the hot zone.

Reply to
Woodchuck

You are correct. The second dealer correctly diagnosed the problem as the waterpump. He said that the housing (plastic ?) had a crack and would expand under temp load and minimize the circulation. It would be fine at idle. The Jr. mechanic at the first dealer, Antwerpen near Baltimore MD, did not do a road test, she relied completely on a diagnostic computer. Too many video games as a kid is my guess.

Any hints on getting reimbursed for rental expenses from VW ???? They said that Trip Interuption coverage is available if it breaks down 100 miles or further from home. I was about 65m. The poor diagnosis cost me an additional $70 car rental and 4 hours vacation time.

I intend to press the issue with VWoA. $150 car rental, $36 in taxi rides were my direct out of pocket expenses.

Reply to
Steven Gee

Steven,

As the warranty administrator for my dealership, I know firsthand that as long as you keep your receipts from the rental vehicle(s) and transportation required to transport your family while your vehicle was on downtime for repairs, it should be reimbursed. However, the four hours of lost vacation time you might just have to eat. VW will apologize, but because the failure just happened to occur while you were on vacation isn't VWs fault, and they can't be expected to pay for it. The red herring to all of this is that if you did not request a loaner vehicle from the dealership, than VW will say "too bad, so sad". You didn't request a loaner vehicle, you made the decision to rent a Pontiac Vibe, so unfortunately, VW will not cover those expenses. But each case is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Submit all receipts for rental vehicles and towing and any other expenses directly incurred due to the vehicle's water pump failure.

Hope this helps,

Reply to
Peter Cressman

Glad you finally got it fixed but I think your issue is with the first dealer and not VW. I suggest you do a little letter writing to the first dealer and address the letter to the general manager. That's about all you can hope for..

Reply to
Woodchuck

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